Preview Newsletter
PM ACC Clips Report - September 17, 2018
-
(ACC Mentioned) N.E. EPA Director Headed to D.C. After Just 9 Months
Sep 17, 2018 | ecoRI news
By Tim Faulkner
The American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group for chemical companies, and some environmental groups praised the recent nomination to head the chemical and pollution office at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). -
Kavanaugh, Facing Uncertain Path, Expected to Limit EPA Deference
Sep 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, is facing an uncertain path in the wake of the public disclosure of years-old sexual assault allegations, though should he be confirmed, observers expect him to back suits that seek to limit the scope of the landmark Chevron standard of deferring to EPA but doubt he would abolish the concept. -
Bipartisan Calls to Delay Kavanaugh Vote Intensify
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Geof Koss
Embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh today issued a new and stronger denial that he sexually assaulted a woman during a high school party more than three decades ago, but said he would be willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the accusation. -
BPA Replacements Aren't Safe Either, Study Finds
Sep 17, 2018 | Treehugger
By Katherine Martinko
Scientists have found that the chemicals used to replace BPA over the past 20 years have the same damaging effects. -
Report Finds EPA Lags on Inspection of School Building Asbestos
Sep 17, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Mel Leonor
The EPA is not conducting needed inspections to minimize asbestos exposure in schools, a new report from the agency’s inspector general found. -
Lack of EPA Oversight Puts Students, Faculty at Risk — IG
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
EPA's internal watchdog today raised concerns about the agency's lax monitoring of asbestos in many U.S. schools. -
Firefighting Chemical Linked to Water Safety Concerns
Sep 17, 2018 | Great Lakes Echo
By Jeremy Wahr
A firefighting foam has been linked to a group of chemicals known to be harmful to infants, toddlers and pregnant women. But it is still kept on hand because firefighters say they don’t have effective alternatives. -
MEPs Endorse Strong Action on Recycling of Chemicals in Products
Sep 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Clelia Oziel
The European Parliament has adopted a Resolution calling for "swift action" to tackle chemicals of concern in products and waste. The aim is to ensure that recycling of materials does not perpetuate the use of hazardous substances. -
Ewire: Amid EPA Rollback, Shell Sets Its Own Methane Standard
Sep 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
Royal Dutch Shell has become the latest oil and gas major to set a strict methane leak target for itself, saying it will limit emissions of the potent greenhouse gas to 0.2 percent of the company's gas production by 2025, even as EPA is rolling back it first-time methane rules for the sector. -
Shell Announces Emissions Crackdown
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Nick Sobczyk
Royal Dutch Shell PLC today announced plans to curb methane leaks across its oil and gas operations, part of a larger push by the company to slash planet-warming emissions. -
Report: More Than Half of Pennsylvania Gas Wells Used 'Secret' Fracking Chemicals
Sep 17, 2018 | Philadelphia Business Journal
By Mike Larson
Energy companies in Pennsylvania did not identify potentially harmful chemicals used for drilling and fracking for natural gas in more than half of the wells created between 2013 and 2017, according to a recently released report. -
FRA: Nine Railroads 'at Risk' of Not Qualifying for PTC Extension
Sep 17, 2018 | Progressive Rail Roading
Nine railroads — all passenger — have been determined to be "most at risk" of failing to qualify for an extension of the Dec. 31 deadline to implement positive train control (PTC), Federal Railroad Administrator Ronald Batory told a congressional panellast week. -
EPA Haze 'Roadmap' Floats Exemptions for International Air Pollution
Sep 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
EPA's “roadmap” for streamlining states' implementation of the regional haze emissions reduction program floats regulatory exemptions for air pollution from foreign sources, one of several measures acting agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler is eyeing to make it easier for states to comply with the program's requirements. -
Court Rebuffs EPA Again on Ozone Implementation Rule
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
A federal appellate court largely upheld its original February decision that tossed major chunks of an Obama-era rule for implementation of EPA's 2008 ground-level ozone standard.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation and Infrastructure News
Environment News
-
(ACC Mentioned) N.E. EPA Director Headed to D.C. After Just 9 Months
Sep 17, 2018 | ecoRI news
By Tim Faulkner
The American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group for chemical companies, and some environmental groups praised the recent nomination to head the chemical and pollution office at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Before assuming the high-ranking post, Alexandra Dapolito Dunn must be confirmed by the Senate. Dunn was appointed to her current role as head of the EPA New England region by disgraced former EPA head Scott Pruitt. She has served at the post for less than nine months.
Dunn is considered a moderate based on her work to pass chemical-safety legislation, but she also supported Pruitt’s decision to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s greenhouse gas emission-reduction plans. She also favored Pruitt’s changes to EPA advisory boards.
At a recent business forum in Providence, Dunn explained how she would manage the growing influence of the chemical industry and other polluters that are taking jobs at the EPA.
Dunn’s top goal, she said repeatedly, is to provide regulatory certainty to industry and the public.
“It’s that whole sense of not being accountable for the work, is really being pushed hard as a way of transforming government and specifically transforming the EPA,” she said.
Dunn also pledged to issue pollution permits more quickly, create a “new level of transparency” at the EPA, and to make employees more accountable.
The message of regulatory certainty is pushed by business groups, but the concept conflicts with Dunn’s belief that states should be given more say in establishing regulations and with efforts by the EPA and the Trump administration to prevent California from implementing stricter pollution regulations.
Dunn lumped offshore drilling and offshore wind energy under the topic of coastal development, as an issue that New England should be concerned about.
“I would say that reflects the continued very large discussion in our country about energy,” Dunn said. “It’s a very difficult issue.”
Dunn said the rollback of the Clean Power Plan doesn’t impact New England because of rules in place through the multistate emission-reduction program known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). However, she didn’t explain how RGGI protects the Northeast from the impacts of climate change and from air pollution from Midwest states.
“The Clean Power Plan was never a threat to New England states because of RGGI, so that rollback is not going to dramatically affect the New England states,” Dunn said.
Janet Coit, director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, endorsed Dunn for the promotion and praised her for her work to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act in 2016.
Under Coit’s tenure, DEM has also cut the time for issuing permits, while making the agency more business friendly.
Coit also praised Dunn for her work at the Environmental Council of States and highlighted her attention to environmental justice issues.
Dunn noted that many states outside of New England need convincing about the need for environmental protections.
“It’s not a question of whether to protect the environment but how to protect it,” Dunn said.
Key issues in her new post, should she be confirmed, will be replacing lead water pipes, brownfield development, and the remediation of Superfund sites such as Centerdale Manor in North Providence.
Dunn also announced that Rhode Island will received $21 million for infrastructure funding. She said to expect an announcement about a multiagency plan to address lead pipe abatement.
New asbestos regulations by the Trump administration, Dunn explained, are not a “green light” to expand the use of the hazardous material in the United State, but rather a first for defining the few uses for the substance.
“The law reflects a fairly healthy balance between pressure on the EPA to move, move, move and opportunity for states to step in [and reduce the time] that it takes for EPA to act,” Dunn said.
Climate-change adaptation Dunn said is largely a state and local issue.
Dunn didn’t address the debate over controversial chemicals such as glyphosate but responded to a questions about the increasing influence of chemical companies at the EPA.
“Part of being an environmental regulator is always being aware of the influences that are … the pressures being brought to bare on any decision-making,” she said. “So you are always going to have the input of industry, the input of NGOs, the input of the scientific community, the academic community.”
Dunn emphasized the input of agency employees “and making sure I make the most of the expertise of the staff that will put the others’ influences into context. So that we can make the best science-based decisions possible.”
In addition to the endorsement from Coit, Dunn was endorsed by state environmental heads in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The Connecticut River Conservancy also endorsed her for the new EPA job in Washington, D.C.
The Environmental Working Group said Dunn shouldn’t be confirmed until she commits to banning chemical such as methylene chloride and chlorpyrifos and pledges to reverses other recent deregulation.
https://www.ecori.org/government/2018/9/17/new-england-epa-head-looks-to-washington-dc
-
Kavanaugh, Facing Uncertain Path, Expected to Limit EPA Deference
Sep 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, is facing an uncertain path in the wake of the public disclosure of years-old sexual assault allegations, though should he be confirmed, observers expect him to back suits that seek to limit the scope of the landmark Chevron standard of deferring to EPA but doubt he would abolish the concept.
Kavanaugh, who is facing a growing controversy over allegations of attempted sexual assault when he was a teenager, is currently slated for a Sept. 20 confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
But at least three GOP senators have called for a delay in the vote in order to allow for an investigation of the allegations.
Before news of the allegations broke and the person who made them came forward publicly, the American Bar Association (ABA) held a Sept. 14 call where high court watchers discussed the justices' upcoming term that starts Oct. 1 and will run through June 30.
Both panelists on the call, San Francisco University law professor Alice Kaswan and Widener University Delaware law professor James May, doubted that Kavanaugh would vote to repeal Chevron outright if confirmed. “I don't think Kavanaugh has called the Chevron doctrine entirely into question,” May said.
He added that Kavanaugh in his current role as a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit judge has crafted rulings aimed at “limiting it in a variety of ways."
Chevron stems from a 1984 high court ruling that says judges should defer to agencies' “reasonable” interpretations of ambiguous statutory text. But conservatives on the bench and in Congress have lately pushed to restrict or eliminate that deference, and are looking to the high court as a potential venue -- especially with the additions of Kavanaugh and Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was a noted deference skeptic as an appellate judge.
But May and Kaswan said Kavanaugh's history on the D.C. Circuit signals that he would prefer to narrow Chevronrather than eliminate it, such as through the “major questions doctrine” that denies deference to agencies on the statutory basis for their “major” regulations.
“My sense is that he's more likely to view the attempt to enact more significant rules with major impacts on the economy as major actions,” Kaswan said.
In particular, Kaswan said Kavanaugh's majority opinion in Mexichem Fluor, Inc. v. EPA, where a three-judge panel vacated an Obama-era rule limiting the use of hydroflurocarbon refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases, is an example of his tendency to read statutes narrowly and literally -- as opposed to former Justice Anthony Kennedy, whom Kavanaugh has been nominated to succeed.
Kennedy “attends to text, but he's also informed by purpose and principle,” Kaswan said, pointing to the retired justice's concurring opinion in the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction case Rapanos, et al., et ux., v. United States, as an example of him reading a law more broadly in order to harmonize the text with its overall purpose.
Kennedy's Rapanos opinion says waters are subject to the CWA when they have a “significant nexus” with navigable waterbodies, as opposed to the more limited standard advanced by the late Justice Antonin Scalia that would limit jurisdiction to “relatively permanent” waters with a “continuous surface connection."
Following a week-long confirmation hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination Sept. 20, which would tee up a vote by the full chamber ahead of the start of the Supreme Court term on Oct. 1. If lawmakers hold to that schedule Kavanaugh would be seated in time to rule on every case in the term, including an Endangered Species Act suit slated for argument on its opening day.
But the confirmation vote is in doubt after allegations came to light that Kavanaugh committed an attempted sexual assault during high school. As of press time three Senate Republicans -- Lisa Murkowski (AK), Bob Corker (TN) and Judiciary Committee member Jeff Flake (AZ) -- had called for more investigation of the claims before any vote on the nominee, meaning there is no longer majority support to move forward with a quick confirmation.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/kavanaugh-facing-uncertain-path-expected-limit-epa-deference
-
Bipartisan Calls to Delay Kavanaugh Vote Intensify
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Geof Koss
Embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh today issued a new and stronger denial that he sexually assaulted a woman during a high school party more than three decades ago, but said he would be willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the accusation.
"This is a completely false allegation," Kavanaugh said in a statement released by the White House this morning. "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday."
Kavanaugh said he is "willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity."
His accuser — Palo Alto University clinical psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford — is also willing to appear before Judiciary to discuss the incident, her attorney, Debra Katz, told media outlets today.
Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has pushed to proceed with a committee vote on Kavanaugh as scheduled on Thursday. But he noted today that he is attempting to arrange follow-up calls with both Kavanaugh and Ford to discuss the matter.
"Anyone who comes forward as Dr. Ford has deserves to be heard, so I will continue working on a way to hear her out in an appropriate, precedented and respectful manner," he said in a statement, adding that his team is "working diligently to get to the bottom of these claims."
Grassley said he has attempted to coordinate calls with committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) but she has refused. Feinstein and other committee Democrats have called for the Kavanaugh vote to be postponed.
Senators from both parties continue to urge further scrutiny.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a centrist who is already under pressure from Alaska Natives and abortion-rights advocates to oppose Kavanaugh, told CNN that she thought Judiciary should consider delaying Thursday's vote.
"This is not something that came up during the hearings," Murkowski said. "The hearings are now over, and if there is real substance to this, it demands a response. That may be something the committee needs to look into."
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), also under pressure to vote down Kavanaugh's nomination, went further.
"Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee," she said on Twitter.
Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), one of a handful of moderate Democrats up for re-election who has been considered a potential "yes" vote on Kavanaugh, also called for delay.
"The allegations made against Judge Kavanaugh are serious and merit further review," Donnelly said today in a statement. "Given the nature of these allegations, and the number of outstanding questions, I believe the Judiciary Committee should hold off on Thursday's scheduled vote."
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), also considered a potential "yes" vote, issued a similar statement today.
"This is a very serious allegation which should be thoroughly investigated, and it's up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to do just that," she said.
Another centrist Democrat, Judiciary member Chris Coons of Delaware, joined the calls for putting off the vote, saying he was "deeply troubled" by the allegations made by Ford, who said Kavanaugh and a friend cornered her in a room at a high school party, turned music up loud and attempted to remove her clothes.
It's too early to say whether the allegations will sink Kavanaugh's nomination, but at the very least, further delays appear likely.
Senate GOP leaders had planned to quickly confirm Kavanaugh, hoping to see the current federal appellate judge seated in time for the Supreme Court's fall term, which begins Oct. 1.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway seemed resigned to the fact that a delay in the committee vote may be inevitable, saying this morning that Ford "absolutely" deserves to be heard.
"She should not be insulted, she should not be ignored," Conway told reporters at the White House. "She should testify under oath, and she should do it on Capitol Hill, but that's up to the Senate Judiciary Committee; they should decide the forum. And Judge Kavanaugh should also testify as to these 36-year-old allegations."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/09/17/stories/1060097273
-
BPA Replacements Aren't Safe Either, Study Finds
Sep 17, 2018 | Treehugger
By Katherine Martinko
Scientists have found that the chemicals used to replace BPA over the past 20 years have the same damaging effects.
Twenty years ago, scientists made the accidental discovery that mice housed in damaged plastic cages were contaminated with bisphenol A (BPA). They had been studying female eggs from young females and saw a sudden rise in scrambled chromosomes. Subsequent studies showed that BPA does indeed have a serious effect on the developing brain, heart, lung, prostate, mammary gland, sperm and eggs. This spurred a widespread rejection of BPA in many consumer products, which is why it's now common to see 'BPA-free' labels on certain plastics.
Now the same research team is back with more disturbing news, just published in the journal Current Biology: BPA replacement chemicals aren't safe either. Study co-author Patricia Hunt from Washington State University calls it "a strange déjà vu experience for our laboratory." Once again, the researchers noticed changes in control animals that were traced to exposure to damaged cages and subsequent contamination. That's when Hunt and her colleagues realized that the mice were exposed to chemicals from the bisphenol family that are used to replace BPA.
The team did further studies after replacing all cages and water bottles in their facility. These confirmed that "replacement bisphenols produce remarkably similar chromosomal abnormalities to those seen so many years earlier in studies of BPA." Although the studies focused on rodents, the dosage was low enough to be relevant to what humans using BPA-free plastics would be exposed to. It was found that, even after the source of contamination was eliminated, its effects were felt for three generations.
What's also intriguing is the fact that bisphenols have infiltrated so many aspects of our lives that it is difficult to know if a study's control group is uncontaminated. As Hunt and co-author Tegan Horan explain in an article on Science Alert,
") left top no-repeat rgb(249, 247, 245); text-shadow: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8) 2px 2px 0px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">
"BPA use is so prevalent in consumer products and routine laboratory materials (like mouse caging materials or culture flasks) that low-level contamination of unexposed control groups is increasingly difficult to avert."
This is why the team is wary of findings from a big study just coming out now called CLARITY-BPA. Conducted by three U.S. agencies, it was launched "to understand why findings from traditional toxicology studies of BPA and those of independent investigators differ." Hunt and Horan are worried about drawing conclusions from CLARITY data, however, because "there is no way to determine the impact of low-level contamination."
Bisphenols are just one family of chemicals that we should be concerned about. Other major environmental contaminant groups include parabens, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), phthalates, flame retardants, and quaternary ammonium compounds. The researchers say that regulation cannot keep up with innovation, which could have serious health repercussions for consumers. From the article by Hunt and Horan:
") left top no-repeat rgb(249, 247, 245); text-shadow: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8) 2px 2px 0px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">
"The bisphenol story details the evolution of only one class of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are common contaminants in our lives. The ability of manufacturers to rapidly modify chemicals to produce structurally similar replacements undermines the ability of consumers to protect themselves from hazardous chemicals and federal efforts to regulate them."
The best way to avoid bisphenols is to stay away from plastics, particularly if they show signs of wear and tear. Food storage containers and water bottles should be replaced with glass, metal, and ceramics. Beer and soda cans, which are another source of bisphenols that many people don't usually think about, are best substituted by glass bottles.
https://www.treehugger.com/health/bpa-replacements-arent-safe-either-study-finds.html
-
Report Finds EPA Lags on Inspection of School Building Asbestos
Sep 17, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Mel Leonor
The EPA is not conducting needed inspections to minimize asbestos exposure in schools, a new report from the agency’s inspector general found.
The agency is responsible for making sure school districts are conducting building inspections for asbestos and implementing plans for managing any asbestos.
The EPA’s inspector general found that between fiscal years 2011 and 2015, the EPA had conducted just 13 percent of compliance inspections. The 22 states that are responsible for monitoring their own schools conducted the remaining 87 percent of inspections.
EPA Region 6, which covers Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, didn’t conduct any inspections between fiscal years 2012 and 2016. EPA Region 7 — which covers Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and nine tribal nations — conducted only six.
Auditors also found that five of the 10 EPA regions responsible for this work only conducted inspections in schools when they received tips or complaints dealing with asbestos.
“Without compliance inspections, the EPA cannot know whether schools pose an actual risk of asbestos exposure to students and personnel,” the report reads.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen used in construction, from flooring tiles to water pipes. Children are more susceptible to inhaling asbestos fibers because they are more active, breathe faster and spend more time closer to the ground, where loose asbestos fibers can accumulate, the report says.
Children attending older school buildings are more susceptible to inhaling asbestos fibers, but since the U.S. has not banned asbestos, children in newer construction may also be at risk.
In response to recommendations from the agency’s inspector general, EPA officials agreed to remind regional offices of the need to program their asbestos compliance work.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
-
Lack of EPA Oversight Puts Students, Faculty at Risk — IG
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
EPA's internal watchdog today raised concerns about the agency's lax monitoring of asbestos in many U.S. schools.
In 29 states and the District of Columbia, EPA is responsible for inspecting schools for their compliance with a 1986 law meant to protect students from building materials that contain the cancer-causing mineral.
But only 13 percent of the school inspections conducted nationwide between 2011 and 2015 occurred in that majority of states, the EPA's Office of Inspector General found in a new report.
The inspector general determined that the failure to conduct enough school asbestos inspections was widespread, although some regions were worse than others. For instance, between 2012 and 2016, EPA's Dallas-based Region 6 conducted exactly zero inspections. During that same span, the Lenexa, Kan.-based Region 7 did six inspections.
Only the Denver-based Region 8 had a specific monitoring strategy for asbestos, even though such plans were recommended for all regions by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Without knowing whether school leaders are complying with the law, the IG warned, "there is an increased risk that asbestos in schools may go unnoticed, potentially resulting in asbestos exposure."
Due to its fire- and wear-resistant qualities, asbestos was long used in the insulation and flooring of schools and other buildings.
But when it breaks down, the mineral's fibers can become lodged in the lungs of children, teachers and anyone else exposed to them. Over many years, the fibers can then cause scarring or cancer in lung tissue, leading to breathing problems or death.
Although it is banned in more than 50 countries, asbestos is still legal to use in the U.S.
There are more than 131,000 public and private schools across the country, teaching more than 50 million students and employing more than 7 million teachers and other adults, according to the report.
The IG blamed budget cuts and shifting policy priorities for the lack of inspections required to protect those students and school workers.
"All EPA regions have either completely disinvested from or significantly reduced resources to the [school asbestos inspection] program due to a combination of reduced funding and guidance from EPA headquarters to focus on what were considered to be higher priorities," the report said.
During the last year of the Obama administration, for example, EPA's enforcement office "instructed regions to devote 90 percent" of their chemical program resources to addressing lead poisoning.
As a result, all 10 EPA regional offices now lack a full-time employee working on school asbestos inspections.
The IG encouraged the enforcement office to "incorporate asbestos monitoring strategies" in its chemicals oversight efforts and to tell EPA regions and local education agencies that they must "develop and maintain an asbestos management plan ... and monitor compliance."
EPA told the IG that it is working to implement the recommendations.
This is the second time in less than a decade that EPA's watchdog office has called for the agency to improve its oversight of health risks in schools. A 2013 IG report on its school environmental health efforts noted that EPA needed to consider the impacts of a decrease in the priority of asbestos inspections.
In a statement, EPA spokesman Michael Abboud sought to blame the latest problems the IG revealed on the Obama EPA.
"The previous administration did not do enough to provide adequate protections to children from asbestos exposure," Abboud wrote. "The Trump administration is taking proactive steps to reduce asbestos exposure, which includes a new proposed regulation that, for the first time, would prohibit the currently unregulated former uses of asbestos."
EPA's proposal also seeks to limit its review of the health risks posed by asbestos to ongoing uses of the toxic mineral. That means the agency wouldn't consider the dangers posed by, for example, aging asbestos-containing tiles, adhesives and piping in schools and other buildings (Greenwire, June 1).
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/09/17/stories/1060097281
-
Firefighting Chemical Linked to Water Safety Concerns
Sep 17, 2018 | Great Lakes Echo
By Jeremy Wahr
A firefighting foam has been linked to a group of chemicals known to be harmful to infants, toddlers and pregnant women. But it is still kept on hand because firefighters say they don’t have effective alternatives.
Detection of the chemicals, known as PFAS, has led to the creation of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, a multi-agency organization dedicated to understanding the far-reaching effects of the chemical and educating the public on the threat it poses.
“It’s reason for concern because it’s an issue of public health,” said Katie Parrish, communications director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team has asked State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer to survey over 1,000 fire departments to identify the amount of PFAS in firefighting foam, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Although the survey has not been completed, the response team and other agencies have evidence of the dangers of the foam used to contain fuel and electrical fires and in training drills.
Firefighters and certain military personnel are required to use the foam. The response team believes the military’s heavy use of it contributed to elevated levels of the chemicals in Lake Margrethe, a lake adjacent to Camp Grayling. About a dozen similar sites are also affected.
Because of the danger, many newer firefighting foams don’t contain PFAS, said David Glotzbach, president of the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs and a 33-year veteran firefighter.
“However,” Glotzbach said in an email, “these products are not effective in extinguishing flammable liquid fires.”
The Department of Environmental Quality has 35 active investigations for potential PFAS contamination across the state. It has begun testing public drinking water for the contaminant throughout the state, said Scott Dean, the agency’s communications director.
The testing will be finished by the end of the year and the agency has only found one public drinking supply – in Parchment – with dangerous levels of the chemical, he said.
Some commercial businesses have fought the testing. In May, the managers of Gerald R. Ford International Airport attempted to deny DEQ testing, claiming government overreach. The DEQ eventually tested the airport and found elevated levels of the chemical.
PFAS is dangerous in part because it does not break down in the environment or the human body, leading to its designation as a “forever chemical” by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
The chemical is produced across the country and used not just for firefighting but for products such as stain-resistant shoes and no-stick pans. Waste from these production sites cannot always be treated by generic wastewater treatment plants, according to the Michigan Environmental Council. Specifically, when several industrial buildings discharge waste directly into a treatment plant, the chemicals will still survive.
Meghan Swain, executive director of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health, says the federal government should be more proactive in regulating PFAS.
“Michigan is the only state talking about PFAS chemicals,” Swain said referring to the formation of the state’s PFAS Action Response Team. “The EPA should have sounded the alarm years ago.”
The EPA says 70 parts per trillion is the limit on PFAS for safe drinking water. But some groups, such as the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, say that it is too lenient.
“The state is using the EPA’s standard but it’s critical to understand that this EPA standard is an unenforceable, advisory-only recommendation and only covers two of the many PFAS chemicals,” Parrish said.
http://greatlakesecho.org/2018/09/17/firefighting-chemical-linked-to-water-safety-concerns/
-
MEPs Endorse Strong Action on Recycling of Chemicals in Products
Sep 17, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Clelia Oziel
The European Parliament has adopted a Resolution calling for "swift action" to tackle chemicals of concern in products and waste. The aim is to ensure that recycling of materials does not perpetuate the use of hazardous substances.
The Resolution responds to the European Commission's Communication in January on chemicals in the circular economy. It was prepared by the Parliament's environment committee (Envi) and passed by 414 votes to 213, with eight abstentions.
The Communication led to the Council of Ministers urging the Commission and Echa to implement measures to ensure that substances of concern in materials – including those in imported articles – can be traced through the entire supply chain by 2030.Call for full consistency
Parliament's Resolution – which is not binding but frames the discussion for future policy – calls for "full consistency" between waste and chemicals policies, reiterating that "prevention takes priority over recycling".
Current legislation preventing the presence of chemicals in products, is "scattered", is "neither systematic nor consistent" and applies only to very few substances, products and uses, often with many exemptions, it says.
The Resolution urges the Commission to address the regulatory gaps, in particular with respect to imported articles, and encourages companies to embrace a "holistic approach" to substituting toxic substances in products and supply chains.
Improving transparency of the presence of harmful chemicals in products is "of the utmost importance", it says. However, it welcomes as a first step a proposed amendment to Article 9 of the waste framework Directive that calls on suppliers to notify Echa of such cases.
The Resolution also calls on the Commission to develop without further delay an EU strategy for a non-toxic environment as laid down in the 7th Environmental Action Plan.Positive development
The European consumer organisation Beuc welcomed the Resolution, saying it signalled that the Parliament "champions" a sustainable circular economy that benefits consumers.
Improved transparency is key to establishing consumer trust in the safety of secondary raw materials, it said. Meanwhile the EU needs to close the regulatory gaps that could afford chemicals of concern a second lease of life.
Tatiana Santos, senior policy advisor at the European Environmental Bureau (EBB), said detoxifying waste is a challenge, with recyclers even "actively opposing" chemical restrictions. But both product makers and recyclers need to raise their game, she said.Key issues
The Resolution responds to four key issues and possible options outlined by the Commission in its communication to address the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation. Its recommendations include:
1. Insufficient information about substances of concern in products and wastesubstances of concern are those identified under REACH as SVHCs, prohibited under the Stockholm Convention (POPs), specific substances restricted in articles listed in Annex XVII to REACH, as well as specific substances regulated under particular sectoral/product legislation (Option 1A);all substances of concern should be tracked "as soon as possible" (Option 2A) and information should be made "fully available" to all those involved in the supply chain, recyclers and the public;the tracking system should encompass all imported products. It calls for "deeper collaboration" at international level; andEcha should step up efforts to ensure that no market access is granted to chemicals with non-compliant REACH registration dossiers.
2. Addressing the presence of substances of concern in recycled materialssame level of protection for human health and the environment, whether products are made of primary or recovered materials; "in principle" these should be subject to the same rules (Option 3A, but points out materials are not always identical);products containing legacy substances should only be dealt with by means of an efficient registration, tracking and disposal system;it is "crucial" to ensure a level playing field between EU-produced and imported articles. It asks the Commission for "timely use of restrictions in REACH and other product legislation (Option 4A). Enforcement of chemicals and product legislation at EU borders should be improved (Option 4B);the Ecodesign Directive and other product specific legislation should be used in addition to REACH to introduce requirements to substitute chemicals of concern (Option 5A); andit is "advisable" to introduce a product passport as a tool to disclose materials and substances used in products.
3. Uncertainties about how materials can cease to be wasteclear EU rules are needed to specify the conditions that must be met to exit the waste regime (Option 6A); andmeasures should be taken at EU level to bring about more harmonisation in the interpretation and implementation by member states of end-of-waste provisions laid down in the Waste Framework Directive.
4. Difficulties in the application of EU waste classification methodologies and impacts on the recyclability of materials (secondary raw materials)rules for classifying waste as hazardous or non-hazardous should be "consistent" with those for the classification of substances and mixtures under CLP. The language here differs from the Commission's Option 7A which calls for a "full alignment" of rules;the Commission should clarify the correct interpretation of CLP to prevent misclassification of waste containing substances of concern; andthe lack of enforcement of EU waste legislation is "unacceptable" and must be addressed "as a matter of priority.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70343/meps-endorse-strong-action-on-recycling-of-chemicals-in-products
-
Ewire: Amid EPA Rollback, Shell Sets Its Own Methane Standard
Sep 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
Royal Dutch Shell has become the latest oil and gas major to set a strict methane leak target for itself, saying it will limit emissions of the potent greenhouse gas to 0.2 percent of the company's gas production by 2025, even as EPA is rolling back it first-time methane rules for the sector.
The Sept. 17 announcement, which is detailed in the Wall Street Journal, comes after rival BP set a similar goal in April and ExxonMobil in May pledged to cut its methane emissions by 15 percent by 2020.
Despite these moves from the world's largest oil and gas companies, EPA just last week proposed to weaken 2016 methane standards for new oil and gas equipment, a measure that many see as a prelude to a future plan that could scrap methane limits for the sector altogether by reverting to a prior approach that targeted conventional pollutants and achieved methane cuts as a co-benefit.
According to the Journal, the head of Shell's gas division, Maarten Wetselaar, said the company believes EPA's rules should remain in place but that the rule could be improved.
“Everybody should want their product to stay in the pipe and be sold to the customer rather than leak it,” he said. “It’s essentially uncontroversial. Nobody in the industry should want to leak any methane.”
The Environmental Defense Fund says Shell's target earns “high marks” because it is stringent, “time-bound” and covers both oil and gas emissions. The Journal says Shell currently has no way to accurately assess the company's emissions intensity but that some projects have as high as a 0.8 percent leak rate.
Bloomberg Environment looks at a crucial component of EPA's analysis for its recent proposal -- the agency's decision not to calculate the public health toll of the additional conventional pollutants that it expects to be released due to the rule.
Those omitted health damages “could be the thing that determines whether the rule is actually justified or not,” Avi Zevin, an attorney with New York University's Institute for Policy Integrity, told the article. “They should be doing a more complete consideration of what those costs of the foregone health benefits are, what they would mean, and how that factors into their decisionmaking.”
EPA cited data limitations to justify not quantifying the health harms, but Inside EPA's Doug Obey also recently looked into the issue, reporting that environmentalists are citing a July paper from EPA staff showing a range of health consequences from the oil and gas sector.
“How could [EPA staff] go through this detailed analysis” of oil and gas emissions “and then [EPA] claims they cant do it,” for its revisions to the new source performance standards (NSPS), said Conrad Schneider of the group Clean Air Task Force.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/ewire-amid-epa-rollback-shell-sets-its-own-methane-standard
-
Shell Announces Emissions Crackdown
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Nick Sobczyk
Royal Dutch Shell PLC today announced plans to curb methane leaks across its oil and gas operations, part of a larger push by the company to slash planet-warming emissions.
The oil giant said it would aim to keep methane emissions intensity below 0.2 percent of its total oil and gas production by 2025.
The target will be measured against Shell's current baseline leak rate of 0.01 to 0.8 percent across its oil and gas assets, the company said.
"It is a further demonstration of our continued focus on tackling greenhouse gas emissions," Maarten Wetselaar, Shell's integrated gas and new energies director, said in a statement. "Such efforts are a critical part of Shell's strategy to thrive during the global energy transition by providing more and cleaner energy."
Shell joins several other oil companies that have made commitments to reduce their emissions of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas that is often released in leaks or by the practice of burning off excess gas.
BP PLC has said it will reduce its methane releases, as has Exxon Mobil Corp., which announced an effort to cut methane emissions by 15 percent in May (Climatewire, May 24).
At the same time, the Trump administration has moved to scale back EPA's methane standards, an idea that's supported by some energy firms (Climatewire, Sept. 12).
Shell, for its part, has also set goals to slash its overall carbon footprint by 2050. The company said it would start using infrared cameras to scan for methane and use more advanced technology to control leaks.
Mark Radka, head of the energy and climate branch of the U.N. Environment Programme, said Shell's move "is encouraging in itself but also because of the signals it sends to the rest of the industry."
"Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, but it has a relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere," he said in a statement. "That means reducing methane emissions brings immediate climate benefits, buying some time while we work out longer term solutions."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/09/17/stories/1060097271
-
Report: More Than Half of Pennsylvania Gas Wells Used 'Secret' Fracking Chemicals
Sep 17, 2018 | Philadelphia Business Journal
By Mike Larson
Energy companies in Pennsylvania did not identify potentially harmful chemicals used for drilling and fracking for natural gas in more than half of the wells created between 2013 and 2017, according to a recently released report.
The report, from the Partnership for Policy Integrity, a nonprofit based in Massachusetts that does energy research and advocacy, says companies withheld information about at least one chemical in 55 percent of wells drilled between 2013 and 2017.
Dusty Horwitt, who wrote the report, said that health effects of so-called secret chemicals can't be ascertained if the chemical's identity is not disclosed, but he also said that the public has a right to know about all the chemicals used.
"We cannot be sure of the effects of any chemical whose identity is withheld as secret," Horwitt said. "However, EPA records indicate that the fracking chemicals declared security in Pennsylvania may have serious negative health effects."
However, even if the companies do not publicly disclose every chemical, according to state and federal law, they are required to disclose all chemicals to the EPA and DEP.
“State and federal law requires hydraulic fracturing fluids – which are typically made up of more than 99 percent water and sand, and less than 1 percent of highly diluted additives that we all commonly use in our everyday lives – to be transparently disclosed via an online, searchable database. Our organization – which represents the energy companies responsible for safely producing more than 95 percent of Pennsylvania’s natural gas – was an early and vocal supporter of greater transparency and disclosure. Pennsylvania has some of the strongest environmental rules in the nation and we’re committed to continuously improving best practices to protect and improve our environment.” Marcellus Shale Coalition president David Spigelmyer.
Frac Focus is the national hydraulic fracturing chemical registry. The site provides public access to reported chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing.
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2018/09/17/pennsylvania-gas-wells-fracking-epa.html
-
FRA: Nine Railroads 'at Risk' of Not Qualifying for PTC Extension
Sep 17, 2018 | Progressive Rail Roading
Nine railroads — all passenger — have been determined to be "most at risk" of failing to qualify for an extension of the Dec. 31 deadline to implement positive train control (PTC), Federal Railroad Administrator Ronald Batory told a congressional panellast week.
Railroads that had installed less than 90 percent of its PTC system hardware as of June 30 are most at risk of failing to qualify for an "alternative schedule" for PTC implementation, Batory told the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials during a hearing held Sept. 13.
Qualifying for the alternative schedule would provide those railroads with up to another two years to complete the process.
The nine at-risk railroads are: New Mexico Rail Runner Express, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New Jersey Transit, Altamont Corridor Express, Maryland Area Regional Commuter, Trinity Railway Express, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SunRail), Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain) and Central Florida Rail Corridor (SunRail).
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has made more than $2.5 billion in federal grants and loans since 2008 to help railroads cover the cost of implementing PTC. That amounts to nearly 20 percent of industry estimates for PTC implementation, Batory said, according to his written testimony.
The FRA is authorized to assess fines against railroads that fail to implement PTC by the Dec. 31 deadline or that fail to qualify for an extension, Batory said.
The FRA's civil penalty schedule recommends, as guidance, a $16,000 civil penalty for failure to timely complete PTC implementation on a track segment where it is required.
"For any violation of a federal rail safety statute, regulation, or order, however, the current statutory minimum civil penalty FRA may assess is $853, and the ordinary statutory maximum is $27,904," Batory told the panel. "FRA may assess a civil penalty for each day the non-compliance continues, but FRA may elect to take enforcement action on a one-time basis or each month, quarter, year, or other interval of time during which the noncompliance continues."
FRA officials are considering all options to determine the enforcement action that will be most effective and appropriate, he said.
https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ptc/news/FRA-Nine-railroads-at-risk-of-not-qualifying-for-PTC-extension--55623
-
EPA Haze 'Roadmap' Floats Exemptions for International Air Pollution
Sep 17, 2018 | Inside EPA
EPA's “roadmap” for streamlining states' implementation of the regional haze emissions reduction program floats regulatory exemptions for air pollution from foreign sources, one of several measures acting agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler is eyeing to make it easier for states to comply with the program's requirements.
In Wheeler's roadmap memo announced Sept. 10 and released Sept. 11, he outlines a series of steps EPA intends to take to help states as they prepare plans to implement the second phase of EPA's haze-reduction program, due by 2021, to cover the period 2018-2028.
The program as currently conceived aims to restore visibility in “Class I” national parks and wilderness areas to natural conditions by 2064 by reducing haze-forming emissions from industrial sources. Several states complained that the Obama EPA was heavy-handed in its imposition of federal implementation plans (FIPs) on them, forcing tougher pollution controls than the states themselves felt were necessary. The agency wrote its own FIP pollution control plans for states that either failed to submit state implementation plans (SIPs) or had SIPs rejected by EPA.
Wheeler's new roadmap envisions “implementing the program with states in the lead, as it was designed by Congress,” according to the text released Sept. 11.
He states EPA's intent to reduce planning burdens for states, and to leverage emission reductions achieved through other Clean Air Act programs to improve visibility.
Among the list of specific actions planned as “near-term support” for states are a series of implementation tools that focus to some degree on the role of international emissions beyond the control of state regulators.
This fall, Wheeler says EPA will release “final recommendations on methods for selecting the 20 percent most impaired days to track visibility” and for determining natural visibility conditions. EPA will provide methods to account for total international impacts to adjust the uniform rate of progress,” or URP. URP is a key component of haze program compliance that states must calculate and include in their SIPs. In spring 2019, EPA will issue, “as necessary,” updated natural visibility conditions estimates,” the memo says.
Also in spring or summer of 2019, EPA will release an updated computer modeling platform, documentation and results, “including United States and international source contributions for Class I areas.”
Wheeler writes, “these results can be used to inform the second planning periods SIPs, in particular to adjust the URP/Glidepath to full account for international impacts.”
Wheeler acknowledges that some states, such as those in the Northeast, “are well into their planning process and may be submitting SIPs later this year. The EPA intends to work closely with those states to ensure that their plans for the second planning period satisfy the appropriate statutory and regulatory requirements.”
Northeastern states have prepared their SIPs on the original schedule for release in 2018 that existed prior to an Obama EPA rule that delayed that deadline until 2021. The Northeastern states have touted their SIPs as a model for others, although they now appear unlikely to serve that purpose.
EPA says it also intends to propose regulatory changes to address aspects of that Obama EPA rule that states and industry objected to, including the enhanced role of federal land managers in guiding haze planning, and the continued existence of provisions to curb “reasonably attributable visibility impairment,” (RAVI), an old program critics say cumbersome and rendered unnecessary by the haze program.
But the agency may go further. “EPA is currently exploring further regulatory changes intended to focus and streamline planning efforts,” Wheeler says.
Also, EPA plans to issue fresh guidance on haze program compliance in the spring. “Areas of focus will include providing states with additional information and context regarding screening sources before in-depth analysis, including with regard to the relevance of previous decisions to adopt emission control measures to meet other [air act] requirements,” Wheeler writes. Most sources controlled under the haze program are coal-fired power plants.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/epa-haze-roadmap-floats-exemptions-international-air-pollution
-
Court Rebuffs EPA Again on Ozone Implementation Rule
Sep 17, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
A federal appellate court largely upheld its original February decision that tossed major chunks of an Obama-era rule for implementation of EPA's 2008 ground-level ozone standard.
In a brief order issued late Friday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the agency's request to reconsider its decision finding that the agency unlawfully weakened smog protections when it revoked a previous standard as part of that implementation rule (Greenwire, Feb. 16).
The panel agreed only to a five-month stay of one portion on its decision that vacated another portion of the rule related to transportation projects in "orphan areas." The order, issued on behalf of the entire court, will also likely bear on implementation of EPA's more stringent 2015 ozone standard.
Seth Johnson, an Earthjustice attorney who had represented the Sierra Club and several other environmental groups in the initial litigation challenging that revocation, welcomed the court's order standing by its original decision.
"It requires health protections to be put back in place on an expeditious and fair timeline," Johnson said in a phone interview this morning. The decision to stay implementation of the portion of the ruling pertaining to orphan areas represents a change to "just a small aspect," Johnson said.
EPA officials are reviewing the Friday order, a spokesman said in an email.
In making the request for panel rehearing this spring, the Trump administration had argued the court had overlooked "critical points of law" in its original ruling on the implementation rule for the 2008 standard of 75 parts per billion (Greenwire, April 24).
Since the administration has considered a similar approach in implementation of the 2015 ozone standard of 70 ppb, the D.C. Circuit decision stands to affect EPA's next steps on the front as well.
Ozone, the main ingredient in smog, is a lung irritant linked to asthma attacks in children and worsened breathing problems for people with emphysema and other chronic respiratory diseases.
In Friday's order, the court stayed until Feb. 16, 2019, the portion of its ruling that found EPA had illegally waived requirements for ensuring that roadbuilding and other transportation projects don't increase air pollution in orphan areas.
Such areas, which environmental groups described as those at risk under the 2008 rule, included "orphan nonattainment areas" that met the 2008 ozone standard of 75 ppb but were still designated in nonattainment for the previous 84 ppb threshold set in 1997.
In its rehearing petition, EPA argued that the court misread the law as being unambiguous and should have deferred to the agency's interpretation. In a later filing, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups had suggested that the stay until Feb. 16 — the one-year anniversary of the court's original decision — would be an acceptable compromise.
The D.C. Circuit panel includes Senior Judge David Sentelle, an appointee of President Reagan, and Chief Judge Merrick Garland and Judge Judith Rogers, both named to the federal bench by President Clinton.
On Friday, the court also rejected a separate rehearing petition from the Los Angeles-area South Coast Air Quality Management District.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/09/17/stories/1060097291
Industry and Association News
LCSA News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation and Infrastructure News
Environment News
Add recipients
Suggested