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ACC PM 06/09/18

Industry and Association News

(ACC Mentioned) House Sends Tariff-Cutting Bill to Trump's Desk
Sep 4, 2018 | PoliticoPro
By Adam Behsudi

House lawmakers passed by voice vote Tuesday a bill that would reduce tariffs on nearly 1,700 imports of raw materials or intermediate goods used by U.S. manufacturers.
(ACC Mentioned) Online Tool Highlights Industry Emissions Reductions
Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Maxine Joselow

EPA today released an online tool showing sharp emissions reductions in three key industries.
(ACC Mentioned) Study: Plastic Isn't the Source of Society's Waste Problem
Sep 6, 2018 | Waste Dive
By Demetra Tsiamis

The environmental impact of plastics that are used for consumer products has been questioned often recently, especially with the heightened awareness of plastics leakage into the marine environment.

LCSA News

(ACC Mentioned) Shimkus Agrees to Hold TSCA Hearing
Sep 6, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Annie Snider

Rep. John Shimkus, chair of the House Energy and Commerce's Environment Subcommittee, today agreed to hold a hearing on the Trump administration's controversial implementation of the 2016 update to the chemicals safety law.
US EPA Round-Up
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

The EPA is seeking comments on its renewal of an existing information collection request (ICR) for the TSCA Preliminary Assessment Information Rule (PAIR).

Chemical Management News

(ACC Mentioned) California Legislature Passes Cosmetics Animal Testing Bill
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin

California's legislature has approved a bill to expand its existing prohibition on the sale of cosmetic products and ingredients tested on animals.
US EPA Releases Final Version of RDX Assessment
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

The US EPA has finalised its toxicological review of military explosive RDX and provided risk calculations for oral exposure.
National Academy of Sciences' Flame Retardant Group Reconvenes
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

A US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee tasked with developing a scoping plan to assess the hazards of organohalogen flame retardants will hold its second public meeting on 25 September in Washington, DC.
US House Committee Convenes Hearing on PFASs
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin

A US House of Representatives subcommittee will hold a hearing on perfluorinated chemical (PFAS) contamination in the environment.
Current Regulations Fail to Address Environmental Persistence of PFASs
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Emma Davies

Regulatory schemes should be adapted to cover per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) that are highly persistent in the environment but fail to meet key bioaccumulation criteria, according to over 30 regulators and academics.
Cross-Sector Group Considers Blockchain Technology for SiA Standard
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer

The Proactive Alliance industry group will discuss how the information technology known as blockchain could help collect and share material data for articles – including their chemical composition – across sectors.
Echa Proposes 18 Substances for REACH Annex XIV
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Echa has opened a consultation on its ninth recommendation to add 18 priority substances to REACH Annex XIV – the authorisation list.
Two Furan-Type Solvents Harmful to Consumers, Canada Provisionally Concludes
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Andrew Turley

Two solvents used in consumer products for stripping paints and varnishes are harmful to human health at current exposure levels, the Canadian government has provisionally concluded.
Member States Propose REACH Dossier Update Implementing Regulation
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Clelia Oziel

Three EU member states and Norway have called for an implementing Regulation to ensure companies update their REACH registration dossiers at regular intervals.
Echa Round-Up
Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Echa is consulting on six proposals to identify SVHCs.

Energy News

Protecting Energy Groups from Climate Lawsuits is a Bad Idea
Sep 6, 2018 | Financial Times
By Amy Myers Jaffe

The impact of climate change made itself painfully obvious in many places this summer, sparking debate about who and what is contributing to the death and destruction.
API Targets Emission Cuts, Not Federal Policy
Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Nick Sobczyk

The American Petroleum Institute is keeping its eyes on emissions reductions rather than federal climate policy, even as some of its members have started lobbying for carbon pricing.
Oil Giant Met with Greens for Years on Climate Policy
Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Kelsey Brugger and Benjamin Hulac

Shell Oil Co. has convened regular meetings since early 2016 with key environmental groups and think tanks to build support for a nationwide carbon tax, according to sources.
Lucid Energy Signs Natural Gas Transport Deal with Marathon Oil
Sep 6, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By Rye Druzin

A Dallas natural gas pipeline and processing company has signed an agreement with Marathon Oil Co. of handle gathering operations across Houston oil company's New Mexico acreage.
Trump Admin Plans Fast Timeline for Fresh Pipeline Review
Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer

The Trump administration is planning to move quickly on a new court-ordered review of environmental impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Chemical Security News

Pesticide Safety Training Materials: EPA Announcement of Availability Will Reduce Worker Injury, Illness Risk, OIG Says
Sep 6, 2018 | Safety + Health Magazine

By publishing the availability of expanded pesticide safety training materials after previously resisting the move, the Environmental Protection Agency “will reduce risks of injury and illness” among employers, farmworkers, pesticide handlers and their families, the EPA Office of Inspector General asserts in an audit report released Aug. 30.
DHS Chief on Cyber Response: 'Not a Fair Fight'
Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Blake Sobczak

A cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure should trigger an even more forceful response, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

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

Environment News

Kavanaugh Tackles Doctrine That Loomed Over Climate Plan
Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer

Climate and energy policy didn't come up as the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court yesterday.
These Technology Trends Can Pave Way for Global Climate Action
Sep 6, 2018 | Environmental Defense Fund
By Fred Krupp

A fresh wave of technological innovation is deepening our understanding of tough environmental challenges – and also giving us new ways to solve them.
Ewire: PM Studies Raise Bar for Rolling Back Air, Climate Rules
Sep 6, 2018 | Inside EPA

Trump administration efforts to justify rolling back climate and clean air rules may be getting more difficult as a series of new studies show increasing adverse health effects from exposure to particle pollution -- at levels below EPA's current air quality standards.
GOP Rep: Parties ‘Have to Come Together’ on Climate Change
Sep 6, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama

A Republican lawmaker pushing to put a tax on carbon dioxide emissions said that bipartisan cooperation is the only route to significant climate change legislation.
Calif. Sues Trump Admin Over Spills at Mexican Border
Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Jeremy P. Jacobs

California leaders are fed up with the millions of gallons of polluted water that flow across the state's border with Mexico and foul San Diego's beaches every year and have now filed suit against the Trump administration in an attempt to remedy the long-standing problem.
House Republicans Continue Push for Questioning Over Environmentalist's Foreign Ties
Sep 6, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green

Two Republican members of Congress are pushing forward with a crusade to question various environmental groups' connections to foreign governments and potential work as foreign agents.

Industry and Association News

(ACC Mentioned) House Sends Tariff-Cutting Bill to Trump's Desk

Sep 4, 2018 | PoliticoPro

By Adam Behsudi

House lawmakers passed by voice vote Tuesday a bill that would reduce tariffs on nearly 1,700 imports of raw materials or intermediate goods used by U.S. manufacturers.
House passage of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, H.R. 4318 (115), now sends the long-stalled legislation to President Donald Trump for his signature. The last version of the legislation lapsed in 2012.
The relatively non-controversial bill, which would temporarily reduce or suspend tariffs on imported products that are not produced in the U.S., had become entangled in the House Republican ban on earmarks, making it increasingly hard to pass.
In 2016, Congress passed the bipartisan American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, H.R. 4923 (114), to create a new process for deciding which products would be included in the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. Instead of appealing directly to lawmakers for waivers, companies were directed to petition the U.S. International Trade Commission for tariff relief.
Companies filed more than 2,500 petitions with the ITC, and the commission recommended that more than 1,800 of those petitions be included in the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. The Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee then reviewed the ITC report and crafted the legislation to implement the recommendations.
The ITC conducted an analysis to determine whether each petition met a new legal requirement that no domestic producers of like products objected to the tariff reduction or suspension at issue.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said the legislation will remove "needless taxes on key materials that can't be found in the United States."
The Coalition for a Prosperous America, a group that backs Trump's trade policies, has urged him to veto the bill, arguing that it amounts to "unilateral trade disarmament."
The U.S. chemical industry, which is heavily represented on the list of goods that would be eligible for a tariff cut, lauded House passage of the measure.

"U.S. manufacturers often rely on inputs that are not available or made in the U.S. to create products that cost less yet perform at the high level our downstream customers have come to expect from us," the American Chemistry Council said in a statement. "Tariffs unnecessarily raise the costs of those inputs, deter innovation and economic growth, and ultimately weaken our country's competitive advantage."
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/trade/article/2018/09/house-sends-tariff-cutting-bill-to-trumps-desk-767997

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(ACC Mentioned) Online Tool Highlights Industry Emissions Reductions

Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

By Maxine Joselow

EPA today released an online tool showing sharp emissions reductions in three key industries.
The online tool, called "Sector Snapshots," shows dramatic decreases in emissions from chemical manufacturing, utilities and power generation, and iron and steel over the last 20 years.
"The sector snapshots released today show in a transparent and accessible way how a specific industry's environmental and economic performance has changed over the last two decades," acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. "This type of data can help the public, the regulated community and EPA gain a common understanding of sector performance that will better inform environmental improvement strategies moving forward."
The interactive web application was developed by the Smart Sectors team, which was launched last fall "to re-examine how EPA engages with industry." Five EPA staffers make up the team, which has held dozens of meetings with industry groups and trade associations (Greenwire, Aug. 31).
Daisy Letendre, senior adviser for policy and communications in the Office of Policy, said at a media briefing this morning that the Smart Sectors team continues to "engage with industry in a meaningful way to improve environmental outcomes."
Letendre said the purpose of the online tool is to provide transparent, accessible data on industry performance. She rejected the notion that the tool could be used to justify additional regulatory rollbacks.
Elizabeth Corona, the ombudsman to the Smart Sectors program for chemical manufacturing, said the data come from various agencies, including the Department of Energy, and they have never been gathered in one place before. "We don't have an ulterior motive in presenting the data this way, other than to be transparent," she added.
Sector Snapshots tells a story that industry is eager to promote. Trade associations frequently tout their emissions reductions in congressional testimony and regulatory filings. For instance, a National Association of Manufacturers official told House lawmakers last year that the manufacturing sector "actually produces less GHG emissions than it did in 1990, a considerably different story compared to the broader U.S. economy."
Sometimes missing from the industry narrative is that the emissions reductions can be largely attributed to stringent environmental regulations. For instance, emissions of six "criteria" pollutants fell 73 percent between 1970 — when Congress passed the Clean Air Act — and 2017. Much of the improvement came under the Obama administration, which tightened the standards for most of those six pollutants (E&E News PM, July 31).
The Trump administration's rule rollbacks, however, threaten to stymie that momentum. Analysts have warned that the Trump EPA's proposed replacement to the Clean Power Plan could allow states to offer little or no carbon emissions reductions (Climatewire, Aug. 22).
EPA and the Department of Transportation have also proposed scaling back Obama-era fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. That move could ratchet up emissions from transportation, which is already the country's biggest source of carbon dioxide.
The proposed rollbacks of power plant and car rules are certain to trigger legal challenges. If the rollbacks survive those challenges and take effect in late 2018 or 2019, the Trump EPA could find itself in a sticky situation: updating the online tool to show an increase in emissions caused by its own proposals.
Letendre acknowledged that the Clean Power Plan replacement — called the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule — could affect the emissions picture for utilities and power generation.
"Say, you know, EPA releases the ACE proposal, depending on whether that's finalized or what the final [rule] looks like, eventually down the road, we'll be able to see if there's an increase in emissions [or] a decrease in emissions," she said.
Besides emissions, the online tool also contains sector-specific data on energy use, hazardous waste generation, water discharges, employment and "dollar value of goods produced." Users can also view significant economic events affecting a sector, such as the imposition of new tariffs on imported steel in 2016.
Leading industry groups today lavished praise on Sector Snapshots.
"We are pleased to collaborate with EPA in showcasing the iron and steel sector's commitment to strong environmental performance and working toward a smarter, more sensible regulatory framework," said Thomas Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, in a statement.
"The domestic steel industry, which supports more than two million American jobs, continues to strive toward the goal of protecting human health and the environment. These data demonstrate that this goal is being realized."
Said Michael Walls of the American Chemistry Council: "America's chemical manufacturers are leaders in providing materials and technologies that enhance sustainability while helping our economy grow. ... EPA's new sector snapshot will be a valuable tool to help guide future efforts to 'connect the dots' between environmental and economic progress."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060096049/search?keyword=%22american+chemistry+council%22

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(ACC Mentioned) Study: Plastic Isn't the Source of Society's Waste Problem

Sep 6, 2018 | Waste Dive

By Demetra Tsiamis

Editor's Note: The following is a summary of research recently published in the journal "Waste Management" with support from the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division.
The environmental impact of plastics that are used for consumer products has been questioned often recently, especially with the heightened awareness of plastics leakage into the marine environment. This has led to a series of decisions to ban certain plastic containers and packaging and is now transitioning to specific consumer products such as straws and shopping bags. WASTE DIVEWant news like this in your inbox?
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While banning plastic straws and shopping bags may slightly reduce litter, bans on plastic packaging and containers would reverse environmental improvements that have been well documented. Although nearly all plastics are recyclable and recoverable, approximately 45% of the plastics that could be recycled end up in landfills largely due to improper disposal by the waste generator and lack of robust markets. The plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled can be chemically recycled or recovered for energy through alternative technologies such as waste-to-energy, gasification and pyrolysis.
The Earth Engineering Center (EEC) at The City College of New York investigated the role of plastics in the decoupling of municipal solid waste generation from economic growth in the U.S. during a recent study. The purpose of the study was to both quantify the decoupling trend in the U.S. and understand the role of plastics in that trend.
EEC’s data analysis determined the decoupling of MSW from economic growth in the U.S. began between 1995 to 2000. To confirm this, EEC analyzed multiple data sources on both a weight and volume basis. MSW generation data was analyzed from both the EPA and BioCycle.
BioCycle's independent national MSW generation survey was also analyzed for a basis of comparison because it employs a different methodology than the EPA - site-specific and measured - to determine national MSW generation. The EPA data shows that decoupling begins around 1997. BioCycle data reveals decoupling occurs closer to 2000. Thus, both show that decoupling occurs but at different times due to the methodology.
MSW generation data from both sources were converted from a weight to a volume basis because landfill permitting and design is primarily based on volume. Volumes were calculated based on material densities, as well as based on an EPA weight-to-volume conversion factor. All MSW generation data was compared to personal consumption expenditure (PCE) in the U.S. from 1960 to 2015.
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The results are shown below in Figure 1 with data indexed to 1960 because that is the first year information was available from the EPA. Indexing by weight (or volume) for a given year was divided by the weight (or volume) in 1960.
Figure 1: Indexed Comparison for MSW generation based on tonnage, volume, and PCE as a function of time
Evident in Figure 1, MSW generation in the U.S. decouples from PCE, regardless of data source and basis. Decoupling occurs on both a weight and volume basis of MSW generation.
EPA data was used for analyses in the remainder of the study because it is a larger data set than BioCycle, which only dates back to 2009. Based on the EPA data, decoupling in the U.S. begins between 1997 and 2000. Several studies in the literature on decoupling trends in the European Union relate policy and legislation in waste management as key causes. By comparison, the U.S. does not have national waste policies and the industry is driven by open market economics therefore, the decoupling trend shown in Figure 1 is not linked to any waste policy or legislation.
However, since the 1990s, there has been state and local legislation in the U.S. to reduce yard trimmings. Total MSW generation, excluding yard waste, versus PCE is shown in the parity plot in Figure 2 to confirm the presence of a decoupling trend.
Figure 2: Parity plot of total tons of MSW generated, excluding yard waste, and PCE
This shows that decoupling of MSW and PCE still occurs in the absence of yard waste and indicates that there are other factors in this decoupling trend beyond the yard trimming legislation. In 1989, MSW generation rises faster than PCE but then, in 1993, it begins to decline in rate and relative decoupling seems to begin between 1997 and 2000.
Because Figure 2 shows decoupling occurs in the U.S. in the absence of policy influences, EEC investigated the role that other materials, especially plastics, may play in the decoupling trend.
Since plastics entered mainstream consumer products in the 1960s, they have grown by nearly two orders of magnitude in the MSW stream. Interestingly, the total MSW generation has only increased by less than a factor of three in the same time period.
Figure 3: Material categories comprising MSW indexed to 1960 values
The trends in Figure 3 show that plastics grew exponentially in the MSW stream compared to all other material groups. The inset table shows that a cumulative amount of plastics in MSW were 83.38 times the amount that they were in 1960. Interestingly, during that same time period, total MSW grew by a factor of only 2.88.
Therefore, even though the amount of plastics in the waste stream increased substantially over time due to increased consumer use, plastics did not significantly increase the total weight of MSW generated in the U.S.
EEC further analyzed scenarios where plastic material would not be used by society to understand how plastics substitution for applications such as packaging impacted the total MSW generation in the U.S. and consequently, the decoupling trend.
Substitution ratios were obtained based on amalgamated data from major U.S. manufacturers. The weight of material that would be needed to replace plastics for the same product applications, such as containers, would be 3.2 times more than if plastics were used. The plastics substitution ratio for packaging applications ranged from 3.32 in 1960 to 4.5 in 2013.
The increase in weight ratio is a result of the downgauging — or thinning of plastics packaging materials — from 2000 to 2013. This suggests that if plastics did not currently exist, we would generate 4.5 times more packaging waste by weight because the alternative materials are heavier. Furthermore, it would require increased use of the alternative materials because they are not as efficient in packaging compared to plastics due to physical property limitations.
Figure 4: Wedge contributions for metal, glass, and other material substitution if plastics were removed from MSW, indexed to show time frame
Figure 4 shows if plastics were removed from applications, the generation of MSW would increase. For example, if only materials such as paper, glass, and metal were used, then the total MSW generation would increase from an indexed value of approximately 2.8 in 2000 (in the 40th year) to approximately 3.5. This would be a 25% increase in MSW generation. If plastics were also removed from container applications, MSW generation increases an additional 8.6% to an indexed value of 3.8.
Plastics are not only lighter than materials such as metals, glass, and paper, but they also lend advanced properties that preserve food longer and require less material, consequently reducing the amount of consumer items and materials that become waste. Figure 4 shows that in the absence of plastics, decoupling in the U.S. would not occur until 32 years later than it actually occurred with plastic items in the MSW.
Plastics are currently being presented in a negative manner in the media, particularly in regard to pollution in the marine environment. However, this study shows that plastics actually contribute to a more sustainable society as it relates to waste generation.
Decoupling of MSW generation from economic growth in the U.S. began between 1997 and 2000 and the gap continues to grow. In the meantime, plastics have grown exponentially since the 1960s, but they have not contributed significantly to the total generation of MSW in the U.S. As society aims to improve waste sustainability, the long-term impact and full life-cycle of materials needs to be assessed. There should be a shift in focus from the material itself that is considered a “pollutant” to the behavior that creates the pollution of our land and water.
https://www.wastedive.com/news/plastic-society-waste-problem-earth-engineering-center-city-college-new-york/531532/

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LCSA News

(ACC Mentioned) Shimkus Agrees to Hold TSCA Hearing

Sep 6, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard

By Annie Snider

Rep. John Shimkus, chair of the House Energy and Commerce's Environment Subcommittee, today agreed to hold a hearing on the Trump administration's controversial implementation of the 2016 update to the chemicals safety law.
"I think that’s going to be doable," the Illinois Republican said in response to a request for a hearing from Frank Pallone (N.J.), the top Democrat on the Committee.
Democrats, environmentalists and public health groups have argued that the Trump administration has skewed the updated Toxic Substances Control Act to favor industry and violated congressional intent. EPA's work on the issue has been led by Nancy Beck, the No. 2 official in the chemical safety office and who was previously a top expert for the American Chemistry Council, the industry's lead lobbying group.
Shimkus today indicated that he shares some of those concerns, saying he believed "both sides are kind of frustrated with the process" around implementing TSCA, which passed with bipartisan support.
"As one of our signature legislative accomplishments, we’d hate to see it bogged down in implementation," he continued.
Democrats have requested a hearing on the issue multiple times. Shimkus' agreement comes less than a week after the president nominated Alexandra Dunn, currently EPA's Region 1 administrator, to head the chemical safety office. Dunn worked for a few years early in her career at ACC, but has primarily worked at state coalitions of environmental officials, and is seen as a moderate.
WHAT'S NEXT: Shimkus said the committee would "figure out a time" to hold the hearing.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard

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US EPA Round-Up

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

ICR for TSCA PAIR reporting
The EPA is seeking comments on its renewal of an existing information collection request (ICR) for the TSCA Preliminary Assessment Information Rule (PAIR).
Under PAIR, manufacturers and importers are required to submit information related to the production, use and exposure to designated chemicals. This is to help the agency identify human health and environmental risk caused by their manufacture.
In its request for comments, the EPA noted that it has not issued reporting obligations under the rule since 2006. But given new requirements under the amended TSCA to prioritise chemicals for risk evaluation, it is "possible that the agency may start requesting section 8(a) reporting more frequently", it said.
Comments on the ICR renewal can be submitted until 29 October.Teleconference called on ETBE and tert-butanol
A public teleconference has been scheduled to examine work carried out on toxicological assessments for two substances that will be used under the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).
The US EPA's Chartered Science Advisory Board called the 26 September conference to look at agency draft reviews of:ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE); andtert-butyl alcohol (tert-butanol).
The substances are the subject of EPA draft toxicological assessments. And, in turn, have been reviewed by the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB).
The teleconference will conduct quality reviews on these drafts.
The toxicological assessments for both substances include experimental animal and other relevant data from studies of their non-cancer and cancer effects. These characterise both as having suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential to humans.Agency holds final PFAS event of the summer
The EPA has wrapped up its summer of PFAS community engagement events with a meeting in Kansas.
Nearly 100 people attended the 5 September event in Leavenworth, where the agency heard directly from the public on their "experiences, concerns and suggestions for PFAS".
The agency said recent months have seen more than 1,000 people attend its meetings, which have also been held in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Colorado.
"These community engagement events are critical to understand ways the agency can best support the work that's being done at the state, local, and tribal levels," the EPA said. Information it has picked up at the events will, it added, feed into plans to develop a management plan for PFASs that it aims to release later this year.EPA watchdog to look at science policy
The EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) plans to examine the agency’s Science Integrity Policy with the aim of determining if it is being implemented as intended.
Issued in early 2012, the policy lays a framework for promoting "scientific and ethical standards to create a proactive culture to support them", according to the EPA. It applies to all agency employees, including political appointees.
The watchdog’s review will look at:any employee concerns with the policy;awareness of the programme, including the process for reporting potential violations;reasons why violations may go unreported; andadditional process-related issues.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70083/us-epa-round-up

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Chemical Management News

(ACC Mentioned) California Legislature Passes Cosmetics Animal Testing Bill

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Kelly Franklin

California's legislature has approved a bill to expand its existing prohibition on the sale of cosmetic products and ingredients tested on animals.
The measure (SB 1249), which passed both chambers uncontested last week, is intended to "bring California humane standards in line with the world’s highest," such as those in the EU, according to its backers.
Existing California law prohibits manufacturers and testing facilities from using animal tests for cosmetics when a validated alternative exists. But it does not bar their use to achieve compliance with requirements imposed federally or by other states.
If signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, the bill will expand the prohibition to cover the sale or import of any cosmetic or component tested on animals after 1 January 2020 by either the manufacturer or its supplier, notwithstanding any other law.
The prohibition does not, however, apply to animal tests that are:required by a federal or state authority, provided that the ingredient is widely used and cannot be replaced, a substantiated human health problem justifies the need for an animal test, and there is no non-animal alternative accepted by the relevant regulatory authority;conducted to comply with a foreign regulator, provided that no evidence derived from the test is relied on to substantiate the product's safety for its sale in California;done on products or ingredients subject to chapter five of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), which covers drugs and devices; orperformed for non-cosmetic purposes to satisfy a federal, state or foreign regulatory requirement, so long as the test results are not used to substantiate product safety in California.
Cosmetics and ingredients sold in California or tested on animals prior to 1 January 2020 are not covered, even if they are manufactured after that date.
The bill also includes a 180-day period for retailers to remove products found to be in violation of the test ban.Amendments
Since its April introduction, the measure has been opposed by a coalition of more than a dozen industry groups, including the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Household and Commercial Products Association (HCPA).
However, according to coalition member the California Chamber of Commerce, the state legislature significantly amended the bill on 28 August "thanks to strong opposition from the business community". These changes led it to drop its opposition to the final version of the bill.
In a coalition letter from before those amendments, the groups said that companies have moved away from animal testing and only perform them when required by government bodies or, in rare cases, to test the safety of new ingredients when no alternatives exist. But they say they are "continually challenged by state and federal mandated requiring specific animal tests … which are a condition for placing products on the market".
And in its earlier forms, the bill would have banned cosmetics containing ingredients that have been tested "by anyone, anywhere, for any reason", with a few limited exemptions, it said.
But CalChamber said the late August amendments, which broadened the prohibition exemptions, "balance the industry's shared desire to make animal testing obsolete globally with the reality that there are still legal requirements in place that require animal testing."Praise
PCPC's president and CEO Lezlee Westine said the final bill is "good for California consumers, businesses, jobs and animal welfare."
And Kathy Guillermo, senior vice president at NGO Peta, told Chemical Watch it was "delighted" to see the measure move to the governor's desk.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a bill co-sponsor, said that passage of the bill will "alter testing practices across the globe", according to vice president of research policy Kristie Sullivan.
And bill co-author Assembly member Ash Karla added that the compromise achieved "reflects how business interests and consumer protection can go hand in hand".
"I commend animal rights activists and the cosmetic industry alike, as we move forward on this important legislation to protect animals and adopt cruelty-free cosmetics," she said.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70121/california-legislature-passes-cosmetics-animal-testing-bill?q=%22american+chemistry+council%22

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US EPA Releases Final Version of RDX Assessment

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

The US EPA has finalised its toxicological review of military explosive RDX and provided risk calculations for oral exposure.
The assessment – conducted by the agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) programme – does not include the physical hazards associated with detonation.
It says contamination of various environment compartments – including drinking water and water for irrigating crops – is possible. But it suggests exposure is only likely for individuals in or around military facilities where RDX is, or was, produced, used or stored.
Toxicity studies suggest that RDX is associated with carcinogenicity and adverse effects on the central nervous system, kidneys, bladder and prostate.
The EPA published the draft assessment for public consultation in 2016.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70128/us-epa-releases-final-version-of-rdx-assessment

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National Academy of Sciences' Flame Retardant Group Reconvenes

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

A US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee tasked with developing a scoping plan to assess the hazards of organohalogen flame retardants will hold its second public meeting on 25 September in Washington, DC.
The committee will develop a scoping plan for assessing the hazards posed by additive, non-polymeric organohalogen flame retardants as a class for potential chronic health hazards under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, including cancer, birth defects and gene mutations.
Its findings will inform a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) assessment of the risk the substances pose when used in children's products, upholstered residential furniture, mattresses and the external casings of electronics devices. The commission voted last year to grant an NGO petition to begin a rulemaking that could see the class of substances banned from those applications.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70070/national-academy-of-sciences-flame-retardant-group-reconvenes

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US House Committee Convenes Hearing on PFASs

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Kelly Franklin

A US House of Representatives subcommittee will hold a hearing on perfluorinated chemical (PFAS) contamination in the environment.
The 6 September meeting – Perfluorinated chemicals in the environment: An update on the response to contamination and challenges presented – has been called by the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on the environment.
Government officials from the EPA's ground and drinking water office and from the Department of Defense will appear as witnesses on the first of two panels.
The second will include representatives from state drinking water and waste management offices, and from the NGOs Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Clean Cape Fear (CCF).
The hearing comes amid increased federal pressure on the highly persistent compounds. In recent weeks, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D–Michigan) introduced two bills aimed at tracking and addressing perfluorinated chemistries.
The PFAS Detection Act of 2018 (S3382) would direct the US Geological Survey to conduct nationwide sampling to determine the concentration of the substances in the environment. And the PFAS Accountability Act of 2018 (S3381) addresses coordination between states and the federal government on monitoring, removal and remediation of identified contamination.
Both bills have bipartisan support, and are being considered in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW).
Meanwhile, the US EPA has recently completed the last of its PFAS 'community engagement' events. These were convened across the country over the summer as part of a broader PFASs action plan, announced at a summit in May.
The EPA plans to release a national PFAS management plan this autumn.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70099/us-house-committee-convenes-hearing-on-pfass

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Current Regulations Fail to Address Environmental Persistence of PFASs

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Emma Davies

Regulatory schemes should be adapted to cover per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) that are highly persistent in the environment but fail to meet key bioaccumulation criteria, according to over 30 regulators and academics.
The recommendation is made in a statement on future actions on PFASs, coordinated by Zhanyun Wang and Martin Scheringer from ETH Zürich. The statement follows a two-day workshop held in Zürich in November 2017 and attended by over 50 scientists and regulators.
Longer-chain PFASs, such as PFOS and PFOA, have been phased out in much of the world, write the experts in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. However, there are still "many overlooked, structurally similar PFASs on the market", they add.
They report that participants at the 2017 meeting "widely agreed" that their high persistence in the environment may not be adequately reflected in current chemical assessment and management schemes.
"High persistence can lead to a continuous and nearly irreversible accumulation of PFASs in the environment … even when some do not meet the current definitions of bioaccumulative substances used by the regulatory community," they add.Contaminants of emerging global concern
The statement points to a recent OECD study identifying 4,730 PFAS-related chemicals with Chemical Abstract Service Registry (Cas) numbers. For many of the PFASs, public information on their hazardous properties, environmental fate and transport, exposure, and toxic effects is still very limited. The experts warn that at least some of the overlooked chemicals may also be "contaminants of emerging global concern" because of their high persistence and environmental mobility.
They suggest that their large number means that they should be grouped together rather than considered individually. However, they caution that such a grouping approach would require an improved mechanistic understanding of the chemicals' toxicological properties.
There is a real question over whether or not these substances are really needed for the many applications they currently have, Zhanyun Wang, ETH Zürich
"One aspect often brought up during discussions at the workshop, and included in the Zürich statement, was the need for defining essential and non-essential uses," says Dr Wang.
"There is a real question over whether or not these substances are really needed for the many applications they currently have," he adds. "Without proper information on the current use of PFASs, it is very difficult for consumers to make informed purchases and for policy makers to make informed decisions to protect consumers." Coordination calls
Participants at the workshop all agreed that dealing with PFASs requires a "strong science-policy interface". However, academics pointed out that they are often unaware of regulatory needs, while regulators spoke of difficulties keeping up with the "constant flow" of new findings.
Improving communication between scientists and regulators is crucial, they agreed.
The statement's signatories include experts from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and Directorate-General for Environment, the German Environment Agency, US EPA and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Those interested in signing the statement can do so via the International Panel on Chemical Pollution (IPCP).
https://chemicalwatch.com/70082/current-regulations-fail-to-address-environmental-persistence-of-pfass

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Cross-Sector Group Considers Blockchain Technology for SiA Standard

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Leigh Stringer

The Proactive Alliance industry group will discuss how the information technology known as blockchain could help collect and share material data for articles – including their chemical composition – across sectors.
The cross-sector alliance of industry representatives is working to develop a global standard for material data, which would be interoperable with the IT systems used by different sectors.
Blockchain is a digital record-keeping system that enables the creation and maintenance of a growing number of records, allowing fast tracking of information. It was originally created to manage transactions through the crypto-currency Bitcoin, but has since shown potential for sharing and retrieving many other forms of data.
Martin Führ, a professor at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, is coordinating the initiative with his research group Sofia. Speaking at a Chemical Watch webinar this week, Professor Führ said the group will be "taking blockchain into account".
"It might help to solve some issues and if it does the standard should [consider its use]".
Professor Führ is not an IT expert, so he said he could not provide further insight into how blockchain may fit with the Alliance’s work. The group is holding its second technical meeting next week, with blockchain an item on the agenda.
The technology’s capabilities have been linked to the tracking of chemicals in products. In June, US retail giant Walmart told Chemical Watch that it is assessing whether blockchain can be used to trace chemicals across some of its products and packaging.CBI solution?
Presenting alongside Professor Führ, Aidan Turnbull, who is the director of the industry-led substances declarations web database, BOMCheck, and a member of the Proactive Alliance, said the technology could solve some CBI issues.
"Ledgers, for providing Confidential Business Information, can be very useful and it could be a tool to cryptographically sign CBI and not display it to other users until that particular substance becomes declarable under the EU’s REACH candidate list, for example," Dr Turnbull said.
However, he said he isn’t yet clear if blockchain is a technology that fits with a standard or something a company would deploy as part of a tool.
A recording of the webinar, IPC-1752A as a starting point for a global inter-sector standard, will be available in the next few days. The second webinar in Chemical Watch's series, SiA communication throughout the supply chain: RSLs and related standards, is being held at 16:00 BST.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70122/cross-sector-group-considers-blockchain-technology-for-sia-standard

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Echa Proposes 18 Substances for REACH Annex XIV

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Echa has opened a consultation on its ninth recommendation to add 18 priority substances to REACH Annex XIV – the authorisation list.
The agency's public consultation on a draft recommendation typically runs once a year. Its selection of the candidate list substances is primarily based on information in registration dossiers on uses and volumes of the substance in the scope of authorisation. As such, it encourages registrants to keep their dossiers up to date.
The chemicals with reprotoxic properties, and examples of their uses, that Echa has recommended are:bisphenol A: also an endocrine disruptor for human health and environment; used in epoxy resin hardeners;2-ethylhexyl 10-ethyl-4,4-dioctyl-7-oxo-8-oxa-3,5-dithia4-stannatetradecanoate (DOTE): stabiliser in polymers;reaction mass of 2-ethylhexyl 10-ethyl-4,4-dioctyl-7-oxo8-oxa-3,5-dithia-4-stannatetradecanoate and 2-ethylhexyl 10-ethyl-4-[[2-[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]-2-oxoethyl]thio]-4- octyl-7-oxo-8-oxa-3,5-dithia-4-stannatetradecanoate (reaction mass of DOTE and MOTE): stabiliser in polymers;dioxobis(stearato)trilead: stabiliser in PVC;fatty acids, C16-18, lead salts: stabiliser in PVC;trilead dioxide phosphonate: stabiliser in PVC; rubber production; mirror backing;sulfurous acid, lead salt, dibasic: stabiliser in PVC; mirror backing;[phthalato(2-)]dioxotrilead: stabiliser in PVC;trilead bis(carbonate) dihydroxide: artists’ paints;lead oxide sulfate: mirror backing;tetraethyllead: additive in aviation fuel;2-methoxyethanol: solvent; and2-ethoxyethanol: solvent.
Two substances have respiratory sensitising properties and are both used in epoxy resin hardeners:cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride [1], cis-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride [2], trans-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride [3] (HHPA); andhexahydromethylphthalic anhydride [1], hexahydro-4-methylphthalic anhydride [2],hexahydro-1-methylphthalic anhydride [3], hexahydro-3-methylphthalic anhydride [4] (MHHPA).
Echa is also recommending adding the very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) chemical dechlorane plus, used as a flame retardant in adhesives and polymers, to Annex XIV.
Additionally, the agency is considering prioritising reaction products of 1,3,4-thiadiazolidine-2,5-dithione, formaldehyde and 4-heptylphenol, branched and linear (RP-HP) with ≥0.1% w/w 4-heptylphenol, branched and linear (4-Hbl). It is an endocrine disruptor to the environment and used in lubricants and greases.
And it recommends the inclusion of 4,4'-bis(dimethylamino)-4''-(methylamino)trityl alcohol with ≥ 0.1% of Michler's ketone (EC No. 202-027-5) or Michler's base (EC No. 202-959-2), which is used in printing inks, and has carcinogenic qualities.
The agency is calling for comments and further information on the uses of the substances and possible exemptions from the authorisation requirement, as well as information on the structure and complexity of the supply chains.
In parallel to Echa’s public consultation, the European Commission is calling for information on the possible socioeconomic consequences of including these 18 substances in the authorisation list.Looking ahead
The deadline for comments is 5 December. Once in, Echa’s Member State Committee will consider them and prepare an opinion on the draft recommendation.
Echa will then provide its final recommendation, based on the opinion of the Committee and the public consultation, to the Commission. The EU executive will decide on which of the substances to include in the authorisation list and on the respective conditions applicable for each substance.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70115/echa-proposes-18-substances-for-reach-annex-xiv

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Two Furan-Type Solvents Harmful to Consumers, Canada Provisionally Concludes

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Andrew Turley

Two solvents used in consumer products for stripping paints and varnishes are harmful to human health at current exposure levels, the Canadian government has provisionally concluded.
If confirmed, the conclusion is likely to trigger regulatory action against the substances, furfuryl alcohol and tetrahydrofuran.
Both substances are used in the production of resins and plastics. Tetrahydrofuran is also used in the production of paints, coatings and adhesives.
The government assessed a group of four 'furan compounds' under its long-running Chemicals Management Program (CMP). It concluded that two other substances, phenolphthalein and furan, were not harmful.
Furan is used as a solvent for resins and in the production of agricultural chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Phenolphthalein is primarily used as an acidity indicator, and in Canada it is used in colour-change glue sticks.
For the risks associated with furfuryl alcohol, the assessment identified as critical:consumer exposure via inhalation and dermal exposure during use of wood stripper products; anda range of adverse human health effects, including kidney cancer.
For the risks associated with tetrahydrofuran, the assessment identified as critical:consumer exposure via inhalation during normal breathing of indoor air and use of PVC cement products; anda range of adverse human health effects, including effects on the central nervous system.
The assessment concluded that both substances meet at least one of the criteria of section 64 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Cepa). The government adds such substances to Schedule 1, also known as the toxic substances list. Listing typically triggers regulatory risk management measures to ensure protection of human health and the environment.
The government has launched a 60-day public consultation on the draft screening assessment and a 'risk management scope', published at the same time. Interested parties have until 31 October to submit comments.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70119/two-furan-type-solvents-harmful-to-consumers-canada-provisionally-concludes

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Member States Propose REACH Dossier Update Implementing Regulation

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

By Clelia Oziel

Three EU member states and Norway have called for an implementing Regulation to ensure companies update their REACH registration dossiers at regular intervals. This would not set new obligations, but clarify existing ones.
In separate papers submitted following a discussion on five of the 16 REACH Review actions at the June meeting of the Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP (Caracal), they said the EU should clarify the conditions set out in Article 22.
This states that a registrant is responsible "on his own initiative" for updating the registration "without undue delay" with relevant new information. The requirement has been open to interpretation, however, with many companies failing to perform the task unless prodded by Echa.
In its comments, France said it is in favour of an implementing Act to "force" companies to check their registrations "from time to time". In "rare cases" where no update seems necessary, it added, companies should have access to a function in Iuclid that allows them to indicate that they have conducted an analysis and concluded no update was necessary.
In June, Echa head Bjorn Hansen admitted that REACH "lacks clear incentives" for companies to update registration dossiers. His comments come about a year after predecessor Geert Dancet said a change to the regulation could ensure that companies "take their job seriously".
A report commissioned by the agency and published in September 2017 said new regulatory measures are needed to ensure updates at fixed regular intervals, for example every three years.Mandatory updates
The Netherlands said it "strongly supports" an implementing Regulation to clarify the conditions under Article 22. A mandatory update of dossiers, for example every four to five years, is "a good option and perhaps the most pragmatic one", it said.
Norway said the measure is "the way to go" rather than preparing more guidance for industry. An increased possibility of Echa revoking dossiers or selecting them for a compliance check are "probably the strongest incentives" for registrants to submit higher quality registrations and updates, it added.
Hungary also said it backed an implementing Act to clarify how the conditions of Article 22 are met and the meaning of 'without undue delay'. However, it said it was "hesitant" in supporting mandatory updates.Trade associations
Two industry associations, the Downstream Users of Chemicals Coordination Group (Ducc) and Eurometaux, also supported clarifications to Article 22 obligations.
Eurometaux said there should be a "clear and systematic process" to handle dossier updates. It suggested a checklist to support companies in consortia to identify the need to do this. The checklist, it said, could include:substance identity profiles (in case of new registrants);human and environmental hazard profiles/classifications; andnew scientific evidence leading to changes in classifications, SDSs and CSR.
Regulatory action to improve data quality should focus on "the most critical substances and uses", built on a risk prioritisation-based approach, Eurometaux added.
Like Hungary, it called for responsibilities of co-registrants in dossier updates to be clarified. Draft evaluation decisions, Eurometaux said, should be forwarded to all co-registrants to keep them involved in the updating process.
NGO recommendations
In its comments, the European Environmental Bureau called for stronger measures to deal with non-compliant dossiers. In the first instance, Echa should not grant registration numbers to companies with these, or it should withdraw them if later deemed non-compliant. Updates should also be mandatory, it added.
Its recommendations to EU authorities included:increase the number of compliance checks and extend compliance checks to chemical safety reports;address the use (and misuse) of data waiving and on animal test methods. Incorrect data waiving is the reason for non compliance of most of the registrations dossiers, it said; andensure all scientific evidence not captured by standard testing methods is used.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70124/member-states-propose-reach-dossier-update-implementing-regulation

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Echa Round-Up

Sep 6, 2018 | Chemical Watch

Six new proposals to identify SVHCs
Echa is consulting on six proposals to identify SVHCs. They are:undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and its ammonium salt (APFHx). Germany proposes this due to an equivalent level of concern having probable serious effects to human health and environment. No direct uses of PFHxA are known. PFHxA precursors can be used as surfactants or as monomers for the production of side-chain fluorinated polymers. Ammonium undecafluorohexanoate (APFHx), the ammonium salt of PFHxA, is used in industrial settings, mainly in connection with the manufacture and processing of polymers;2,2-bis(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methylpentane. Sweden proposes this as toxic for reproduction. There are no active registrations under REACH;fluoranthene. Belgium proposes it as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB). It is not registered under REACH and normally not produced intentionally, but occurs as a constituent or impurity in other substances;benzo[k]fluoranthene. Belgium also proposes this as carcinogenic, PBT and vPvB. It is not registered under REACH and normally not produced intentionally, but occurs as a constituent or impurity in other substances;pyrene. France proposes it as a PBT and a vPvB. It is used as a transported intermediate for the manufacture of fine chemicals; andphenanthrene. France proposes it as a vPvB. It is not registered under REACH and normally not produced intentionally, but occurs as a constituent or impurity in other substances.
The deadline for comments is 19 October. CLH intentions
Echa has received three intentions to harmonise classification and labelling for:4,4'-oxydi(benzenesulphonohydrazide) from Germany; andtellurium oxide and tellurium from the Netherlands.Feedback on sector use maps
The agency is asking for feedback on sector use maps via a short questionnaire. The deadline for responses is 21 September.

These will be used to improve the use map library and to further develop them in line with users' requirements.Evaluation conclusion for octabenzone published
A new conclusion document is available for octabenzone. The substance, used as an UV absorber/screener, was added to the Corap list in 2013 and evaluated by Italy.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70097/echa-round-up

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Energy News

Protecting Energy Groups from Climate Lawsuits is a Bad Idea

Sep 6, 2018 | Financial Times

By Amy Myers Jaffe

The impact of climate change made itself painfully obvious in many places this summer, sparking debate about who and what is contributing to the death and destruction. California’s legislature recently passed a bill that would require its pension funds, the two largest in America, to report on climate-related financial risk. It also passed a law allowing its electric utility Pacific Gas and Electric to bill customers for the costs of wildfire liabilities. In the US, those who feel they have been damaged routinely turn to the courts for compensation. So it is with climate change. Now the American legal system is struggling to deal with this issue. New York City and Oakland recently brought suits against energy companies including Chevron, BP and Shell, seeking to use public nuisance laws to force them to pay for costs they have incurred through rising sea levels and higher temperatures due to climate change. The claims were dismissed. Other types of climate-related lawsuits remain. Some are trying to use the “precautionary principle”, which requires governments and large organisations to take advance actions to protect people from harm, to force energy groups to pay for climate-related damages. The New York attorney-general is trying to use the state’s Martin Act to sue ExxonMobil for alleged fraud, arguing that it publicly played down climate change evidence while privately using the information to protect its facilities. The fossil fuel industry faces any number of environmental lawsuits. Although President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to ease or roll back regulations aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions, activists and local governments are challenging this in the courts. Some of the same states and cities are suing energy companies seeking funding for sea walls and other public infrastructure upgrades. Faced with this onslaught, some lobbyists for the energy industry have sought to enlist Congress in crafting a defence. Led by former senators Trent Lott and John Breaux, they are pushing to add an amendment granting oil companies immunity from environmental lawsuits to a bill calling for taxes on carbon heavy industries. Although liability caps for climate change lawsuits sound superficially similar to the one that was eventually crafted for the tobacco industry over smoking, this plan is a raw deal for the public. Here’s why. Tobacco damage claims were limited to the healthcare sector: a fifth of the US population in 2005 smoked. But energy is a critical input to almost all economic activity, and fossil fuels have been relatively ubiquitous especially in transport. The potential liability claims against energy companies found negligent would far exceed the total faced by cigarette makers. That means a solution will almost certainly require the involvement of elected officials. But having Congress nationalise these claims and remove them from the courts is at odds with an open, market-oriented economy such as the US. Instead, we need a hybrid system to address the climate risk exposure. Public debate on climate policy needs to include a more robust, transparent discussion of the liability issues. There is no question that policymakers will have to consider how best to balance the public interest. We need to make sure the supply of fossil fuel-based products continues until new, cleaner technologies have taken over. But we also need to consider how to create and manage compensation processes that allow those injured by climate change to win just awards. Past precedent is instructive. US government actions to create an orderly process for a claims fund in the aftermath of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill could be one model. The US Superfund programme created in the 1980s to clean up toxic industrial sites and more recent legislation to offer government loan guarantees for operations of new nuclear plants are others. Beyond the question of liability, policymakers also need to make sure that climate risk information is more widely shared to make securities trading fairer. This will allow efficient markets in climate risk instruments such as derivatives to develop. The Securities and Exchange Commission should also begin to fashion a system for climate risk disclosure. This could be similar to the 1976 test programme that allowed companies to disclose sensitive foreign payments ahead of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 that made overseas bribery illegal. The US has the chance to be a world leader on dealing with damages from climate change. It must act or we risk destabilising legal outcomes and market failures.
https://www.ft.com/content/dbdc0560-b033-11e8-87e0-d84e0d934341

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API Targets Emission Cuts, Not Federal Policy

Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

By Nick Sobczyk

The American Petroleum Institute is keeping its eyes on emissions reductions rather than federal climate policy, even as some of its members have started lobbying for carbon pricing.
"As a group, our focus, frankly, is on identifying the ability to make reductions today, rather than trying to focus on a policy solution at this point," said Kyle Isakower, vice president for regulatory and economic policy at API, during a policy discussion this morning sponsored by The Hill and the Bipartisan Policy Center.
"Especially in this very divided political climate," he said, "it makes more sense to focus on how we can achieve those carbon reductions today."
Kyle Isakower. American Petroleum Institute
It was an acknowledgement of what sometimes goes unsaid: The oil industry's major trade group wants to keep its powder dry with some of its members at odds over how to address climate change and greenhouse gases.
Companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell Oil Co., for example, have supported carbon pricing in various forums for years, though they've faced criticism from environmentalists for continuing to support politicians who deny climate science.
Other API members have different views, and the trade group, in turn, has publicly declined to weigh in on the Trump administration's clean car rule rollback, as well as the various carbon proposals floating around in Congress and the advocacy world (Climatewire, Aug. 3).
Isakower said the answer, for now, is in technological innovation and emissions reductions spurred by booming natural gas production.
"Certainly within our industry there's a diverse range of opinions in terms of climate policy," he said. "We all agree that the risk of climate change is significant and is a serious issue that should be addressed."
API has made its voice heard on some issues that could affect climate policy at the federal agencies. API and the National Association of Manufacturers both pitched EPA last year on a proposal that resembled what eventually became former Administrator Scott Pruitt's "secret science" plan (Greenwire, May 17).
And if Congress ever does get serious about carbon pricing, Isakower suggested API would be ready to weigh in, though he did not say what the group would push for.
"We don't have a policy position that we are espousing in terms of moving forward," he said. "However, we certainly have certain principles that are appropriate to consider in terms of carbon legislation, whatever that legislation might be."
The event this morning showcased an emerging bipartisan consensus that climate change needs to be addressed, but it also highlighted the gap that still remains.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said the fossil fuel industry would be the primary object of carbon pricing if Democrats retake the House, Senate or the presidency in the coming years.
Still, there's consensus that a market-based solution is the way to go, Whitehouse said.
"If we can't put together majorities based on that and basically tell the fossil fuel industry to shove it, then shame on us," he said.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/09/06/stories/1060096071

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Oil Giant Met with Greens for Years on Climate Policy

Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

By Kelsey Brugger and Benjamin Hulac

Shell Oil Co. has convened regular meetings since early 2016 with key environmental groups and think tanks to build support for a nationwide carbon tax, according to sources.
The company initiated meetings during the heart of the presidential race, in part because it was believed that greenhouse gas regulations would be strengthened if Democrat Hillary Clinton won the election. The meetings continued after President Trump's victory, and company officials have hosted talks in Shell's offices in Washington, D.C.; at restaurants; on conference calls; and over email.
Shell met with officials from the Environmental Defense Fund, Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute and Niskanen Center, a libertarian group that supports taxing greenhouse gas emissions, Shell spokesman Curtis Smith confirmed.
"We value our partnerships with the private sector, including companies like Shell, and believe that these partnerships are important for achieving durable policy solutions," Jason Albritton, a senior policy adviser at the Nature Conservancy, said in an email.
The meetings occurred regularly for about two years, until this summer, when most of the communication shifted to phone and email, according to sources. The contact between Shell and environmental groups continues on a weekly basis, but attendance by specific groups can vary.
Shell has long said it would support a national carbon tax if Congress worked to adopt one. Lobbyists for the oil giant lobbied Senate and House members for a carbon tax this year.
Shell described that lobbying effort as "discussions in support of a robust, transparent federal carbon price" in forms filed with the Senate (Climatewire, Aug. 24).
The meetings, previously unreported, were led by Marnie Funk, a senior government relations adviser at Shell. She declined to be interviewed.
Some conservative advocacy groups and energy firms have signaled that they would prefer an economywide carbon tax in exchange for environmental rollbacks. Other proposals would relieve oil and gas companies of legal liabilities related to climate change, in exchange for a carbon tax.
"EDF regularly meets with companies and other [nongovernmental organizations] to talk about ways to build momentum for climate action in Congress," said Victoria Mills, an EDF spokeswoman. "We've met with Shell and other companies in that context."
Joseph Majkut, director of climate policy at the Niskanen Center, said the conversations were "high-level" and infrequent. They did not focus on specific measures, he said.
Adele Morris, a Brookings Institution senior fellow and policy director, said she has attended forums with many participants in recent years about carbon pricing. "A lot of times, the discussion is sort of technical: What would be the pros and cons of different approaches?" she said.
Researchers at Shell grasped the severity of climate change as early as the 1980s, and in a 1988 confidential report, the company said that burning fossil fuels was the primary driver of rising carbon dioxide levels.
"The main cause of increasing CO2 concentrations is considered to be fossil fuel burning," said the report, which was obtained by De Correspondent, a Dutch news organization, in April (Climatewire, April 5).
Tom Pyle, who led Trump's transition team for the Department of Energy and is now president of the American Energy Alliance, said he hadn't heard of the carbon tax meetings.
"I have not been invited to that party," said Pyle, a vocal opponent of carbon taxes, "which makes sense, given where I am on that issue."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/09/06/stories/1060095987

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Lucid Energy Signs Natural Gas Transport Deal with Marathon Oil

Sep 6, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

By Rye Druzin

A Dallas natural gas pipeline and processing company has signed an agreement with Marathon Oil Co. of handle gathering operations across Houston oil company's New Mexico acreage.
Lucid Energy Group said the agreement would cover all of Marathon's operated acreage in Lea County, New Mexico, and some of the company's acreage in Eddy County. Both counties are part of the Permian Basin, which stretches from West Texas into New Mexico and is the most productive shale play in the country.
RELATED: Kinder Morgan approves $2 billion natural gas pipeline out of Permian
The cost of the agreement was not released.
Lucid Energy will also be opening a new natural gas processing plant in Lea County with a capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day. The plant will be Lucid Energy's fifth in southeast New Mexico and bring the company's regional processing capacity up to 750 million cubic feet a day.
Natural gas production in the Permian is only second to the Appalachia region in the eastern U.S., and has grown 31.3 percent in the last year, according to data from the Department of Energy.
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Lucid-Energy-signs-natural-gas-transport-deal-13209108.php

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Trump Admin Plans Fast Timeline for Fresh Pipeline Review

Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Energywire

By Ellen M. Gilmer

The Trump administration is planning to move quickly on a new court-ordered review of environmental impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline.
In a tentative schedule submitted to a federal court this week, the State Department set a target date of December to complete a fresh look at the impacts of Keystone XL's updated route through Nebraska.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana ordered the analysis last month, finding that Nebraska officials' 2017 approval of an alternative route through that state necessitated an updated environmental review to support the State Department's cross-border permit for the Canada-to-U.S. project (Energywire, Aug. 16).
The agency hopes to publish a formal notice early this month announcing its intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for Keystone XL. According to its schedule, it also plans to circulate its draft SEIS this month and open it up for public comment.
It aims to publish a final study in December.
"It should be noted that the dates given are estimates and that certain tasks that must be conducted during the NEPA process can take longer or shorter than expected," government lawyers told the court Tuesday.
The September target date for issuing a draft SEIS would give the State Department six weeks or less from the issuance of the order in mid-August to conduct the review. The agency noted that it decided to "pivot from" an environmental assessment that was already in progress and instead focus on the SEIS.
The final document will support a critical cross-border permit for the TransCanada Corp. pipeline, which was approved by the Trump administration last year.
The Bureau of Land Management and Army Corps of Engineers — which also have jurisdiction over the pipeline's crossings of public lands and waterways, respectively — are expected to issue their permits in January or February 2019, government lawyers told the court.
Keystone XL has undergone several rounds of environmental review and litigation since it was first proposed in 2008. The Obama administration rejected permits for the project in 2015, and President Trump quickly reversed that decision after he took office.
Nebraska state regulators threw a wrench in TransCanada's plans last year when the state approved an alternative route for the project across the Cornhusker State. Federal officials are now reviewing how that change affects Keystone XL's overall impacts.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/09/06/stories/1060095947

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Chemical Security News

Pesticide Safety Training Materials: EPA Announcement of Availability Will Reduce Worker Injury, Illness Risk, OIG Says

Sep 6, 2018 | Safety + Health Magazine

By publishing the availability of expanded pesticide safety training materials after previously resisting the move, the Environmental Protection Agency “will reduce risks of injury and illness” among employers, farmworkers, pesticide handlers and their families, the EPA Office of Inspector General asserts in an audit report released Aug. 30.
Acting in accordance with 2015 revisions to the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard, EPA announced the availability of the materials in a June 22 Federal Register notice. Developed in tandem with the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative, the materials are intended to help mitigate pesticide exposure, which has been linked to cancer, Parkinson’s disease and asthma, according to EPA.
Employers are required to implement the materials – available on the PERC website – by Dec. 19. PERC states that EPA-approved training materials will carry an EPA approval number similar to “Approval # EPA WPS TTT W/H 00026.” Training guidelines:Training must be delivered in a manner that can be understood, in a location relatively free from distractions.When training workers or handlers, the trainer must be present at all times to answer questions, even when showing a video.Trainers must be qualified, most often by holding a pesticide applicator’s license or by completing an EPA-approved Train-the-Trainer course.
EPA’s recent actions marked a reversal of course from December, when the agency stated its intent to reconsider various aspects of the WPS revisions, further delaying employer enactment of the training.
In May, however, Attorneys General from New York, California and Maryland filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenging EPA’s decision to delay the requirement. The lawsuit claims that the Trump administration EPA has blocked improved protections approved by the Obama EPA and violated the judicial review provision of the Administrative Procedure Act.
EPA still is considering revisions to WPS requirements for minimum ages, designated representatives and application inclusion zones, the Federal Register notice states. Training materials would be amended should the agency implement changes via a final rule.
OIG offers no recommendations because EPA revised its position during the course of the audit.
https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/17446-pesticide-safety-training-materials-epa-announcement-of-availability-will-reduce-worker-injury-illness-risk-oig-says

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DHS Chief on Cyber Response: 'Not a Fair Fight'

Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Energywire

By Blake Sobczak

A cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure should trigger an even more forceful response, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
"By the time that country is attacking civilian networks, civilian assets, it's not a fair fight," Nielsen said at an event hosted by George Washington University's Center for Cyber & Homeland Security yesterday. "That's not how the international world has created norms and standards, and I don't think [the response] should be commensurate. I think it should be more."
Nielsen pointed out that the Trump administration is "working on" deterring malicious behavior in cyberspace by quickly identifying the nation-states or hackers behind attacks.
"We've got to attribute faster," she said. "We've got to bring everything to bear, especially with our allies, so we can name names as soon as possible, not many months later."
Nielsen laid out a menu of potential consequences, from economic sanctions to "unseen" actions.
"We will no longer stand idly by as our networks are penetrated, exploited or held hostage. Instead, we will respond, and we will respond decisively," she said.
The Department of Homeland Security is charged with defending some of America's most sensitive computer networks, including civilian U.S. government websites and data. The agency also offers cybersecurity support to private companies, such as power utilities, that come into the crosshairs of hackers backed by foreign intelligence services.
DHS and the FBI warned of one such cyber espionage campaign earlier this year in a rare alert, claiming that Russian hackers targeted U.S. energy, nuclear and chemical companies for years.
The attackers never managed to turn off the lights, but they reached the control system of at least one small power generation asset, officials say.
Grid leaders have expressed confidence in the U.S. readiness to strike back in the wake of a major cyberattack on civilian infrastructure. Tom Fanning, CEO of utility giant Southern Co., said earlier this summer that "if somebody tries to take us down, they will have a bad day," hinting at a cyber escalation that would draw in the Defense Department (Energywire, June 27).
Nevertheless, U.S. officials have been cagey about drawing clear "red lines" for acceptable behavior in cyberspace. Last May, President Trump called for a review of cyber deterrence policy in an executive order on critical infrastructure cybersecurity. The results of that effort pointed to "significant challenges" in deterring state-sponsored cyberattacks that fall short of meeting the definition for "use of force."
The House yesterday passed legislation that would direct the president to take specific actions to deter foreign hackers, such as identifying "critical cyber threat actors" that could harm critical infrastructure sectors and publicly posting lists of transgressors.
"In effect, this would codify America's longstanding unofficial policy of naming and shaming bad actors in cyberspace," Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in prepared remarks. "This legislation will put countries like Iran, North Korea and Russia on notice that the United States is prepared to impose tough consequences for cyber attacks."
Nielsen said that DHS would release a strategic plan for countering new dangers to the U.S., including cyberthreats to election systems and critical energy infrastructure.
"Cyberattacks, in terms of their breadth and scope and possible consequences, now exceed the risks of physical attacks," she said yesterday, pointing to U.S. intelligence estimates that more than 30 nations have developed sophisticated offensive capabilities online.
She cited the WannaCry and NotPetya cyberattacks last year, in which fast-spreading malware caused hundreds of thousands of computers to seize up. The U.S. later attributed those attacks to North Korea and Russia, respectively.
"They think they can get away with it — too often, they have," Nielsen said.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/09/06/stories/1060095977

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Environment News

Kavanaugh Tackles Doctrine That Loomed Over Climate Plan

Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Energywire

By Ellen M. Gilmer

Climate and energy policy didn't come up as the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court yesterday.
That was no surprise, as senators' questions on other hot topics like judicial independence, reproductive rights and presidential power carried the day.
But 12 hours of questioning yielded some insights into Judge Brett Kavanaugh's thoughts on the executive branch's authority to craft big regulations — the kind often used to address major issues like climate change.
In an exchange focused on net neutrality, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) pressed Kavanaugh on his application of the "major questions" doctrine to weigh agency action.
The doctrine operates as an exception to traditional judicial deference to agencies. It originated in the Supreme Court's 2014 Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, which found that EPA could not exercise major, transformative power without a "clear statement" from Congress on an issue.
Kavanaugh, who has spent 12 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, told Klobuchar he was bound by precedent to apply the standard in a case dealing with the Federal Communications Commission.
"What that opinion says is it's OK for Congress to delegate various matters to the executive agencies to do rules, but on major questions of major economic or social significance, we expect Congress to speak clearly before such a delegation," Kavanaugh said.Transformative climate rule?
The issue arose in legal debate over the Clean Power Plan in 2016.
During oral arguments before the D.C. Circuit that year, Kavanaugh appeared to favor the use of the tougher standard. He said the rule was "fundamentally transforming an industry," and "Congress should be making the big policy decisions" (Greenwire, Sept. 27, 2016).
A majority decision adopting that analysis could have derailed the EPA rule.
Clean Power Plan defenders countered at the time that the regulation — a program to cut emissions across the power sector — was not transformative but rather built on an existing downward trend in reliance on coal-fired power plants.
The D.C. Circuit ultimately put the case on ice without deciding it, and the Trump administration is now crafting a weaker replacement rule.
The Obama climate plan never came up directly during yesterday's Senate hearing, but Kavanaugh did refer to the case without naming it when he joked about the last time the D.C. Circuit heard nearly eight hours of arguments on an issue.
"When we got back to the conference room, I don't think anyone was saying we should do that in every case," he said with a laugh.
Environmental advocates have accused Kavanaugh of an overly broad application of the major questions doctrine, arguing that the judge has appeared particularly inclined to second-guess federal regulations that are tough on polluters.
Kavanaugh defended his record in a friendly exchange with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) yesterday, listing decisions in which he has sided with environmentalists. Environmental lawyers have called the list misleading (E&E Daily, Sept. 6).Agency deference
In addition to the "major questions" doctrine, critics are also concerned about Kavanaugh's broader views on agency deference.
The League of Conservation Voters, for example, has urged senators to press the judge on his views of Chevron deference. Under the doctrine, named after a 1984 Supreme Court ruling, judges typically defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous laws.
"Why is Kavanaugh's use of the Chevron doctrine so inconsistent, and seemingly only rely on agency interpretation when it results in rolling back environmental protections?" LCV wrote in a list of recommended questions this week.
Kavanaugh criticized executive agencies for trying to accomplish policy goals by trying to "push the envelope" to claim authority from old laws that don't actually support an action (Greenwire, Sept. 5).
In an exchange with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Kavanaugh added that Chevron can be a tricky standard.
"Where's your ambiguity trigger, so to speak?" he asked, explaining that the analysis "leaves the judge's umpire vision in real trouble" because it's difficult to weigh the issue in a neutral and consistent way.
He noted, however, that Chevron deference is a useful tool when dealing with laws that use discretionary words like "feasible" or "reasonable" in their instructions to regulators.
"Courts should be careful not to unduly second-guess agencies," he said.
Questions of whether an agency is entitled to deference frequently arise in cases involving environmental regulations.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/09/06/stories/1060095983

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These Technology Trends Can Pave Way for Global Climate Action

Sep 6, 2018 | Environmental Defense Fund

By Fred Krupp

This was first published by World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda.
A fresh wave of technological innovation is deepening our understanding of tough environmental challenges – and also giving us new ways to solve them. As thousands of business leaders and policymakers gather in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit, these game-changing innovations will be showing up all over town.
One example will be new approaches for measuring and reducing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that has pound for pound more than 80 times the near-term warming power of carbon dioxide.
Human-made methane emissions are responsible for a quarter of all the warming we’re experiencing today. That’s a problem, but it’s also an enormous opportunity.Sign up for my biweekly Innovation newsletter
One of the largest sources of methane is the oil and gas industry. Indeed, natural gas is mostly methane. And it turns out that reducing these industrial methane emissions is the fastest, most cost-effective way to slow the rate of warming, even as we continue working hard to decarbonize our energy system.
But we didn’t know that until recently – or at least we couldn’t prove it – because nobody knew how much methane was coming from the oil and gas sector.
Data shines spotlight on methane problem at a critical time
Five years ago, Environmental Defense Fund set out to measure methane emissions from the United States oil and gas sector. We launched an unprecedented scientific research effort involving more than 140 researchers from 40 institutions, along with four dozen oil and gas companies that provided site access and technical advice.
Researchers used a range of technologies – including sensors mounted on drones, airplanes and even Google Street View cars – to measure emissions at every link of the supply chain, from remote well heads to pipes under your local street.
Results were published in over 30 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. A synthesis paper published this summer in Science concluded that the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane each year– nearly 60 percent more than current Environmental Protection Agency estimates. But these emissions can be controlled, often through simple maintenance.
Data from the project has been instrumental in convincing both industry leaders and policymakers that they have a serious methane challenge. The findings helped shape new regulations in states such as Colorado, Wyoming, California and Pennsylvania; along with national policies to reduce emission from oil and gas production on federal and tribal land.
Now, we’re using the data to hold the line against misguided attempts by the current administration to roll back those standards.
Digitization of oil and gas industry can help cut emissions by 45%
Worldwide, the International Energy Agency reckons that oil and gas methane emissions are about 75 million metric tons – enough to generate all of Africa’s electricity twice over. The IEA estimates that industry could reduce those emissions 75 percent using existing technologies, two-thirds of that at no net cost.
We at EDF are calling for a 45 percent reduction in global oil and gas methane emissions by 2025. That would have the same 20-year climate benefit as closing one-third of the world’s coal plants. Results on such a scale are conceivable thanks to growing digitization in the industry. For example, reliable, low-cost sensors, remote monitoring and oilfield internet-of-things can help energy companies reduce emissions and eliminate waste of saleable gas at the same time.
To help realize these prospects, EDF is working with Shell to test continuous monitoring technologies developed by entrepreneurs who took part in our Mobile Monitoring Challenge. We’ve also partnered with Stanford University and ExxonMobil to look at mobile detection technologies, using aircraft and drones.
Data-driven transparency is sparking competition within the industry itself. In April, BP set its first quantitative methane target. The following month, ExxonMobil committed to cut emissions and flared gas volumes. Shell, Qatar Petroleum and other producers have also committed to reduce methane emissions across the natural gas supply chain.
We’re taking the methane mission into space
Now we’re pushing the technological envelope even farther by developing MethaneSAT – a satellite mission due to launch in 2021, and designed to continuously map and measure methane emissions with exacting precision almost anywhere on the planet. MethaneSAT will make it possible to “see” emissions in places where they’re difficult to track today.
Data from MethaneSAT will be available for free to anyone. It will help countries, companies and citizens spot problems, identify reduction opportunities and measure progress over time. It’s just one of several space-based methane monitoring tools now in the works.
The European Space Agency, for example, launched its TROPOMI satellite in 2017. And a private company called GHGSAT has one satellite in orbit and another due to launch within the year.
Some have likened this to a new space race. But I see it as a wave of transformational change emerging from multiple nodes across an innovation ecosystem. Each has different, but complimentary, capabilities, together offering multiple streams of data to paint an unassailable picture of the problem.
Just as we have used the U.S. methane data to spur new policies and better business practices, we will use data from MethaneSAT and from our allies to help reach our 45 percent reduction goal by 2025. Our aim to virtually eliminate the industry’s methane emissions by 2050.
Sensors manage supply chains and make fishing vessels “smart”
We’re deploying advanced sensor technologies to help create a healthier environment in other ways, too – from Google cars mapping air pollution and its health effects to wearable bracelets that track your daily chemical exposure.
Elsewhere, retailers and consumer brands are using blockchain to improve accountability and sustainability across far-flung supply chains. Sensors can help farmers reduce the amount of chemicals on their fields, and “smart boats” can help fishermen manage their catch effectively, increasing profits and fish in the sea.
It’s no coincidence the Global Climate Action Summit is happening in California, the heart of America’s most innovative sector and the state that has led the nation in environmental stewardship. California has proven time and again that a strong economy and healthy environment go hand in hand. Now more than ever, technology is the key to making this a worldwide success story.
https://www.edf.org/blog/2018/09/06/these-technology-trends-can-pave-way-global-climate-action

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Ewire: PM Studies Raise Bar for Rolling Back Air, Climate Rules

Sep 6, 2018 | Inside EPA

Trump administration efforts to justify rolling back climate and clean air rules may be getting more difficult as a series of new studies show increasing adverse health effects from exposure to particle pollution -- at levels below EPA's current air quality standards.
The latest of those studies, published last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), shows increased dementia risks in adults due to increased exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
“We find that a 1 microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in average decadal exposure (9.1% of the mean) increases the probability of receiving a dementia diagnosis by 1.3 percentage points (6.7% of the mean),” the authors conclude.
They add that “regulation of air pollution has greater benefits than previously known, in part because dementia impairs financial decision making,” adding that “the effect of PM2.5 on dementia persists below current regulatory thresholds.”
In all, they estimate the dementia-related benefits of the EPA’s nonattainment designations exceeded $150 billion.
That follows another study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that showed damage to intelligence resulting from exposure to coarse PM, also at levels below EPA standards.
Echoing the NBER study, the PNAS study finds that “long-term exposure to air pollution impedes cognitive performance in verbal and math tests. We provide evidence that the effect of air pollution on verbal tests becomes more pronounced as people age, especially for men and the less educated.”
Further, “The damage on the aging brain by air pollution likely imposes substantial health and economic costs, considering that cognitive functioning is critical for the elderly for both running daily errands and making high-stake decisions,” according to the abstract.
The study results come as the Trump administration is already facing significant criticisms over its proposed regulatory rollbacks, which its own analysis shows significant adverse health effects.
For example, administration analysis of the proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, intended to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP), shows the plan could cause as many as 1,400 additional premature deaths annually in 2030 compared to the CPP, that it would vastly reduce overall benefits compared to the CPP and that it could boost both greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants.
Critics of the proposal are already citing the analysis to argue the proposal is legally flawed. If ACE is finalized, EPA will “face enormous legal hurdles because it will have to explain why it is exercising its discretion to pick a legal interpretation that causes so much harm,” Ricky Revesz, dean emeritus of New York University's law school, told reporters last month.
Similarly, the Trump administration is acknowledging its plan to roll back vehicle GHG and fuel economy standards will boost emissions of PM and other conventional air pollutants, but officials are arguing such increases are modest.
While EPA and the Transportation Department (DOT) argue that the vehicle plan's criteria pollution increases are minor overall, one state source notes that such changes matter less in the aggregate than in specific areas, given that even a seemingly small increase in certain communities might exacerbate struggles with meeting EPA's air quality standards.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/ewire-pm-studies-raise-bar-rolling-back-air-climate-rules

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GOP Rep: Parties ‘Have to Come Together’ on Climate Change

Sep 6, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire

By Timothy Cama

A Republican lawmaker pushing to put a tax on carbon dioxide emissions said that bipartisan cooperation is the only route to significant climate change legislation.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), one of only two lawmakers formally supporting Rep. Carlos Curbelo’s (R-Fla.) carbon tax bill, said Thursday at an event hosted by The Hill that partisan climate proposals can never get the support needed to pass through Congress.
“It’s not a question of ‘can,’ the parties have to come together,” Fitzpatrick told The Hill’s Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack during the climate event hosted alongside the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“These purely partisan solutions are never going to work, because you’re never going to get the votes you need to pass. We’re trying to get something across the finish line to advance the goal,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that he’s always suspicious of partisan proposals to solve major problems.
“That tells you something right off the bat. If it’s a single-party solution, why is that the case?”
Fitzpatrick has set himself apart as one of a handful of current Republicans in Congress to back a proposal to punish companies for their emissions.
The Modernizing America with Rebuilding to Kick-start the Economy of the Twenty-first Century with a Historic Infrastructure-Centered Expansion Act, or MARKET CHOICE Act, would put a $24-per-metric-ton tax on carbon emissions and put most of the money toward infrastructure.
Curbelo and Fitzpatrick introduced the bill days after the House easily passed a GOP-backed nonbinding resolution to disavow a carbon tax and declare it detrimental to the country.
“Carlos and I stand for something very different: We’re trying to be that voice inside the GOP caucus to advance common-sense, bipartisan solutions to what he and I believe is a very significant threat,” the freshman lawmaker said.
Thanks in part to Pennsylvania’s court-ordered redistricting, Fitzpatrick is one of the most vulnerable GOP lawmakers in this year’s midterm election. Democrat Scott Wallace has polled very closely to Fitzpatrick, and Democratic leaders think he can take the seat.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), speaking with Cusack after Fitzpatrick, blamed corporations for the general GOP opposition to climate policies and the failure to pass significant emissions legislation.
“The general posture of corporate America — at least in the United States Senate, where I am — is still violently hostile to movement on climate change,” he said.
Whitehouse said fossil fuel interests are actively pushing against climate policies through lobbying and campaign spending, while companies with progressive internal environmental policies are doing little to help.
“And that, I think, is the crux of our problem,” he said.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/405356-gop-rep-parties-have-to-come-together-on-climate-change

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Calif. Sues Trump Admin Over Spills at Mexican Border

Sep 6, 2018 | E&E Greenwire

By Jeremy P. Jacobs

California leaders are fed up with the millions of gallons of polluted water that flow across the state's border with Mexico and foul San Diego's beaches every year and have now filed suit against the Trump administration in an attempt to remedy the long-standing problem.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board filed the lawsuit Tuesday targeting the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, or IBWC, for its management of contaminated wastewater that flows into California via the Tijuana River.
Pollution has increased in recent years due to the growth of Tijuana, leading to millions of gallons of wastewater that makes its way into the Tijuana River Estuary and ultimately the Pacific Ocean.
San Diego authorities have been forced to close local beaches for at least 150 days each of the last three years due to public health risks.
Becerra's lawsuit cites "repeated violations" of the Clean Water Act, leading to discharges "consisting of untreated sewage, bacteria, pesticides, chemicals, and heavy metals."
The 120-mile Tijuana River drains a roughly 1,735-square-mile watershed that stretches across the Mexican border. It features canyons and hillsides, all of which flow into the river and the United States via a flood control channel controlled by the IBWC.
Pollution has plagued the area for decades. Imperial Beach, other border towns and the Surfrider Foundation have filed similar lawsuits against the IBWC that are ongoing.
The border communities have been particularly critical of the Trump administration's focus on a border wall, arguing that the water pollution poses a greater health risk (Greenwire, March 30).
Becerra in May signaled his willingness to file the lawsuit, the latest in a string of cases against the Trump administration.
In an earlier response to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, Justice Department officials claimed that legally, the IBWC cannot provide the remedies the board and Becerra's lawsuit are seeking.
"Contrary to suggestions in the Water Board's letter," the March 1 memo states, the IBWC's role under a 1944 treaty with Mexico "does not make it the agency that, under U.S. Law is responsible for managing transboundary trash, sewage, and sediment discharges from Mexico."
The memo adds that IBWC has not received congressional appropriations earmarked for the issue.
Additionally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has launched an investigation into the issue. Mexico also pledged $4.3 million to clean up the Tijuana River channel earlier this year.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/09/06/stories/1060096043

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House Republicans Continue Push for Questioning Over Environmentalist's Foreign Ties

Sep 6, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire

By Miranda Green

Two Republican members of Congress are pushing forward with a crusade to question various environmental groups' connections to foreign governments and potential work as foreign agents.
Chairman of the House Natural Resources committee Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chairman Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) sent a letter Wednesday to World Resources Institute (WRI) President Andrew Steer asking him to provide information on work WRI has done with the Chinese government.
"Given these emerging trends, and the apparent strong ties between the People's Republic of China, the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the ruling Chinese Communist Party, and certain U.S.-based tax-exempt organizations, the Committee seeks clarification on the nature of such organizations' focus on U.S. environmental and natural resources policy," the letter reads.
Bishop and Westerman charged the Chinese government with pressuring foreign media and governments to "self-censor when addressing sensitive subjects or risk retaliation."
"[China] masks its political motives behind laudable human-interest or cultural projects, blurring the battle line with its adversaries," they added. "Chinese officials continually work to control environmental information and news stories in an effort to counter the country’s status as the world’s largest polluter."
Bishop and Westerman said in Wednesday's letter that "the Committee is examining WRI’s role in aiding China’s perception management efforts with respect to pollution control and its international standing on environmental issues in ways that may be detrimental to the United States."
WRI is an international non-profit resource center that focuses on issues related to climate change and renewable energy, among other things.
In June, the Republican duo launched an investigation and fired off a number of letters to U.S.-based environmental organizations demanding documents that they said would prove whether the groups were acting as Chinese foreign agents in bad faith against U.S. energy policy.
"These are groups — one of which, it’s very proud to say, sues the government every 10 days — that have an unusual connection in their support for what the Chinese are doing that are against our military and our environmental issues, especially in the territories,” Bishop told The Hill at the time, hinting at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which has boasted about its frequent litigation against the Trump administration.
“There seems to be smoke there. We’re going to try to see whether there’s fire underneath it,” Bishop added in June.
The NRDC and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) were among two of the groups who received such requests from the congressmen earlier this year.
Green groups have had their fair share of scrutiny from the right, including a 2014 joint House-Senate probe that accused NRDC of exerting improper influence over the Environmental Protection Agency when it wrote a climate change regulation.
The probes come as greens like the NRDC and the CBD have taken on major roles in lobbying and litigating against President Trump and congressional Republicans’ agenda.
The new scrutiny also comes as Washington is increasingly focused on the issue of foreign lobbying, which must be disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Timothy Cama contributed to this report.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/405367-house-republicans-continue-push-questioning-environmentalists-ties

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