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ACC AM 15/10/18
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump Signs Ocean Plastics Pollution Law
Oct 12, 2018 | Plastics News
By Steve Toloken
President Donald Trump signed legislation Oct. 11 beefing up U.S. government efforts to control ocean plastics pollution, including authorizing funding for marine debris cleanup and research and laying the groundwork for stronger international action. -
(ACC Mentioned) 3 Models of Collaboration for Sustainable Packaging Innovation
Oct 15, 2018 | GreenBiz
By Meg Wilcox
Public awareness of the perils of plastic waste never has been higher, thanks to National Geographic’s June magazine dedicated to the problem. -
(ACC Mentioned) Pipelines and Plastic: How Fracking Makes Plastic Production Cheaper Than Ever
Oct 13, 2018 | NorthJersey.com
By Scott Fallon
This is an installment in "The War on Plastic,” an on-going series that details the plastic pollution problem in New Jersey and efforts to curb it that could change the way you eat, drink and shop. -
(ACC Mentioned) A Scientist And Clean Energy Advocate Is Gaining Ground in Chicago's 'Hottest Congressional Race'
Oct 13, 2018 | Science Alert
By Carly Cassella
Blending science with business is not always smooth. -
(ACC Mentioned) Inside Today's POLITICO Influence, Presented by Wardman Tower: Millennial Democrats Get Out the Vote — Urban Will Lobby for Emirati Company
Oct 12, 2018 | Politico
By Theodoric Meyer and Marianne Levine
S-3 ADDS FORMER BERNIE SANDERS CHIEF OF STAFF: S-3 Public Affairs has added Michaeleen Crowell, who was previously chief of staff to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), as a principal. -
Scientist: EPA Changes Are An Effort to 'Gut Rules' That Protect Public
Oct 14, 2018 | CNN
By Ellie Kaufman and Rene Marsh
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has appointed five new members of an independent committee that provides advice to the EPA on national air quality standards, replacing the current members, while reducing the amount of support it gets from other scientists, according to an agency statement and emails obtained by CNN. -
Judges Probe Proof EPA Requires to Justify Chemical Trade Secrets
Oct 13, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
Three federal appeals judges focused their questions Oct. 12 on the proof chemical makers must offer the EPA to justify shielding the identity of compounds they make from public view. -
Democratic Gubernatorial Gains May Aid States' Opposition To EPA Agenda
Oct 12, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Lee Logan
Democrats appear poised to win control of several key governors' mansions in November's midterm elections, potentially aiding those states' opposition to a host of Trump EPA efforts to roll back climate and environmental regulations, while also bolstering state-level policies that aim to counter the federal rollbacks. -
D.C. Circuit Backs EDF's Criticism Of TSCA CBI Rule But Queries Remedy
Oct 12, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Dave Reynolds
Appellate judges at Oct. 12 oral argument strongly backed the Environmental Defense Fund's (EDF) criticism of confidential business information (CBI) provisions in the Trump EPA's final rule that determines chemicals subject to the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but queried what legal remedy they could give EDF. -
EPA Issues TSCA 'Not Likely' Findings for Six Substances
Oct 15, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has made affirmative findings that six new substances, evaluated under the TSCA new chemicals programme, are unlikely to pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. -
EWG News Roundup (10/12): Trump’s War on Children’s Health, Algae Outbreaks Rise 40 Percent in 2018 and More
Oct 12, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Robert Coleman
Since taking power, the Trump administration has waged an all-out assault on policies that are in place to protect children from toxic chemicals and industrial pollution. -
Amazon Chemicals Policy Includes Restricted Substance List
Oct 12, 2018 | National Law Review
As part of Amazon’s commitment to responsible sourcing, Amazon has posted its chemicals policy, which includes its first Restricted Substance List (RSL). -
U.S. Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Output Returning to Normal Post Storm
Oct 13, 2018 | Reuters (In The New York Times)
By Gary McWilliams
U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production is returning to near normal levels three days after Hurricane Michael made landfall on the Florida Panhandle, data from an offshore regulator showed on Saturday, with oil output off 19 percent and natural gas production down less than 10 percent. -
Energy Partnerships Rebound as U.S. Oil and Gas Output Rise
Oct 12, 2018 | The New York Times
By Norm Alster
High interest rates are tempting. -
Shell Reaches Milestone on Plastics Plant in Northeast, Potentially a Gulf Competitor
Oct 15, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By Katherine Blunt
Shell has completed a substantial step in the construction of its plastics production complex in Pennsylvania, a project expected to catalyze similar developments in the Northeast if the region continues to build the pipelines and storage needed to support a petrochemicals hub rivaling that along the U.S. Gulf Coast. -
China Hasn't Ordered Any U.S. Gas This Month
Oct 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
No more liquefied natural gas is shipping from the United States to China, commodities market researchers report. -
Gas Flows Resume After Canada Pipe Rupture Hits Oil Refiners
Oct 12, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By David Marino and Rachel Adams-Heard
Natural gas has begun flowing again on a pipeline in British Columbia after a rupture on an adjacent line forced oil refineries in Washington to cut output and sent gasoline prices soaring up and down the West Coast. -
Feds Bring Old Playbook to New Push for Pipeline Cybersecurity
Oct 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Blake Sobczak
Top intelligence and homeland security officials are borrowing from the U.S. government's approach to counterterrorism in a bid to warn pipeline companies about hacking threats to their systems. -
EPA Unveils Proposals for Methane Rule Change
Oct 12, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Ben Lefebvre
EPA is set to publish its proposed changes to its rules on methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure, according to a filing scheduled to be made to the Federal Register Monday. -
EPA Scraps Pair of Air Pollution Science Panels
Oct 13, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni and Juliet Eilperin
The Environmental Protection Agency moved this week to disband two outside panels of experts charged with advising the agency on limiting harmful emissions of soot and smog-forming pollutants. -
Plastics Industry Gets Toxic Air Pollution Limits Relaxed (1)
Oct 12, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Amena H. Saiyid
The plastics industry will see relaxed toxic air pollution limits for facilities producing amino and phenolic resins that are used to make billiard balls and a host of other products. -
Former CASAC Chair Says Panel Dismissals Will Weaken NAAQS' Legality
Oct 12, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
Former EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Chairman Chris Frey is warning the agency's sudden disbanding of advisory panels for reviewing its ozone and particulate matter (PM) standards will weaken the quality of the reviews and make the resulting standards more vulnerable to legal challenges. -
Justice Dept. Petitions 9th Circuit on Kids' Case — Again
Oct 12, 2018 | E&E News PM
By Benjamin Hulac
The Trump administration is urging a federal appeals court to stop a national climate change case from proceeding. -
The Idea That Action Against Climate Change Will ‘Destroy the Economy’ Couldn’t Be More Wrong
Oct 15, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Jared Bernstein
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) admitted Sunday that human activity is leading to increased global temperatures and that steps should be taken to mitigate the impact of climate change. -
Why Pricing Carbon Is Still More Theory Than Reality: QuickTake
Oct 15, 2018 | Bloomberg
By Mathew Carr
It’s an idea that’s been around for more than two decades: To slow climate change, make polluters pay for the damage they cause. -
Bank of England Tells Institutions to Prepare for Climate Change
Oct 14, 2018 | Financial Times
By Leslie Hook and Caroline Binham
The Bank of England will put banks and insurers on notice to vastly improve their planning for the long-term risks of climate change, placing senior executives in the line of fire if their institutions take insufficient action. -
Trump Says Warming Won't Last
Oct 15, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Evan Lehmann
President Trump cast fresh doubt on human-caused climate change last night by saying recent temperature increases will "change back again." -
Senators Concerned as Trump Official Disputes UN Climate Change Warning
Oct 14, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Michael Burke
The Trump administration on Sunday again appeared at odds with lawmakers over the severity of climate change and how it should be addressed in wake of a United Nations report warning of potential dire consequences.
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump Signs Ocean Plastics Pollution Law
Oct 12, 2018 | Plastics News
By Steve Toloken
President Donald Trump signed legislation Oct. 11 beefing up U.S. government efforts to control ocean plastics pollution, including authorizing funding for marine debris cleanup and research and laying the groundwork for stronger international action.
In a White House ceremony, Trump said the Save Our Seas Act had bipartisan support — it passed the Senate unanimously — and he suggested his administration would be pushing other countries on the problem.
"As president, I will continue to do everything I can to stop other nations from making our oceans into their landfills," Trump said. "That's why I'm pleased — very pleased, I must say — to put my signature on this important legislation."
The law was praised by both the Plastics Industry Association and the American Chemistry Council, saying that it would help support recycling and waste management infrastructure.
"This important bipartisan legislation reinvigorates marine debris programs and includes language recognizing the need to advance and deploy waste management, particularly in emerging economies," Steve Russell, vice president of ACC's plastics division, said in a statement.
The law funds the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Debris Program through 2022 and gives the head of NOAA authority to declare severe marine debris events and authorize funds for cleanup. States can also request that declaration.
According to a statement from a bipartisan group of senators who sponsored the bill and said it was prompted by plastic waste worries, the law supports research into improved waste management and new materials that reduce marine debris, and it supports stronger international efforts.
Specifically, it encourages the federal government to "engage with leaders of nations responsible for the majority of marine debris," and it supports using trade agreements to urge other countries to improve waste management.
The lead Republican co-sponsor, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, highlighted those international efforts in a statement.
"This bill will serve to strengthen the federal response capabilities to marine debris disasters, combat land-based marine debris resources, and encourage interagency coordination in stemming the tide of ocean trash and importantly encourage the Trump administration to pursue international agreements with regard to this challenge," Sullivan said. "The prevalence of marine debris on our shores is a chronic issue."
While Trump urged other nations to do more, the U.S. government is one of two members of the G7 economic bloc that did not sign the G7's Plastics Charter on marine waste earlier this year, although the U.S. has participated in subsequent meetings on the charter.
Trump said the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to replace NAFTA is the first U.S. trade agreement that includes commitments from the parties to address land- and sea-based pollution and improve waste management and said it would be in other trade pacts.
At the White House event, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., urged Trump to include similar language in a trade agreement being negotiated with the Philippines.
"Everyone from scientists to journalists to fishermen to coastal industries and international corporations are sounding the alarm about plastic trash and other marine debris polluting our oceans," said Whitehouse, who is co-chair of the Senate Oceans Caucus. "It's time to protect our precious marine ecosystems and coastal economies from this threat."
In his comments, the president criticized other countries for putting waste into the oceans.
"This dumping has happened for years and even for decades," Trump said. "Previous administrations did absolutely nothing to take on the foreign countries responsible. We've already notified most of them, and we've notified them very strongly."
He spoke about how "a vast, tremendous, unthinkable amount of garbage is floating right into our coast, in particular along the West Coast. And we're charged with removing it, which is a very unfair situation. It comes from other countries very far away."
"Every year, over 8 million tons of garbage is dumped into our beautiful oceans by many countries of the world," Trump said. "That includes China, that includes Japan, and that includes many, many countries."
Studies from groups like Ocean Conservancy have said a majority of the waste that enters the ocean comes from rapidly developing economies in Asia, where waste management systems are not keeping pace with big increases in plastics use.
That group's research says China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam account for about half of the plastic waste in the ocean.
Some environmental advocates, however, criticize the United States for its own low plastic recycling rates and not making the kind of specific commitments and actions to increase recycling contained in the European Union's plastics strategy.
http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20181012/NEWS/181019959/trump-signs-ocean-plastics-pollution-law
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(ACC Mentioned) 3 Models of Collaboration for Sustainable Packaging Innovation
Oct 15, 2018 | GreenBiz
By Meg Wilcox
Public awareness of the perils of plastic waste never has been higher, thanks to National Geographic’s June magazine dedicated to the problem. Company recycling commitments and governmental bans are on the rise, even as China’s ban on U.S. recycled materials continues to reverberate across the industry.
This pivotal moment of crisis and opportunity is a chance to reimagine and rebuild the U.S. recycling industry. As Nina Goodrich, director of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, said in her keynote address at the recent SPC Advance conference: "We need to take the opportunity of the wakeup call from China to build the infrastructure that’s going to manage the materials of the future and not get caught flat-footed by looking to the past."
One of the biggest challenges is creating market demand for new post-consumer materials. "If everything is recyclable, but nobody wants it, is it recyclable?" Goodrich exhorted the crowd.
Companies can help solve this conundrum by working with both their supply chains to design materials that are more recyclable, and with the recycling industry to ensure that materials recovery is economically viable.
"Brands need to think about the entire system and engage the value chain, taking a leadership role on the design and innovation side but also playing a significant role in reimagining how this stuff gets through the system," said Bridget Croke, vice president of external affairs, Closed Loop Partners.
Which companies are offering models — or at least experiments — that are worth emulation? During the conference, I came across three examples of cutting-edge collaborations, where companies are driving innovation and working to modernize the U.S. recycling infrastructure. Although the efforts are still small-scale, they’re poised for growth. And worth keeping an eye on.1. Starbucks pilots cup-to-cup closed loop recycling
For decades, the coffee giant has led efforts to solve the stubborn problem of single-use cups, but this year it got a lot closer to cracking that nut.
The problem? Some 60 billion paper cups are landfilled annually in the United States because of inconsistent recycling infrastructure. Historically, one of the biggest challenges has been the removal and recovery of the inner plastic linings that are added to cups to prevent leakage.
By collaborating with its business and supply chain partners, including two paper mills and a cup manufacturer, Starbucks successfully has demonstrated that not only could multilayered cup liners be cost-effectively removed, but that a closed loop, zero-waste solution was possible.
Speaking at SPC Advance, Rebecca Zimmer, global director of environment for Starbucks, said that the closed loop initiative shows how "great things can happen when partnerships are formed that don’t typically work together, and you’re innovative about your working relationships."
When Zimmer discovered last year that the company had 18 truckloads — or 25 million cups — of excessive inventory destined for landfills, she used that revelation to introduce a closed loop cup recovery system, partnering with a paper mill known for its ability to process poly-coated paper into food grade product, Sustana. Other partners included a second paper mill, Westrock, and a cup manufacturer, Seda.
The initiative "debunked the myth around the difficulty of extracting the liner that’s in the cup," Zimmer said. "For me, the takeaway was that this is technically possible. It’s viable, and that got me excited that eventually we’ll get to the point where we’ll see this process being replicated more broadly."
Debunking that myth is key to broader replication. Perception remains that cups can’t be recycled, even as individual mills in the United States and Europe evolve paper pulping and cleaning systems to handle the material. Westrock in fact just announced that it would begin accepting paper-based foodservice packing, including cups, for recovery at eight U.S. mills.
"As more paper mills realize that other mills are successful at processing it, maybe they’ll take a look, and they may find that they’re very successful at it," said Jay Hunsberger, vice president of sales for North America at Sustana.
Ultimately, Starbucks wants to develop a cup that is both recyclable and compostable because many countries have zero recycling infrastructure and composting is a better option, Zimmer said. But working with U.S. partners to build its recycling capacity remains a priority.
"Our cups are not going to be recyclable until all cups, hot and cold, can be recycled and put into the system. We can’t do this alone," she said.2. A new recycling process for flexible plastic packaging
Flexible plastic packaging (FPP) is the fastest growing type of packaging in the United States, and no wonder. The stand-up pouches, flexible bags and wraps that crowd supermarket shelves are lightweight, malleable and durable. They extend the shelf life of food products, consumers like them and they’re less wasteful to produce.
But here’s the rub: until recently, it wasn’t possible to recycle the material in the U.S. recycling system. The recovery infrastructure wasn’t designed to handle it, and that means that some 12 billion pounds of FPP was destined for landfill yearly, according to industry data.
A collaborative initiative, led by companies ranging from global plastics producers to consumer goods companies, wants to change that.
Early next year, FPP will be recycled in a pilot at a materials recovery facility (MRF) in Pennsylvania. TotalRecycle will pick up the waste through its curbside recycling program, separate out the material and process it into bales that can be sold to end markets, such as durable goods and building materials.
To recycle the FPP, the MRF installed optical sorters, which were funded by a collaborative, Materials Recovery for the Future (MRFF), a project of the American Chemistry Council. MRFF has conducted research and development (PDF) for years to determine how best to recycle the emergent waste stream, which can gum up existing recycling infrastructure or intermingle with and lessen the value of paper bales.
MRFF’s 10 corporate and five trade association members are also providing "thought leadership and sweat equity," said Emily Tipaldo, American Chemistry Council, in an email.
To scale up, MRFF is exploring additional end uses for FPP bales. But more recycling facilities will need to develop the capacity. Nestle, PepsiCo and the other consumer goods companies participating in the pilot can’t label their packaging as recyclable when one small region of the country is involved. TotalRecycle plans an extensive consumer education program, but researchshows that two-thirds of consumers don’t recycle material that’s not labeled as recyclable.
To spur more MRFs to join, the pilot program will continue its research. "We’re looking to document our learnings, provide data and recommendations for others interested in recycling FPP curbside," Tipaldo said.3. Procter & Gamble partners to scale polypropylene recycling
"Chemical recycling," or recycling processes that break down plastics into their original building blocks to make them more reusable, was a hot topic at SPC Advance. Plastics typically are recycled mechanically, which degrades their quality and limits their reuse.
Polypropylene, for example, is one of the most widely used plastics, but its recycling rate is abysmal — less than 1 percent. That’s because the post-consumer product is a multicolored blend of feedstocks that can be reprocessed only into durable black plastic, according to Croke, who detailed the efforts of a new initiative to increase the plastic’s reusability.
The Closed Loop Fund is helping to finance the initiative, which is using a hybrid mechanical-chemical technology invented by Procter & Gamble. P&G open-sourced the technology, which reprocesses the recycled plastic into clear pellets and is under an agreement with an innovative investment firm, Innventure, to scale up the process at a new company called PureCycleTechnologies.
Led by former Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson, Innventure identifies breakthrough technologies that address unmet market needs and works with large corporations to commercialize them through startups.
PureCycleP&G, PureCycle and other partners are investing at least $120 million in a factory that can handle a new polypropylene recycling approach.
PureCycle is restoring polypropylene from plastic films, carpets, post-consumer material and other products. It’s still finetuning the technology but expects to have its first commercial facility in Ohio producing over 105 million pounds of recycled polypropylene annually by 2020, according to Betsy Nicketakis, manager of business administration and partnerships. Longer term, PureCycle plans to build more production plants around the world, she said.
Companies are signing advance contracts with PureCycle, according to Croke, who says this type of off-take agreement is a powerful tool for brands that want to invest in recycling infrastructure.
"As these technologies start to come into fruition, brands need to think about contracting for the material in a longer-term way so that these solutions can get off the ground, because oftentimes there’s innovation but then the price of virgin drops so low that nobody’s funding it anymore," Croke said. "The investment community will come in if they know that these solutions have markets."
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/3-models-collaboration-sustainable-packaging-innovation
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(ACC Mentioned) Pipelines and Plastic: How Fracking Makes Plastic Production Cheaper Than Ever
Oct 13, 2018 | NorthJersey.com
By Scott Fallon
This is an installment in "The War on Plastic,” an on-going series that details the plastic pollution problem in New Jersey and efforts to curb it that could change the way you eat, drink and shop.
Plastic is plentiful because it’s cheap. And plastic has become even cheaper because it’s a waste product of the booming fossil fuel industry.
The surge in plastics and the litter it produces has prompted New Jersey lawmakers to push for one of the strictest bans in the nation. A bill is making its way through Trenton that would ban plastic grocery store bags, straws and foam food and beverage containers.
Historically, plastics used to be a byproduct of oil. That has begun to change, said Paul Chirik, a chemistry professor at Princeton.
“One of the reasons why you see plastic usage going up is from natural gas development,” Chirik told a New Jersey legislative panel in August as they were considering a ban on certain plastics. “The way to think about this is you have a flood of this coming out of the ground, this little Lego building block and you have to do something with it.”
One of those Lego building blocks is ethane.
MORE: Here are some tips on how to recycle and cut back on your plastic waste
MORE: New Jersey is pushing one of the strictest plastics bans in the nation. But is it enough?
While methane fracked in Pennsylvania is shipped in pipelines throughout New Jersey to heat homes and generate electricity at power plants, other gases brought to the surface — like ethane — are used to create plastics.
After heating ethane, the bonds holding its atoms stretch and become malleable. They can then be rearranged and strung together, like Legos, to create polyethylene, or, plastic.
In this June 25, 2012 file photo, a crew works on a gas drilling rig at a well site for shale based natural gas in Zelienople, Pa. Gases from hydraulic fracturing are used to make plastics. (Photo: Associated Press)
A 2015 report by the American Chemistry Council credits fracking with reversing "the fortunes of the U.S. plastics industry."
The council estimates more than $40 billion in investments will be made to the plastics industry during this decade because the product has become so cheap to make due to the glut in natural gas.
Global production of plastics has increased from 15 million tons in 1964 to 311 million tons in 2014. In the U.S., it’s a $418 billion industry that employs 954,000 people.
But in addition to being a major litter problem in New Jersey, environmentalists say the market for plastics will continue to help expand the fossil fuel industry.
New Jersey has become a major player in gas transportation because it is located next door to the Pennsylvania fracking field.. Several pipelines have been built in recent years while others are being proposed. (Photo: file photo)
While there is no gas fracking in New Jersey, the Garden State has been affected significantly in the surge of domestic production. Among them: Several pipelines have been built in recent years, including one by Tennessee Gas, through the environmentally sensitive Highlands in North Jersey.Other pipeline projects have received approval including an expansion through the Meadowlands and one through the environmentally sensitive Pinelands in South Jersey.Pipeline projects still seeking approval include one that would go under Raritan Bay to New York City and the proposed 120-mile Penn East pipeline that would travel from Pennsylvania into Mercer County. Fracking waste water will be allowed to be processed at a South Jersey plant and discharged into the Delaware River.And a subsidiary of Mitsubishi — Diamond Generating Corp. — wants to build a large has-fired power plant in the Meadowlands to send electricity to New York.
"Of course plastic is made from natural gas...so all that fracked gas we’re trying to stop is creating a plastic manufacturing boom here at home," said Matt Smith of the advocacy group Food and Water Watch. "Meanwhile, fracked gas is being shipped to Europe to make more plastic. And on top of those things, fracking for oil or natural gas is a major threat to our global climate."
Gov. Phil Murphy is against fracking in the Delaware River basin, but signed a bill this year that allows fracking waste to be treated at a South Jersey facility and discharged into the Delaware River. (Photo: Dustin Racioppi/northjersey.com)
Plastics have become an indispensable part of human existence for more than a century used in everything from life-saving medical devices to the computer or phone you’re reading this story on right now. Some plastics have given us significant environmental benefits from lighter cars that burn less fuel to cleaner water when dangerous lead pipes are replaced with PVC.
“It’s your clothes, it’s your computer, it’s your energy,” Chirik said.
And while there is not alternatives for some plastics, there are for the everyday plastics New Jersey is looking to ban: grocery bags, foam food containers and straws.
“Most of us agree that the environmental challenge associated with plastics is evident and clear and I would rank it up there with carbon dioxide problem as the two major environmental problems facing us,” Chirik said.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/environment/2018/10/13/fracking-makes-plastic-production-cheaper-than-ever/1538153002/
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Oct 13, 2018 | Science Alert
By Carly Cassella
Blending science with business is not always smooth. Throw politics into the mix and things get even more rocky.
But for Sean Casten, a scientist and clean energy entrepreneur, the challenge is well worth the effort.
Casten, who holds degrees in molecular biology and biochemical engineering, has been working to profitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions for more than a decade.
During his time in the clean energy industry, he has come to realize just how often policy stands in the way of progress.
"Our political environment too often rewards people who make decisions and pass laws for short-term political gain, leaving citizens to deal with the factual fallout," he told Science AF in a recent interview.
Casten is determined to fix this problem. In 2018, he is running for Congress in Illinois' sixth congressional district against Republican incumbent Peter Roskam, a fierce competition that has been called "the Chicago area's hottest congressional race."
Gathering his skills as a scientist and entrepreneur, Casten hopes that he can bring a fact-based, collaborative and open-minded approach to politics.
He is one of several scientists running for Congress in 2018, and he has been endorsed by 314 Action, an organization committed to improving the representation of scientists in political office.
"Congress is ultimately nothing more than a large, rather powerful organization," Casten told us.
"There is no reason why the tools that drive success in other, non-political organizations can't also drive success in this one."
Running on an aggressive clean energy platform, Casten is offering voters a clear choice. The clean energy entrepreneur is making environmentalism a key issue of his campaign, calling global warming "the single biggest existential threat we face as a species."
In comparison, his opponent, Roskam, reportedly called climate science "junk science" in 2006, and last year he received a three percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters for his environmental voting record.
"I don't know what Roskam actually believes, but his voting record on environmental matters is informed by politics rather than facts," Casten said.
Amid a major public health crisis, the factual fallout of such "short-sighted" environmental policies are slowly coming to light in Roskam's district. And Casten thinks this may be, at least in part, why he's been gaining favor in the polls – in what he calls a highly educated "fact-positive" district.
In late August, a federal report was released that warned ethylene oxide gas (EtO), which has been used by the company Sterigenics International for three decades, is much more carcinogenic than originally thought.
Near one of the Sterigenics plants in Willowbrook, Illinois, the report found an estimated cancer risk that was significantly higher than the national average.
Casten's opponent, Roskam, is feeling the heat as the 19,000 residents who live near the plant demand action and accountability from their elected officials.
Casten and several environmental groups are condemning Roskam, who has held his seat since 2007, for putting industry before science and not doing more to protect the health of his constituents.
This election alone, Roskam has received over US$200,000 and several campaigns ads from the American Chemistry Council, a lobbying organisation that has protested the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act and whose former senior official is now the EPA's deputy assistant director.
"The Sterigenics case is an important local story, but nationally is, unfortunately, a small example of what happens when a governing party systematically undermines a government agency," Casten told us.
The voting record of Casten's opponent speaks volumes. Recently, Roskam voted to gut the EPA Science Advisory Board, the board the provides scientific advice to the EPA. And the same board that found EtO increases the risk of cancer 30-fold.
He also voted for the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act, which would block real scientists from giving the EPA advice, while opening the doors for chemical industry insiders. The NRDC described the bill as a "gift to the chemical industry".
Roskam also stayed silent when the Trump administration threatened to close EPA offices in Chicago.
"Defunding the EPA, driving EPA staff away from public service and gutting the EPA Science Advisory board is not just politically short-sighted, it is morally bankrupt," argues Casten.
"It puts human health and safety at risk. It will kill people."
After weeks of public outrage about Sterigenics, the EPA has promised a more concerted response. According to the Chicago Tribune, Roskam has taken credit for the EPA's commitment to test surrounding neighborhoods.
But Casten thinks there's a stronger solution, one that he says is not only informed by science but is also reasonable. To ensure public safety, he argues that the Sterigenics plant should be immediately closed until thorough emission tests and a local impact analysis are done.
"We must commit to scientific inquiry and let those facts point us to the truth rather than cherry picking only those that fit into our preconceived worldview," Casten told us.
"And we must remove anyone from elected office who fails to understand the magnitude of their responsibility to all Americans today, and generations that will follow."
Casten's campaign message appears to be working. In September, a New York Times poll found Casten and Roskam were virtually tied.
A more recent poll commissioned by Casten's congressional campaign has placed the political newcomer just ahead of the Republican incumbent mere weeks before the November election.
The race remains too close to call.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientist-clean-energy-advocate-sean-casten-chicago-congressional-race
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Oct 12, 2018 | Politico
By Theodoric Meyer and Marianne Levine
S-3 ADDS FORMER BERNIE SANDERS CHIEF OF STAFF: S-3 Public Affairs has added Michaeleen Crowell, who was previously chief of staff to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), as a principal. In addition to her previous role as chief of staff, Crowell was also Sanders’ legislative director and senior advisor to his 2016 presidential campaign. The hire gives S-3 — a mostly Republican firm that hired its first Democrat last year — another lobbyist with ties to Democrats on the Hill. In a statement announcing her hire, John Scofield, managing partner at S-3, called Crowell “a unique talent.” She starts Monday and will focus on the firm’s health care clients.
MILLENNIAL DEMOCRATIC LOBBYISTS GET OUT THE VOTE: Millennial Democratic lobbyists are putting together a final GOTV drive in the lead-up to the midterm elections. John Sonsalla, co-founder ofElecting a Democratic Generation (EDGE), a network of Democratic millennial lobbyists, told PI that he, along with Democratic Hill staffers and students, will head to New Jersey this weekend to campaign for Andy Kim, who is challenging Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.). EDGE members will also help with GOTV trips for Susan Wild, who is running for an open seat in Pennsylvania against Marty Nothstein, and Abigail Spanberger, who is challenging Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.). Among the reasons for focusing on those three candidates, Sonsalla said, were the “need to focus efforts and resources on these truly swing congressional districts” and proximity to Washington, D.C.
— The get-out-the-vote efforts are part of EDGE’s broader goal this election cycle to provide a platform for millennial Democratic lobbyists who want to get involved. Since its launch after the 2016 election, the network has raised $100,000. “The freshman class for next Congress is going to be one of the largest in recent history,” Sonsalla said. “All of this is kind of an ongoing evolution of how do we leverage all of the resources of young millennial lobbyists downtown, especially given this generational change that we expect to happen over the next two to four years.”
AMERICAN CONTINENTAL GROUP WILL LOBBY FOR EMIRATI COMPANY: The American Continental Group has signed Emirates Global Aluminum, a company controlled by the sovereign wealth funds of two of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dave Urban, Shawn Smeallie and Christian Israel of American Continental Group “will provide advice, counsel and assist [EGA] in a license request to the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control on behalf of Guinea Alumina Corporation, S.A. (GAC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of EGA, as well as provide advice, counsel and assist EGA on interactions with United States government officials regarding potential investments in the United States,” according to a Justice Department filing.
— EGA appears to be the first clients for which American Continental Group has registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in more than a decade. The contract is worth $50,000 a month.
Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. Screaming. Crying. Perfect. Storm. We can make all the tables turn. Send us your tips: mlevine@politico.com and tmeyer@politico.com. You can also follow us on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer and @marianne_levine.
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MILLER STRATEGIES ADDS THREE: Miller Strategies, the lobbying firm started by Jeff Miller, a former adviser to Energy Secretary Rick Perry back when he nurtured presidential aspirations, has added three clients, including Pernod Ricard. Miller will lobby for the French liquor giant, which makes Absolut vodka and Jameson whiskey, on “the taxation and importation of alcoholic beverage production,” according to a disclosure filing. The hire gives Pernod Ricard a second lobbying firm with a reputation for being close to the Trump administration, along with Brian Ballard of Ballard Partners. The company also retains Arent Fox, Crossroads Strategies and Washington Council Ernst & Young.
WHAT GARY COHN’S UP TO: “Gary Cohn, the former director of the National Economic Council at the White House, has joined a blockchain firm as an adviser, according to the company's website,” POLITICO’s Patrick Temple-West reports. “California-based Spring Labs Inc. is working to use blockchain technology to securely exchange credit and identity information, according to the company's website. Other advisers include former [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] chief Sheila Bair and Manuel "Manolo" Sanchez, who is also on the board of directors at Fannie Mae.” Full story.
HARBOUR GROUP DROPS SAUDI GOVERNMENT: “One of the roughly 10 lobbying firms that represent the Saudi government, the Harbour Group, has dropped it as a client, and others are considering following suit, according to people familiar with discussions, as Saudi Arabia struggles with a backlash over allegations that it murdered the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi,” The New York Times’ Mark Landler, Ken Vogel and Kate Kelly report. “The lobbying firms are privately discussing how to proceed, these people said. But some have already decided that the prospect of continued paychecks from Saudi Arabia — once a prized and profitable client — is not worth the risk to their reputations. The Harbour Group, which was being paid $80,000 a month to represent the Saudi Embassy in Washington, sent a letter on Thursday ending its contract, saidRichard Mintz, the firm’s managing director.” Full story.
IF YOU MISSED IT THIS MORNING: Our POLITICO colleagues who write Morning Transportation report that “United Airlines is restructuring and expanding its lobbying shop, merging its regulatory and legislative teams and moving to a big new space at 815 Connecticut Ave., around the corner from the White House. Terri Fariello, senior vice president of United's government affairs team, told POLITICO the airline wants to have "a larger presence in D.C. and a greater voice on the policy front" as [the Department of Transportation] and [the Department of Homeland Security] start rulemaking and implementation of the recently-enacted five-year FAA reauthorization.”
POLITICO is partnering with the Milken Institute to bring a special edition of the POLITICO Pulse newsletter to the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. Written by Dan Diamond, the newsletter will take readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators as they tackle today’s most pressing health challenges. The newsletter will run Oct. 23-24. Sign up today to begin receiving exclusive coverage on Day One of the summit.
JOBS REPORT:
— Airlines for America has hired Andy Cebula as vice president for NextGen and new entrants. He was previously senior vice president for policy and programs at RTCA, the trade group once known as the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics.
— Zillow has hired Ken Wingert as head of federal government relations. He was previously a lobbyist for the National Association of Realtors.
— The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has tapped Johan “Kip” Eideberg as interim vice president for industry and government relations. He’ll take over for Nick Yaksich, who’s retiring. Eideberg is currently the trade group’s vice president for public affairs.
— American Chemistry Council has promoted Anne Kolton to executive vice president for communications, sustainability and market outreach. She was previously vice president of communications.
SPOTTED: At Café Milano Thursday night for a dinner kicking off the National Italian American Foundation’s gala weekend, according to a PI tipster: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Kellyanne Conway; Armando Varricchio, Italy’s ambassador to the U.S.; Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Brad Wenstrup(R-Ohio); U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer; Marc Scarduffa of Pfizer; Pat Harrison of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Anita McBride of American University; Gianni Di Giovanni of Eni; Kraig Siracuse of Bell Helicopter; Tom Quaadman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; the chef Lidia Bastianich; and John Calvelli of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
— At an Association for Accessible Medicines happy hour Thursday at the trade group’s offices, according to a PI tipster: Kim Trzeciak of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Kimberly Espinosa of Rep. Ben Ray Lujan’s office; Calli Shapiro of Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s office; Deborah Autor of Mylan; Pam Traxel of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network; Dara Corrigan of Fresenius Kabi; Leah Svoboda of Boehringer Ingelheim; Cristina Antelo of Ferox Strategies; Elizabeth Brooks of CVS Health; and Laura Wooster of the American College of Emergency Physicians.NEW JOINT FUNDRAISERS
Jones Action Fund (Sen. Doug Jones, Seeking Justice Committee)
Jones Victory Fund (Sen. Doug Jones, Seeking Justice Committee)
Morrisey-Miller Victory Fund (Patrick Morrisey, Carol Miller, West Virginia Republican Party, NRCC)NEW PACSBig Sky 55+ (Super PAC)
Boundary Waters PAC (Super PAC)
Montana Rural Voters (Super PAC)NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONSAnna Aurilio: Hopewell Fund Economic Security Project
CGCN Group, LLC (formerly known as Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen, LLC): American Petroleum Institute (API)
Covington & Burling LLP: Kind LLC
Daly Consulting Group: Mellon Financial Services Corporation #1
Hance Scarborough: Cemex, Inc.
Ice Miller Strategies LLC: Fiskars Brands, Inc.
J.A. Green and Company (formerly LLC): Arconic, Inc. formally known as Alcoa, Inc.
J.A. Green and Company (formerly LLC): International Cobalt Corporation
Jeffrey J. Kimbell and Associates: SCILEX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Miller Strategies, LLC: Iron Oak MMXVII
Miller Strategies, LLC: National Fisheries Institute
Miller Strategies, LLC: Pernod Ricard USA
Peck Madigan Jones: Monkton, Inc.
Tai Ginsberg & Associates, LLC: City of Philadelphia, Division of Aviation
The O Team LLC: Drexel Chemical Company
The O Team LLC: ION Media Networks, Inc.
Upstream Consulting, Inc.: Rare Access Action Project
Vectis DC: California Pacific Airlines
Vectis DC: City of Escondido Vectis Dc: Electric Mirror
Vectis DC: Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
Vectis DC: Lifelong Learning Administration Corporation
Vectis DC: Parsons Corporation
Vectis DC: Rose Bowl Operating Company
Vectis DC: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los AngelesNEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONSCapitol Hill Consulting Group: City of Florence
Capitol Hill Consulting Group: Financial Service Centers of America
Daryl Owen Associates, Inc: Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited
FBB Federal Relations: Timberland
Forbes-Tate: Under Armour, Inc.
Healy Consulting Group: Huguley Consulting LLC
Holland & Knight LLP: Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians
Holland & Knight LLP: Kawerak, Inc.
Holland & Knight LLP: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.
Ice Miller Strategies LLC: AAR Corp.
Liebman & Associates, Inc.: Veloxint Corporation
Natural Resource Results LLC: Clearpath Action for Conservative Energy Inc
Packard Government Affairs: City of Escondido CA
Prime Strategies: Urban Librarians Unite
Vectis Strategies: Electric Mirror
Vectis Strategies: Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
Vectis Strategies: Lifelong Learning Administration Corporation
Vectis Strategies: Parsons Corporation
Vectis Strategies: Rose Bowl Operating Company
Vectis Strategies: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeleshttps://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2018/10/12/s-3-adds-former-sanders-chief-of-staff-326072
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Scientist: EPA Changes Are An Effort to 'Gut Rules' That Protect Public
Oct 14, 2018 | CNN
By Ellie Kaufman and Rene Marsh
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has appointed five new members of an independent committee that provides advice to the EPA on national air quality standards, replacing the current members, while reducing the amount of support it gets from other scientists, according to an agency statement and emails obtained by CNN.Wheeler's appointments mean that the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee's (CASAC) entire membership has been replaced over the course of the year.The changes have left some scientists concerned that the committee will not be able to properly advise the EPA on its policies and procedures regarding national air quality standards.Sponsor content by CNN Money TransfersInternational Money Transfers Made EasyCNN has teamed up with foreign exchange experts, moneycorp, to provide you with CNN Money Transfers."Protecting the public's health from dangerous amounts of pollutants in the air that we all breathe is the mandate of this agency," Jack Harkema, a professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation at Michigan State University and now-former member of the committee, told CNN. "This cannot be done without careful, deliberate and knowledgeable understanding [of] this complex environmental health issue. Multidisciplinary teams of scientific experts must be free to conduct thorough peer-review of the pertinent science. Millions of lives are at stake."
Who is the new acting head of EPA? 02:51Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA sets national ambient air quality standards for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment. Those standards were updated in 2015, and the EPA is working towards setting new ones by 2020, according to the agency.The committee provides advice to the EPA on certain aspects of that effort, including how to set standards that protect public health with "an adequate margin of safety" and the possible negative impacts of agency strategies to meet those standards, an EPA press release announcing the appointments to the committee states.While five new members were appointed to the committee this week, two were named earlier this year, according to Lianne Sheppard, a professor of biostatistics and environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington who until recently was a committee member.Scientists recently serving on the committee told CNN that they learned they would not be reappointed when Wheeler announced the committee's five new members on Wednesday.Sheppard said she had been on the advisory committee for one three-year term, but it was common practice for the agency to appoint members to two terms."A lot of us do this because we want to serve the public health, and we want to use our expertise to do that," Sheppard said. "The EPA has dismissed us. It doesn't want our input."Support panels endedWheeler has tasked the committee with leading the scientific review for any changes to the standards for ozone or particulate matter as well, according to the EPA release.A day after Wheeler dismissed scientists on the committee and announced its five new members, the particulate matter panel, which supports the committee's work, was disbanded, according to emails obtained by CNN from a source familiar with the matter. The emails also show that another panel on ozone would not be created at all.
Worries linger after EPA changes coal ash rules 06:02The emails point directly back to the EPA's press release about the committee's new members and its being tasked with the review of changes to ozone and particulate matter standards.The particulate matter panel was made up of about 20 scientists, according to Sheppard.Former committee member Harkema expressed concern over the EPA's decision to eliminate the supporting panels."The big concern is the dismantling of the ad hoc scientific panels for the review of the health effects of criteria ambient air pollutants like ozone and particulate matter," Harkema said. "This is very dangerous because these are the scientific experts who work hard at unbiasedly reviewing the health-based findings."The Union of Concerned Scientists, an independent advocacy group, also expressed concern with the EPA's decision to remove what they called "qualified, independent experts" from the seven-member committee and for disbanding the particulate matter panel."The fix is in," Gretchen Goldman, research director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement. "Every action taken by current EPA political leadership has been aimed at pushing independent science out of the process so they can gut the rules that protect the public from pollution. They've stacked the advisory boards, proposed restrictions on what science the EPA can consider, and limited the voice of independent scientists. They are determined to weaken safeguards that protect us from hazardous air pollution, regardless of the evidence. The consequences are enormous, and this represents a fundamental betrayal of the mission of the agency and the laws the EPA is supposed to enforce."
Health risks to power plant regulation rollback 01:14When asked why the agency decided to disband the panels, EPA spokesperson John Konkus used some of the same language from Wheeler's announcement."Consistent with the Clean Air Act and CASAC's charter, Acting Administrator Wheeler tasked the seven-member chartered CASAC to serve as the body to review key science assessments for the ongoing review of the particulate matter and ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)," Konkus said.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/13/politics/epa-clean-air-committee-changes/index.html
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Judges Probe Proof EPA Requires to Justify Chemical Trade Secrets
Oct 13, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
Three federal appeals judges focused their questions Oct. 12 on the proof chemical makers must offer the EPA to justify shielding the identity of compounds they make from public view.
The queries from the judges’ on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came in the first environmental group lawsuit challenging one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s three core rules implementing an amended chemicals law. The challengers argued procedures in the EPA’s rule could conceal too many chemical identities, contrary to the public interest.
The Environmental Defense Fund challenged a 2017 EPA chemicals rule, which includes requirements for what chemical manufacturers, importers, or processors needed to do to have the agency “maintain an existing claim” that the identity of their chemical remain undisclosed. That means the EPA knows what the chemical is, but with rare exceptions, no one else does.
The confidentiality provisions are part of a broader rule that laid out the process chemical manufacturers, importers, and processors used to figure out what regulated chemicals have been in commerce since June 2006—10 years before the Toxic Substances Control Act was amended in 2016.Sufficient ProofChief Judge Merrick B. Garland and Judges Patricia A. Millett and Harry T. Edwards focused the argument on one particular question: whether the EPA required companies to adequately prove, or “substantiate,” their claims that a chemical’s identity deserved to be confidential because—as TSCA requires—people outside the company couldn’t easily figure out what the chemical is through “reverse engineering.”
Reverse engineering refers to analytical procedures that scientists can use to figure out materials a chemical is made from and how it is manufactured.
The EPA’s rule requires firms requesting that their chemical’s identity be kept secret to “certify”—or declare under risk of penalties—that they have “a reasonable basis” to believe their chemical “is not readily discoverable through reverse engineering.”
Yet the EPA’s final rule omitted any specific requirement that companies provide evidence to support, or “substantiate,” that statement, Phillip R. Dupre, a Department of Justice attorney representing the EPA, acknowledged when questioned by Garland.
If a chemical could easily be reverse engineered, that compound would not likely meet neither the law’s nor the EPA’s criteria for confidential business information protection, Dupre said.
Other evidence the EPA required companies to provide would have demonstrated whether they also ensured their competitors couldn’t easily figure out how to make their chemicals, he said. For example, the EPA asked companies that share confidential information with other businesses to describe the precautions they’ve taken to safeguard trade secrets.
When EPA first proposed the rule, it would have required more evidence, Robert Stockman, the Environmental Defense Fund’s attorney, told the judges. That evidence would have allowed the agency to validate industry claims that their chemical couldn’t be easily identified, he added.
The final rule, which required less proof of companies’ claims that chemical identities must be confidential, is one of several changes the agency made that resulted in the agency’s final rule favoring concealment, he said.
The 2016 TSCA amendments, by contrast, boosted the public’s right to know the identity of chemicals, Stockman said. What’s in a Chemical’s Name
Of the roughly 86,000 chemicals that are, or have been, on the U.S. market since 1976, about 18,000 or 21 percent have their specific identities kept confidential, according to both EDF legal briefs and those filed by a group of 14 trade associations representing the coal, electronics, mining, petrochemical, forest and paper, and other sectors.
Those trade groups joined in the lawsuit supporting the EPA.
A chemical’s identity—details such as the specific atoms the molecule contains, the way they’re arranged, and how they’re put together—can offer competitors insights into how the chemical performs certain functions, such as conducting electricity more efficiently in batteries, making airplanes stronger and lighter, or repelling grease smudges on paint.
Yet, the identity also can help industrial hygienists, public health officials, emergency responders, and researchers help determine whether the chemical might harm human health or the environment, Path ForwardIf the court concludes the EPA should have required details demonstrating that a firm’s chemical can’t be reverse engineered, the court should send the rule back to the agency for correction without overturning it, Dupre said. The court should tell EPA to make its rationale clearer, he said.
But the EDF is requesting that the judges demand that the EPA revise its regulation to require the complete information the law required to justify confidential protection, Stockman said.
EDF also wants the court to vacate other parts of the rule, including those provisions that allowed a wide range of chemical manufacturers and processors to ask the agency to conceal chemical identities, he said.
The EPA’s rule allowed any manufacturer or processor to ask the agency to conceal a chemical’s identity even when those companies weren’t authorized under by the law to do so, Stockman said.
The TSCA amendments only allowed companies that previously had claimed a chemical’s identity confidential to ask the agency to maintain that prior claim, he said.
The agency’s regulation followed the law, countered Dupre.
Based on past history, the D.C. Circuit could rule on the case early next year, said James W. Conrad, Jr., an attorney with Conrad Law & Policy who represented the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates.
https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/judges-probe-proof-epa-requires-to-justify-chemical-trade-secrets
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Democratic Gubernatorial Gains May Aid States' Opposition To EPA Agenda
Oct 12, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Lee Logan
Democrats appear poised to win control of several key governors' mansions in November's midterm elections, potentially aiding those states' opposition to a host of Trump EPA efforts to roll back climate and environmental regulations, while also bolstering state-level policies that aim to counter the federal rollbacks.
Recent polls show that the party's gubernatorial candidates are favored to wrest power from the GOP in at least three states -- Illinois, Michigan and New Mexico -- while also retaining control in the potential swing states of Colorado, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
Republican incumbents are favored to win re-election in several Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states, though many of these governors have been increasingly critical of President Donald Trump's environmental record, particularly on climate change.
The GOP is also leading in polls in an effort to re-take control of Alaska's governorship, currently held by an independent.
And a three-way contest to succeed Maine's Republican governor is considered a toss up, along with several other important races across the country.
Climate-related ballot initiatives in some states -- boosting renewable power mandates in Arizona and Nevada, as well as a proposed carbon tax in Washington state -- could spur turnout of voters who back clean energy, according to environmentalists, which in turn could benefit Democrats.
Of the three dozen gubernatorial contests this year, roughly 10 feature an “environmental champion” that provides a “sharp contrast” with their opponent, according to comments on an Oct. 11 press call from Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters.
If elected, these governors are “positioned to be leaders” on clean energy and climate issues, he said, “sometimes with legislatures that are supportive . . . and in others using executive authority.”
Sierra Club President Michael Brune also said on the call that environmental groups are shifting some attention to state-level races, where they can pick up governorships and “flip one or two chambers” in several states.
While federal action remains “important,” he said, “we also have seen that we can make a tremendous amount of progress at the state level, local level and in the private sector.”
The region with the largest potential inroads for Democrats could be the Midwest. Increasingly likely victories in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania could give the party a solid foothold in the region that is often at the center of energy and environment policy disputes, including over water quality and hydraulic fracturing.
Wins in three other competitive states -- Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin -- could almost wholly reverse the GOP's state-level control in the region over the past few election cycles.
Democrats are “surging” in the Midwest gubernatorial races ahead of November elections, Politico recently reported, adding that the shift has Republicans “on their heels” and would represent a high-profile rebuke of Trump's gains in the region during the 2016 election.
Additionally, governors' races in Florida and Georgia are considered “toss ups,” giving Democrats the chance to take over the top positions in those Southeastern states for the first time in many years.
Midwestern Energy Policies
Environmentalists have enjoyed some success on energy-related policy in the Midwest in recent years, even under Republican control. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), for instance, signed a major expansion of the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) as well as new subsidies for at-risk nuclear plants.
Major environmental groups are nevertheless backing Rauner's Democratic opponent, businessman J.B. Pritzker, arguing he will take stronger steps to address climate change. Pritzker holds a 16-point edge in the latest polling average by nonpartisan polling site RealClearPolitics.
In Ohio, term-limited Gov. John Kasich (R) vetoed an attempt to scrap that state's RPS. The race to replace him is far closer than in Illinois -- Democrat Richard Cordray holds a 3-point lead over Republican Mike DeWine, according to the site. Analysis firm ClearView Energy Partners says that a DeWine victory could mean that “long-pending efforts to repeal or otherwise weaken Ohio's [RPS] . . . could finally pass.”
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is also trailing in his bid for a third term, though several political prognosticators rate the race as a “toss up.” Environmentalists have long criticized Walker for weakening environmental protections, including his 2016 directive that the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) scrub language from its website saying that human-released greenhouse gases are the main cause of climate change.
They also charge that Walker's former DNR chief, Cathy Stepp -- who is now EPA Region 5 Administrator -- instilled a “chamber of commerce” approach to the agency, relaxed enforcement and weakened environmental standards for a proposed major electronics plant in Southern Wisconsin to be built and operated by Foxxconn Technology Group.
And in Michigan -- where Democrat Gretchen Whitmer is increasingly favored to take over for term-limited Gov. Rick Snyder (R) -- officials in 2016 expanded the state's RPS and the two largest utilities in May agreed to accelerate their transition to clean energy.
Environmentalists also faulted the Snyder administration's early response to the Flint, MI, lead drinking water crisis, but they praised a June bill that goes beyond federal requirements to mandate full replacements of lead-contaminated service lines.
Close Southern Contests
Further South, Andrew Gillum is vying to be Florida's first Democratic governor since 1999, and he holds a 4-point edge over Republican Ron DeSantis in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.
Term-limited Gov. Rick Scott (R) -- now running for Senate in a race where environmental issues are prominent -- has a mixed record. Environmentalists point to Scott's early steps, including opposing strict EPA water quality rules, cutting budgets of regional water districts, scrapping the state growth management agency and generally downplaying the need to address climate change.
Now, Scott is steering millions in state funding to address high-profile “red tide” algal blooms. DeSantis is similarly touting his attention to environmental issues, but critics are calling him a “sham environmentalist.”
Georgia's gubernatorial race appears to be a dead heat, according to the latest polls. Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is trying to reverse 15 years of GOP control in the state, vows to boost renewable energy and low-carbon transportation, oppose offshore oil drilling, and “fight for clean water and keep communities safe from coal ash,” among other issues.
Meanwhile, Republican Brian Kemp pledges to take a “chainsaw” to burdensome regulations and accelerate project permitting.
Democratic Holds
In addition to their potential gubernatorial pickups, Democrats' likely retention of two states -- Colorado and Pennsylvania -- could also have important energy and environmental consequences.
Both states are major natural gas producers, though they have also implemented efforts to control the sector's emissions of the potent GHG methane. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has encountered criticism from the left, however, for claiming he does not “remember” an explicit campaign pledge from 2014 that the Keystone State would join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative power sector cap-and-trade program.
In Colorado, Democrat Jared Polis is favored to succeed outgoing Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), and holds a 7-point lead over Republican Walter Stapleton. Among other issues, the Centennial State is poised to adopt California's vehicle GHG standards, a move that would be a political rebuke to Trump administration efforts to roll back federal rules.
However, ClearView notes that Polis is backing away from a state ballot initiative that would require strict setback requirements for oil and gas production, despite having supported a narrower measure in 2014. Even so, his platform also calls for shifting the state's power sector to 100 percent renewables by 2045, the firm notes.
Elsewhere in the West, Democrats are favored to take over New Mexico's governor's mansion, and the open gubernatorial race in Nevada is considered competitive. Both of those states are key in terms of the power sector's ongoing shift to cleaner generation, and New Mexico also has significant natural gas production that could face tougher environmental standards.
Democrats are widely expected to retain California's governorship, and polls suggest Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) holds an edge in her re-election bid, though that race is much closer.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/democratic-gubernatorial-gains-may-aid-states-opposition-epa-agenda
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D.C. Circuit Backs EDF's Criticism Of TSCA CBI Rule But Queries Remedy
Oct 12, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Dave Reynolds
Appellate judges at Oct. 12 oral argument strongly backed the Environmental Defense Fund's (EDF) criticism of confidential business information (CBI) provisions in the Trump EPA's final rule that determines chemicals subject to the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but queried what legal remedy they could give EDF.
In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit case, EDF v. EPA, EDF is seeking partial vacatur and remand of the agency's Aug. 11, 2017 final rule resetting the inventory of chemicals subject to regulation under TSCA, which Congress overhauled in 2016.
EDF claims that the administration's changes to criteria for substantiating businesses' CBI claims in the Obama EPA's proposed version violate the revised TSCA and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
At oral argument, a three-judge panel faulted Trump administration revisions to the rule's CBI provisions as contrary to the law, illogical, and raising procedural concerns.
Most remarks from the panelists Chief Judge Merrick Garland and Judges Harry Edwards and Patricia Millett centered around the Trump administration's removal of criteria that chemical information deemed CBI and therefore exempt from disclosure not be readily attainable through reverse engineering. Garland was appointed by President Bill Clinton, while Edwards was appointed by President Jimmy Carter and Millett by President Barack Obama.
Millett said that whether chemical information is readily attainable through reverse engineering is an essential factor in determining confidentiality and faulted the Trump administration's removal of that criteria for substantiating businesses' CBI claims under the final rule.
“Reverse engineering is critical to establishing confidentiality,” she said. “Then you come out with a new regulation and say, 'don't bother with'” considering whether data is readily attainable through reverse engineering in substantiating CBI claims, she said to the Justice Department (DOJ) attorney representing EPA. If a substance can be identified through reverse engineering, “how can it still be confidential?” she added.
Garland said Congress in the revised TSCA delineated certain criteria for substantiating CBI claims and that whether the information is readily-attainable through reverse engineering is one of those enumerated criteria. He also suggested that dropping the criteria raised procedural concerns with EPA's rulemaking.
“You dropped out the questions about reverse engineering that are specifically mentioned in the statute,” Garland said. “How could commenters [on the proposed rule] have known that you planned to drop one of the four questions that Congress listed?” he asked DOJ.
DOJ's Phillip Dupre argued that while the rule does not specifically require consideration of whether data is readily attainable through reverse engineering, the rule's remaining criteria for substantiating CBI claims effectively capture that concern.
“We agree that if your” data may be identified through reverse engineering it is likely not going to be deemed CBI, he said, “but that doesn't make reverse engineering a criteria itself.”
Dupre also argued that if judges backed environmentalists' claims, the proper remedy should be to remand the inventory rule to EPA without vacatur to allow the agency to better explain why certain criteria were dropped from the rule's provisions for substantiating CBI claims.
TSCA Litigation
The lawsuit filed Sept. 5, 2017 is one of three challenges environmentalists and public interest groups have brought challenging Trump EPA rules issued last summer that establish a framework for reviewing existing chemicals under the revised TSCA. Existing chemicals are those that have been on the market for decades and were largely grandfathered under the old version of TSCA.
In the cases, EDF and other advocates have argued that Trump appointees revised the Obama EPA's proposed rules along industry talking points before issuing final versions last summer. Challenges to two other framework rules for prioritizing and evaluating existing chemicals have been consolidated in the 9th Circuit and are pending.
EDF's lawsuit challenging the TSCA inventory rule is the first of the cases to reach oral argument.
In a March 6 opening brief, EDF argued that EPA's inventory rule fails to incorporate all provisions for evaluating CBI claims under the new TSCA, and that the agency violated the APA by failing to provide adequate notice of potential changes between the proposed and final rules, and failing to adequately respond to environmentalists' comments.
While the Obama-era proposed version included upward of two dozen questions for evaluating claims to keep a chemical identity or other data confidential, the final version narrowed the criteria to roughly a half dozen more general questions, the brief says.
During the hearing, EDF attorney Robert Stockman argued that EPA's revisions to the Obama-era proposed rule violate TSCA, and that the agency erred in favor of concealing data under inadequate CBI provisions, limiting public disclosure and harming advocates' ability to research on chemicals in commerce.
He also argued that environmental groups and the public often lack sufficient resources and laboratories to determine whether certain chemical information is readily attainable through reverse engineering, and that EPA scientists should consider the issue in weighing companies CBI claims.
In briefs, DOJ has argued that petitioners lack standing to challenge EPA’s substantiation questions, because they have not shown that removal of one substantiation question will make any difference in the agency’s ultimate determination on a confidentiality claim, and because EDF has not shown it will be harmed by the agency's CBI determinations.
Federal officials also have argued that EPA's changes to the rule's CBI provisions are reasonable and within the agency's discretion.
But during the hearing much of Dupre's time for argument was taken up with the judges' questioning of whether the provisions for substantiating CBI claims in the final rule would cover their reverse-engineering concern, and so he was not able to argue the government's claim that petitioners lack standing.
Edwards questioned Dupre on why EPA's final TSCA inventory rule does not include provisions for using alternative names, known as unique identifiers, to protect proprietary chemical data submitted to the agency, adding that such a provision is a required under the revised TSCA.
Dupre told Edwards that EPA is planning to comply with the law's requirement for unique identifiers in a separate policy currently under consideration.
EPA in March sought public comment through March 12 on a third proposed approach for using unique identifiers to protect confidential chemical data submitted to the agency, though environmental and petroleum sector groups sparred over whether the proposal offers adequate protections for, or sufficient disclosure of, data submitted to the agency.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/dc-circuit-backs-edfs-criticism-tsca-cbi-rule-queries-remedy
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EPA Issues TSCA 'Not Likely' Findings for Six Substances
Oct 15, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has made affirmative findings that six new substances, evaluated under the TSCA new chemicals programme, are unlikely to pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.
These 5(a)(C)(3) findings, signed on 5 October, will allow the substances to come to market without restriction. PMNs P-18-0100 and P-18-0102
The two confidential substances, intended for use in industrial UV curable coatings resins, were evaluated under the TSCA acrylates / methacrylates chemical category and the anionic polymers chemical class.
The EPA estimated that both pose low environmental hazard, but have the potential for such health hazards as skin and eye irritation and developmental and liver toxicity.
But because worker exposures can be controlled by personal protective equipment (PPE) and there are no expected consumer exposures, the EPA determined they were unlikely to present an unreasonable risk.P-18-0070
Based on the TSCA chemical category for esters and test data on analogous chemical substances, the EPA estimated that this chemical intermediate for the polyurethane industry presents moderate environmental hazard and the potential for blood, bladder and developmental toxicity, as well as eye irritation.
The agency determined that worker exposures could be controlled by PPE, and identified no unreasonable risk to the general population or environment. It therefore approved it for commerce.P-18-0116
The EPA identified persistence for this industrial chemical intermediate, but noted it has low potential for bioaccumulation, such that repeated exposures are not expected to be cumulative. And the sensitisation potential identified by data from analogous substances can be controlled through worker PPE, says the agency's 'not likely' determination.P-18-0227
The substance, D-Glucaric acid, is intended to be used as a chemical intermediate. It also has a variety of foreseen uses beyond those identified in the pre-manufacture notice (PMN), based on patent searches the agency conducted.
The EPA estimates moderate environmental hazard, but said that the substance does not persistent due to its rapid biodegradation and low potential for bioaccumulation. It flagged irritation and corrosion as two human health concerns.
Despite these potential hazards and the substance's having a variety of possible uses, the EPA expects that workers will use PPE or "otherwise handle products appropriately to limit exposure". And if the substance is ever used in consumer products, the agency expects it would only contain the substance in concentrations that are not corrosive or irritating.P-18-0137
The substance, generically named 'alkylsilsesquioxane, ethoxy-terminated', is intended to be mixed with other components to improve water protection of construction materials.
The EPA estimated that it has moderate environmental hazard and the potential for gastrointestinal and developmental toxicity, as well as pulmonary effects, based on its inclusion in the TSCA chemical category for alkoxysilanes and the nonionic polymers chemical class.
Due to its low bioaccumulation, and that its worker exposures can be controlled by PPE, the EPA has determined it is unlikely to present an unreasonable risk.
https://chemicalwatch.com/70991/epa-issues-tsca-not-likely-findings-for-six-substances
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Oct 12, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Robert Coleman
Since taking power, the Trump administration has waged an all-out assault on policies that are in place to protect children from toxic chemicals and industrial pollution. This week, EWG detailed all of the ways in which Trump and his EPA have chiseled away at decades of children’s environmental health progress.
As autumnal weather fast approaches for most of the country, the door is closing on one of the most severe toxic algae bloom outbreak seasons in recent memory. EWG calculated that the instances of blooms of potentially toxic algae in U.S. lakes, rivers and other waterways rose by at least 40 percent this year compared to 2017. We also applauded a contingent of bipartisan federal legislators from Florida who are urging Congress to put provisions into this year’s farm bill that will help combat this growing crisis.
Following pressure by EWG and other environmental and public health groups, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would ban seven food additives that are used in artificial flavors that have ties to cancer.
“Chemicals that could cause cancer should never have been allowed in our food in the first place, especially not hiding behind the confusing label of ‘artificial flavors,’” said Melanie Benesh, EWG’s legislative attorney said of FDA’s action. “The FDA finally did the right thing by taking this important step to better protect consumers.”
In troubling news out of Washington, the EPA’s Office of Inspector General announcedthat it would be opening an investigation into the agency potentially failing to enforce a critical program that tracks toxic spills into the environment.
And finally, yesterday the Senate confirmed a noted climate change skeptic and oil industry lawyer, Jeffery Bossert Clark, as the head of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he will be in charge of all civil and criminal environmental litigation. Clark defended BP after the Deepwater oil spill.
For coverage of these developments and more, here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
Farm Bill
The Orange County Register: Irvine quit using synthetic pesticides in 2016, now a farm bill could block such local restrictions
“We fear that in the worst case, it could wipe away all of these city and county ordinances across the country,” said Environmental Working Group legislative director Colin O’Neil, who has been tracking the bill and working with concerned local officials.
Daily Independent: Conflict of interest on farm bailout
Both have been criticized for the decision. Scott Faber, senior vice president for governmental affairs at the Environmental Working Group, said “Many taxpayers would be shocked to learn members of Congress who are receiving what by any measure is a lot of money are now also receiving a bailout check ostensibly designed to help struggling farmers. It underscores exactly what’s wrong with the bailout program — that many of the recipients of farm bailout funding are doing just fine.”
FDA Bans Artificial Flavors
Organic Authority: 7 Artificial Flavors Linked to Cancer Banned By FDA
Other groups involved in the action include Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Food Safety, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Working Group, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice. The petitioners asked a court to order the FDA to make a final decision on this issue in May.
WebMD: FDA Bans Seven Artificial Food Flavorings
Other petitioners included the Breast Cancer Fund, Center for Environmental Health, Consumers Union, Environmental Working Group, Improving Kids’ Environments, Natural Resources Defense Council, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and James Huff, former associate director for chemical carcinogenesis at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Justice Department
The Hill: Senate confirms climate skeptic to head DOJ environment office
“Jeffrey Bossert Clark’s blatant hostility toward environmental protection is good news for polluters, but awful news for the rest of us,” Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook said in a statement. “The guy who defended the company that caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history is not likely to aggressively go after corporate environmental outlaws.”
ThinkProgress: BP’s defense attorney for oil spill confirmed by Senate to become nation’s top environmental lawyer
Ken Cook, president of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, expressed disappointment with the Senate’s confirmation of Cook. In a statement Thursday Cook said, “The guy who defended the company that caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history is not likely to aggressively go after corporate environmental outlaws.”
The Washington Times: Senate confirms new head of Justice Department's environmental unit
“Jeffrey Bosson Clark’s blatant hostility toward environmental protection is good news for polluters, but awful news for the rest of us,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, which advocates for agriculture subsidies. “The guy who defended the company that caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history is not likely to aggressively go after corporate environmental outlaws.”
Hill Reporter: Senate Confirms a Known Climate Change Sceptic to Enforce Environmental Legislation
Environmental groups have been quick to denounce Clark’s confirmation. Ken Cook, President of the Environmental Working Group, issued a statement calling Clark’s nomination “good news for polluters”.
Common Dreams: ‘The Guy Who Defended Company That Caused Worst Oil Spill in US History’ Just Confirmed to Head DOJ's Environmental Division
“Clark's blatant hostility toward environmental protection is good news for polluters, but awful news for the rest of us,” warned Environmental Working Group (EWG) president Ken Cook. “The guy who defended the company that caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history is not likely to aggressively go after corporate environmental outlaws.”
Environmental Protection Agency
Chemical Watch: Trump taps former industry executive for EPA’s science arm
NGO the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has criticised the appointment of Mr Dunlap, calling him “a longtime chemical and fossil fuel industry executive”. The group's president Ken Cook said: “This dumbing down of the agency that is supposed to use science to protect Americans from toxic pollution is irresponsible, and will have real consequences for public health.”
Asbestos
Righting Injustice: NGOs petition EPA to require asbestos reporting
The NGOs supporting the petition include the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the American Public Health Association (APHA), the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the Environmental Health Strategy Center (EHSC), and the Safety Chemicals Healthy Families (SCHF).
Cosmetics
Salon: The Kavanaugh father-son cancer powder keg
In 2002, the Breast Cancer Fund, Environmental Working Group, National Black Environmental Justice Network, and others launched the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which sought legislation and regulation to remove ingredients linked to cancer, birth defects, and other health problems. The UN’s cancer registry and the European Union took steps to warn consumers and ban the use of talc; besides, a cheap natural substitute, used for generations without side effects, was readily available: corn starch.
The Greenwich Sentinel: Column: Breast Cancer Awareness – Should Always Include Reading Labels
One distressing thing I uncovered was that harmful chemicals are hidden behind words like: pure, natural, fragrance and even organic. Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) message to cosmetic manufacturers is, “Shed bad actor ingredients that disrupt the hormone system, cause allergies and may accelerate skin cancer.”
The Oklahoman: Use of green beauty brands is on the rise
A shift in consumer awareness and demand for safer beauty comes as no surprise. In 2015, the Environmental Working Group reported that women use an average of 12 products a day, containing 168 different chemicals. Teens on average use 17 personal care products a day, and after testing a group of teens' blood and urine, the group found 16 hormone-altering chemicals, including parabens and phthalates. Reprinted by NewsOK.
Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database
Simplemost: What’s Really In Your La Croix? Lawsuit Claims One Ingredient Is Used In Cockroach Insecticide
The chemical limonene, for example, is found in the peels of citrus fruits and is often used as a flavoring or in cleaning products. As a cosmetic ingredient or scent, The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database found it to be of low concern.
EWG VERIFIED™
Buckhead View: Environmental Working Group hosts event in Buckhead
The Environmental Working Group hosted a pop-up in Atlanta Sept. 20 featuring EWG VERIFIED™ products. The pop-up was one of a series of celebrations to celebrate EWG’s 25th anniversary.
Flame Retardants
Organic Spa Magazine: Sleeping Beauty: Why Organic Bedware Matters
A recent study by Duke University and the Environmental Working Group examining flame retardants has shown an elevated presence of these chemicals in children. Another study, published last year in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, found that levels of the flame retardant known as chlorinated Tris, or TDCIPP, rose fifteen-fold in adults from 2002 to 2015, and increased in children by a factor of four.
Glyphosate Petition
Mercola: Petition to Stop Weedkiller in Cereal
The Environmental Working Group and other consumer groups have petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce the amount of glyphosate residues allowed in oats from 30 parts per million (ppm) to 0.1 ppm, as well as prohibit the use of glyphosate as a preharvest desiccant
Monsanto’s Glyphosate
Quartz: Even if LaCroix does contain insecticide ingredients, that doesn’t mean its bad for you
Recently, for example, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a report claiming glyphosate, an ingredient in a pesticide, was present at “dangerous” levels in all sorts of common foods, including oatmeal and Cheerios. The Washington Post’s food columnist, Tamar Haspel, thoroughly ripped the report apart, criticizing it for being manipulative, fear-mongering, and unscientific. As she notes, the EWG created its own standards for what levels of glyphosate are acceptable in order to make its findings appear far scarier than they actually were.
Newsweek: What Is Linalool? LaCroix Sparkling Water Allegedly Contains Cockroach-Killing Insecticide, Lawsuit Claims
In August, a report by the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) discovered trace amounts of a weed-killing chemical called glyphosate in some popular children’s breakfast foods and cereals. Of the 45 products tested, 31 breakfast foods were found to have higher levels of glyphosate than what scientists consider safe for children.
Whole Foods Magazine: A ‘Roundup’ on Glyphosate
The Environmental Working Group has published its analysis of oat-based foods showing, on average, oat-based cereals exceed 400 ppb, reinforcing the benefits of choosing organic for your family. Knowing your level, a phrase I typically reserve for nutrient levels, is now quite easy.
Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health
Market Watch: 11 ways to build a Paris climate change accord—in your own community
Meat products are far and away the worst food products when it comes to the greenhouse gases stemming from their production, transportation and consumption, data from the Environmental Working Group found. Lamb is the worst culprit, causing 39.2 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions for every kilogram eaten.
Nitrate Contamination
Chesapeake Bay Magazine: Drinking Water in 188 Bay Communities May Increase Cancer Risk
Drawing on federal data, the Environmental Working Group contended in a report issued Tuesday that worrisome levels of nitrates, primarily from polluted farm runoff, contaminate the public water supplies of almost 1,700 communities nationwide. The group’s list of community water systems with potentially problematic nitrate levels included 188 in the six Bay watershed states, with 100 alone in Pennsylvania — though many are in portions of the states that fall outside of the watershed.
Mercola: How Most of Our Water Gets Polluted
About 90 million Americans get their water from groundwater sources, and the Environmental Working Group revealed that more than 3 million of them may be getting water with nitrate levels of 5 ppm or higher.
Water Online: EWG Study Indicates Widespread Nitrate Pollution
A new Environmental Working Group study indicating widespread nitrate pollution in U.S. drinking water – at levels linked to increased cancer risk -- underscores the need for in-home water filtration, the Water Quality Association said recently.
Water Online: Small Rural Communities Bear Costly Burden Of Nitrate Pollution Of Tap Water
Tap water across the nation is contaminated with an agricultural pollutant linked to cancer, and the problem is worst in small communities that can least afford to fix it, according to a new EWG analysis.
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
Chemical News: Switch to an organic diet and reduce your pesticide intake by as much as 90%
Much of the fruits are vegetables lined up in stores are riddled in pesticides. In its latest Dirty Dozen report, the Environmental Working Group found conventionally grown strawberries to have the highest levels of pesticide residues, compared to other fruits and vegetables. (Related: Strawberries are the most pesticide-ridden crop you can eat.)
Kris Carr: 11 Life-Changing Tips for Cancer Patients
Organic is definitely best if you can afford it. If not, check out the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for guidance on avoiding chemical-laden produce. Without a shadow of a doubt, my daily, low-glycemic green juice practice has allowed me to thrive in spite of my obstacles. My basic juicing rule for patients is a 3:1 ratio—three veggies to one low-glycemic fruit.
Chromium-6 in Tap Water
Shared: Tests Reveal Houston's Drinking Water Contains Cancer-Causing Agent
Unfortunately, Houston isn't the only city with dealing with chromium-6 contamination.
In 2016, a report by the nonprofit organization Environmental Working Group revealed that nearly 200 million Americans are exposed to unsafe levels of the harmful chemical.
PFAS in Tap Water
Arizona Daily Star: Tucson Water: PFAS levels below EPA recommendations make drinking water safe
Some researchers are calling for even lower levels, with a 5-year-old Harvard University study urging no more than 1 part per trillion PFAS. The advocacy-based Environmental Working Group says there is no safe PFAS level in drinking water, based in part on a German study.
FairWarning: Chilling News About a Warming Planet
The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization, has estimated that more than 110 million Americans have been exposed to the chemicals in their drinking water. For the purposes of the lawsuit, an exact figure may not matter except that it’s big. The suit isn’t asking for cash penalties but for the companies–3M, DuPont and Chemours–to create an independent panel to study and confirm the health consequences of PFAS blood contamination, Sharon Lerner of The Intercept explains.
Water Online: Congress Passes Measure To Dramatically Restrict Major Source Of PFAS Contamination In Drinking Water
EWG led efforts to secure the provision to the FAA bill, holding multiple meetings with lawmakers and staff to spotlight the extent of the PFAS contamination crisis, and marshaling the evidence in support of less toxic firefighting foam alternatives. The PFAS measure attached to the FAA reauthorization bill is one of only a few pieces of legislation focused on drinking water contamination to pass Congress in years. Recent research by EWG estimates that roughly 110 million Americans could have PFAS-contaminated drinking water.
TCP in Tap Water
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.): Hemet sues Dow Chemical and Shell Oil over contaminated drinking water
Hemet’s lawsuit, filed in Riverside’s federal district court for the Central District of California, and the Environmental Working Group’s report both contend that Dow Chemical and Shell Oil were aware that TCP could migrate from the soil and contaminate groundwater.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/10/ewg-news-roundup-1012-trump-s-war-children-s-health-algae-outbreaks-rise
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Amazon Chemicals Policy Includes Restricted Substance List
Oct 12, 2018 | National Law Review
As part of Amazon’s commitment to responsible sourcing, Amazon has posted its chemicals policy, which includes its first Restricted Substance List (RSL). Amazon states that it defines chemicals of concern as those chemicals that: (1) meet the criteria for classification as a carcinogen, mutagen, reproductive, or other systemic toxicant; or (2) are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. Amazon “strategically prioritize[s] which chemicals of concern to focus on based on product type, customer concerns, and the availability of safer alternatives.” The baseline list of chemicals of concern included on the RSL are those chemicals that Amazon seeks to avoid in Amazon-owned Private Brand Baby, Household Cleaning, Personal Care, and Beauty products in the U.S. According to Amazon, it will expand the policy to additional brands, product categories, and geographies over time.Policy
Amazon’s Chemical Policy includes the following actions:
Reduce Usage of Chemicals of Concern: Amazon encourages manufacturers to phase out potentially hazardous chemistries and adopt green chemistry alternatives, such as those defined in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safer Choice Safer Chemical Ingredients List, “which can reduce impacts to human health and the environment.” Amazon states that it began its reformulation efforts towards this goal with Private Brand formulated products because it has the most control over how these products are developed; and
Enable Transparency: According to Amazon, its transparency efforts are “grounded in the belief that Amazon should provide customers with information that helps them make informed purchasing decisions.” Amazon’s goal is to make product health and sustainability data as easy for customers to access and interpret as price and customer reviews. Amazon states that this is why it is working on website features that will make it easier for customers to access comprehensive information about product ingredients and third-party certifications, including Safer Choice, Made Safe, Green Seal, and Cradle to Cradle. Amazon “hope[s] that making this information more readily available for customers will encourage additional brands to move away from potentially hazardous chemistries in their products and adopt safer chemistries.Current Initiatives
Amazon’s current initiatives include implementing its first RSL, enhancing transparency with customers and stakeholders, promoting third-party certifications, and joining retail sector safer chemistry initiatives. The RSL will apply to all consumer Private Brand Baby (shampoo and lotion, wipes), Household Cleaning (all-purpose, kitchen, and bathroom cleaners), Personal Care (shampoo, sanitizers, and moisturizers), and Beauty Products (make-up). Amazon states that the RSL “is based on the leading science and customer feedback, and includes a baseline list of chemicals of concern that all brands should work to phase out and eliminate.” In particular, Amazon notes, the RSL focuses on paraben preservatives, formaldehyde donor preservatives, phthalate solvents, nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) surfactants, toluene, and triclosan. Amazon will review the set of RSL chemicals and update them periodically. According to Amazon, its brands “have and will continue to develop even more restrictive RSLs for their businesses.” Amazon states that it has developed mechanisms to drive product formulation improvements and policy compliance with its suppliers.
Amazon notes that recent changes to its website include Amazon Pages, providing brands an opportunity to tell their story directly to customers, and the A+ Enhanced Marketing Content on detail pages, allowing brands to explain product features and benefits to customers. According to Amazon, this information can include “the steps they are taking to ensure that their product selection is safe and healthy, with the backing of a robust set of guidelines to maintain a high-bar of content quality to only include factual, easily verifiable, and objective information.” To provide additional information on physical packaging, Amazon states that it developed 2D codes through its transparency service that are “retailer agnostic” and available to all brands. These codes can link to information about the products, their product supply chains, and any third-party certifications they have received.
To further its commitment to transparency, Amazon states that in 2019, it will continue to work on additional product category RSLs under this Chemicals Policy, and work to achieve fuller ingredient disclosure on its Private Brand product detail pages.
Amazon is working on features intended to make it easier for customers to discover, identify, and purchase products with safer formulations and sustainable attributes. This work will include making safer chemistry third-party product sustainability certifications such as Safer Choice, Made Safe, Green Seal, and Cradle to Cradle more prominent. Amazon has joined the Retail Leadership Council of the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3) and the Beauty and Personal Care Products Sustainability Project (BPC). Amazon states that it “supports the retail sector’s collaborative effort to encourage national brands to use safer formulations and produce more sustainable products.”Commentary
Amazon’s entry into this space is not surprising given its market influence and profile, but certainly complicates matters for commercial entities. The growing number of disparate policies and approaches to product formulation, ingredient communication, and “restricted substances” places enhanced pressure on product manufacturers to be ever mindful of the formulation and product composition choices being made by themselves and by entities within their supply chains. As laudable as these policies are, one wonders how they align with the role EPA and other federal agencies have with respect to product review/approval and safety. Consumers may well be asking the same question. The hope is Amazon and other influential retailers work closely with EPA and other stakeholders to ensure the messaging is clear and informative. Achieving less invites significant confusion among consumer audiences.
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/amazon-chemicals-policy-includes-restricted-substance-list
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U.S. Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Output Returning to Normal Post Storm
Oct 13, 2018 | Reuters (In The New York Times)
By Gary McWilliams
U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production is returning to near normal levels three days after Hurricane Michael made landfall on the Florida Panhandle, data from an offshore regulator showed on Saturday, with oil output off 19 percent and natural gas production down less than 10 percent.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) also said in an midday update that only one evacuated production platform was still unoccupied, down from 89 platforms on Wednesday. It can take several days after a storm passes to inspect platforms for damages, fully return crews and restore production after wells are shut-in ahead of a storm.
Michael entered the Gulf as a tropical storm and quickly spun into a major hurricane, producing rough seas and winds of up to 155 miles per hour (250 kph) when it made landfall near Panama City, Florida, on Wednesday.
As of midday on Saturday, the storm had left at least 18 dead in four Southeast U.S. states and damages to communities in its path were estimated in the billions of dollars. It was one of the most powerful storms recorded in U.S. history.
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The Gulf production still offline on Saturday morning represented 330,394 barrels per day of oil production and 247 million cubic feet per day of natural gas output, BSEE reported from a survey of 17 oil and gas producers. In all, Michael cost Gulf producers about 3.27 million barrels of oil this week.
Offshore production in federal waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for 17 percent of total U.S. crude output and 5 percent of national natural gas production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
BSEE said its Saturday survey of producers showed that all drilling rigs and vessels that had been evacuated or moved to safer areas of the Gulf ahead of the storm were reoccupied and back at their drilling positions.
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/10/13/us/13reuters-storm-michael-energy.html
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Energy Partnerships Rebound as U.S. Oil and Gas Output Rise
Oct 12, 2018 | The New York Times
By Norm Alster
High interest rates are tempting. But they aren’t nearly as appealing when the securities that generate them are plummeting in value.
But that’s what happened to energy master limited partnerships when energy prices began to fall in 2014.
These partnerships aren’t required to pay taxes themselves. Instead, they pass on most of their earnings to investors, who eventually pay taxes on the payouts, which typically come from investments in the transportation, processing and storage of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids like propane and butane.
When energy prices plunged, the prices of units (the name for shares) in these partnerships fell, too. Between September 2014 and the downturn’s 2016 trough, for example, the Alps Alerian MLP ETF, based on the Alerian M.L.P. index benchmark, lost more than half its value. On Tuesday, it was about 40 percent below that 2014 peak.
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Now, though, the outlook may be brightening for energy partnerships and the mutual funds and E.T.F.s that own them. Fund prices have stabilized and the average energy partnership mutual fund tracked by Morningstar returned 3.57 percent in the third quarter.ImageNustar uses an array of pumps and pipes to move materials to the dock for transport.CreditTodd Spoth for The New York Times
“The financial outlook for these companies is dramatically improved from the depths of the downturn,” said Bobby Edemeka, portfolio manager of the PGIM Jennison MLP mutual fund.
Rising production of oil and natural gas in the United States should translate into higher volumes of business, improved cash flow and better cash payouts for investors in the partnerships, said Kiri Loupis, portfolio manager of the Goldman Sachs MLP Energy Infrastructurefund. Rapidly expanding production is “the real story here,” he said.
United States oil production is expected to rise to 11.5 million barrels a day in 2019 from 9.4 million barrels a day in 2017, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts. Natural gas production should rise by just over 14 percent during the same two-year period, the agency said.
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Much of that production is coming from the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. Long a major domestic oil mainstay, the Permian’s output was in decline until hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — unearthed new supplies. In 2010, the Permian yielded less than one million barrels of oil a day. This year, it should yield over three million and should rise by 2023 to 5.4 million barrels, according to IHS Markit. Aside from Saudi Arabia, that is more than the total production of any nation in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, IHS Markit said.
Plains All American Pipeline and other partnerships have projects to expand their pipeline capacity to handle all that Permian oil. NuStar Energy and others are beefing up their energy export infrastructure at ports like Corpus Christi, Tex.
Because the energy partnership business is usually volume-driven and based on long-term contracts, moderate price declines need not be crippling. But major declines are another matter.
The drop in oil prices that started in late 2014, from more than $100 a barrel to less than half that price, was sharp enough to hurt.
“People began to worry: ‘What if half of the customers go bankrupt?’” said Brian Watson, lead portfolio manager of the Oppenheimer Steel Path MLP Alpha Plus mutual fund. But most energy partnerships survived and are benefiting from the oil price rebound. Recent oil prices in the $70 to $80 range should be sustainable, Mr. Loupis said.
The financial positions of the partnerships have also stabilized after a period of severe strain, several analysts said.
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Unlike real estate investment trusts, which are required to pay out at least 90 percent of their free cash flow — cash that remains after operating and capital expenses — energy partnerships “have some leeway” on distributions, according to Stephen Ellis, a Morningstar analyst.ImageDock 15, at the Port of Corpus Christi, where NuStar transports oil and gas materials from holding tanks to vessels.CreditTodd Spoth for The New York Times
In 2014, many partnerships distributed 90 percent or more of their cash flow and dipped into capital needed for substantial projects, Mr. Edemeka of the PGIM Jennison fund said. Darin Turner, manager of the Invesco MLP fund, said that soured many investors, who simply said, “I’m not going to buy your stock.”
By now, though, many partnerships have changed course, slashing payouts and building up cash reserves.
“Instead of paying out 100 percent, some partnerships are paying out 60 percent or less,” said Colton Bean, analyst with the energy investment banker Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.
Mr. Watson of Oppenheimer said such dividend cuts have left energy partnerships with a stronger financial base, producing a 30 percent increase in available cash, on average. “That extra 30 percent can be applied to capital expenses,” Mr. Watson said.
Despite these improvements, there is, of course, no guarantee that the stocks — or the funds that own them — will rise much. Mr. Ellis of Morningstar describes energy partnership stocks as only “slightly undervalued.”EDITORS’ PICKSThe Elegant Relic of Restaurant RowWhen the Death of a Family Farm Leads to SuicideThe Price They Pay
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But Mr. Loupis suggests the undervaluation could be substantial. Energy partnership cash flow has typically grown at roughly 6.5 percent a year in the past, but he predicts annual growth of 8.6 percent from 2018 to 2020.
Partnership stocks are also at the lower end of their long-term price-to-earnings ratios. They usually trade at 13.1 to 24.7 times expected earnings, he said, but they have been selling at a 14 multiple, leaving room for price gains to supplement increasingly safe yields.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/business/energy-partnerships-rebound-as-us-oil-and-gas-output-rise.html
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Shell Reaches Milestone on Plastics Plant in Northeast, Potentially a Gulf Competitor
Oct 15, 2018 | Houston Chronicle
By Katherine Blunt
Shell has completed a substantial step in the construction of its plastics production complex in Pennsylvania, a project expected to catalyze similar developments in the Northeast if the region continues to build the pipelines and storage needed to support a petrochemicals hub rivaling that along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The oil major’s petrochemicals unit has installed the project's largest piece of equipment: a 285-foot cooling and condensation tower for gas and other hydrocarbons. It spent more than three weeks in transit up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and required the one of the world’s largest cranes to lift it into place.
The company is building an ethane cracker, which processes the natural gas liquid ethane into ethylene, which will be the feedstock for on-site production of polyethylene, the world’s most common plastic. Three units will churn out 1.6 million metric tons of polyethylene a year to be sold as tiny plastic pellets for use in packaging, automobiles, furniture and consumer goods.Unlimited Digital Access for 99¢Read more articles like this by subscribing to the Houston Chronicle SUBSCRIBE
The project is the largest of its kind in the Northeast, which has lagged the U.S. Gulf Coast in petrochemical developments despite ample supplies of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations spanning Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. The region is home to numerous companies that produce bottles, packaging and other goods, but the plastic pellets needed to make them often come from elsewhere.
The Shell project, however, will change that. A report last year by research firm IHS Markit noted that nearly 75 percent of U.S. demand for polyethylene is located within 700 miles of southwestern Pennsylvania, where the company’s site is located.
Graham van’t Hoff, Shell’s executive vice president for global chemicals, said the company chose the site’s location in large part for its proximity to customers, as well as an abundant supply of ethane. Unlike polyethylene producers along the Gulf Coast, he added, the company expects to export only a minor fraction of its Pennsylvania production.
“It has a natural advantage to serve the domestic market,” he said.
The IHS Markit report noted that Shell’s multibillion-dollar investment could be the first of several in the region as petrochemicals producers look to capitalize on rich, low-cost ethane from the Marcellus and the Utica, which are together expected to account for about 40 percent of the nation’s natural gas production by 2030. The firm expects that a corresponding rise in the production of ethane — a byproduct of oil and gas drilling — could be enough to supply an additional four crackers to generate ethylene for plastics manufacturing.
IHS Markit, however, cautioned that those developments will only occur if companies, legislators and regulators in the region take steps to increase the number of large sites zoned for industrial activity and speed up a buildout of pipelines and storage for natural gas liquids.
Bob Patel, CEO of Houston chemical maker LyondellBasell, said in a recent interview that his company hasn’t yet considered building a project in the Northeast because of those constraints. He added that the vast network of pipelines along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where many of the company’s plants are located, allows for an easy exchange of feedstocks and chemicals between different producers, reducing costs and boosting operational reliability throughout the region.
LyondellBasell is investing heavily to expand its Gulf Coast operations. It began construction last year on a $725 million plant to produce polyethylene at its La Porte complex, and this year, it started work on its priciest project to date, a $2.4 billion plant in Channelview to produce chemicals used in either polyurethane foam or high-octane gasoline.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Shell-reaches-milestone-on-plastics-plant-in-13303117.php
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China Hasn't Ordered Any U.S. Gas This Month
Oct 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
No more liquefied natural gas is shipping from the United States to China, commodities market researchers report.
The U.S. sent two shipments of LNG to China last month. But the trade has since ended due to Beijing's 10 percent tariff on U.S. gas, analysts at Barclays Research report.
Though Chinese energy companies ordered U.S. LNG last month, so far no orders have appeared in October. China may be forced to buy U.S. LNG on the spot market this winter depending on seasonal gas demand, but customers there are very unlikely to purchase any gas directly from U.S. liquefaction facilities out of fear of upsetting the government in Beijing, experts agree.
China's monthly natural gas imports fell by 2 percent in September compared with August, Barclays' commodities desk reported in a note to clients, but for the first three quarters of the year, China's gas imports are up by 34 percent. China's gas imports are now 28 percent higher than they were at this time of year in 2017.
U.S. LNG exporters were set to capitalize on part of this rising demand for LNG in China, but no more now with the trade dispute in full swing.
"China imported two LNG cargos from the U.S. in September, but these both arrived before the application of tariffs on September 24," the analysts reported. "No U.S. cargos appear headed to China currently."
China's crude oil demand growth appears to be slowing this year, the bank notes.
Data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the nation has exported more than $5 billion worth of crude oil and over $423 million in LNG to China so far in 2018. The figures also show $0 in crude oil sold to China in August. U.S. LNG exports earned about $35 million in sales to China in August, down from nearly $87 million in January.
Despite the trade dispute, U.S. LNG will still find customers as Chinese buyers command the supplies of other exporters. China's shunning of U.S. LNG may also see prices for the commodity rise globally in the winter, benefiting U.S. sellers.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/10/15/stories/1060102489
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Gas Flows Resume After Canada Pipe Rupture Hits Oil Refiners
Oct 12, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By David Marino and Rachel Adams-Heard
Natural gas has begun flowing again on a pipeline in British Columbia after a rupture on an adjacent line forced oil refineries in Washington to cut output and sent gasoline prices soaring up and down the West Coast.
An explosion Oct. 9 on Enbridge Inc.’s Westcoast Mainline gas system rippled through energy markets in the Pacific Northwest. Late Thursday, Enbridge announced it had begun pumping gas through a 30-inch (76-centimeter) line that is in the same right of way as the 36-inch pipe that burst. The smaller conduit, shut as a precautionary measure after the rupture, will be returned to about 80 percent of its capacity.
Market Impact
Wholesale gasoline in Portland, Oregon, jumped 19 cents to 55 cents a gallon over New York-traded futures contracts, the highest level in five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
· San Francisco prices climbed 5 cents to the highest premium in more than a year.
· Heavy Canadian crude traded at a record $52.40 discount to West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark.
· Natural gas at Alberta’s pricing hub fell 22 percent Oct. 10, the biggest drop in about a month.
Fortis Inc., a Canadian company that distributes gas from the system, asked customers to “avoid nonessential use of gas until the situation is completely resolved” because supplies are still tight.
Williams Cos. said it’s working with local distribution companies to supply residential and other “critical gas users” with fuel shipped on its Northwest Pipeline. Starting Oct. 11, the Williams line will be able to draw up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of gas from a storage facility in southwest Washington, which is being placed back into service after it underwent scheduled maintenance.
The Enbridge pipeline is part of its Westcoast Energy network, and carries as much as 2.9 billion cubic feet of gas a day—supplying half of the demand from Washington, Oregon and Idaho—from the Fort Nelson processing plant in northern British Columbia to the U.S. border. The 1,751-mile (2,818-kilometer) line connects to gas fields as far north as the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
About 100 people in the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation were evacuated Oct. 9 after the line ruptured in a rural area outside of Prince George. Enbridge said the incident is under investigation. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board was heading to the scene on early Oct. 11.
The National Energy Board issued an order late Oct. 10 local time saying that Enbridge could only restart the adjacent line at reduced pressure. Pipeline companies often route multiple lines within the same right-of-way to minimize the impact on the environment and surrounding landowners. The company can apply to resume full pressure, the regulator said in a statement on its website.
The line carries gas to refineries in Washington state to operate units that process crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other fuels, as well as to utilities in the region. Refiners use the gas to generate steam and power at their facilities.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said Oct. 10 it was shutting units at its Puget Sound refinery north of Seattle after losing gas supply and Phillips 66 shut its refinery in Ferndale, Wash., according to the local fire department. They’re among at least four refineries in the region that have been affected.
‘No Cushion’
Those receive oil from Alberta via the Trans Mountain pipeline, and any reduction would aggravate a glut in Canada. The four affected refineries imported a combined 159,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude in July, government data show.
A small amount of heavy Canadian crude goes to Washington refiners, Kevin Birn, a director on the North American crude oil markets team at IHS Markit, said by phone. “Still, the entire western Canadian system is in a very fragile place at this time because of the surplus. There is no cushion left to absorb any bumps in the system.”
Other Supply Disruptions
In Washington, utility owners Avista Corp. and Puget Sound Energy asked customers to curtail usage.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. is running units at its Anacortes facility at minimum rates, according to a person familiar with the situation.
BP Plc throttled back rates on a hydrocracker at its Cherry Point refinery, while crude unit rates were normal, a person familiar with operations said.
—With assistance from Barbara Powell, Lucia Kassai, Robert Tuttle, Brian Eckhouse, Naureen S. Malik and Dan Murtaugh.
https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/gas-flows-resume-after-canada-pipe-rupture-hits-oil-refiners
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Feds Bring Old Playbook to New Push for Pipeline Cybersecurity
Oct 15, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Blake Sobczak
Top intelligence and homeland security officials are borrowing from the U.S. government's approach to counterterrorism in a bid to warn pipeline companies about hacking threats to their systems.
The Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative unveiled this month aims to deliver intelligence to natural gas companies that form the backbone of America's electric power grid, according to multiple agencies involved with the program.
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which is leading the effort, are also hoping to find and fix weak points in pipeline infrastructure through a series of voluntary cybersecurity tests. The assessments will review major energy firms' IT networks as well as the operational, Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems that physically monitor and control the flow of gas.
"We see in the intelligence community, [hacking] penetrations, attempted penetrations and successful ones from our adversaries," said Bill Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event last week. "And when they're going into the SCADA systems and the industrial control systems of these pipeline companies, it's not to see how they work."
When the U.S. government gets a heads-up about potential terrorist activity, intelligence agencies scrub out classified information and tip off targeted companies. Evanina explained how he and others in the intelligence community are trying to sift pipeline cyberthreat information "through the washing machine" and pass it along to DHS, the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, among others.
"We have to be able to put that analytic stream together, but at the same time, explain to these companies what the threat is, and let DHS and other organizations help them mitigate the threat they see," he said, "so that a nefarious activity by a nation-state threat actor can't shut that pipeline off. That's the ultimate goal."
While many of the nuts and bolts of the initiative have yet to be worked out, the effort drew a warm welcome from pipeline industry groups that have been leery of facing enforceable cybersecurity standards. Currently, six workers at DHS's Transportation Security Administration are responsible for overseeing physical and cybersecurity across hundreds of thousands of oil and natural gas pipelines across the United States. TSA's cybersecurity guidelines are not mandatory or enforceable, leaving the agency to lean heavily on voluntary cooperation from the energy sector.
The new initiative, which emerged from a high-level meeting among TSA, DOE and natural gas executives earlier this month, does not add regulatory teeth to TSA's guidelines. However, the effort will offer some backup to TSA's slim staff through DOE and a separate DHS agency, the National Protection and Programs Directorate. Outside DHS specialists are set to carry out technical "Validated Architecture Design Reviews" (VADR) on "top tier" pipeline computer systems, according to Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at NPPD.
"That's what the pipeline initiative is really about — a series of assessments, more focused on information and intelligence getting to them, more senior-level commitment from the government agencies and from industry to work together to reduce risk where we find it," she said.
Manfra put the initiative in the context of the shifting U.S. power grid, which has grown increasingly reliant on natural gas as a fuel source for power generation in recent years.
"Part of it has to do with how the energy market is changing, as you see more and more natural gas being used," Manfra said, when asked about the impetus for the initiative at the U.S. Chamber last week. "That's not a fact that our adversaries are unaware of."Hacking 'dangers'
A cyberattack isn't known to have physically disrupted the flow of natural gas anywhere in the U.S., but recent pipeline disasters have underscored the potential consequences of a successful hack.
On Sept. 13, a series of gas pipeline explosions in Massachusetts killed one bystander, injured 21 others and demolished several homes following apparent monitoring and maintenance failures at Columbia Gas (Energywire, Oct. 12).
Grid authorities at DOE and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. have raised concerns about an explosion or cyber disruption at the larger gas transmission lines that often feed into multiple power-generating sites in places like the Northeast and parts of California.
In the wake of a NERC assessment on potential gas-grid pressure points last year, the organization's director of reliability assessments, Thomas Coleman, called for the natural gas industry to have the same binding cyber and physical security standards that apply to big electric utilities (Energywire, Nov. 15, 2017).
Since then, several senior officials and some lawmakers have called for further action on pipeline security, from proposing to transfer responsibility for gas security from TSA to DOE, to extending "critical infrastructure protection" cybersecurity standards to large gas storage and pipeline firms through FERC.
In a leaked policy memo earlier this year, DOE analysts proposed propping up economically ailing coal and nuclear power plants, arguing in part that cyber and physical vulnerabilities in gas pipeline networks could jeopardize gas-fired power generation.
DOE officials have stayed mum on those nascent plans, which are now being considered at the White House. But Energy Secretary Rick Perry has repeatedly warned of an uptick in cyberthreats to critical infrastructure systems.
"We face a host of bad actors out there eager to exploit our vulnerabilities, disrupt and destroy our energy assets," he said last week at a swearing-in ceremony for Karen Evans, a new top cybersecurity official at DOE.
Perry cast the pipeline cybersecurity initiative as a way to "leverage the unique strengths and expertise of our industry partners in addressing cyberthreats to our pipelines, and increasing the security of our very critical energy infrastructure."
"As secretary, I don't have a higher responsibility, higher priority than protecting our nation against those dangers," he added.
Senior representatives from several major pipeline companies and electric power utilities huddled at DOE headquarters Wednesday afternoon to discuss cyberthreats and the growing interdependencies between the two sectors, sources say.
A spokeswoman for one of the groups present at the meeting — the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America — declined to comment on the makeup of the meeting but welcomed the joint DOE, DHS and TSA security initiative.
"INGAA believes that taking a risk-informed approach to combating security threats is the best way to secure our critical infrastructure," Cathy Landry said in a statement.
For now, the most pressing cyberthreats to the critical control systems that undergird pipelines and other long-distance infrastructure networks come from foreign intelligence services like Russia's GRU or China's Ministry of State Security, according to U.S. intelligence estimates.
"Right now my concern is: We have indicators that we have people who are interested in [SCADA]; and that in and of itself is enough to say that we've got to be organized and have the right resources and capabilities to address it," said Rob Joyce, senior adviser for cybersecurity strategy at the NSA and President Trump's former cybersecurity coordinator, on the sidelines of the U.S. Chamber event last week. "The thing I worry about is nation-state. For years, there have been concerns about terrorists operationalizing cyber — I've not seen that to date. We'll continue to look at it, but I think the real threat right now is nation-state."
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/10/15/stories/1060102497
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EPA Unveils Proposals for Methane Rule Change
Oct 12, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Ben Lefebvre
EPA is set to publish its proposed changes to its rules on methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure, according to a filing scheduled to be made to the Federal Register Monday.
The proposal is the latest in a series of rollbacks the Trump administration has made to Obama-era rules on methane leakage. The Interior Department completely repealed an Obama rule last month regulating methane waste from oil and gas infrastructure on federal lands.
The EPA’s proposed amendments would focus on “fugitive emissions requirements, well site pneumatic pump standards, the requirements for certification of closed vent systems, and the alternative means of emissions limitations (AMEL) provisions,” the department said in the filing.
The EPA is proposing to reduce the number of times companies must inspect certain wells or compression stations to once a year, and it exempts monitoring equipment in service less than 300 hours a year.
The changes would increase emissions of methane, volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants, EPA said in its filing.
“The EPA expects that the forgone VOC emission reductions may also degrade air quality and adversely affect health and welfare,” EPA said. The changes would also save up to $67 million per year, the EPA calculated.
WHAT'S NEXT: Comments will be due by Dec. 17.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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EPA Scraps Pair of Air Pollution Science Panels
Oct 13, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni and Juliet Eilperin
The Environmental Protection Agency moved this week to disband two outside panels of experts charged with advising the agency on limiting harmful emissions of soot and smog-forming pollutants.
The agency informed scientists advising the EPA on the health impacts of soot that their “service on the panel has concluded,” according to an email shared with The Washington Post. Experts being considered to sit on a separate board evaluating ground-level ozone also received an email from the EPA saying it will no longer form the panel, which had yet to meet. The EPA had asked for nominations in July.
The decision to dissolve the panels is part of a broader effort by the EPA’s leadership to change the way the agency conducts and assesses science. Those efforts include trying to limit what counts as health benefits when crafting air rules and incorporate into rulemaking only studies that make their underlying data public.
In the past, each panel had roughly two dozen researchers who reviewed the latest air pollution science and made recommendations on how to set new air standards for a specific pollutant the agency is legally obligated to regulate. These experts, who came from a variety of fields, often encouraged the EPA to impose tougher limits on the six pollutants for which it sets nationwide standards.
Now, under acting administrator Andrew Wheeler, the EPA has instead decided to let a seven-member group called the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) alone perform those assessments and make recommendations to the agency’s political leaders. Previously, CASAC and the now-scrapped panels worked together to craft findings.
While its decision to disband the outside panels is a break from past administrations, concentrating power in the smaller CASAC is legal, the agency said.
“Consistent with the Clean Air Act and CASAC’s charter, Acting Administrator Wheeler tasked the seven-member chartered CASAC to serve as the body to review key science assessments for the ongoing review of the particulate matter and ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards,” it said in a statement.
Environmentalists sharply criticized the decision as another instance of the Trump administration’s curtailing the use of science that contradicts the president’s pro-industry agenda. They argue that the committee’s small size, skewed composition and lack of expertise would make it nearly impossible to fully vet the vast body of pollution science related to public health.
“By removing science and scientists, they are making it easier for the administration to set a weaker standard” said Gretchen Goldman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Center for Science and Democracy.
The EPA just selected five new members of the CASAC. Most of the committee’s members come from state or local governments in conservative parts of the country, including Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Utah, rather than from universities.
In a statement Wednesday, Wheeler praised the “highly qualified” group for having “a diverse set of backgrounds in fields like toxicology, engineering, medicine, ecology, and atmospheric science.”
But Christopher Zarba, who formerly directed the EPA office that coordinates with that and other scientific committees, said “there are fewer academics” than before. Researchers from academia, he said, “bring an essential science perspective to the review process.”
The lack of academics is consistent with past policy from Trump’s EPA. Last year, the agency barredacademics who received EPA grants from serving on science panels. That effectively gave experts from industry and state governments more room to participate instead.
John Walke, who directs the Natural Resources Defense Council’s clean air work, highlighted on Twitter the “alarming, outlier view” of one of those state officials appointed to the board.
Three years ago, Sabine Lange, a toxicologist who works for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, disputed a 2014 CASAC conclusion that short-term exposure to ozone was linked to higher mortality.
While the band of ozone high in the atmosphere protects people from harmful ultraviolet radiation, concentrations of the gas closer to the ground can cause respiratory problems. Lange wrote that the outdoor concentration of ozone “grossly overestimates” Americans' actual exposure because they spend little time outside.
The 20-member Particulate Matter Review Panel, which was disbanded Thursday, had spent the past few years working with the EPA on developing more stringent standards for soot emitted by cars, power plants and other sources. This microscopic pollution, which can become embedded in the bloodstream and airways, has been linked to heart and lung disease.
In April 2016, the EPA issued a draft proposal to tighten the national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter and gave it to the particulate matter panel to review. By the end of August 2016, the panel had endorsed the proposal and offered some suggestions “for strengthening and improving the document.” The agency has yet to propose new soot standards, which have not been updated since 2012.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/10/14/epa-scraps-pair-air-pollution-science-panels/?utm_term=.5b5c27ed905f
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Plastics Industry Gets Toxic Air Pollution Limits Relaxed (1)
Oct 12, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Amena H. Saiyid
The plastics industry will see relaxed toxic air pollution limits for facilities producing amino and phenolic resins that are used to make billiard balls and a host of other products.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule, out Oct. 15, will set a limit of 8.6 pounds of organic hazardous air pollutants per ton of resins released at the back end of continuous process vents used at these facilities.
During the Obama administration, the EPA in 2014 set a much tougher limit of 1.9 pounds of organic hazardous air pollutants allowed per ton of resin produced; that is being replaced by the new rule.
Amino and phenolic resins are commonly used in the manufacture of plywood, adhesives and wood furniture. Phenolic resins in particular are found in billiard balls and electronic components.
The new standards (RIN:2060-AS79) for continuous process vents—while looser than the 2014 limits—are expected to reduce hazardous air pollution over the limits that had been in place since 2000 at 15 existing facilities, including Georgia-Pacific LLC, the EPA said.
The new rule will cut about 207 tons of hazardous air pollutants annually from the 15 facilities compared to the 2000 standards. But the 2014 limits would have cut about 271 tons of hazardous air pollutants a year, the EPA said.
The new limits will cost the industry about $4.8 million for installing controls, and about $2.1 million annually to run them, the EPA said.
The agency also is setting differing limits for the front end of these vents at facilities using reactors and nonreactors to account for variability in technology. Request from Koch Subsidiary
The EPA’s new limits are based on its August 2017 proposal in response to a petition filed in December 2014 by Georgia-Pacific, a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc. that produces tissue, pulp, paper, building products, and related chemicals.
The company petitioned the EPA to set new emissions limits for these vents after the agency had revised the standards, which require the installation of maximum achievable controls.
The company asked the EPA to reconsider its 2014 rule “because we didn’t believe certain limits set at that time reflected complete and accurate emissions data for affected sources,” Georgia-Pacific spokeswoman Karen Cole told Bloomberg Environment Oct. 12.
“We believe that the revised limits meet the requirements of this section of the Clean Air Act and accurately reflect the use of the best available emissions data,” Cole said.
(Updates througout with details, comment. )
https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/plastics-industry-gets-toxic-air-pollution-limits-relaxed-1
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Former CASAC Chair Says Panel Dismissals Will Weaken NAAQS' Legality
Oct 12, 2018 | Inside EPA
By Stuart Parker
Former EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Chairman Chris Frey is warning the agency's sudden disbanding of advisory panels for reviewing its ozone and particulate matter (PM) standards will weaken the quality of the reviews and make the resulting standards more vulnerable to legal challenges.
“The main implication is the agency is not committed to seriously look at the science regarding these two pollutants,” Frey told Inside EPA in an exclusive Oct. 12 interview. He claimed the agency's move shows it is not serious about scientific scrutiny of its work, resulting in poor quality air rules vulnerable to legal attack.
EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) in a brief Oct. 11 email dismissed an existing panel that was part of CASAC advising the agency on its review of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM). In another email to candidates for serving on a then-pending specialized panel to review the ozone NAAQS, EPA informed them that it will not be establishing the panel and will review the standard without them.
Instead, the agency's overhauled chartered CASAC, consisting of only seven members, will undertake to advise the agency on its review of the two major NAAQS without the assistance of the panels.
EPA last revised the PM NAAQS in 2012 and the ozone NAAQS in 2015, and the Clean Air Act mandates that the agency review its standards five years after their last revision. But the agency for years has fallen far behind schedule, prompting calls from industry groups and others to overhaul the NAAQS process.
Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and acting agency chief Andrew Wheeler committed to completing both reviews by the end of 2020. But that tight deadline may now be impossible to meet without compromising the quality of scientific review, said Frey.
“It strains credulity that this [NAAQS timeline] is achievable without substantially compromising the scientific review” underlying revisions to the NAAQS, Frey said.
The seven-member chartered CASAC is comprised mostly of state air regulators, and includes only one research scientist, Mark Frampton, Frey noted. “You need more horsepower to do these reviews,” he said.
Until EPA's abrupt announcement, Frey -- who is a professor of environmental engineering at North Carolina State University, was a member of the CASAC panel to review the PM NAAQS, which is set at 12 micrograms per cubic meter.
He was also a candidate for the scrapped panel that would have reviewed the ozone NAAQS, which the Obama administration set in 2015 at 70 ppb.
If EPA and CASAC do not do a thorough job of reviewing the standards, the resulting rules are vulnerable to being reversed by the courts for being based on an inadequate scientific review that falls short of statutory requirements, Frey warned. “EPA is opening itself up to being challenged for lack of proper process. It comes across as very arbitrary and capricious,” Frey said, citing the Clean Air Act's standard for judicial review of EPA decisions.
Although there is no statutory obligation for EPA to establish specialized panels to consider specific pollutants, Frey said that eliminating them will render CASAC unable to conduct a meaningful review -- implying that a cursory review is more likely. “I don't see anything good about this in terms of the quality” of NAAQS reviews, he said.
CASAC's Review
EPA's Oct. 10 announcement of new members of the CASAC completes its replacement of all Obama-era members. In addition to existing CASAC members Anthony Cox, a consultant and chair of CASAC, and James Boylan of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the seven-member charted CASAC will now include Mark Frampton, of the University of Rochester Medical Center; Sabine Lange, of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; Timothy Lewis, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Corey Masuca, of the Jefferson County, AL, Department of Health; and Steven Packham, of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.
Prior to his resignation amid ethics scandals in July, Pruitt launched a bid to overhaul the NAAQS process. He penned a “back to basics” memo requiring that EPA meet the five-year review NAAQS review deadline, and proposing that the agency collapse distinct phases of the review process into fewer steps, producing fewer documents.
More recently, EPA air policy chief Bill Wehrum has called for less consultation with CASAC, for example with fewer EPA drafts of documents such as the integrated science assessment (ISA), which synthesizes the latest available science on the health effects of a NAAQS pollutant.
Clint Woods, Wehrum's deputy at EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, told Inside EPA on the sidelines of a Childrens' Health Protection Advisory Committee Oct. 11 that the chartered CASAC is going “to help lead that effort” on PM NAAQS. "I'm not sure exactly how that's going to work, we'll have to talk with the SAB staff office in light of the administrator's decisions on the chartered members. But I think for the ozone review it similarly indicated that the seven members would be leading that review for ozone too."
Woods said the idea “is to have them engaged at the front end of the process and leading that effort so it's not necessarily reviewing the subcommittee's recommendations and then go to the administrator but being actively involved in the science from the beginning.”
Woods was referring to the Oct. 10 announcement of new members of the chartered CASAC, which several sources say telegraphed the agency's intent to cut out specialized panels.
But the email to Frey is explicit on this point, saying that Wheeler “tasked the seven-member chartered CASAC to serve as the body to review key science assessments for the ongoing review” of PM NAAQS. “Therefore the CASAC PM Review Panel will no longer be involved with the Agency’s PM NAAQS review.”
On ozone, SAB says in the other email that in the light of Wheeler's announcement, “the Agency will not form a CASAC Ozone Panel,” meaning only the seven-member full CASAC will do that review.
Frey's Concerns
Typically, Frey noted, CASAC panels have been taking at least three years to review all the documents associated with a NAAQS review, including the ISA, risk-and-exposure assessment which estimates risk to the public, and policy assessment that gives the EPA political leadership policy options.
Now, the agency is asking a small number of generalists to oversee EPA's work in not one but two high-profile reviews, to be completed in around two years. The dismissed PM panel numbered around 20 experts, by contrast. CASAC is supposed to be a science panel, “not a stakeholder panel,” Frey said.
Further exacerbating the problem is the Trump EPA's directive that CASAC offer advice on a number of implementation concerns for NAAQS that it has previously not dispensed advice on.
The air law required CASAC to offer advice on, for example, the economic and energy costs associated with NAAQS. EPA has previously argued that this duty is not tied to any specific NAAQS review, and under Supreme Court precedent, the agency may not take implementation costs into account when setting NAAQS.
By forcing CASAC to consider these issues along with the ozone and PM reviews, the agency increases the likelihood it will set weaker standards than are necessary, critics say.
Frey warns that the projected folding of multiple review steps into fewer documents risks “co-mingling” scientific analysis with policy direction from political appointees, when EPA has sought in the past to separate the two.
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/former-casac-chair-says-panel-dismissals-will-weaken-naaqs-legality
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Justice Dept. Petitions 9th Circuit on Kids' Case — Again
Oct 12, 2018 | E&E News PM
By Benjamin Hulac
The Trump administration is urging a federal appeals court to stop a national climate change case from proceeding. It's the third time the Justice Department has asked the court to intervene.
In a petition today, the government asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to halt proceedings in Juliana v. United States, with trial slated to begin in late October in district court in Eugene, Ore.CONTINUING COVERAGETwenty-one young Americans are suing the government over climate change. Click here to view the continuing coverage.
"This suit is an attempt to redirect federal environmental and energy policies through the courts rather than through the political process," the Department of Justice said.
"At a minimum," the brief said, "the government asks this Court to stay all discovery and trial while it considers" the petition.
The government has repeatedly filed motions to stay the case and push back the trial date for months, arguing that the plaintiffs should raise their concerns over climate change politically, rather than through the courts.
The Juliana plaintiffs, 21 children and young adults, want a court to rule that the U.S. government has, over the course of at least 10 administrations, violated their constitutional rights to a safe climate.
They're also demanding an accounting of fossil fuel resources in the country and a court-ordered plan to phase out such fuels nationwide.
While judges at all federal levels have ruled against the administration, DOJ has successfully delayed trial, which was supposed to have begun in 2017.
Last Friday, the government petitioned the district court in Oregon to freeze the case, citing a "forthcoming" petition to the Supreme Court (Greenwire, Oct. 8). Judges on the 9th Circuit last ruled against the administration on July 20.
"We denied the government's first mandamus petition, concluding that it had not met the high bar for relief at that stage of the litigation," they said. "No new circumstances justify this second petition, and we again decline to grant mandamus relief."
The government provided little new in its petition. Without a delay, it would have to undergo a lengthy court experience, DOJ attorneys said. "Absent a stay, the government will be forced to prepare for and endure a 50-day trial," they said.
One of the plaintiffs, Vic Barrett, 19, said the government is afraid of her and her peers. "The most powerful government in the world sure is scared of a group of young people armed with the truth," Barrett said.
Jacob Lebel, 21, another plaintiff, added: "The Trump administration is not getting the point. It will have to face us and climate science in court on Oct. 29."
https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2018/10/12/stories/1060102471
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The Idea That Action Against Climate Change Will ‘Destroy the Economy’ Couldn’t Be More Wrong
Oct 15, 2018 | The Washington Post
By Jared Bernstein
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) admitted Sunday that human activity is leading to increased global temperatures and that steps should be taken to mitigate the impact of climate change. But, when pushed for concrete policies, he argued that he’s “not going to destroy our economy.”
This betrays a consequential misunderstanding of not just how economies work but of what economies are. The idea that economies are somehow inherently unable to repel existential threats belies logic and common sense: There is absolutely nothing in the construct of this creature we call an economy that precludes mechanisms to fight global warming. To the contrary, such mechanisms abound, as I explain below.
Rubio is making two big mistakes here. First, he’s defining “our economy” in a way that has little to do with “us” and a lot to do with pay-to-play politics. Second, he’s claiming there is no trade-off that improves social welfare (not gross domestic product, but people’s broader well-being) while enhancing environmental sustainability.
To the contrary, standard-issue economics is extremely clear about the necessity of policies to offset pollution. In fact, the concept is fundamental to classical economics, which places price signals at its core. If a polluter fails to face the costs of her actions, she will generate “negative externalities” that make others worse off. The classical solution is to “internalize the externality” through policies that shift the cost back onto the person or company causing the degradation.
Two ways of doing so in this context are taxing carbon and regulating production.
Both solutions — which, to repeat, are totally consistent with standard economics — have not only been disallowed by current politics, but, as Rubio’s comment on CNN’s “State of the Union” reveals, also have been prohibited by his perverse definition of “our economy.” In a twist that Orwell would have appreciated, we can’t save our economy because to do so would destroy it.
Status quo supporters arrive at this illogic by conflating human welfare with GDP and then defining anything that might lower GDP as a destroyer. They couldn’t be more wrong.
First, when, for example, we destroy protective wetlands (as in Houston) or degrade clean-water rules, we add to corporate profitability, which raises GDP but reduces society’s welfare relative to a scenario that protects such resources. Worse, when hurricanes destroy property because natural buffers have been destroyed (and warming has intensified the power of storms), any rebuilding adds to GDP. If the folly of such measurement practices with regard to people’s well-being escapes you, just look at any paper on the devastation from Hurricane Michael.
Second, even if we must bow down before GDP growth, there’s no evidence that taxes necessarily lower growth. That’s an outgrowth of the fairy dust known as supply-side, trickle-down economics, in which tax cuts, especially on the rich, boost jobs and growth (and spin off enough revenue to offset their cost). In fact, the U.S. economy has historically grown much faster when taxes were much higher. To be clear, that’s correlation, not causation, but it underscores why you should never accept this “taxes-kill-growth” nonsense.
Third, there is a potential growth dividend to be paid from sustainable investment. While we’re dithering around with tariffs and trade wars, more forward-looking countries (which for now include pretty much all of them) are trying to figure out how they can grab global market share in batteries to store renewable energy. Even a simple regulation like requiring industrial scrubbers in smokestacks leads to more, not less, employment. “Renewable portfolio standards” — state requirements that some percentage of energy consumption comes from renewables by a later date — have been found to generate innovative economic activity to meet the goals.
Finally, when Rubio says “our economy,” he’s not talking about you and me. Paul Krugman put not too fine a point on it, tweeting that “The idea that climate policies would ‘destroy our economy’ is disinformation spread by fossil-fuel interests and right-wingers.” The investigative journalist Jane Mayer has shined bright lights on the dark money the oil-rich Koch brothers have poured into the politics that Rubio’s phrase so perfectly captures.
At this point, someone typically objects that because low-income households spend a larger share of their income on energy, a carbon tax would be unfair to them. But such arguments ignore that these same households also have the least resources to insulate themselves against the consequences of climate change. And here again, economics is well-equipped to deal with this outcome, by crafting policies that rebate a portion of the tax to those hardest hit by it. (Smart carbon taxes change relative prices, not relative incomes; true, they could lower the income of the Kochs, but I’d call that a feature, not a bug.)
Two notable, related things recently occurred in this space: The United Nations' panel of climate scientists issued a report on the increasing urgency of the problem, and economist William Nordhaus, a longtime advocate of much of the economics discussed above, was awarded a Nobel Prize. You could argue this is some higher power’s synchronous sign that we need to get real about this existential threat, or you could argue that it’s a fortuitous coincidence.
What you cannot argue, no matter how much you’re paid to believe otherwise, is that there is any inherent contradiction between economics, environmental sustainability and not just our well-being, but our very survival.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/10/15/idea-that-action-against-climate-change-will-destroy-economy-couldnt-be-more-wrong/?utm_term=.ef233279a71f
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Why Pricing Carbon Is Still More Theory Than Reality: QuickTake
Oct 15, 2018 | Bloomberg
By Mathew Carr
It’s an idea that’s been around for more than two decades: To slow climate change, make polluters pay for the damage they cause. More than 60 nations, states and cities have adopted what’s known as carbon pricing, an approach held up by environmentalists, global institutions and even many oil companies as an elegant, free-market approach to global warming — one that creates incentives to find the best solutions and avoids burdensome regulation. In practice, though, carbon pricing has proved politically difficult, reflecting pushback from the public as well as business groups.1. How does carbon pricing work?
Governments either levy a tax on each metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted, or start a market to trade permits to pollute. In both cases, companies in certain industries are targeted — say utilities that produce electricity — which means that carbon pricing will only cover a portion of a country’s total emissions. With a market, a limit is set on the total volume of emissions allowed, then permits are either allocated to, or purchased by, polluters. The credits can then be bought and sold, a system known as cap-and-trade.2. Is carbon pricing effective?
Environmentalists say most policy makers have been unwilling to set prices high enough to force changes in behavior, or to make enough companies pay them. That said, the levies have encouraged more switching to cleaner natural gas, and their cost has begun to creep into electricity prices around the world. The U.K.’s carbon tax is credited with helping the country rapidly phase out coal.3. How widespread is it?
About 40 countries or jurisdictions have developed markets or plan to do so. They include China, the European Unionand a handful of U.S. states. About half that number have a carbon tax, from roughly $1 a metric ton in Mexico to $139 in Sweden. Many countries — such as the U.K. and most Scandinavian nations — use permit trading alongside targeted taxes on dirty fuels such as coal. Still, carbon pricing only covers about 20 percent of global emissions. California’s program, for example, is one of the few that includes transport fuels.4. How high does the price need to be?
A price of about $40 a ton, among other climate policies, is needed to achieve targets in the 2015 United Nations Paris accord to stem climate change, according to a 2017 reportfrom a commission of economists and scientists. The price would need to rise to more than $100 a ton by the middle of the century to keep up with the Paris pledges and encourage expensive technologies such as carbon capture and storage. About half of the almost 200 nations that signed the agreement expect to use some form of carbon pricing to reach their goals.5. Who’s opposed to carbon pricing?
Political leaders have struggled to sell the system as it raised the cost of many goods and services, from steel to cement. Some business leaders say it distorts markets for goods where trade occurs with countries that don’t levy a price. Australia repealed its carbon tax in 2014 after it was blamed for destroying jobs. Carbon prices can hit the poor hardest by raising household energy prices, though that burden can be offset by redirecting revenue raised. But perhaps nowhere is the debate more heated than in Canada.6. Why is it an issue in Canada?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a national minimum carbon price a key part of his environment policy; it was set to start at C$10 per metric ton in January 2019 and rise to C$50 by 2022. It’s unpopular in provinces such as Ontario where power prices have soared, partly because of a shift to renewables. Trudeau’s rivals in the Conservative Party plan to make it a key issue in the country’s 2019 election.7. So is carbon pricing here to stay?
Many environmentalists say the world will continue to fall short of its emissions goals unless there are carbon prices with real teeth. Many companies already use a “shadow” carbon price to test the viability of new projects.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-14/why-pricing-carbon-is-still-more-theory-than-reality-quicktake
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Bank of England Tells Institutions to Prepare for Climate Change
Oct 14, 2018 | Financial Times
By Leslie Hook and Caroline Binham
The Bank of England will put banks and insurers on notice to vastly improve their planning for the long-term risks of climate change, placing senior executives in the line of fire if their institutions take insufficient action. In an unprecedented step for a regulator of a global financial centre, the BoE’s Prudential Regulation Authority will on Monday tell boards of banks and insurers to identify a senior executive to take charge of managing climate-change risks and report to the board — or face consequences. The measure is set to be one outlined in a draft supervisory statement to be published by the PRA, which oversees the UK’s largest lenders and insurers. It comes at a time when financial regulators around the world are grappling with how to address the systemic risks presented by climate change. On Friday, 18 central banks including those of England, Germany, France, Japan and China — but not the US Federal Reserve — warned that the financial risks of climate change were “system-wide and potentially irreversible if not addressed”. “The risks call for action in the short term to reduce impact in the long term,” wrote the central banks, noting the need to develop “new analytical and supervisory approaches” in response. Last month, a survey by the BoE revealed that only 10 per cent of banks were taking a long enough view of climate-related risks and on average the banks questioned were found to have a four-year planning horizon. Further down the line, the BoE could start introducing capital add-ons for companies that are not sufficiently addressing risks, experts said, but that is not expected to be part of Monday’s statement. Several big banks have recently announced plans to reassess their lending to high carbon-intensity projects, such as coal power stations and tar sands extraction, while promising to promote “green” investments. But the BoE wants to get banks to better analyse the risks, such as what impact a flood plain might have on their mortgage portfolio, in ways that insurers already do. While Monday’s statement is expected to be more discursive than prescriptive, the BoE is expected to put out more detailed guidance and best practice. The BoE has taken similar initiatives over other risks that lenders face, such as cyber attacks and operational risk. In these areas, banks have already been told to identify a senior manager responsible for overseeing the risks. Tough rules introduced in 2016 hold senior managers accountable for failings on their watch, making them liable for a fine or ban. The so-called Senior Managers Regime enables the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority to take a much more sweeping view of responsibility, including in areas that are technically unregulated. Recommended Sustainable Finance Insurers act on climate change exposure While other countries including France have taken measures such as requiring companies to disclose how they are thinking about climate change, the move by the PRA is thought to be a global first by a financial regulator. “This is the clearest set of guidelines we have yet seen from any central bank or regulator for what banks and insurance should be doing to proactively manage climate risks,” said Ben Caldecott, director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme. However, some have also warned against the risks of authorities moving too fast to regulate risk in areas that are still hard to quantify. “I think we have to be careful that the expectations don’t run too far ahead of what banks and insurers can reasonably assess,” said Charles Donovan, director of the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial College in London. He said that making a quantitative assessment of climate risks was still very difficult due to questions over data and modelling that have not yet been resolved. The announcement comes at the start of the inaugural Green Great Britain week, which is expected to include a series of local policy announcements around reducing carbon emissions and controlling pollution.
https://www.ft.com/content/e1d2087e-ce34-11e8-9fe5-24ad351828ab
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Oct 15, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Evan Lehmann
President Trump cast fresh doubt on human-caused climate change last night by saying recent temperature increases will "change back again."
The president backed off previous assertions that global changes from greenhouse gases are a hoax, even as he renewed his claims that many climate scientists are politically motivated.
"I think something's happening. Something's changing, and it'll change back again," Trump said on CBS's "60 Minutes." "I don't think it's a hoax. I think there's probably a difference. But I don't know that it's man-made. I will say this: I don't want to give trillions and trillions of dollars. I don't want to lose millions and millions of jobs."
Trump tweeted in 2012 that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to gain an economic advantage. He also called it "bullshit." In December 2015, he repeated those claims. "So Obama's talking about all of this with the global warming and the — a lot of it's a hoax, it's a hoax," Trump said then in South Carolina. "I mean, it's a money-making industry, OK? It's a hoax, a lot of it" (Climatewire, March 21, 2016).
Trump has sought to dismantle a series of climate regulations imposed by the past administration. His EPA replaced a rule on power plants that was set to limit carbon dioxide emissions with a weaker proposal. He's overseeing a suggested freeze on vehicle efficiency and rolling back programs to reduce methane at oil and gas wells.
"I'm not denying climate change," Trump said last night. "But it could very well go back. You know, we're talking about over a ... millions of years."
Lesley Stahl of CBS News pressed Trump about sea-level rise, hurricanes and how his views go against the findings of government scientists.
Stahl: "I wish you could go to Greenland, watch these huge chunks of ice just falling into the ocean, raising the sea levels."
Trump: "And you don't know whether or not that would have happened with or without man. You don't know."
Stahl: "Well, your scientists, your scientists ..."
Trump: "We have scientists that disagree with that."
Temperature records kept by NASA and NOAA show that the world hasn't had a cooler-than-average year since 1976 or a cooler-than-normal month since the end of 1985.
Trump, who is scheduled today to visit areas of Georgia and Florida damaged by Hurricane Michael, also expressed doubt over scientists' findings that link the changing climate to more powerful hurricanes.
"They say that we had hurricanes that were far worse than what we just had with Michael," said Trump, who identified "they" as "people" after being pressed Stahl.
She asked, "What about the scientists who say it's worse than ever?" The president replied, "You'd have to show me the scientists because they have a very big political agenda."
The Associated Press contributed.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/10/15/stories/1060102517
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Senators Concerned as Trump Official Disputes UN Climate Change Warning
Oct 14, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Michael Burke
The Trump administration on Sunday again appeared at odds with lawmakers over the severity of climate change and how it should be addressed in wake of a United Nations report warning of potential dire consequences.
The report, which warns that the world is on a path toward catastrophic climate change if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t cut dramatically by 2030, was a key focus of the Sunday news shows, with top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow pushing back against it.ADVERTISEMENT
Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), meanwhile, were quick to call for action, and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) acknowledged the scientific consensus that humans are the chief contributor to climate change.
The report, made public last week by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says the world needs to decrease emissions by 45 percent by 2030 to avoid catastrophic consequences.
Kudlow disputed the report during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,”saying that he believes “they overestimate” and questioning the degree to which humans have contributed to climate change.
“I’m just saying do we know precisely, and I mean worth modeling, how much of it is man-made, how much of it is solar, how much of it is oceanic, how much of it is rainforest and other issues. I think we’re still exploring all of that,” he said.
"I don’t think we should panic," Kudlow added. "I don’t think there’s an imminent disaster coming, but I think we should look at this in a level-headed and analytic way."
Kudlow’s skepticism over the severity of global climate change falls in line with the views of President Trump, who has previously called climate change a “hoax” and last week appeared to question the accuracy of the U.N. report.
Sanders, also appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” slammed Kudlow over his comments, calling them “so irresponsible, so dangerous.”
“It's just hard to believe that a leading government official could make them," the Vermont senator said. “We have 12 years to substantially cut the amount of carbon in our atmosphere, or this planet, our country, the rest of the world, is going to suffer irreversible damage."
Sen. Bernie Sanders says we are in "crisis mode" on climate change and Larry Kudlow's comments "are so irresponsible, so dangerous that it's just hard to believe that a leading government official could make them." https://t.co/iDWHZE9l1L #ThisWeekpic.twitter.com/b3vmo7TjV5— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 14, 2018
Concern stemming from the report crossed the political aisle on Sunday,with Flake saying on “This Week” that the report is “pretty dire.” He also said he believes Republicans who have downplayed the scientific consensus on climate change are going in the wrong direction and called on the GOP to take a leading role in confronting the issue.
"I hope that we can move along with the rest of the world and address this," Flake said. “There are things that we can do and should do and I think Republicans need to be at the forefront if we want to keep our place and keep our seats.”
Van Hollen, a Democratic senator from Maryland, also called on Republicans to address the issue, saying on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the GOP needs to “stop making things worse.”
Van Hollen pointed to the release of the U.N. report and Hurricane Michael, which made landfall last week in Florida and devastated the Florida Panhandle, as evidence of climate change’s severity.
"And at the same you have the Trump administration and a lot of Republicans who just want to put their head in the sands. They don’t want to hear the information," Van Hollen said.
"This administration and Republicans in Congress are actually rolling back auto emission standards, rolling back clean power plant rules. Let’s stop making things worse and then we definitely need to take action to make things better," he added.
But Rubio raised doubts over what lawmakers should do in response to climate change, even as he said he recognizes the scientific consensus that human activity is the main driver of the issue.
When asked on “Face the Nation” whether he believes humans are the chief contributor to climate change, the Florida senator said it’s his view that “that’s what a lot of scientists say.”
He added, however, that policies that are considered in response to climate change need to be weighed against “the public interest and other topics.”
“If we're going to have that debate about whether certain laws should be passed in order to alleviate what some scientists or a lot of scientists are saying is the cause of this, that has to be balanced with the public interest and other topics like the economy and the like,” he said.
.@marcorubio on the Climate Change debate: I don't think the debate has been always about whether or not it's human contribution. It's about whether the public policies being advocated would be effective. pic.twitter.com/vSCkHx1ZbQ— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 14, 2018
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/411337-un-climate-change-report-warning-of-dire-consequences-reverberates
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