AM 7/27/2018

Industry and Association News

1. (ACC Mentioned) ‘Don’t Ruin Our American Dream!’

   Jul 26, 2018 | New York Times

   The Commerce Department recently asked for public comments on the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on automobiles and auto parts. When the deadline for submissions hit, more than 2,000 individuals, businesses and organizations had had their say.
2. (ACC Mentioned) New EPA Chief's First Moves Show He's Following Pruitt's Agenda, Without the Sirens

   Jul 26, 2018 | Yahoo News

   By Michael Walsh
   
   
   Following the chaotic tenure of Scott Pruitt, the new acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Andrew Wheeler, is trying to bring more competence and transparency to the job, but all signs indicate he’s continuing to carry out President Trump’s assault on regulations.
3. (ACC Mentioned) Chemical Activity Barometer for July Signals Gains, ACC Says

   Jul 26, 2018 | Chemical Engineering Online

   By Scott Jenkins
   
   
   The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), rose 0.1 percent in July on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis,
4. (ACC Mentioned) Finding NEMO: A Film Project to Recycle Flexible Packaging

   Jul 26, 2018 | Plastics News

   By Jim Johnson
   
   
   Recycled plastic bags and wraps are often made into new bags or plastic lumber, but preliminary research by the Plastics Industry Association shows there could be "further opportunities to extract value from these streams" of mixed polyethylene films.
5. Dow Chemical Digital Chief Helps Shape Massive Restructuring

   Jul 27, 2018 | Wall Street Journal

   By Steven Norton
   
   
   As DowDuPont Inc. prepares to split into three separate companies next year, Melanie Kalmar is working closely with other senior leaders to create a new structure designed to help the 121-year-old Dow better compete in the 21st century.

LCSA News

6. EPA Seeks to Strengthen Dust-Lead Hazard Standards

   Jul 26, 2018 | Lexology

   By Stephanie B. Sebor
   
   
   On June 22, 2018, the EPA announced a proposal to strengthen the dust-lead hazard standards for lead dust on floors and window sills.

Chemical Management News

7. (ACC Mentioned) The EPA Says TCE Causes Cancer, so Why Hasn't It Been Banned?

   Jul 26, 2018 | WUNC - North Carolina Public Radio

   By Scott Tong
   
   
   The federal government, on the verge of banning some uses of a carcinogenic industrial chemical at the close of the Obama administration, has delayed action under President Donald Trump and kept the chemical on the market.
8. (ACC Mentioned) Why Starbucks’s Plastic Straw Ban Might Not Help the Environment

   Jul 26, 2018 | Fast Company

   By Adele Peters
   
   
   When Starbucks starts serving cold drinks with a sippy-cup-like lidinstead of plastic straws–a lid that it currently only uses with its “Nitro” cold brew drinks–it may be even less likely that the lids can be recycled than it is today.
9. (ACC Mentioned) San Francisco Supervisors Approve Ban on Plastic Use in Eateries

   Jul 27, 2018 | Verdict Food Service

   San Francisco supervisors have reportedly approved the legislation to ban plastic straws and takeout containers in the city’s restaurants, bars and retail outlets.
10. Mid-Atlantic States Press EPA to Take More Holistic Approach to PFAS

    Jul 26, 2018 | Inside EPA

    By Suzanne Yohannan
    
    
    Officials from states in the mid-Atlantic region are urging EPA to take a more “holistic” approach to dealing with contamination from perfluorinated chemicals, telling the agency to address them as a class across a range of media and to set health protective standards...

Energy News

11. EPA Tells FERC no Need to Monetize GHGs in Gas Pipeline Reviews

    Jul 26, 2018 | Inside EPA

    By Dawn Reeves
    
    
    EPA has told federal energy regulators they no longer need to monetize the cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when weighing natural gas pipeline's environmental impacts, likely giving the commission cover to defend its recent largely partisan decisions...
12. Perry Says EU Deal Sets Stage for More U.S. LNG Exports

    Jul 26, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

    By James Osborne
    
    
    Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Thursday that the European Union was going to become a major purchaser of U.S. LNG.
13. Europe Likely to Disappoint Trump as Big Buyer of U.S. LNG

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Anna Shiryaevskaya, Elena Mazneva and Mathew Carr
    
    
    President Donald Trump’s vision of Europe becoming a “massive buyer” of U.S. liquefied natural gas is likely to crash into the reality that Russia is a cheaper supplier for now.
14. EPA Says Carbon Rule Replacement to Be in Place by Early 2019

    Jul 26, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard

    By Alex Guillen
    
    
    EPA says it is seeking to hasten interagency review of its proposed replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan with an eye toward finalizing it in early next year.
15. Texas Oil Pipeline Signs up Shippers for 200,000 B/D of New Capacity: Notice

    Jul 27, 2018 | Platts

    By Ashok Dutta
    
    
    San Antonio-based EPIC Midstream said late Thursday it has secured shipper commitments for another 250,000 b/d on its planned Eagle Ford and Permian to the Texas Gulf Coast crude pipeline and was now considering an increase in the pipeline's diameter that would result in higher throughput.
16. Texas Environmental Groups Settle Lawsuit With Pasadena Refining (1)

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Karn Dhingra
    
    
    Texas environmental groups are finding success in enforcing EPA carbon dioxide emissions regulations through citizen lawsuits against oil and petrochemical refiners such as Pasadena Refining System Inc.
17. Diversified Gas & Oil Startled by Pennsylvania Call to Plug Wells (1)

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Leslie A. Pappas
    
    
    Diversified Gas & Oil PLC, which spent millions this year to buy oil and gas wells across Pennsylvania, was caught off guard by state regulators’ demand that the wells be plugged, the company told Bloomberg Environment July 26.
18. Pennsylvania Nuns’ Hail Mary to Halt Pipeline Batted Down

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Sam McQuillan
    
    
    A federal appeals court denied a request by an order of Catholic nuns to block a pipeline from being built through their Pennsylvania property on religious freedom grounds.

Chemical Security News

19. DuPont Pays $3 Million for Texas Chemical Release that Killed Four

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Karn Dhingra
    
    
    E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co. will pay a $3.1 million penalty for a 2014 chemical release that killed four employees at its former La Porte, Texas, chemical plant.
20. Bid to Rename 'Soviet-Era' Cyber Agency Wins Industry Backers

    Jul 27, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Blake Sobczak
    
    
    A broad coalition of technology, energy and business trade groups is calling on the Senate to pass legislation that would reshape a key U.S. cybersecurity agency.

Transportation and Infrastructure News - There are no clips to report at this time.

Environment News

21. EPA Seeks Nominees for CASAC Ozone Standard Review Panel

    Jul 27, 2018 | Inside EPA

    EPA is seeking nominations for air quality experts to form a Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee panel to provide input on the agency's review of its ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), with the agency looking to conduct an accelerated assessment and decide by October 2020
22. Maryland Lawmakers Urge EPA to Approve Ozone Petition

    Jul 27, 2018 | Inside EPA

    Maryland's bipartisan congressional delegation is urging EPA to reconsider its proposed denial of the state's petition for direct agency regulation of emissions from power plants in several upwind states, as East Coast states seek action from the Trump administration to curb interstate air pollution...
23. Republican Says Forest Program Stems GHG Emissions

    Jul 27, 2018 | E&E Daily

    By Nick Sobczyk
    
    
    A Senate panel yesterday voted to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, a measure its Republican sponsor touted as a way to curb climate-changing emissions.

Industry and Association News

1. (ACC Mentioned) ‘Don’t Ruin Our American Dream!’

   Jul 26, 2018 | New York Times

   The Commerce Department recently asked for public comments on the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on automobiles and auto parts. When the deadline for submissions hit, more than 2,000 individuals, businesses and organizations had had their say. The vast majority were opposed to the tariffs. Following are edited excerpts from some of those comments.The most direct impact of the proposed tariffs will be felt by foreign car companies.

   Honda Motors

   During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, Honda did not lay off any of its full-time permanent associates in the U.S., and we have continued to increase our employment numbers since then. If the concern is that imports are damaging the national economy, Section 232 [of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962] is not the right tool to address the problem. There is an arsenal of weapons in U.S. trade law that enable the government to address economic risk. Actions can be brought for dumping, countervailing duties, patent infringement and safeguard protections, to name a few.

   Volkswagen

   VWGoA [Volkswagen Group of America] does not see how continuing imports of automobiles and automotive parts at current levels could impair U.S. national security. This proposition — supported by no U.S. motor vehicle manufacturer — is implausible.

   VWGoA’s plant has created 12,400 full-time jobs in Tennessee and helped attract 17 supplier companies to the Chattanooga area. These supplier companies in turn have invested over $275 million in Tennessee and, in so doing, created an additional 1,100 jobs. VWGoA’s manufacturing operations likewise have increased local and state tax revenues by $53.5 million annually.

   Representatives of states and cities that benefit from auto industry jobs also raised objections to the tariffs.

   Gov. Kay Ivey, Republican of Alabama

   Tariffs placed on imported materials used to build vehicles in Alabama could dramatically increase the cost of those vehicles. Tariffs placed on vehicles exported from Alabama would increase the cost, hurting the competitiveness of those vehicles in foreign markets. The inability to remain competitive will drive down automotive production, destroying Alabama jobs.

   Estimates show that a 10 percent decrease in Alabama-made vehicle exports could result in the loss of approximately 4,000 jobs in Alabama. Such a loss would be devastating to thousands of families across our state. These are Alabama families who are dependent on the income from working in these facilities. I strongly oppose any efforts that may harm those companies that employ thousands of Alabamians and contribute billions to our economy.

   Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce

   We fully understand the motive for encouraging the displacement of foreign-made automobiles with American-made automobiles. That’s why we welcome the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant to our community; that’s why we are also glad to have Nissan’s operations located in the State of Tennessee, and that’s why were glad that both of them use the F.T.Z. [Free Trade Zone] program to lower their costs of producing American-made motor vehicles.

   American ports, which count on the shipping traffic generated by auto imports, expressed strong concerns.

   Dennis Rochford, president of the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay

   The collective agencies and institutions comprising the Delaware River port system are in the process of completing a deepening of the Delaware River navigational channel from 40 to 45 feet — a project nearly 30 years in the making — at a cost of more than $360 million in federal, state and local dollars. The purpose of the project is to accommodate the larger classes of vessels now transiting the Panama Canal from Asia and opening the port to more traffic from Europe, including automobiles. The port is now capable of handling large RoRo [roll-on, roll-off] vessels used to carry automobiles, light trucks and vans; in 2017 the port cleared more than $3 billion in automotive cargo, making automobiles the sixth-largest commodity sector in the port based on revenue impacts.

   A decision to impose a significant customs duty on imported cars and parts, for our port, would effectively turn back 30 years of planning, five years of construction, and millions of dollars of infrastructure improvements at marine terminals beyond those expended for the deepening itself.

   Courtney Gregoire, commission president, Port of Seattle; Curtis Robinhold, executive director, Port of Portland, Ore.; Donald G. Meyer, commission president, Port of Tacoma, Wash.; Eric LaBrant, commission president, Port of Vancouver, Wash.

   Washington State is the most trade-driven economy in the country, with 40 percent of all jobs tied to international trade, and Oregon’s economy is similarly globally dependent. We know that these kinds of unilateral trade actions by the United States inevitably result in retaliation by our trading partners — as we have seen with the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs and the Section 301 [of the Trade Act of 1974] China tariffs — which can further harm our states’ trade economy by reducing exports from our farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and retailers.

   We export $19 billion in goods through our gateways to Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan — which are the top importers of autos and auto parts through our gateways — including 70 percent of Port of Tacoma exports, 70 percent of exports from Portland Harbor and 75 percent of Port of Vancouver exports. For example, the Port of Portland is the leading exporter of autos on the West Coast, with 87,000 Fords bound for Asia last year. The potential impact of retaliation from these trading partners is significant and must be considered before you make a final determination on any Section 232 action.

   Some small businesses said they may not survive if the tariffs are imposed.

   Gretchen Foister, Southeast Bumpers and Collision Parts, Tennessee

   My husband and I both work for Southeast Bumpers and Collision Parts. We are parents of five children ranging from 23 to 4. We also have a granddaughter. The company we work for is a small business. Our entire family’s future rests on these taxes not being implemented. If these were implemented the business that we work for would not be able to continue, resulting in not losing just one of our incomes but both of them. Please consider all of the families that this will affect if this passes.

   Joe Whitaker, Real Deal Steel, Florida

   We are a small $2 million per year business that operates in Sanford, Fla. We import automobile steel stampings from Taiwan and assemble reproduction car bodies for classic cars. We also sell parts wholesale and retail. If we are taxed at 25 percent for the items we import (or even 5 percent), our business quickly becomes obsolete, as our wholesale and retail prices will become too high for our customers. Myself and all of our employees voted Republican/Trump in the 2016 election and we have great faith in him. Our business and suppliers pose zero threat to our national security. Instead, we employ American workers, building products that Americans and foreigners wish to buy. Our products do not compete with anything currently produced in the U.S.A. Don’t ruin our American dream!
   

   Farmers and chemical companies worry about retaliation against their own products.

   Dale Moore, vice president for public affairs, American Farm Bureau Federation

   China has now lifted the duty on U.S. sorghum and stopped its antidumping investigation, but the damage has been done to U.S. sorghum producers and exporters. It is also important to remember that if our trade partners were to retaliate against U.S. actions on automobiles, there is nothing that precludes them from applying additional tariffs on the same products already subject to tariffs because of other U.S. trade actions. This could potentially lead to large cumulative tariffs that would completely price U.S. agricultural products out of foreign markets.

   We have seen this occur in the case of China, which has applied retaliatory tariffs on many agricultural products twice, as the result of the Section 232 steel and aluminum case and the 301 investigations. The combined tariffs faced by U.S. agricultural products range from 40 to 50 percent. The Farm Bureau urges our trade officials to engage in discussions to resolve trade concerns before resorting to tariffs. Tariffs targeting the many countries that export automobiles and automotive parts will potentially result in extensive additional retaliation against U.S. agricultural exports by tariffs and other restrictions.

   Ed Brzytwa, director of international trade, American Chemistry Council

   These tariffs and the resulting retaliation — which will be on top of the existing steel and aluminum tariffs and retaliation against the U.S. chemical sector — will cause damaging direct and indirect effects on the U.S. chemicals industry, its $194 billion of planned investments in job-creating chemical plants in the United States, and its increasing export competitiveness.

   Today, American chemical manufacturers produce 15 percent of the world's chemicals, and account for 14 percent of all U.S. exports, amounting to $181 billion in 2017. The U.S. has a large and growing trade surplus in industrial chemicals of $33 billion in 2017. Given the competitive advantage that has been created by the American shale gas revolution, that surplus in chemicals is estimated to grow to $73 billion by 2022. Our strong view is that tariffs and resulting retaliation on imported autos and auto parts will threaten the promise of our industry and its contribution to the U.S. manufacturing renaissance. Tariffs will ultimately weaken our national security, not strengthen it.

   Individuals, too, weighed in, from classic car collectors to a pastor running a car-repair charity.

   Mark Hyman, Missouri

   My business started with the purchase of one car which, incidentally, I sold to an overseas buyer and exported. Nearly 30 years and thousands of transactions later, I have built one of the largest businesses of its kind in the United States. At times, as much as 70 percent of our business has taken place on an international level in the buying/importing and selling/exporting of vintage vehicles. If these 25 percent tariffs are allowed to proceed, the resulting slowdown of trade and fall of vintage automobile values will have a lasting negative effect on our economy.

   Steven Young, California

   As a restorer and collector, and immediate past chairman of the board of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, I find this path misguided, foolish and harmful to those in an industry and hobby that have never represented a security threat. In short, it is beyond silly.

   Blake Jennings, Texas

   Please do not move forward with this regulation! I run a nonprofit car-repair charity that helps impoverished single moms in the Brazos Valley in Texas near Texas A&M. We need car repair parts for vehicles, both foreign and domestic, at the lowest possible price to get these moms back on the road. Any regulation that increases the price of these repair parts hurts our ability to help the needy. Please reject this regulation. Thank you.

   https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/opinion/trump-tariffs-trade-auto-china.html
   

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2. (ACC Mentioned) New EPA Chief's First Moves Show He's Following Pruitt's Agenda, Without the Sirens

   Jul 26, 2018 | Yahoo News

   By Michael Walsh

   Following the chaotic tenure of Scott Pruitt, the new acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Andrew Wheeler, is trying to bring more competence and transparency to the job, but all signs indicate he’s continuing to carry out President Trump’s assault on regulations.

   Wheeler, unlike Pruitt, is a longtime insider who understands the machinations of Washington. He’s unlikely to unilaterally overturn environmental protections the way Pruitt did, and more likely to dismantle them slowly through the appropriate channels. Wheeler’s know-how and political sophistication suggest he will be less vulnerable to lawsuits and less prone to gross ethical violations — meaning he could be far more successful.

   “Whereas Pruitt was careless and hasty and made dozens of mistakes, if not more, Wheeler as a polished lobbyist, well connected on K Street, well connected on the Hill, has the potential of being very dangerous. He won’t be as careless and sloppy as his predecessor,” Melinda Pierce, the legislative director for the Sierra Club, told Yahoo News.

   Andrew Rosenberg, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said Wheeler is much smoother in how he presents the EPA publicly and even to his own employees.

   “Pruitt came in saying, ‘We know the EPA is a terrible place, and I’m going to fix it all,’ and he didn’t really buy into the mission. I think there’s more finesse in Mr. Wheeler, but I don’t think his actual policy agenda is any different,” Rosenberg told Yahoo News.

   Wheeler, who was sworn in as the EPA’s deputy administrator in April after a heated confirmation process, was a top aide to Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., from 1995 until 2009. Inhofe was outspoken in rejecting the overwhelming scientific consensus behind anthropogenic climate change and notoriously tossed a snowball on the Senate floor as “proof” that climate change is not real. Wheeler spent 12 years on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works fighting government regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

   Starting in 2009, Wheeler worked for the Faegre Baker Daniels law firm in lobbying for coal producer Murray Energy, which is owned by prominent Trump supporter Robert E. Murray, and he actively opposed former President Barack Obama’s proposals to protect the environment and address climate change. He has also dismissed the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s science as politically motivated.

   “Pruitt was a fiercely ambitious ‘outsider’ from Oklahoma, whereas Andrew Wheeler is a Washington, D.C., insider,” Pierce said. “Here’s a guy that’s swampy as it gets in terms of being a D.C. lobbyist insider working for K Street and a noted climate change denier.”

   Wheeler was sworn in as acting head of the EPA on July 9 following Pruitt’s resignation two days earlier. He kicked off his first day at the helm with an 18-minute speech to the agency’s employees. It was essentially a charm offensive in which he went through his abridged biography. He defended his work as a coal lobbyist by emphasizing how he fought to protect the pensions and health care benefits of coal miners: “I did work for a coal company, and I’m not at all ashamed of the work I did for the coal company.”

   Wheeler said the EPA has made “tremendous progress over the last year and a half” thanks to the leadership of Trump and Pruitt. Under his leadership, Wheeler continued, the EPA would continue to keep cleaning “Superfund sites” (which have been contaminated with hazardous substances), investing in the nation’s water infrastructure, improving air quality and updating the chemical safety review process.

   Wheeler used much of

   
   

   “We’re also restoring the rule of law, reining in federal regulatory overreach and refocusing EPA on its core responsibilities,” Wheeler said. “As a result, the economy is booming, and economic optimism is surging.”

   To Rosenberg, Wheeler sounded more concerned about risks to industry and the economy than about risks to communities.

   “[He said] that EPA needed to communicate risk. Actually, EPA needs to address and mitigate the risks to communities. That’s their job. It’s not just communicating ‘You’re about to be sick,’ or ‘There’s about to be a toxic waste explosion.’ It’s actually doing something about it,” Rosenberg said. “I was nervous he wasn’t speaking to the real mission of EPA, which is to protect public health and safety.”

   Rosenberg added that most of what Pruitt touted as regulatory rollbacks were merely giveaways to the oil and gas industries. “The career professional staff, they’re the ones that have continued to try to push forward with real public health protections in spite of the administration,” he said.

   Rosenberg said Wheeler has been a little more open to the press than Pruitt and less obsessed with secrecy, security and ostentatious displays of prerogatives — such as having his driver use his siren to cut through traffic on his way to a restaurant. Wheeler promised greater transparency, but neither Rosenberg nor Pierce was too impressed by these slight changes.

   “That should’ve been status quo,” Pierce said. “I’m not going to give you a gold star for transparency for doing what’s expected but somehow surprising in the wake of Scott Pruitt.”

   The former coal lobbyist’s first major act as EPA acting chief was to overhaul the rule for how toxic waste from the burning of coal should be disposed of at power plants around the country. It was the first of several expected revisions to Obama-era rules for handling toxic waste to avoid contaminating waterways. The Obama-era regulations were inspired in part by two disastrous coal-ash spills in Tennessee (2008) and North Carolina (2014).the same language Pruitt had when he came to the EPA. Both emphasized returning to the EPA’s original mission, taking a narrower view of the agency’s responsibilities than previous administrators.

   
   

   “The [Obama-era] rule wasn’t as protective as the environmental and public health community wanted it to be, but it was still a huge step forward,” Becky Hammer, the deputy director of federal water policy for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Yahoo News.

   Hammer said the new standards required owners and operators of coal-ash disposal sites to publish groundwater monitoring data, but the EPA hasn’t made this information easy for anyone to find. Rather than creating a central database, the EPA is directing the public to each individual facility’s own website in order to see its data.

   The Environmental Integrity Project, an environmental nonprofit, downloaded and compiled all the data from each facility’s website and determined that almost every single site — roughly 95 percent of them — identified groundwater contamination from coal ash.

   Coal ash, the material left over after coal is burned for electricity, is the second largest waste stream in the country after household garbage. Coal-fired power plants produce roughly 140 million tons per year.

   “There are a number of heavy metals in it that are very dangerous to human health: lead, arsenic, radium, hexavalent chromium, all kinds of things you don’t want to come into contact with under any circumstances because they’re carcinogenic, they’re neurotoxic, they’re poisonous,” Hammer said.

   Coal-ash landfills are enormous, typically 120 acres with an average depth of over 40 feet, and sometimes quite close to houses.

   “The problem is that about half of all the ponds and landfills don’t have any liners or safeguards to prevent this dangerous material from leaking downward into the groundwater,” Hammer said. “We already know of about 200 sites across the country where coal ash has been found to definitively taint water supplies. There are probably a lot more than that, but a lot of the older sites aren’t monitored at all.”

   Hammer pointed out that an Obama-era EPA study found that people who live near coal-ash disposal sites have a one-in-50 chance of getting cancer from drinking water contaminated by arsenic, and they have increased risks of liver, kidney and lung disease.

   The coal industry petitioned the EPA to reconsider the regulations, arguing that the cost of compliance was excessive and would result in significant financial loss.

   
   

   “They didn’t want the cost of more secure areas. Effectively, they’re just dumping the cost onto the public by saying, ‘OK, you clean it up,’ as opposed to ‘We, the ones that created the waste, should clean it up,’” Rosenberg said.

   Pruitt was sympathetic to their case and in September 2017 started the reconsideration process that Wheeler completed.

   “These amendments provide states and utilities much-needed flexibility in the management of coal ash, while ensuring human health and the environment are protected,” Wheeler said in a statement. “Our actions mark a significant departure from the one-size-fits-all policies of the past and save tens of millions of dollars in regulatory costs.”

   Hammer said Wheeler’s new rule allows groundwater monitoring standards to be waived and extends the deadline for facilities to close coal-ash pits that are known to be contaminating groundwater. The 2015 rule said those facilities have to close by next April, but now that deadline has been pushed back one and a half years.

   “The EPA didn’t even consider what the health effects of this would be. They just didn’t look at it at all. All they considered was how much money it would save the coal industry,” Hammer said.

   Sources have told Bloomberg and others that Wheeler’s EPA is preparing to roll back Obama-era emission targets for cars, which were among Obama’s major regulatory efforts to control greenhouse gases. Under Wheeler, the EPA reportedly plans to revoke California’s authority to regulate its own car emissions, which it has done since the 1950s.

   Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told Yahoo News that his state would not stand idly by while the Trump administration took away its ability to set stricter emissions standards. “We also have a long history of the federal government respecting California’s right, as a state, to regulate our own air. When I was governor, the EPA thought they could stop us, and we won. The EPA even tried to claim that greenhouse gases were not a pollutant, and we took them all the way to the Supreme Court and we won that,” Schwarzenegger said.

   Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, has taken the lead among members of Congress in calling on Wheeler to restore the trust of the American people in the EPA after Pruitt’s scandal-ridden tenure. In an open letter, Carper urged Wheeler to follow in the footsteps of former EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus, a Republican who earned “an emotional hero’s welcome” from EPA staffers when he took over the agency (for the second time) in 1983, replacing the scandal-tarnished Anne Gorsuch. Ruckelshaus, who was also the first EPA chief, appointed by President Nixon in 1970, promised to follow environmental laws, making no “Big P” political decisions and seeking help from scientists and environmentalists.

   “The damage Scott Pruitt has done to the Agency will not easily be undone,” Carper wrote. “While you and I have not always agreed, and will not always agree, on every environmental policy matter, it is my hope and expectation that you will carefully consider the lessons of the past as you prepare to chart the Agency’s future.”

   Wheeler is surrounded by Pruitt’s top aides, many of whom have strong industry ties, including Richard Yamada, who worked for Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, Nancy Beck, who was an executive at the American Chemistry Council, and William Wehrum, who was an attorney for the oil and coal industries.

   Under Wheeler, Rosenberg said, expect to see more or less the same goal of slashing regulations unless he gives “very strong different direction to his folks — many of whom I believe have serious conflicts of interest.”

   https://www.yahoo.com/news/new-epa-chiefs-first-moves-show-hes-following-pruitts-agenda-without-sirens-133644692.html
   

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3. (ACC Mentioned) Chemical Activity Barometer for July Signals Gains, ACC Says

   Jul 26, 2018 | Chemical Engineering Online

   By Scott Jenkins

   The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), rose 0.1 percent in July on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, improving upon June and May performances which were essentially flat. The barometer is up 3.9 percent year-over-year (Y/Y/), a slower pace than of that earlier in the year, ACC says. The unadjusted CAB also increased, notching a 0.2 percent gain, up from a 0.1 percent gain in June. July readings indicate a continued expansion of U.S. commercial and industrial activity well into the first quarter 2019.

   The Chemical Activity Barometer has four primary components, each consisting of a variety of indicators: 1) production; 2) equity prices; 3) product prices; and 4) inventories and other indicators.

   All four broad categories remained strong, according to the ACC. Production-related indicators in July were mixed as trends in construction-related pigments and related performance chemistry were slightly positive and suggested further gains in housing activity. Reflecting a strong retail and food services sector, plastic resins used in packaging and in many other consumer and institutional applications were mixed and suggest further but modest gains in retail sales. U.S. exports also continued to rise as did equity prices; product and input prices; and inventories.

   The diffusion index slipped from 82 percent to 71 percent and the annualized six month growth rate slowed. This index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored.

   The Chemical Activity Barometer is a leading economic indicator derived from a composite index of chemical industry activity. The chemical industry has been found to consistently lead the U.S. economy’s business cycle given its early position in the supply chain, and this barometer can be used to determine turning points and likely trends in the wider economy. Month-to-month movements can be volatile so a three-month moving average of the barometer is provided. This provides a more consistent and illustrative picture of national economic trends.

   http://www.chemengonline.com/chemical-activity-barometer-for-july-signals-gains-acc-says/?printmode=1
   

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4. (ACC Mentioned) Finding NEMO: A Film Project to Recycle Flexible Packaging

   Jul 26, 2018 | Plastics News

   By Jim Johnson

   Recycled plastic bags and wraps are often made into new bags or plastic lumber, but preliminary research by the Plastics Industry Association shows there could be "further opportunities to extract value from these streams" of mixed polyethylene films.

   The trade association has completed the first phase of what's being called the New End Markets Opportunities (NEMO) Project for Film.

   Plastic bags collected at retail locations are typically made from high and low density PE, with some level of contamination, explained Kim Holmes, the association's vice president of sustainability.

   That material is usually made into either new bags or plastic lumber.

   But a goal of the project is to determine ways to strip out processing costs and find new end markets, Holmes said.

   The effort comes as the American Chemistry Council, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition have been working together to double the collection and recycling of PE film to 2 billion pounds by 2020.

   "I have no doubt they will they will succeed. It's a fantastic program. It became very apparent that in order for that to be successful, we needed to explore new end markets," Holmes said.

   So NEMO for Film has gathered representatives from about 45 companies to consider new ways to handle recycled film.

   "We knew that in order for this to be successful, we had to look at the most cost-efficient processing of this material," Holmes said.

   Researchers decided to process recyclables that were sorted only for non-plastic contaminants and make pellets directly from that material. Skipping optical sorting, washing, drying, extrusion and filtration lowered costs.

   "We've tested a number of different samples under different processing conditions. We've been very surprised by the quality of the material. It's quite functional material," Holmes said.

   The medium density PE contains small amounts of other plastics.

   "What you get in the blend is a mid-density profile. ... That said, there is some multilayer material that is inadvertently put in there. We wanted a real-world snapshot of what this material would look like without extensive processing," Holmes said.

   Researchers are studying appropriate end markets for the material, including agricultural, building and construction, industrial film and rotational molding applications.

   "This process has really helped accelerate analysis of materials for potential end users," she said.

   A second phase, currently underway, wants to replicate the findings of the initial work. A third phase will be a hard push to develop additional end markets.

   Another surprising potential market could be use as a binder in asphalt, Holmes said. Reclaimed plastic has been used as such in other countries, but not in the United States. Preliminary analysis shows the addition of PE to asphalt improves the temperature failure rate. "It actually could have some value-added properties," Holmes said.

   http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20180726/NEWS/180729918/finding-nemo-a-film-project-to-recycle-flexible-packaging
   

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5. Dow Chemical Digital Chief Helps Shape Massive Restructuring

   Jul 27, 2018 | Wall Street Journal

   By Steven Norton

   As DowDuPont Inc. prepares to split into three separate companies next year, Melanie Kalmar is working closely with other senior leaders to create a new structure designed to help the 121-year-old Dow better compete in the 21st century. Ms. Kalmar, Dow’s chief information officer since 2016, was given the additional title of chief digital officer in April. Now, she leads a team of executives, business-line presidents and functional vice presidents — called North Star — that’s charged with setting Dow’s firm-wide digital strategy.

   DowDuPont resulted from the merger of Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co, announced in 2015. The intention from the beginning was to cut some $3 billion in costs, then split into three companies. Dow, which will house products aimed at packaging, infrastructure and consumer care, is expected to split in April 2019, while the other two firms, DuPont and Corteva Agriscience, are set to split in June.

   “I was active in the DowDuPont discussions from the beginning,” Ms. Kalmar said. When she was named CIO, she took global accountability for IT, corporate facilities and Dow’s services business, which provides business and technical services to external customers, including joint ventures and divestitures.

   The promotion “put me at the epicenter of the merger, having oversight of the critical IT work, and playing a huge role in enabling the future spinout of the three companies,” said Ms. Kalmar, who has a team of about 2,200 employees and contractors.

   When the deal to combine, then split, the companies was announced in December 2015, executives said it would create a trio of publicly traded companies that are bigger and more focused, and therefore better able to navigate challenges, in a period of sinking commodity prices, a strengthening U.S. dollar and pressure from major investors, the Journal reported at the time. They also said the combination and restructuring would avoid taxes.

   The breakout rests on years of work that have gone into modernizing IT and making it easier to separate business units from the larger corporate entity.

   In 2014, Dow completed an eight year, $1 billion upgrade to its enterprise resource planning system that standardized it around the globe. Around the same time, Dow developed a capability that allowed it to quickly stand up or carve out business unit IT from its global platform, a tool it has used for many acquisitions and divestitures, Ms. Kalmar said. Ms. Kalmar’s team has been using that technology to stand up ERP systems to be transferred to the new DuPont and Corteva, she said.

   “Where we are today is in large part enabled by IT,” Dow CEO Jim Fitterling said in an interview.

   During the restructuring process, Ms. Kalmar has been part of DowDuPont’s joint IT steering team, as well as the program coordination office that oversees legal, finance, communications, IT and other key areas, she said. As a member of Dow’s steering team for DowDuPont, she also is accountable for ensuring that escalated issues are resolved.

   As the firms work to carve out and integrate various IT systems, Ms. Kalmar speaks with CIOs of DuPont and Corteva daily. Together, they have created IT governance structures across the three intended companies and developed multiple projects to securely migrate systems and data. She reports progress to the CEO and board on a regular basis.

   When DowDuPont splits into three, Dow will receive data from DuPont that it will convert and integrate into its own systems. DuPont and Corteva will receive a suite of systems from Dow.

   Meanwhile, Ms. Kalmar is working with the North Star group to hone the new Dow’s digital strategy.

   “We are focused on a whole new realm of digitalization – one where we are harnessing the power of our long history of data collection to drive growth and new business opportunities,” Ms. Kalmar said in an email. Technology projects span the business, from automating rote tasks in finance and procurement to using drones to inspect manufacturing plants.

   In January, she launched an initiative called “New IT for a New Dow,” which is focused on improving employee and customer experience, making business processes more efficient, and speeding time to market. She oversees Dow’s digital centers, which are piloting a range of new technology projects, and runs Dow’s Diamond Systems Solutions group, which works to implement and scale various projects across the firm.

   Dow executives hope the digital initiatives, which include more sophisticated data analytics and experiments with blockchain technology, will help it speed time to market, drive productivity across its manufacturing sites, and create a more modern buying experience for customers. Increasingly, that involves breaking down organizational silos and building more cross-functional teams, Ms. Kalmar said.

   Her role now is three-pronged: run IT reliably and securely, prepare to spin the three independent companies and lead the new Dow’s digital transformation efforts.

   “It’s a re-wiring of our company and really thinking about how we do our work.”

   https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2018/07/26/dow-chemical-digital-chief-helps-shape-massive-restructuring/?guid=BL-CIOB-14232&mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1&dsk=y
   

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LCSA News

6. EPA Seeks to Strengthen Dust-Lead Hazard Standards

   Jul 26, 2018 | Lexology

   By Stephanie B. Sebor

   On June 22, 2018, the EPA announced a proposal to strengthen the dust-lead hazard standards for lead dust on floors and window sills. The proposed rule, issued pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act, seeks to lower the dust-lead hazard standards from 40 µg/ft2 for floors to 10 µg/ft2 and from 250 µg/ft2 for window sills to 100 µg/ft2. The proposed standards would apply to residential dwellings and child-occupied facilities, such as schools and day care centers, and would not apply to industrial facilities.

   The proposed rule was issued in response to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in In re A Community Voice v. EPA, No. 16-72816, (9th Cir. 2017), in which environmental groups sought to compel the EPA to act upon a rulemaking petition concerning dust-lead hazard and lead paint standards. The court directed EPA to reevaluate the risks from lead-based paint and to issue a proposed rule that revises the hazard standards for household dust containing lead. Under the court’s decision, EPA must finalize the rule within one year after issuing the proposed rule.

   EPA has requested public comments on the achievability and appropriateness of the proposed dust-lead hazard standards, including whether the standards should remain at the current levels. All comments on this proposed rule must be received on or before August 16, 2018.

   https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c84a9bce-723e-4aa8-8404-db0e25330309
   

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Chemical Management News

7. (ACC Mentioned) The EPA Says TCE Causes Cancer, so Why Hasn't It Been Banned?

   Jul 26, 2018 | WUNC - North Carolina Public Radio

   By Scott Tong

   The federal government, on the verge of banning some uses of a carcinogenic industrial chemical at the close of the Obama administration, has delayed action under President Donald Trump and kept the chemical on the market.

   The chemical, trichloroethylene (or TCE) has long been used for degreasing and cleaning metal parts in factories, but has been classified a “human carcinogen” by the Environmental Protection Agency since 2011. TCE has been linked to cancer in several industrial sites, including a toymaking plant in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon.

   In Beaverton, Oregon, Amanda Evans-Healy remembers her father having one of the best jobs, at the View-Master plant that assembled those red, 3-D picture viewers once the rage in postwar American households. She remembers the plant fondly.

   “We all gathered in the front employee parking lot” one day, Healy said. “A helicopter landed, and Mickey Mouse and Pluto and Donald Duck got out. And that was huge.”

   Evans-Healy stands at the site of the plant, which from the 1950s to the 1990s was a toy fantasy land. It’s now a strip mall. Her father worked in the View-Master art department for more than two decades, before being diagnosed with liver cancer in 2001.

   “He said, ‘well, I'm not feeling too well.’” Evans-Healy said. “’And I think it's related to the water I drink at work.’”

   His disease progressed quickly. “It just was worst-case scenario. We found out in Thanksgiving 2001, and he passed away shortly after Valentine's Day.”

   Three years before his diagnosis, the factory announced its water had been laced with TCE, which for decades had been used to strip grease off metal pieces. A joint state-federal report found that workers had been dumping the used chemical on the ground, where it leaked into the company drinking water well. Soon after the discovery, the plant owner shut operations in 2000 and transferred View-Master production to Mexico.

   The report, produced by the state of Oregon and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, estimated that up to a quarter of a million View-Master workers over the years may have been exposed to TCE.

   The Oregon case is one of several industrial sites with suspected cancer links, including the Camp Lejeune marine base in North Carolina, and a toxic dump site in Woburn, Massachusetts that's at the center of the book "A Civil Action." A movie by the same name was released in 1998, starring John Travolta as a plaintiff’s attorney for alleged pollution victims.

   In a new report, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group estimates that TCE contaminates the tap water supplies of 14 million Americans. EWG had previously reported the presence of TCE in more than 300 drinking water systems in 36 states.

   At the Beaverton View-Master plant, just five workers and their families received settlement money from the company in 2011. That included Amanda Evans-Healy’s father. Other families either didn’t sue, or saw the statute of limitations run out.

   “I feel horrible,” Evans-Healy said. “I really, really had hoped to do a lot more. I still hope someday something can be done.”

   To her, one of those “somethings” is a ban on TCE use. Two years ago, the EPA proposed to ban for certain uses of the chemical, in aerosol degreasing, vapor degreasing, and spot cleaning in dry cleaning companies. This became a problem for some companies that have long depended on TCE.

   “They didn't have to think about what they were doing with the cleaning,” said Jason Marshall, a toxic chemicals expert at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who helps companies find safer alternatives to TCE. “They just dropped it in and came back it was clean.”

   Many firms have invested in pricey degreasing machines that use TCE.

   “When they have a large piece of equipment that cost them millions of dollars, then they're not willing to drop that solvent if they've just purchased this,” Marshall said. 

   Chemical industry lobbying groups challenged the EPA proposal and underlying science. Any direct link between TCE and cancer is “erroneous,” the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, representing TCE makers and users, wrote the EPA in regulatory comments. “We judge the epidemiologic evidence to be neither ‘convincing’ nor ‘strong.’”

   “EPA is a politically motivated, regulatory agency, and not a bastion of accurate, objective science,” said Frank Schnell, a retired ATSDR toxicologist and adviser to the American Council on Science and Health, whose funders have included conservative foundations and energy, chemical and pharmaceutical corporations. “In fact, it is their job to intentionally err on the ‘safe’ side.’”

   This past winter, the agency under the Trump administration took the proposed TCE bans and moved them to the EPA’s "long-term action list."  

   To environmental groups like EWG, that is tantamount to “hibernation, indefinite delay, storing it in your attic,” said EWG vice president of government affairs Scott Faber. “There's an enormously strong record that TCE is a known carcinogen. So there was really no reason for the administration to delay these bans.”

   Two industry groups — the American Chemistry Council and the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance — declined comment for this story. The EPA’s media office emailed Marketplace a statement asserting that TCE uses in the proposed bans will be folded into a longer-term evaluation.

   “EPA has concluded that the risk evaluations for these chemicals will be more robust if the conditions of use are evaluated by applying the guidance and approaches required by the amended TSCA statute,” the statement read.

   Meanwhile, Washington chemical law attorney Lynn Bergeson said TCE use in the real world may already be diminishing, noting that Home Depot is removing products containing the chemical from its shelves.

   “They can make a decision based on their own appetite for risk,” Bergeson said of retailers choosing not to sell products containing risky substances, “and their commitment to simply not supplying products that contain chemicals that are believed to pose risk, because it's against their corporate creed.”

   http://www.wunc.org/post/epa-says-tce-causes-cancer-so-why-hasnt-it-been-banned#stream/0
   

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8. (ACC Mentioned) Why Starbucks’s Plastic Straw Ban Might Not Help the Environment

   Jul 26, 2018 | Fast Company

   By Adele Peters

   When Starbucks starts serving cold drinks with a sippy-cup-like lidinstead of plastic straws–a lid that it currently only uses with its “Nitro” cold brew drinks–it may be even less likely that the lids can be recycled than it is today.

   For Starbucks, the change came in response to growing pressure to ditch plastic straws, which can end up as waste in the ocean and eventually turn into microplastic in the food chain. Lightweight straws can’t make it through recycling equipment. But the new lids, which the company plans to phase in by 2020, may not be much of an improvement.

   “We can’t solve the plastic pollution crisis by substituting one kind of unnecessary single-use plastic with another,” says John Hocevar, the ocean campaigns director for Greenpeace.

   First, there’s the problem that few lids may make it into recycling bins, since someone drinking iced tea or coffee on the street may only have a trash can nearby. But even if someone tries to recycle the lid, it may not actually happen. The material is polypropylene, or #5 plastic. The U.S. used to send old #5 plastic to China, but China no longer wants our plastic; as recyclers struggle to figure out what to do with the waste, some no longer take it. In Sacramento, California, Waste Management recently announced that it would no longer take #5 plastic. Other cities have already banned the material, and more cities may follow.

   When Starbucks starts serving cold drinks with a sippy-cup-like lidinstead of plastic straws–a lid that it currently only uses with its “Nitro” cold brew drinks–it may be even less likely that the lids can be recycled than it is today.

   https://www.fastcompany.com/90208207/why-starbucks-plastic-straw-ban-might-not-help-the-environment
   

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9. (ACC Mentioned) San Francisco Supervisors Approve Ban on Plastic Use in Eateries

   Jul 27, 2018 | Verdict Food Service

   San Francisco supervisors have reportedly approved the legislation to ban plastic straws and takeout containers in the city’s restaurants, bars and retail outlets.

   The board of supervisors unanimously approved the legislation on 24 July, which imposes a ban on anti-splashers, stirrers and other plastic items effective July 2019. However, the legislation is pending a second vote next week.

   According to the legislation, companies across food and drink businesses must use carryout containers and food wrappers made without fluorinated chemicals with effect from 1 January 2020.
   

   The board noted that the chemicals ward against grease and water, however they are harmful and do not break down in compost.

   The bill asks companies to offer napkins and utensils with takeout or delivery only on request unless there is a self-serve station.

   Supervisor Ahsha Safaì, who co-sponsored the ordinance along with Supervisor Katy Tang was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as saying: “This is about changing people’s behaviour.

   “Do you really need to offer a straw with a glass of water?”

   Responding to the legislation, the American Chemistry Council and Plastics Industry Association opposed it saying that it is unnecessary.

   Recently, The City of Seattle in the US banned the use of plastic utensils, plastic straws and plastic cocktail picks across foodservice businesses.

   https://www.verdictfoodservice.com/news/ban-plastic-straws-eateries/
   

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10. Mid-Atlantic States Press EPA to Take More Holistic Approach to PFAS

    Jul 26, 2018 | Inside EPA

    By Suzanne Yohannan

    Officials from states in the mid-Atlantic region are urging EPA to take a more “holistic” approach to dealing with contamination from perfluorinated chemicals, telling the agency to address them as a class across a range of media and to set health protective standards that avoid the patchwork of state standards now emerging.

    At a July 25 forum sponsored by EPA Region 3, Lisa Daniels, director of the safe drinking water bureau in Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, said the federal agency needs to take on a leadership role and work with other federal and state agencies to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “in a holistic fashion,” according to a livestream of the event by Pennsylvania state Rep. Todd Stephens (R).

    Given that the PFAS class includes 3,500 to 4,500 compounds, “[w]e can't just deal with them one at a time.” While regulators have some knowledge about the two most common compounds -- perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- “what about the rest of the contaminants?” she said, stressing that these need to be addressed as an entire class.

    In addition, she called for EPA to address the chemicals comprehensively through regulation -- not just in drinking water, but also in in wastewater, waste and soil.

    Daniels and other state officials from the mid-Atlantic region as well as community members and local government representatives spoke during EPA's second regional PFAS community engagement forum. It was held July 25 in Horsham, PA, near communities surrounding two military facilities identified as sources of PFAS contamination in drinking water.

    EPA hosted the event weeks after former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced a multi-media effort to address contamination from PFAS, the ubiquitous class of chemicals that are contaminating dozens of sites and water supplies across the country, though some planned actions are likely to take years to complete.

    Addressing EPA's “National Leadership Summit” on PFAS May 22, Pruitt said the agency will “take the next step” to evaluate the need for a drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS, a step that the Defense Department (DOD) and many states are seeking in order to provide a consistent national standard.

    He also said the agency is taking steps to establish liability under the Superfund law for those two chemicals, while also currently developing a groundwater cleanup recommendation for sites contaminated with the two substances.

    And he noted a fourth step is the agency's plan to develop a toxicity value for GenX, a newer perfluorinated chemical that has raised alarms in North Carolina, where it is contaminating the Cape Fear River.

    But calls are growing in Congress and among state officials for EPA to take action more quickly than previously indicated and to adopt stricter standards than the agency has in the past, especially after the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) recommended stricter risk values than EPA had adopted for PFOA and PFOS.

    Regulatory Determinations

    During the July 25 meeting, other state officials endorsed Daniels remarks, and added to requests of EPA to address growing public concerns states are facing in local communities where PFAS has been found contaminating drinking water sources.

    State officials also called for EPA to expedite pending decisions on whether some PFAS should be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law.

    Todd Keyser, with the waste division within the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, called for EPA to expedite its regulatory determination for PFOA and PFOS. Whether it is a drinking water maximum contaminant level or listing as hazardous substances, EPA needs to “give the states something more concrete to work with,” he said.

    Daniels also stressed the need for EPA to address the chemicals at the national level by developing additional health advisory levels -- which are unenforceable but nonetheless have been taken up by some states -- or federal MCLs. “I'm here to say states cannot do this work alone,” she said. States lack the capability and if EPA fails to take these measures on, it will put public health at risk and lead to “a patchwork of different state-specific numbers,” which will cause confusion and citizens to question the safety of their water, she said.

    Keyser said states are looking to EPA to provide consistency on standards, and to lead the way on how to investigate and remediate these compounds.

    And Keith Mensch, with the Delaware Department of Health, told EPA that the state health department believes it should be a priority for EPA to develop a national regulatory structure under SDWA for the chemicals. He also encouraged EPA to take any measures that can be expedited “outside the regulatory review process stemming from the” Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) 3.

    Another challenge for regulators and others is determining if PFAS releases are continuing through the production or disposal processes, Keyser said. He called for EPA to take steps through either regulatory or cooperative efforts with responsible parties to eliminate these releases.

    Andy Gillespie, who is heading EPA's PFAS research efforts, also spoke at the event, noting the challenges of end-of-life disposal or materials management for PFAS-containing products, and that EPA is working on determining the best waste management technologies.

    Due to the durability of PFAS chemicals, they often last longer than the product they were used in, he said. So PFAS may still be in the product that is ready to be disposed of, he said. He added that “there’s a lack of knowledge regarding the end of life management practices, whether it’s best to use landfills or incineration or some other means for PFAS-containing consumer and industrial products."

    He said EPA is trying to characterize various end-of-life disposal streams, including municipal, industrial, and manufacturing, and is evaluating the efficacy of existing and advanced waste management technologies such as thermal treatment, composting and waste stabilization to manage PFAS and avoid further problems during disposal.

    And DOD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety & Occupational Health Maureen Sullivan told the forum the disposal of PFAS-containing materials is a concern for the Defense Department.

    Laboratory Capacity

    Mensch cautioned EPA that before it finalizes any drinking water standards, laboratory capacity needs to be increased, noting that only a handful of labs exist that can analyze for these compounds. If the regulatory structure were implemented now, “the laboratories wouldn't be able to handle the volume of samples,” he said.

    He suggested additional funding and that EPA expedite lab certifications.

    Further, he said EPA's current testing method -- method 537 -- includes 14 compounds, but Delaware would like to see a system that addresses the differences among the thousands of compounds in the class, which may include EPA revising its lab methods.

    Daniels in her recommendations to EPA also said she effectively is asking on behalf of EPA that Congress provide additional funding to states and EPA to handle the PFAS challenge. “Current budgets are already stretched thin” with EPA and states trying to implement their programs, she said. And working on this issue is taking away resources from other drinking water efforts, she said, noting important work on pathogens, lead and disinfection byproducts.

    In his remarks, John Grace with Maryland's Department of Environment, noted that this is not an easy class of chemicals, given they are complex, persistent and numerous, and questioned how regulators can develop a monitoring program. He suggested that the work on PFAS research presents the opportunity to consider the concept of whole water toxicity. “Why can't we consider methods that consider whole water toxicity?” he said.

    Scott Mandirola, with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said small communities in his state need the ability to quickly move forward to install treatment methods on polluted water but would like some reassurance that they will be reimbursed for the amount they pay for such treatments, provided they meet certain criteria.

    Citizens representing local groups and with a national coalition of PFAS communities also spoke at the forum, asking that EPA set enforceable drinking water standards that are as protective as the risk levels that ATSDR cites in a recent toxicological profile for PFAS. In addition, Joanne Stanton, with the Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water, also called for EPA to classify PFAS as a Superfund hazardous substance -- something EPA has said it is pursuing -- and to regulate all PFAS as a class. She also called for federal agencies to continue to evaluate vulnerable water systems that were tested under EPA's UCMR testing. 

    https://insideepa.com/daily-news/mid-atlantic-states-press-epa-take-more-holistic-approach-pfas
    

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Energy News

11. EPA Tells FERC no Need to Monetize GHGs in Gas Pipeline Reviews

    Jul 26, 2018 | Inside EPA

    By Dawn Reeves

    EPA has told federal energy regulators they no longer need to monetize the cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when weighing natural gas pipeline's environmental impacts, likely giving the commission cover to defend its recent largely partisan decisions to approve pipelines without broadly quantifying their GHG and climate change impacts.

    In July 25 comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), EPA's new policy chief Brittany Bolen writes to clarify earlier agency comments that the commission is no longer required to monetize GHGs in its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews.

    In addition, Bolen says that the social cost of carbon (SCC) metrics developed by an Obama-era interagency work group “no longer represent government policy” because they were revoked by President Donald Trump via an executive order.

    The comments “could help FERC defend its decisions” to approve natural gas infrastructure without broadly considering the GHGs, despite dissents by the two Democratic members on such projects due to lax climate reviews and a court ruling that says otherwise, one energy expert notes.

    FERC is seeking comment on its plan to update its 1999 policy statement on the certification of new natural gas transportation facilities.

    The review will get under way with only four commissioners on the five-member body, as Commissioner Robert Powelson is resigning at the end of the month, leaving two Republican and two Democratic members who could deadlock.

    In earlier June 21 comments from Robert Tomiak, EPA's director of the Office of Federal Activities, the agency indicated that there may be cases where FERC chooses to quantify the GHG impacts from pipelines and detailed tools, including monetary ones, the commission could use to do so.

    “Estimates of [SCC] are used in Federal regulatory analysis with the acknowledgment of the many uncertainties involved and with clear understanding that they should be updated over time to reflect increasing knowledge of the science and economics of climate impacts. In cases where FERC determines that a monetary comparison of the benefits received by society to the costs imposed on society is appropriate in evaluating a proposed project and potential alternatives, we recommend taking into account established practices for [benefit-cost analysis],” he said, citing, for example, the White House Office of Management & Budget's Circular A-4.

    But Bolen notes in her clarification that neither NEPA nor its implementing rules developed by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which are being updated in a separate proceeding, require FERC “to monetize the costs and benefits of a proposed action.”

    CEQ regulations “provide that agencies need not weigh the merits and drawbacks of particular alternatives in the form of monetary cost-benefit analysis, and those merits and drawbacks should not be weighed in that form when there are important qualitative considerations,” Bolen says.

    The letter goes on to note that the SCC was “developed to aid the monetary cost-benefit analysis of rulemakings,” and “was not designed for, and may not be appropriate for, analysis of project-level decisionmaking. . . . Moreover, EPA notes that “the February 2010 social cost of carbon estimates, and subsequent related documents developed” by the working group “no longer represent government policy,” citing Trump's March 28, 2017, executive order.

    New York Lawsuit

    While the commission is taking comment updating its natural gas certification plan, it is also facing a lawsuit over its refusal to reconsider a certificate it issued for a New York gas pipeline upgrade, including its refusal to broadly consider the GHGs under NEPA.

    The local group filing the July 16 suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit says the decision, which seeks to set a broad precedent against reviewing GHGs, is at odds with that court's prior ruling last August requiring such analysis for a major Southeastern pipeline network.

    The EPA letter to FERC comes as the public comment deadline on the broad review closed July 25 and as the commission has received 1,624 submissions, though some are part of mass comment campaigns.

    The New York Attorney General's office also wrote a July 10 letter to FERC accusing it of seeking to make its refusal to consider GHGs exempt from judicial review and to pre-judge the issue in the midst of the broader pipeline certification review.

    The Sierra Club says its members submitted more than 25,000 comments urging FERC ensure “real protection” and not be “a rubber stamp for gas pipelines,” while the coalition known as VOICES says 32,644 individuals and groups signed onto its comments, which calls on FERC to develop a public interest pipeline review process. 

    https://insideepa.com/daily-news/epa-tells-ferc-no-need-monetize-ghgs-gas-pipeline-reviews
    

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12. Perry Says EU Deal Sets Stage for More U.S. LNG Exports

    Jul 26, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

    By James Osborne

    Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Thursday that the European Union was going to become a major purchaser of U.S. LNG.

    Speaking at the Dominion Energy Cove Point LNG terminal in coastal Maryland, which began operations in January, Perry said the agreement between President Donald Trump and European Commissioner Jean Claude Juncker set the stage to increase U.S. LNG exports.

    "It is a new day and I think a very bright day," Perry said. "Our allies, they can count on, no strings attached, that U.S. energy will keep flowing their way."

    Heavily reliant on natural gas pipelines from Russia, Europe has long been viewed as a potentially major customer for the increasing volumes of natural gas flowing from U.S. shale fields. But so far Europe has lagged behind markets in Asia and South America in shipments of U.S. LNG.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. has been gearing up exports. The Cove Point facility is producing 8.3 million gallons of LNG per day, enough to fill more than 80 tankers per year – all bound for Japan and India. Then there's the recent opening of Houston-based Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass facility on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, with more facilities set to open along the Gulf Coast in the years ahead.

    The Trump administration is hoping to build ever more export terminals, and the Department of Energy is examining how it might speed up a permitting process that can take years.

    "The president sent a clear message he wants regulations, permits to be as streamlined as they can be," Perry said Thursday. "Government and regulations all too often have become cumbersome. If the benefits are outweighing the costs then get it out of the way."

    https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Perry-says-EU-deal-sets-stage-for-more-U-S-LNG-13107369.php
    

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13. Europe Likely to Disappoint Trump as Big Buyer of U.S. LNG

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Anna Shiryaevskaya, Elena Mazneva and Mathew Carr

    President Donald Trump’s vision of Europe becoming a “massive buyer” of U.S. liquefied natural gas is likely to crash into the reality that Russia is a cheaper supplier for now.

    Europe is consuming record volumes of the fuel delivered by pipelines from its traditional and geographically closer partners, Russia and Norway. Production has been increasing in both of those countries, and the government in Moscow has been promoting vast fields in Siberia that can ship to Europe at a lower cost than the U.S.

    On top of that, Asia, which buys almost three-quarters of global LNG, lures most of the super-chilled fuel from global plants, including in the U.S. Europe in turn may see slowing gas consumption in its power sector. Those factors will make it difficult for U.S. suppliers to get a major foothold in Europe, regardless of what Trump said after his meeting with European Union President Jean-Claude Juncker in Washington July 25.
    

    “It is interesting that we see talk from Trump of tariff-free, free-trade economics, yet in the same breath we see talk of Europe becoming a massive buyer of LNG when ultimately it is dictated by global prices,” said Nick Campbell, a director at Inspired Energy Solutions.

    Trump and State Department officials have spent months promoting U.S. LNG exports in Europe, raising concerns that the continent faces security risks from drawing more Russian supplies. They’ve attacked Russia’s latest big gas pipeline, the Nord Stream 2 link that will circumvent the traditional transport corridor through Ukraine in order to supply Germany, Europe’s biggest gas market.

    Europe’s response to the American LNG pitch has been lukewarm. Existing terminals on the continent are underused when it comes to imports for domestic consumption. European terminal regasification utilization rates averaged 27 percent last year, compared with 73 percent in China, which is acting on its pledges to battle air pollution and reduce coal use.

    Supplies that arrive by pipeline from Russia and Norway are more competitively priced—and more abundant. The Russian pipeline monopoly Gazprom PJSC is confident U.S. LNG supplies to Europe “will never catch up with and will never surpass” Russian gas exports to the region, Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said in June. The chart below shows what gives him such confidence.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin in May brushed off Trump’s challenge, calling him a “good and strong entrepreneur” while at the same time tightening his grip on the European market. The economics of the market are working in Putin’s favor.

    The full-cost based break-even price of U.S. LNG supplies to Europe stands now at $6 to $7.50 per million British thermal units. That compares with $3.50 to $4 for Russia’s pipeline gas based on Gazprom’s current taxation, according to estimates of Alexander Kornilov, an analyst at Aton LLC in Moscow.

    If Europe’s spot price remains at current levels or grows, its market will drive more interest from North American suppliers, Kornilov said. However, Gazprom has repeatedly said that Russian gas is above any competition in the European Union due to its low production costs. Russia will “protect its turf at all costs” because it can undercut other suppliers and U.S. LNG will always be far more expensive, said Manas Satapathy, a managing director for energy at Accenture Strategy.

    Russia isn’t the only threat to U.S. suppliers. Qatar is the world’s biggest LNG producer and the largest supplier of the fuel into Europe. Nigeria and Algeria also feed the market. In addition, Norway’s production has been expanding, with a network to ship the fuel by pipeline already well developed.

    Another undercurrent that will blunt U.S. inroads: climate change.

    The EU is pushing hard to boost renewables and slash fossil fuel use. Germany and Britain aim to scrap coal entirely, and gas will become the target after that. While in the past officials talked about gas as a bridge fuel toward a greener future, they’re now starting to think about how to generate electricity without any emissions.

    “Without the ‘gas bridge,’ Europe won’t see increasing demand for U.S. gas,” said Phil MacDonald, spokesman at London environmental lobby group Sandbag.

    Until Juncker’s meeting with Trump, European officials have given an equivocal reception to the U.S. suggestion that its LNG is a solution to energy security concerns. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended the Nord Stream 2 project while also planning the nation’s first LNG import terminal, saying it wants to diversify suppliers.

    Poland is more eager to take U.S. LNG. It signed deals last month to buy the fuel from Venture Global LNG Inc. and Sempra Energy. The Eastern European nation wants to turn to other sources of supply after its contract with Russia’s Gazprom expires in 2022.

    Even so, the market for both gas and LNG is expanding. Some places like Spain and Portugal don’t have strong links with Russian pipelines and have ample LNG import capacity. Equally, no country wants to depend on just one source, giving the U.S. an opportunity to make sales.

    “One thing to note is imports may increase naturally in due course as more projects in the U.S. come online and Australian projects serve Asia more easily as well as lower demand for LNG from Japan as it returns its nuclear reactors,” said Campbell at Inspired Energy. “Potentially Trump will get his way, but through structural changes in the sector rather than sheer force of personality.”

    https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/europe-likely-to-disappoint-trump-as-big-buyer-of-us-lng
    

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14. EPA Says Carbon Rule Replacement to Be in Place by Early 2019

    Jul 26, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard

    By Alex Guillen

    EPA says it is seeking to hasten interagency review of its proposed replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan with an eye toward finalizing it in early next year.

    The proposal went to OMB earlier this month, and while review often takes two to three months, EPA told a federal court today that it has asked for an expedited review to be finished in August.

    “The Clean Power Plan replacement rulemaking is a high priority for the Agency, and EPA is committed to completing it as expeditiously as practicable,” EPA wrote in its new filing to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. “EPA’s intention and expectation is that the [notice of proposed rulemaking] will be published in the Federal Register by late summer or early fall so that the Agency will be in a position to take final action on the NPRM by the first part of 2019.”

    The D.C. Circuit has kept the case on hold while the Trump administration works on its Clean Power Plan replacement, though a few judges have expressed frustration at the administration's pace. EPA asked today for that stay to remain in place.

    EPA's proposal is based on comments received from the advance notice of public rulemaking issued last year. The plan is expected to use on-site technologies and strategies to lower coal plant emissions while giving states more leeway on stringency, a dramatic departure from the Clean Power Plan’s fuel-switching structure.

    WHAT’S NEXT: EPA’s filing indicates Federal Register publication could come by September, although that timeline could slip.

    https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
    

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15. Texas Oil Pipeline Signs up Shippers for 200,000 B/D of New Capacity: Notice

    Jul 27, 2018 | Platts

    By Ashok Dutta

    San Antonio-based EPIC Midstream said late Thursday it has secured shipper commitments for another 250,000 b/d on its planned Eagle Ford and Permian to the Texas Gulf Coast crude pipeline and was now considering an increase in the pipeline's diameter that would result in higher throughput.

    ermian Basin producer Diamondback Energy has signed a deal to take 50,000 b/d of capacity on the 730-mile EPIC - Eagle Ford, Permian, Ingleside and Corpus Christi - pipeline and also acquire a 5% interest as a strategic partner, EPIC Midstream said.

    Other producers also in south Texas have together booked 150,000 b/d on the pipeline, EPIC Midstream said, without naming the shippers.

    No comment was immediately available from EPIC Midstream on who the other shippers were.

    In May, EPIC Midstream said it had taken on board two anchor customers - Apache and Noble Energy - that had committed to 75,000 b/d and 100,000 b/d respectively.

    Apache and Noble also have an option to take 15% and 30% stake respectively in the pipeline, EPIC Midstream said then. With these commitments, shippers have now secured 425,000 b/d of capacity on the pipeline that is planned to have an throughput of 590,000 b/d, EPIC said Thursday, noting it will launch an open season on August 1 to seek more barrels.

    Based on the open season, EPIC will consider upsizing the pipeline diameter to 30 inches from the planned 24 inches to move barrels from the Permian Basin, it said Thursday.

    EPIC Midstream had said in May that depending on shipper demand and commitment, it was keeping options open to increase capacity of the pipeline to 825,000 b/d from 590,000 b/d.

    The EPIC pipeline will move crude from the Eagle Ford and Permian basins to export facilities at Corpus Christi and Ingleside, home to Occidental's major export terminal.

    The pipeline is due for start up in fourth quarter of 2019 and the project is backed by capital funding from a private equity group Area Management with a final investment decision already taken, EPIC Midstream said Thursday.

    A growing shortage of pipeline takeaway capacity from the Eagle Ford and Permian basins has since March has resulted in WTI Midland and MEH (Magellan East Houston) price spreads.

    Besides EPIC, the two other major long-haul pipelines planned to come online by late 2019 are the 650,000 b/d Cactus II facility by Plains All American and the 700,000 b/d Gray Oak line by Phillips 66/Andeavor.

    https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/072718-texas-oil-pipeline-signs-up-shippers-for-200000-bd-of-new-capacity-notice
    

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16. Texas Environmental Groups Settle Lawsuit With Pasadena Refining (1)

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Karn Dhingra

    Texas environmental groups are finding success in enforcing EPA carbon dioxide emissions regulations through citizen lawsuits against oil and petrochemical refiners such as Pasadena Refining System Inc.

    Environment Texas and the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter proposed to settle their Clean Air Act citizen enforcement lawsuit against Pasadena Refining with a consent decree that includes $3.52 million in fines, funding of a clean energy vehicles project, and penalties for potential future violations.

    The lawsuit against Pasadena Refining, a subsidiary of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, is the fourth successful case filed by Environment Texas and the Sierra Club during the past decade that compels refiners, mostly situated along Houston’s Ship Channel, to comply with Environmental Protection Agency emissions regulations.

    The Sierra Club has received funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization founded by Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Environment is operated by entities controlled by Michael Bloomberg.
    Thousands and Millions

    In their lawsuit, filed in March 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the organizations alleged that Pasadena Refining violated emissions limits thousands of times during a five-year period at its 100-year-old refinery in Pasadena, Texas, east of Houston.

    The consent decree, which by law is subject to a 45-day waiting period for review by the EPA, Department of Justice, and approval by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, requires Pasadena Refining to pay $3.175 million to the Houston-Galveston Area Council to create a fund that will provide grants to school districts and local governments in southeast Harris County to convert school buses and municipal vehicles to electric or hybrid models, or build infrastructure to support electric vehicles.

    “All the parties had to agree on how and where the money would be allocated, and they decided that putting these funds towards e-vehicles would do the most towards improving air quality in the neighborhoods near the plant,” said Josh Kratka, a senior attorney at the nonprofit National Environmental Law Center who worked on the suit against Pasadena Refining.

    Pasadena Refining will pay the remaining $350,000 to the EPA. Any fines based on future violations of emission limits by the company will depend on the number of pounds of excess emissions from the company’s refinery. 
    Worst in State

    In 2016, Pasadena Refining released 70,129 pounds of illegal particulate matter from its fluid catalytic cracking unit, which refines petroleum into gasoline, making it the worst in the entire state of Texas year for this type of pollution, Environment Texas and Sierra Club said in a statement.

    Continued exposure to this type of particulate matter is linked to a range of health problems, including decreased life expectancy and aggravated asthma, according to the EPA.

    Pasadena Refining agreed to install new pollution control equipment on the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit, including preventative maintenance of the facility and investigations of emissions events.

    The company is now using the equipment and the Sierra Club and Environment Texas has seen marked reduction emissions, Kratka said.

    “Pasadena Refining is confident that the settlement agreement with Environment Texas and Sierra Club is in the best interest of all parties, and will provide a direct benefit to our community,” Sophie Gates, PetroBras’ Houston spokesperson, said in an email to Bloomberg Environment.

    Along with tracking and preventing emission events throughout the refinery, the company also will make operational changes to reduce emissions, upgrade and enhance existing plans to minimize flaring events, and control emissions brought on by hurricanes and electrical grid failures, according to the consent decree.

    In addition, the agreement requires Pasadena Refining to develop and implement a plan to document, respond to, and investigate complaints from local residents about odors or other emissions.

    The case is Sierra Club v. Pasadena Refining Sys. Inc., S.D. Tex., No. 4:17-cv-660, 7/26/18.

    (Adds Petrobras comment. )

    https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/texas-environmental-groups-settle-lawsuit-with-pasadena-refining-1
    

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17. Diversified Gas & Oil Startled by Pennsylvania Call to Plug Wells (1)

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Leslie A. Pappas

    Diversified Gas & Oil PLC, which spent millions this year to buy oil and gas wells across Pennsylvania, was caught off guard by state regulators’ demand that the wells be plugged, the company told Bloomberg Environment July 26.

    The Pennsylvania Department of Protection said July 25 it had ordered a CNX Resources Corp., XTO Energy Inc., and Alliance Petroleum Corp., to plug a total of 1,058 abandoned oil and gas wells across the state. Based on company reports, the wells didn’t produce any oil or gas in 2017, the agency said.

    Alliance—a Canton, Ohio-based subsidiary of Diversified Gas & Oil—was ordered July 16 to plug 638 of the abandoned wells by 2023. CNX Gas Co. LLC of Canonsburg, Pa., was ordered July 20 to plug 327 wells by 2020. And XTO Energy, a Fort Worth, Texas-based subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp., was ordered July 20 to plug 93 wells by 2020.
    
    Diversified Gas & Oil, based in Birmingham, Ala., now owns the majority of wells in the state’s orders.

    In a statement, Diversified Gas & Oil told Bloomberg Environment that it saw “potential for future value creation” for the wells that it purchased in Pennsylvania and did not expect the department’s order to plug them.

    “We recently met with the DEP to share our active plugging strategy and, while we were not expecting this order, we are committed to collaborating with the DEP on a mutually agreeable resolution,” the company said in an email. “We will have no further updates until we can meet with the DEP and resolve the issue.”
    Companies Promise Cooperation

    At least 190 of the wells in the CNX order now belong to Diversified Gas & Oil, the result of a $85 million sale of most of the company’s shallow oil and gas assets in March, CNX Resources spokesman Brian Aiello told Bloomberg Environment.

    “As for the balance of the wells, we have always worked cooperatively with the DEP to meet our well-plugging obligations, and we expect to continue to do so going forward,” Aiello said.

    Jeremy Eikenberry, a spokesman for XTO Energy Inc., said its 93 wells were included in a sale of approximately 5,200 shallow, conventional wells to Alliance Petroleum Corp. in 2017. Diversified Gas & Oil purchased Alliance Petroleum for $95 million in March 2018.

    “We will work with the Pennsylvania DEP, along with Alliance Petroleum Corp. and their successor to develop an appropriate response,” Eikenberry said.
    Small Fraction of Wells

    The wells ordered plugged are a fraction of the abandoned oil and gas wells pockmarking Pennsylvania.

    Decades of drilling that began in 1859 have left somewhere between 100,000 to 560,000 abandoned wells across Pennsylvania, officials estimate. Costs of plugging a well runs between $10,000 and $100,000 per well, department officials said.

    Pennsylvania has an abandoned and orphan well program that provides financial incentives for nongovernmental entities to expedite the plugging of wells. The department itself has plugged 3,066 wells between 1989 and 2017.

    The companies will be required to restore the well sites after plugging them, and must give the department of schedule of work within 60 days, the orders said.

    The environmental protection department could issue further enforcement actions, including financial penalties, if the companies do not comply with the orders, spokesman Neil Shader said.

    (Adds comment from Diversified Gas and Oil.)

    https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/diversified-gas-oil-startled-by-pennsylvania-call-to-plug-wells-1
    

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18. Pennsylvania Nuns’ Hail Mary to Halt Pipeline Batted Down

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Sam McQuillan

    A federal appeals court denied a request by an order of Catholic nuns to block a pipeline from being built through their Pennsylvania property on religious freedom grounds.

    The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit July 25 rejected the Adorers of the Blood of Christ’s argument that building the pipeline on their Columbia, Pa., property would violate their freedom of religion under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Like several other groups fighting pipelines, they cited the emphasis their religion places on environmental protection.

    Like a lower court, the Third Circuit ruled that the nuns couldn’t sue to block Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC’s Atlantic Sunrise pipeline because they had failed in 2014 to raise their objections to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as required by the Natural Gas Act. 
    Claim of Exceptional Challenge

    “If the Adorers had participated in the administrative process, FERC may have denied or modified the conditions of Transco’s certificate,” Judge Joseph Greenaway wrote in the opinion. “Or, if FERC failed to do so, the reviewing court of appeals may have ruled in the Adorers’ favor.”

    The sisters’ legal team tried to make the case that this was an exceptional challenge that demanded direct judicial review, but the appeals court ruled it didn’t. FERC received over 600 written comments and 93 oral testimonies from speakers during the public meetings it held for the project in 2014. The sisters were not among those providing comment.

    “In my opinion, and with all due respect to the court, the decision today by a panel of the Third Circuit that elevates the administrative provisions of the Natural Gas Act over the protection of religious freedoms is inconsistent with both the express purpose of RFRA and with its statutory mandate, ” Dwight Yoder of Gibbel, Kraybill & Hess LLP, who represented the religious group, said in an email to Bloomberg Environment.

    Attorneys for FERC declined Bloomberg Environment’s request for comment.

    The 183-mile pipeline expansion would carry natural gas from fracking operations across the state to markets along the East Coast and would run through several other Pennsylvania counties.

    The case is Adorers of Blood of Christ v. FERC, 3d Cir., No. 17-3163, 7/25/18.

    https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/pennsylvania-nuns-hail-mary-to-halt-pipeline-batted-down
    

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Chemical Security News

19. DuPont Pays $3 Million for Texas Chemical Release that Killed Four

    Jul 26, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Karn Dhingra

    E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co. will pay a $3.1 million penalty for a 2014 chemical release that killed four employees at its former La Porte, Texas, chemical plant.

    The Environmental Protection Agency, in a complaint announced July 26, listed 22 violations of the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Plan program, which requires companies that handle extremely hazardous substances to take steps to prevent spills and accidents.

    Nearly 24,000 pounds of methyl mercaptan were released, and four employees died of asphyxiation and acute exposure. Methyl mercaptan is a colorless, flammable gas that can cause skin irritation on contact, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. It is used in pesticides, jet fuels, and plastics.

    “DuPont cooperated fully with the investigations, and believes that the settlement is a reasonable resolution,” the company told Bloomberg Environment in an emailed statement. “While the company does not accept or agree with many of the government’s allegations, we will work collaboratively to improve our process safety practices.”

    The alleged violations include failure to develop and implement written operating procedures, failure to adequately implement management of change procedures, failure to implement safe work practices, and mechanical integrity violations.

    “If Dupont had fully complied with the law, the deaths were likely preventable and, in my opinion, indicate that EPA and [the Justice Department] should have pursued criminal negligence charges against Dupont,” Neil Carman, clean air program director at the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said in an email to Bloomberg Environment. “The $3.1 million fine is still not adequate in view of the worker deaths.”

    The Sierra Club has received funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization founded by Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Environment is operated by entities controlled by Michael Bloomberg.

    The case is United States v. E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co., S.D. Tex., No. 18-cv-02545, settlement 7/23/18.

    https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/dupont-pays-3-million-for-texas-chemical-release-that-killed-four

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20. Bid to Rename 'Soviet-Era' Cyber Agency Wins Industry Backers

    Jul 27, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Blake Sobczak

    A broad coalition of technology, energy and business trade groups is calling on the Senate to pass legislation that would reshape a key U.S. cybersecurity agency.

    H.R. 3359, the "Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017," would restructure and rename the Department of Homeland Security office charged with defending U.S. critical infrastructure networks from hackers. The bill passed the House last December but has yet to be taken up by the Senate.

    "Cyberattacks — especially ones coming from criminal groups or nation states — cannot be handled solely by industry or by the U.S. government," the groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "Cybersecurity requires a concerted team effort, which H.R. 3359 would facilitate."

    The letter's other signatories include the Edison Electric Institute, which represents U.S. investor-owned utilities; the American Gas Association; the American Bankers Association; and the Internet Security Alliance, which counts companies like General Electric Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and cybersecurity giant RSA among its members.

    "Advancing this legislation in the Senate would be a win for policymakers, industry, and our communities," the groups said.

    Homeland Security officials have long advocated for rebranding the vaguely named National Protection and Programs Directorate, whose 2018 budget scraped $2 billion.

    "NPPD — it sounds like a Soviet-era intelligence agency," NPPD Undersecretary Christopher Krebs said at an event hosted by The Washington Post last Friday. "It doesn't tell anybody what we do."

    Krebs said he wasn't sure what was holding up legislative efforts to rename NPPD to be the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

    "I think maybe what we need to do a better job of ... is communicate why this is so important, why we need to do this," he said. "It's going to help me recruit. It's going to help me cement my position across the federal family."

    Krebs' role at DHS has taken on newfound importance since the White House scrapped the cybersecurity coordinator position on the National Security Council earlier this year.

    Some cybersecurity experts criticized President Trump's decision to do away with the coordinator role, which was established during the Obama administration as a way to direct cybersecurity roles and responsibilities spread out across multiple agencies.

    DHS is the lead agency for protecting federal civilian networks — the .gov space — as well as supporting cyber defense for private operators of U.S. critical infrastructure such as the power grid and oil pipelines.

    If it becomes law, H.R. 3359 would task DHS to develop a "comprehensive national plan for securing the key resources and critical infrastructure of the United States," including all major components of the electric grid, emergency communications and financial systems.

    This story also appears in E&E Daily.

    https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/07/27/stories/1060091325
    

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Environment News

21. EPA Seeks Nominees for CASAC Ozone Standard Review Panel

    Jul 27, 2018 | Inside EPA

    EPA is seeking nominations for air quality experts to form a Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee panel to provide input on the agency's review of its ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), with the agency looking to conduct an accelerated assessment and decide by October 2020 whether to change the standards.

    In a Federal Register notice slated for publication July 27, EPA staff asks for nominations of experts to serve on the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee's planned review panel for the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). EPA revised the NAAQS last in 2015, setting the “primary,” or health-based standard at 70 parts per billion (ppb), tougher than the prior limit of 75 ppb set in 2008 by the George W. Bush administration. The Obama administration set the “secondary,” or welfare-based, ozone standard at the same level.

    Before EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned, he was widely expected to retain the 70 ppb limit at the end of the current review, but new acting agency chief Andrew Wheeler's position on the NAAQS is uncertain.

    EPA “is seeking nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists with demonstrated expertise and research in the field of air pollution related to ozone. Experts are sought in: Air quality, atmospheric science and chemistry, causal inference, dosimetry, toxicology, controlled clinical exposure, epidemiology, biostatistics, human exposure modeling, risk assessment/modeling, uncertainty analysis, ecology and effects on welfare and the environment, and environmental economics,” the notice says.

    Under a proposed Pruitt policy, agency science advisers would be barred from receipt of EPA research funds. Pruitt argued that the policy would help to avoid bias from the advice given by CASAC and other members.

    But critics say the policy would restrict the membership of CASAC and other panels, forcing leading experts to either dump government funding or to avoid serving on advisory bodies.

    However, the controversial policy is now under review by the Science Advisory Board (SAB), which oversees the seven-member chartered CASAC that makes ultimate recommendations to EPA on NAAQS. It is unclear whether Wheeler will pursue a similar line on agency science, after even scientists selected to serve on the SAB by the Trump administration expressed reservations about the proposed policy.

    In its Register notice EPA stresses the other roles CASAC is supposed to play in addition to providing technical advice on the level of NAAQS.

    These include advising the EPA administrator on the relative contribution to air pollution concentrations of natural as well as anthropogenic activity, and advising the administrator of “any adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects which may result from various strategies for attainment and maintenance” of NAAQS.

    While CASAC under the Obama administration did not look at these factors in the context of individual NAAQS reviews, a May 9 Pruitt memo on “streamlining” the NAAQS process requires CASAC to do so, even though the information on “social, economic or energy effects” may not be directly relevant to setting the standard itself. Supreme Court precedent prohibits consideration of costs in setting primary NAAQS, but many observers saw Pruitt's memo as an attempt to undermine this prohibition.

    Pruitt also directed CASAC to explicitly consider impacts of “background” ozone, which stems from natural or foreign sources, even though this again is technically prohibited from consideration as a factor in setting the primary standard.

    https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/epa-seeks-nominees-casac-ozone-standard-review-panel
    

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22. Maryland Lawmakers Urge EPA to Approve Ozone Petition

    Jul 27, 2018 | Inside EPA

    Maryland's bipartisan congressional delegation is urging EPA to reconsider its proposed denial of the state's petition for direct agency regulation of emissions from power plants in several upwind states, as East Coast states seek action from the Trump administration to curb interstate air pollution that contributes to high ozone levels downwind.

    In a July 23 letter to new acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Sens. Ben Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D), joined by all eight of Maryland's House members, call on the agency chief to reverse the proposed denial issued by his predecessor, then-Administrator Scott Pruitt.

    Maryland filed its petition in November 2016 under Clean Air Act section 126, which allows states to petition the agency to regulate air pollution sources in upwind states if those sources contribute significantly to problems meeting federal air quality standards in the petitioning state. Maryland says that 36 electric generating units at power plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are contributing to its problems meeting national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone.

    EPA only responded to the petition after being sued, and only then long after its statutory 60-day deadline to do so and also a six-month extension the agency granted itself. “This delay constitutes a clear violation of the time period intended by Congress,” the lawmakers write.

    The agency earlier this year formally proposed to deny the petition, claiming that Maryland failed to prove its claims underpinning the petition.

    “It is equally unacceptable that at this late date, the EPA is now proposing to deny the petition without providing an enforceable remedy to address Maryland's ongoing air pollution challenges,” the lawmakers say in their letter.

    “Further, the remedy sought in the petition is achievable today. The petition simply asks the EPA to require the 36 electric generating units to operate existing control equipment in a manner consistent with manufacturers' specifications on the days when ozone reductions are needed."

    EPA has further proposed to deny four section 126 petitions by Delaware, drawing condemnation from Delaware lawmakers including Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Ranking Member Sen. Tom Carper (D). EPA took written comment on the proposed Maryland and Delaware petition denials through July 23.

    https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/maryland-lawmakers-urge-epa-approve-ozone-petition
    

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23. Republican Says Forest Program Stems GHG Emissions

    Jul 27, 2018 | E&E Daily

    By Nick Sobczyk

    A Senate panel yesterday voted to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, a measure its Republican sponsor touted as a way to curb climate-changing emissions.

    The Foreign Relations Committee advanced the legislation by voice vote, and it now moves to the Senate floor.

    The bill, S. 1023, would re-up a U.S. Agency for International Development program, first created in 1998, that provides debt relief to developing countries that conserve their tropical forests.

    Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), the bill's sponsor, sold it as a way to stem greenhouse gas emissions, noting that the program has helped sequester more than 50 million tons of carbon dioxide but steering clear of the term "climate change."

    "This is a common sense and proven approach that has protected millions of acres of tropical forest from deforestation — a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions," he said in a statement.

    Portman — who has been backed by conservative clean energy groups like ClearPath Action — also sponsored the original bill in 1998 as a member of the House.

    Since the program was introduced, 14 countries have used it to restructure their loan agreements with the U.S., raising nearly $400 million for forest conservation, according to a Congressional Research Service report released earlier this week.

    The reauthorization measure would expand the program to cover coral reefs, which are already suffering from climate change effects like warming ocean temperatures.

    "Harms like climate change and the plastic trash littering our oceans are serious threats to vital tropical ecosystems like coral reefs and rainforests," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), one of the bill's co-sponsors, said in a statement. "We ought to step up to protect them. That's why I'm proud to join this bipartisan effort to protect some of the most critically endangered and precious places in the world."

    Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), another co-sponsor, added that the bill has something for everyone.

    "The reason why this bill has strong bipartisan support is because protecting tropical rainforests around the world is good for diplomacy and good for our planet," he said in a statement. "Whether you care about international affairs, climate change, bird-watching, eco-tourism, or the rainforest, this bill gets a lot of good things done."

    https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2018/07/27/stories/1060091341
    

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