Preview Newsletter
PM ACC - October 18, 2018
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(ACC Mentioned) Why the Lag in Science Overhaul? It's 'Complicated'
Oct 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
The scientific transparency proposal championed by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt seems to have been slowed by logistical challenges and widespread opposition, according to experts on both sides of the effort. -
US Department Calls for Comments on Regulatory Cooperation with Canada
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has issued a public call for input into how the federal government can reduce or eliminate unnecessary regulatory differences between the US and Canada. -
FERC Chairman Expected to Step down — Sources
Oct 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey and Rod Kuckro
The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was conspicuously absent from an agency meeting today as speculation mounted that he may soon relinquish his post. -
EPA Uses First 'Snur-Only' Approach Under Amended TSCA
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
For the first time since TSCA was amended in 2016, the US EPA has used a ‘Snur-only’ approach to support determinations that 13 new substances are unlikely to present an unreasonable risk. -
US EPA Round-Up
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The EPA has officially published in the Federal Register its final rule for collecting fees under the updated TSCA, following the rule’s informal release late last month. -
US Legislation to Allow PFAS Alternatives in Airport Firefighting Foams
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Lisa Martine Jenkins
The US Congress has passed legislation directing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to change its requirement that airports use firefighting foam containing highly fluorinated chemicals, or PFASs. -
Three More US Companies Join Methylene Chloride Phase Out
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
US companies Autozone, Kelly-Moore and PPG have committed to phasing out products containing methylene chloride and NMP. -
Category Approach for Compliance Checks Piloted by Echa
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Dr Emma Davies
Echa is piloting a new category approach for some REACH registration dossier compliance checks, sending out one draft decision to all lead registrants for a group of related chemicals. -
Echa Round-Up
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Echa has extended the scope of the public activities coordination tool (PACT) to cover chemicals under dossier and substance evaluation. -
Deal Struck on Second Revision to EU's CMD
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have struck a deal that will allow the European Commission's second revision of the carcinogens and mutagens Directive to move forward. -
NGOs Urge EU to End POPS Exemptions for Recycled Plastics
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The European Commission must withdraw recycling exemptions on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in order to close a "toxic loophole" in EU policy, NGOs have said. -
Industry, Employers and Unions Propose Single CMR Directive
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
Two EU Directives covering between them carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxicants (CMRs) in the workplace should be replaced by one Directive, according to a joint proposal from Cefic, two trade union centres and an employers’ association. -
Flooding Down in Texas Impacting SM Energy, but 3Q Permian, Eagle Ford Volumes Higher
Oct 18, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Better-than-expected performance in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin helped SM Energy Co. exceed the high end of its production guidance in the third quarter, but management warned that the recent rains in Texas this month have impacted operations. -
Shifting to a Renewable Energy-Friendly Policy Framework Is a Win-Win
Oct 18, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By John Kostyack
The latest IPCC report on climate change (“Trump says he’ll review UN climate change report”, Oct. 9, 2018) confirms what many in the energy and environment nonprofit sector and beyond have known for decades: Climate change is perhaps the most significant threat... -
FERC Approves Final Rule to Improve Cyber Supply Chain
Oct 18, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Darius Dixon
FERC today approved a final rule aimed at tightening cybersecurity regulations for equipment and software used to operate electric grid infrastructure. -
EPA Taking UN Climate Report 'Very Seriously,' Agency Chief Says
Oct 18, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Andrew Wheeler said Thursday the agency is taking a recent United Nations report on the dire future of climate change "very seriously" while touting a number of new EPA rule changes that critics say will only worsen emissions. -
Ewire: Environmentalists Say EPA Narrative on GHG Data Is Spin
Oct 18, 2018 | Inside EPA
Environmentalists are arguing that the Trump EPA's narrative explaining its recently released greenhouse gas reporting data is cynical spin, charging that last year's 2.6 percent drop in emissions from stationary sources came in spite of, and not due to, the administration's deregulatory agenda. -
Trump Admin Again Asks Supreme Court to Stop Youth Climate Lawsuit
Oct 18, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Trump administration is once again asking the Supreme Court to halt a case brought by a group of young Americans claiming that the federal government needs to do more to confront climate change. -
Trump Says He Has 'Natural Instinct for Science' When It Comes to Climate Change
Oct 18, 2018 | Politico (In Real Clear Energy)
By Rebecca Morin
President Donald Trump told the Associated Press that he has a "natural instinct for science" that informs his understanding of climate change and allows him to see through the political bias that he accused some scientists of holding. -
Carbon Utilization R&D Needs Coordination: National Academies
Oct 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Nick Sobczyk
Carbon utilization can play a key role in managing greenhouse gas emissions, and the U.S. government and private sector should better coordinate their research and development efforts, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
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(ACC Mentioned) Why the Lag in Science Overhaul? It's 'Complicated'
Oct 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
The scientific transparency proposal championed by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt seems to have been slowed by logistical challenges and widespread opposition, according to experts on both sides of the effort.
The proposed rule, which some administration officials had hoped to finalize quickly — possibly even before EPA's science advisers could weigh in — is now on pace to be wrapped up in 2020, the Trump administration announced yesterday.
The delay was celebrated by environmental groups opposed to the effort, which would restrict EPA's ability to use some pollution studies that protect participants' private health information. But EPA insists it is still moving forward with the effort, albeit at a more measured clip (Greenwire, Oct. 17).
"I do believe that Administrator Pruitt was perhaps more interested in the politics than in the substance" of the scientific transparency proposal, said Jeff Holmstead, an energy lobbyist at the law firm Bracewell LLP who is close to the Trump EPA.
Restricting the use of some health data in the name of "sound science" has long been supported by the tobacco industry and conservative politicians like Pruitt, who previously served as Oklahoma's attorney general (Greenwire, June 18).
The position on the proposal of acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler — a former coal lobbyist and Senate aide with little flair for politics — is less clear.
"I think that without him there, Administrator Wheeler and others realized that — from a policy perspective — this is an important issue, but it's more complicated than the original proposal acknowledged," said Holmstead, who was EPA's air chief during President George W. Bush's first term.
Holmstead, who said he's not lobbying on the issue for clients, supports the aims of the transparency proposal.
"Questions about replication of studies have become a relatively big issue, and so you have a number of scientific journals that now have a position that they won't publish academic work unless the data and model that was used to reach the conclusion are available for replication," he said. "And I think it's a good thing for government to be moving in same direction."
One of the loudest critics of the proposal has been the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest interdisciplinary scientific society.
"This is not about transparency," said Sean Gallagher, a senior government relations officer at AAAS. "There has been no significant proof, up until this point, that the science that EPA has used has been wanting."
Gallagher hopes Wheeler and his team came to the conclusion that, "given all of the opposition, we should wait," he said, name-checking critics ranging from the congressionally chartered American Chemical Society to the Pentagon (Greenwire, Aug. 28).
"That has been our intent all along: to convey to them the overwhelming body of both evidence and thoughts from the scientific community writ large that this is a bad move," Gallagher said.
Whether EPA still can or should address the issues bogging down the rule remains a source of disagreement.
"They will still come out with the rule, but I think it will be quite a bit more nuanced and sophisticated than the original proposal was," Holmstead predicted. "And they may well come out with another proposal."
The American Chemistry Council, the chemical industry's biggest trade group, remains strongly supportive of the effort.
"EPA's proposed rule is an important step toward ensuring the science the agency relies on in decision-making is transparent and accessible, and we look forward to continuing our work with the agency to help ensure it can reach that goal," ACC spokesman Jonathan Corley said in a statement.
Meanwhile, AAAS has called for EPA to scrap the rulemaking altogether, although it could be more supportive of the rule if it were vastly overhauled.
"If they make the exceptions to the rule — meaning, if they gut it in its intent, to the extent that EPA can continue to use all the science that it has been — then yes, we would be happier with that," Gallagher said. "But then we get back to the argument of, why would you do a rule that allows you to continue to operate how you did?"
The delay comes shortly after the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on House-passed legislation that could enshrine the scientific restrictions in law (E&E Daily, Oct. 4).
But Holmstead doesn't believe the congressional movement is related to the regulatory delay.
"I don't think EPA will simply stop its work because Congress might pass something," he said.
At the same time, the legislation has a long way to go before making it to the president's desk and not much time to get there before the end of this Congress, according to Gallagher, who spent nearly a decade on Capitol Hill before joining AAAS.
"They haven't had a markup on the bill, so they haven't started the legislative ball rolling," he said. "And it's not as if we're dealing with any other unimportant stuff."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/10/18/stories/1060103679
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US Department Calls for Comments on Regulatory Cooperation with Canada
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The US Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has issued a public call for input into how the federal government can reduce or eliminate unnecessary regulatory differences between the US and Canada.
The 9 October request for information (RFI), published in the Federal Register, is part of the continuing work being carried out by the two countries under the auspices of the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC).
The notice says that OIRA wants suggestions to help it "identify ongoing or emerging areas for which cooperation could reduce the risk of divergence between US and Canadian regulations".
The RCC process was set up in 2011. Under it, the two governments have put forth joint plans to address chemicals management issues, such as developing common approaches to managing new chemicals through significant new use rules (Snurs) in the US and significant new activity (Snac) regulations in Canada.
And in January of this year the countries released a framework on improving their collaboration on the risk assessment of chemicals.
Jointly developed by the US EPA, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC), the framework lays out an approach to enhance alignment on the risk-based assessment of chemicals, including on identifying priorities, information gathering, comparing assessment methodologies and work sharing.
Responses to the RFI will be accepted through 8 November.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71130/us-department-calls-for-comments-on-regulatory-cooperation-with-canada
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FERC Chairman Expected to Step down — Sources
Oct 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Northey and Rod Kuckro
The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was conspicuously absent from an agency meeting today as speculation mounted that he may soon relinquish his post.
Kevin McIntyre, a Trump appointee who has been struggling with health issues, did not attend the gathering at FERC's Washington, D.C., headquarters this morning, nor did he vote on agenda items. He was previously absent from FERC’s September meeting due to medical issues, according to an agency source.
In recent days, sources close to the commission have said McIntyre could announce he will cede his chairmanship at the agency as early as today and that the White House will subsequently tap FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee as chairman. Still, there was widespread uncertainty about any leadership changes, and it remains unclear if or when McIntyre's role may change.
The White House said it had no personnel news to share today, but McIntyre's chief of staff, Anthony Pugliese, told reporters after today's meeting his boss will be issuing a statement in the coming days.
"I can't say exactly when that'll be or what it'll say," Pugliese told E&E News in a follow-up email.
Last year, the chairman underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumor (Energywire, March 12). In March, he issued a statement on the diagnosis and, citing "personal and family privacy," said he would not "provide further details or updates on this subject."
He was last seen in public in his capacity as FERC chairman at a July 19 open meeting. He also recorded a podcast on Sept. 11 to discuss liquefied natural gas developments at FERC.
Commissioners at today's meeting offered solemn support and prayers for McIntyre and his family.
"I'm very sorry Chairman McIntyre isn't able to be here today, and I continue to send him warm wishes for his recovery," said FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur. "And I know everyone does."
Sources suggested that McIntyre, 57, could potentially step down from the commission entirely or stay on as a member of the panel until President Trump's FERC nominee, Bernard McNamee, is confirmed by the Senate. McNamee is expected to be confirmed after the midterm elections and is seen as a possible successor to McIntyre as chairman.
Theories of McIntyre's possible departure have been fueled by news that Chatterjee was called to the White House on Tuesday. Chatterjee, 41, served briefly as FERC chairman from August 2017 until that December, when McIntyre was sworn in.
A former staffer for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Chatterjee has been standing in frequently for McIntyre, including yesterday at the meeting of the Department of Energy's Electricity Advisory Committee.
And several weeks ago, he was named as McIntyre's replacement to deliver the closing keynote address at the Energy Bar Association's Mid-Year Energy Forum in Washington after McIntyre canceled. That speech is scheduled for Oct. 30.
When asked about his White House meeting, Chatterjee yesterday declined to answer questions about the reason for his visit.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/10/18/stories/1060103665
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EPA Uses First 'Snur-Only' Approach Under Amended TSCA
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
For the first time since TSCA was amended in 2016, the US EPA has used a ‘Snur-only’ approach to support determinations that 13 new substances are unlikely to present an unreasonable risk.
The move to use significant new use rules (Snur) to address concerns identified during the substances’ reviews follows the resolution of a lawsuit largely centred on whether such a practice is permissible under the reformed law.
The decisions relate to a variety of substances that were the subject of pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) submitted in 2016. Their original reviews identified human health concerns such as lung effects, reproductive and systemic toxicity and irritation and environmental issues like aquatic toxicity and persistence.
In none of the cases did a risk assessment of the intended uses of the substance identify concern for those specific conditions. However, reasonably foreseen ones did pose potential issues. To address the latter, the EPA issued 13 Snurs at the same time that it published the TSCA 5(a)(3)(C) ‘not likely to present an unreasonable risk’ findings.
The EPA told Chemical Watch that designating certain reasonably foreseen conditions of use as ‘significant new uses’ is an approach that "allows EPA to meet its statutory obligations under section 5 in an effective, efficient manner".
But NGOs believe the approach is not permitted under the law.
Snur-only approach
Facing a backlog of new substance approvals and complaints from industry at the pace of reviews since the 2016 amendments to TSCA, the EPA floated plans last November to use a different approvals process for circumstances where a substance’s intended uses did not present a concern, but ‘reasonably foreseen’ uses might.
Under this ‘Snur-only’ approach, the agency would issue a TSCA 5(a)(3)(c) finding that the new substance is not likely to pose an unreasonable risk, and issue a Snur alongside it to require prior notification for other applications outside those outlined in the pre-manufacture notice (PMN). Imposing a ‘non-5(e) Snur’ would require submission of significant new use notifications (Snuns), which the EPA could review to determine if those new uses would present an unreasonable risk, and address them where needed.
The approach would streamline the process for the EPA by allowing it to skip issuing a consent order – which is binding only to the original PMN submitter – through using a Snur to address potential concerns for the whole marketplace.
Consumer advocates objected, however, arguing that 2016’s Lautenberg amendments require consideration of intended, known and reasonably foreseen uses when making a PMN determination.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a lawsuit early this year in an attempt to block the agency’s approach. But it dropped the suit in August, after the EPA filed a brief indicating that it had not actually implemented the Snur-only approach it had outlined in its 2017 draft ‘framework’ document.
Instead, it had issued consent orders on 131 of the 150 substances it reviewed since announcement of the plan, with a "significant number" of these orders related to a substance’s reasonably foreseen use. The EPA determined the remaining 19 substances did not pose an unreasonable risk, without consideration of a Snur.
"Notwithstanding the agency’s pronouncement in the framework that it anticipated using significant new use rules in similar cases, none of these determinations followed that approach," the EPA brief added.
Lawfulness of approach questioned
The EPA’s determinations for these substances represent an apparent change of course, because it has been issuing consent orders as well as Snurs where reasonably foreseen uses presented concern.
And it is a move that has not been welcomed by consumer advocacy groups.
Richard Denison, lead senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), told Chemical Watch that the EPA cannot avoid issuing a consent order based on a Snur.
"If a chemical substance may present an unreasonable risk under its reasonably foreseen conditions of use, the plain text of TSCA requires that EPA issue a 5(e) order," he said.
The NRDC’s Daniel Rosenberg added that the recent determinations demonstrate that the EPA is "committed to approving new chemicals in a manner that pleases the chemical industry rather than complies with the requirements of TSCA."
"We are evaluating the newly published Snurs and considering our next steps," he added.
Comments on the proposed Snurs will be accepted until 15 November.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71128/epa-uses-first-snur-only-approach-under-amended-tsca
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Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Final TSCA fees rule formally released
The EPA has officially published in the Federal Register its final rule for collecting fees under the updated TSCA, following the rule’s informal release late last month.
The fees, which will remain operational through 2021, aim to recoup a portion of the EPA’s costs of carrying out its chemical safety review programme. Included in the rule is a significantly higher fee for new substance applications and details on how the agency will collect payment to offset the costs of its risk evaluations. It also sets a new employee-based definition for ‘small businesses’, which will be subject to lower fees.
The new fee schedule is effective immediately. Any fee-triggering action or events that occurred between 1 October and 18 October will also be subject to the new rule. The EPA says it will send invoices for payment of these by 17 November.
The expected annual revenue from the fees is approximately $20m.
Methylene chloride paint stripping final rule
The EPA’s autumn update to its semi-annual regulatory agenda includes a plan to finalise by December a rule to regulate methylene chloride paint stripping products.
The agency issued a proposed rule in the final days of the Obama administration to ban paint strippers containing methylene chloride, and either ban or restrict those containing the substitute solvent N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP).
It appeared the proposal would be shelved under the current administration, but the EPA announced in May, after a meeting with campaigners, that it would finalise a rule addressing methylene chloride "shortly".
The final rule, however, will not address NMP. The substance's use in paint stripping will be evaluated in its ongoing risk evaluation under TSCA, says the regulatory agenda entry.
Small business definition under TSCA CDR rule
The EPA is expected to issue by December a final rule amending the definition of a small business for purposes of the TSCA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule, according to the autumn update of the agency’s semi-annual regulatory agenda.
The agency is being pressed by specialty chemicals manufacturers to update the standard, because small businesses are eligible for certain reporting relief under the scheme. The EPA made a preliminary determination that the definition – which was last updated in 1988 – merited revisiting, but it has yet to finalise a new approach.
The previous agenda had called for the rule to be finalised in September.
Asbestos CDR rule petition
The agency has acknowledged that it has received an NGO petition, filed under section 21 of TSCA, requesting that it amend the TSCA CDR rule to require reporting for asbestos. The substance is currently exempted because it is naturally occurring.
The EPA is required to either grant or deny a petition within 90 days, or by 25 December.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71129/us-epa-round-up
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US Legislation to Allow PFAS Alternatives in Airport Firefighting Foams
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Lisa Martine Jenkins
The US Congress has passed legislation directing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to change its requirement that airports use firefighting foam containing highly fluorinated chemicals, or PFASs.
The provision is included in a larger legislative package – the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (HR 302) – that covers a range of reforms to the FAA, as well as federal disaster programmes. It directs the FAA to no longer require the use of fluorinated chemicals to meet federal performance standards for extinguishing agents used in airports nationwide.
The legislation calls for the agency to make this change within three years of the bill being signed into law on 5 October, in coordination with the EPA and using the latest version of National Fire Protection Association 403 – Standard for aircraft rescue and fire fighting services at airports.
Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) – a foam with fluorinated chemicals – is currently the norm for airports, in a form that accords with military specifications. But the legislation has tasked the FAA with adapting its standards to also allow for a non-fluorinated option, such as the fluorine-free synthetic foam option included in NFPA 403.
The legislation does not seek to ban the use of PFASs in firefighting foams outright, but rather allows the use of alternatives at airports. According to the NGO Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (SCHF), such alternatives have successfully been used in European airports like Heathrow and Copenhagen.
Nevertheless, the PFAS-containing foams may see pressure at the state level.
Earlier this year, Washington state passed a law restricting the use of PFASs in firefighting foams. The law allowed an exemption for foams that contained PFASs to meet federal requirements, but included a provision saying that the state’s department of ecology may adopt rules to restrict them if federal regulations change to allow alternative firefighting agents.
Once the FAA updates its regulations in light of Congress’s recent move, there appears to be room for Washington to restrict PFAS-containing foams in airport firefighting contexts.
NGOs welcome news
The legislation’s passage was applauded by several NGOs who have been pressing for action to address PFAS contamination in the environment.
According to a SCHF statement, heightened levels of PFAS contamination in firefighting foam is the cause of increased levels of PFAS contamination in drinking water sources found near military and commercial airports that use aqueous film-forming foams.
"Congress has taken an important step toward ending the use of PFAS foams at commercial airports," said SCHF director Liz Hitchcock.
PFASs are a broad class of chemicals present in many consumer products. According to the EPA, certain PFASs – like PFOA and PFOS – have been studied widely and have found to have adverse effects on human health. For others, including newer ‘short-chain’ alternatives, the effects are less clear. PFASs are very persistent in the environment and the human body; according to the EPA, and most people have been exposed to them.
The substances have been involved in a flurry of activity recently, playing out both legislatively and judicially on both large and small scales. For instance, an expert committee under the Stockholm Convention has recommended global action on PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS and a class action lawsuit about PFAS exposure has recently been filed by an Ohio firefighter.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71012/us-legislation-to-allow-pfas-alternatives-in-airport-firefighting-foams
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Three More US Companies Join Methylene Chloride Phase Out
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
US companies Autozone, Kelly-Moore and PPG have committed to phasing out products containing methylene chloride and NMP.
The companies follow in the footsteps of a number of US chains, including Walmart, Home Depot and most recently Canadian Tire.
Paints and coatings company PPG's commitment has implications outside the US. The company says it does not use methylene chloride or NMP as an ingredient in consumer paint strippers and removers that it manufactures in the US or Canada.
The substances are an ingredient in a "very small number" of its products manufactured and sold outside the two countries, it says. It is therefore working towards a global phase out, including in operations that become part of its portfolio through acquisitions. The company has 150 manufacturing sites worldwide.
However, it declined to provide details on what alternatives or technologies it is using in place of the two chemicals.
The company has asked its suppliers of paint strippers and removers that contain the substances, and that are sold through PPG-owned paint stores, to share plans on how they will phase out use of the chemicals.
It added that as it is working with its suppliers on an individual basis but it could not provide information on a "timeline for their actions".
Autozone, a retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, including paint strippers, confirmed that it has committed to phasing out paint strippers containing the two chemicals by the end of the year. It did not provide further details.
By the time of publishing, paint manufacturer Kelly-Moore had not responded to Chemical Watch's request for confirmation on its commitment. However, an email sent by the company to NGO Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, and seen by Chemical Watch, confirmed that it was committing to a phase out of all paint strippers containing the chemicals by the end of the year. The email added that it has already found alternatives that are NMP and methylene chloride free.
State and federal action
The use of the substances in paint removal has been heavily criticised in recent months, with reports that exposure to methylene chloride from paint strippers is linked to more than 60 deaths in the US. NMP, a replacement solvent, presents its own toxicity concerns. These issues prompted a US-based NGO campaignlaunched earlier this year.
The EPA issued a proposal to ban methylene chloride paint strippers under TSCA in the final weeks of the Obama administration. But the rule has stalled under the agency's current leadership.
It announced in May, after a meeting with campaigners, that it would finalise a rule addressing methylene chloride "shortly". The agency has slated a December release for the final rule, according to its autumn semi-annual regulatory agenda update.
Although NMP was also addressed in the original proposal, it says it intends to address it in its ongoing risk evaluation, and "to consider any resulting risk reduction requirements in a separate regulatory action".
At state level, California's Department of Toxic Substances Control has proposed to list paint strippers containing methylene chloride as one of its 'priority products'. More recently, it has begun an informal, pre-regulatory process for listing paint and varnish strippers and graffiti removers containing n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) a priority product. The DTSC is hoping that both regulations will come into effect next year.
Alternatives
A number of paint strippers claiming to be methylene chloride free have come on the market, since concerns were raised back in 2015. Last week, researchers at the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts Lowell announced that they had developed a new formulation which will soon be marketed.
The researchers said they identified three "existing safer chemicals" that, when combined in a certain ratio, removes most paint coatings within 20 minutes, comparable to the time it takes for products that contain methylene chloride.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71134/three-more-us-companies-join-methylene-chloride-phase-out
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Category Approach for Compliance Checks Piloted by Echa
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Dr Emma Davies
Echa is piloting a new category approach for some REACH registration dossier compliance checks, sending out one draft decision to all lead registrants for a group of related chemicals.
The pilot is on a group of 14 stilbene fluorescent whitening agents (SFWA), known as optical brighteners, which are widely used in laundry detergents, papers, and cosmetics.
Echa's Member State Committee (MSC) is reportedly pleased with progress, after discussions at its meeting on 10-11 October 2018. "Overall, the MSC and the registrants considered the one-decision pilot for this category a success based on what we have seen so far," said committee chair Watze de Wolf.
"Members of the category are all working well together in a consortium," he added.
Data gaps
Some data gaps for health and environmental effects need filling before the category can be "consolidated", said Dr de Wolf. The idea is that remaining holes may then be plugged using read-across from other substances in the category.
The MSC discussed proposals for amendments from member state competent authorities on requests for extended one-generation reproductive toxicity studies (Eogrts) for selected substances. The committee decided, in particular, that there should be an option to carry out two Eogrts, with registrants deciding themselves whether the second Eogrts is necessary or whether to submit an adaptation of the standard information requirement. The decision would be based on results from the first Eogrts and from additional 90-day rodent and screening studies, also requested by the committee, said Dr de Wolf.
The registrants all need to ensure that the information gaps are filled, he added. "It's up to them to decide who will perform the study on behalf of the others."
It is crucial for registrants with substances in a category to have a good relationship, said Dr de Wolf. "They have to collaborate because if we ask for data on substance A from company A, then companies B, C, D, and E will have to contribute to the costs … That's one of the things that industry will have to decide on: how they are going to tackle data and cost sharing."
The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), "supported by other industry associations, finds this a positive approach, which is fully in line with the REACH Review action to improve evaluation procedures," said Erwin Annys, Cefic's director of REACH and chemicals policy.
"Grouping has been used by industry while preparing its dossiers. It is only logical that under evaluation a comparable approach of grouping (of decisions) is followed by the authorities," he added.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71135/category-approach-for-compliance-checks-piloted-by-echa
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Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
PACT scope extended
Echa has extended the scope of the public activities coordination tool (PACT) to cover chemicals under dossier and substance evaluation.
The updated tool includes:
· dossier evaluation (compliance check and testing proposals);
· substance evaluation;
· registry of CLH intentions until outcome;
· registry of restriction intentions; and
· registry of SVHC intentions.
The agency has also released three new standalone lists for RMOA, PBT/vPvB assessment and endocrine disruption assessment activities.
Dossier evaluation webpage upgrade
The dossier evaluation webpage that hosts the non-confidential versions of adopted decisions has been upgraded to provide information on the type, scope and status of the assessment on a given dossier.
The agency says registrants can see if it has opened a compliance check for a substance, and then track the progress from the draft to adopted decision to when the evaluation is finally closed.
Echa suggests registrants use the page to prioritise dossier updates by:
· checking the page regularly to see whether the agency is evaluating their substance;
· reviewing their registration dossier in a timely manner; and
· making the necessary updates without awaiting an alert or a draft decision.
Workshop promoting metals substitution
Eurometaux, the European association of the metals industry, has organised a workshop on substitution in the metals sector on 7 November in Antwerp, Belgium. This is under Echa’s strategic plan on substitution.
Agency signs Misa agreement
Echa and fifteen metals and inorganics consortia signed the Metals and Inorganics Sectorial Approach (Misa) agreement on 16 October, formalising their framework for cooperation.
This follows the agency and Eurometaux signing up in June to the framework, which aims to identify shortcomings in REACH and CLP information for metal compounds and inorganic substances by the end of 2020.
The two-year voluntary agreement will also address outstanding technical and scientific issues that the sector faces.
"The MISA agreement aims to support progress on key issues related to the safe use of metal compounds and inorganics throughout the supply chain. It builds on improving the quality of registration dossiers as well as the relevance of risk management measures to the benefit of EU citizens and business," the agency says.
CLH proposal
The agency has received a new proposal to harmonise the classification and labelling for:
· 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenol. The dossier submitter proposes harmonised classifications of acute toxicity 4, skin sensitiser 1B and Stot Re 1.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71100/echa-round-up
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Deal Struck on Second Revision to EU's CMD
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have struck a deal that will allow the European Commission's second revision of the carcinogens and mutagens Directive to move forward.
The 11 October agreement will see the following substances added to the list of those recognised as causing cancer in the workplace:
· 4,4'-methylenedianiline;
· epichlorohydrine;
· ethylene dibromide;
· ethylene dichloride;
· benzene;
· trichloroethylene;
· polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons mixtures, particularly those containing benzo[a]pyrene, which are carcinogens within the meaning of the Directive;
· mineral oils that have been used before in internal combustion engines to lubricate and cool the moving parts within the engine; and
· diesel.
The EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, called the agreement an important step in protecting European workers from work-related cancer.
The agreement will now go to the Council's Permanent Representatives committee (Coreper) for approval. Once agreed there it will be sent for a vote in the European Parliament.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71124/deal-struck-on-second-revision-to-eus-cmd
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NGOs Urge EU to End POPS Exemptions for Recycled Plastics
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The European Commission must withdraw recycling exemptions on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in order to close a "toxic loophole" in EU policy, NGOs have said.
Their recommendation comes in a report from a major study, which found the flame retardants PBDE and HBCD in plastic toys and other articles made from recycled electronic waste.
PBDEs are used in casings and wire insulation of old electronics and appliances and HBCD was used in polystyrene foams and plastics for electronics and cars.
The report, Toxic loophole, recycling hazardous waste into new products, was produced by the NGOs Arnika, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the International POPs Elimination Network (Ipen). They are urging MEPs to vote against exemptions for recycled plastics during a plenary meeting expected to start on 22 October.
Earlier this month NGOs called on the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (Envi) to vote against a draft report of proposed changes to the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) Regulation. MEPs subsequently voted in favour of the proposed amendments.
The NGOs have seven recommendations they say are essential to close the "toxic loophole". These are:
· withdraw recycling exemptions for materials containing pentaBDE and octaBDE under the Stockholm Convention and EU POPs Regulation;
· stop "undermining" the convention’s global elimination aims. The European Parliament should adopt a more protective standard of 10ppm for decaBDE content in articles made of recycled materials;
· set protective limits on POPs waste under the Basel Convention and EU POPs Regulation. The EU should "take the initiative" to support lowering the currently proposed hazardous waste limit of 1,000ppm for PBDEs and for HBCD to the scientifically and environmentally sound limits. These would be 50ppm for PBDEs and 100ppm for HBCD in the Basel and Stockholm Conventions and the EU POPs Regulation;
· under the Basel Convention provisions stop e-waste export from Europe to developing countries that lack regulatory and hazardous waste management infrastructure. E-waste must be "clearly designated" as hazardous;
· streamline restrictions for POPs, avoid regrettable substitutes and speed up the REACH authorisation process. All halogenated flame retardants should be restricted under REACH to avoid regrettable substitution. No exemptions, derogations, or transitional periods for restrictions or authorisations should be given for recycled materials or spare parts containing POPs;
· implement non-combustion technologies and separation techniques to remove toxic chemicals from waste. The EU should implement non-combustion techniques to destroy POPs and advocate their adoption in Stockholm and Basel Convention working groups; and
· publish the non-toxic environment strategy "to guarantee a truly non-toxic circular economy" and benefits for health and environment. This should include a clear commitment to keep chemicals of concern out of products because of their harmful impacts on vulnerable populations.
Study findings
Between April and June this year, the three NGOs and 17 other European organisations tested 430 plastic items including toys, hair accessories, kitchen utensils and other consumer products. They were purchased from stores in 11 EU members states and eight other European countries.
Of the samples collected, 109 were identified as "likely" to contain flame retardants originating from recycled e-waste. More detailed chemical analysis revealed:
· 50 samples (46%) would fail to meet the EU POPs Regulation if the product was composed of new rather than recycled plastic; and
· the highest measured concentrations of PBDEs were found in children’s toys, followed by hair accessories and kitchen utensils.
"Consumers do not know that new products made of recycled plastics can contain hazardous chemicals that were already banned a long time ago," Manuel Fernández, from Bund – Friends of the Earth Germany, said.
"The EU should create maximum transparency and traceability of especially hazardous chemicals in products so that the downstream users, recyclers and consumers know what kind of dangerous chemicals might be in the products they intend to use and can opt for safer alternatives," he said.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71138/ngos-urge-eu-to-end-pops-exemptions-for-recycled-plastics
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Industry, Employers and Unions Propose Single CMR Directive
Oct 18, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
Two EU Directives covering between them carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxicants (CMRs) in the workplace should be replaced by one Directive, according to a joint proposal from Cefic, two trade union centres and an employers’ association.
The current carcinogens and mutagens Directive (CMD) applies solely to substances meeting the criteria for classification as carcinogenic or mutagenic category 1A or 1B according to the regulation on classification, labelling and packaging (CLP).
The other piece of legislation – the chemical agents Directive (CAD) – applies to any hazardous chemical present at work, including reprotoxic substances.
But Cefic, along with the IndustriAll European Trade Union, European Trade Union Confederation (Etuc) and the European Chemical Employers Group (ECEG), point out that the two are similar but not identical.
Instead a new CMR Directive would be a "solid basis" for harmonised EU-wide minimum requirements, they said in a statement.
"Such a Directive could strengthen the current system, bring legal coherence and better alignment of chemical legislation at the EU level, as well as facilitating a more level playing field across member states in Europe in terms of protecting workers’ health."
Consultation
A debate on the justification to move to one set of legal requirements for managing CMRs at the workplace has been ongoing for more than a decade, they said.
Following the first legislative proposal on setting exposure limits under the CMD last year, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament put in place an obligation for the European Commission to assess amending its scope to include reprotoxic substances.
The Commission started its assessment in March and a stakeholder consultation took place in May. A second, with a deadline of 7 November, was launched last week.
The Commission aims to finalise its assessment in early 2019. Based on the outcome, the next European Commission will decide if and how to move forward.
Proposed Directive features
A CMR Directive would reflect "enhanced and modernised requirements" for managing the substances in the workplace, the group said. It would build upon the current CMD and incorporate risk management principles related to CMRs as set by other EU or national legislation.
As a general principle, exposure to CMRs will be avoided in line with prevention measures under the current CMD. Where this is not possible, the group said, risk management measures:
· must ensure risk from using the substance is adequately controlled, that is to say the exposure is below a level of existing health risks; or
· must ensure level of workers’ exposure is reduced to as low a level as is technically possible for those CMR substances where a ‘no-risk level’ cannot be defined.
"Whether or not a safe level would exist is to be determined throughout the process of setting EU-wide binding exposure limits. This implies the need to obtain exposure limits for at least the most prevalent CMR substances."
As a starting point, they said, existing indicative occupational exposure limits (OELs) for reprotoxicants could be implemented as binding ones, with a clear indication whether they are health-based or not.
To facilitate future updating or setting of binding OELs, the group argue a comprehensive set of criteria is needed to identify and prioritise CMRs entering the process. These criteria should take into account a mid- to long-term view.
Short- to medium-term
Incorporating reprotoxic substances in the current CMD is, in the short term, "the most efficient solution", the group said. It added that as many member states do not have an integrated legal framework, retaining a separate framework CMR Directive "will facilitate transposition requirements and enforcement by member states".
Once an agreement has been reached on how to move forward with managing CMRs, discussions on a "complete overhaul" of the current OSH legislation for chemicals will be the next step, the group said.
https://chemicalwatch.com/71151/industry-employers-and-unions-propose-single-cmr-directive
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Flooding Down in Texas Impacting SM Energy, but 3Q Permian, Eagle Ford Volumes Higher
Oct 18, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Better-than-expected performance in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin helped SM Energy Co. exceed the high end of its production guidance in the third quarter, but management warned that the recent rains in Texas this month have impacted operations.
The Denver-based independent in its preliminary 3Q2018 results said Thursday total production hit 12 million boe, or 130,200 boe/d, on strong well performance in West Texas within the Permian’s Midland sub-basin. SM also had higher-than-forecast processed natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Eagle Ford in South Texas.
Permian volumes jumped 26% sequentially and 108% year/year from retained assets, while Eagle Ford volumes rose 12% from the second quarter.
"The combination of great rock quality and excellent operational execution continue to support a solid production growth trajectory that, in turn, supports our long-term objective for competitive growth in cash flow per debt adjusted share,” CEO Jay Ottoson said.
NGL volumes increased 27% sequentially as the company elected to process ethane in the Eagle Ford, per contractual elections, because of increased pricing.
Benchmark pricing in 3Q2018 for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) averaged $69.50/bbl, with Henry Hub natural gas at around $2.90/MMBtu. NGL pricing averaged $37.97/bbl. Before the effect of hedges, averaged realized oil prices were $38.26/boe; including realized hedges, the average price was $34.86, resulting in a loss of around $40.7 million net.
Permian realizations exceeded the 2018 plan by 9% during 3Q2018, despite an increased Midland-WTI differential that averaged minus $12.82/bbl, before the effects of basis hedges.
Eagle Ford realizations exceeded expectations by 16%, primarily from increased NGL prices.Month-to-date in October, SM said some of its Permian production in western Howard and eastern Martin counties has been curtailed because of a force majeure incident at a third-party gas processing facility. Processing for all of SM’s production volumes is expected to be restored by month’s end.
In addition to the incident at the gas processing facility, heavy rainfall in Texas has caused “temporary flooding and loss of electrical power at certain locations in the company's RockStar area. This led to temporary shut-in of some wells and delays installing some pipeline connections for new wells.”
How much production may be impacted by the flooding is to be outlined in the 4Q2018 guidance update when SM issues its third quarter earnings results on Nov. 1, management said.
“At this time, we expect the impact of deferred production to be approximately 0.3 million boe for the fourth quarter.”
SM incurred $276 million in costs for the third quarter. It drilled 34 net wells and completed 28 in the Permian. It also drilled and completed five net wells in South Texas. Regional weather “has affected the timing of certain completions,” management said.
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/116159-flooding-down-in-texas-impacting-sm-energy-but-3q-permian-eagle-ford-volumes-higher
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Shifting to a Renewable Energy-Friendly Policy Framework Is a Win-Win
Oct 18, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By John Kostyack
The latest IPCC report on climate change (“Trump says he’ll review UN climate change report”, Oct. 9, 2018) confirms what many in the energy and environment nonprofit sector and beyond have known for decades: Climate change is perhaps the most significant threat to the livelihoods and quality of life of people everywhere.
A natural response to the steady drumbeat of news about the growing calamity is to feel hopeless, but there is good reason for hope. In the past few decades, the U.S. has made dramatic progress developing and deploying renewable energy and energy efficiency technology. Today, we have mature industries ready to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change by transitioning our economy away from fossil-based sources of energy.
The two lowest-cost, zero-emission renewable energy technologies in the U.S. – wind and solar energy – are well-positioned to power not just today’s electricity system but, the inevitable future electrification of transportation, buildings, and industrial processes. Enormous progress on our climate goals is achievable simply by accelerating deployment of these proven, affordable, low-carbon technologies that we already have.
The dramatic cost declines of wind and solar in recent years is one of the most exciting developments in the U.S. energy sector. New wind and solar projects are outcompeting other energy sources on cost in many places, even without considering the economic benefits of pollution reduction and water savings. As technology continues to improve, the already-low costs of deploying wind and solar will continue their steady decline, making these technologies by far the cheapest available. This is great news for residential ratepayers as well as large corporate energy buyers such as Walmart, GM, and Microsoft – many of whom are now ensuring that cheap renewable energy is available before deciding where to locate their facilities.
Given the advantages of these clean technologies, it might be tempting to conclude that market forces alone will propel wind and solar forward and that policy advocacy is no longer necessary. This is not the case. The U.S. wind and solar industries are projected to build an average of 20 gigawatts (GW) of new projects each year over the next five years, a pace that is not nearly fast enough to meet U.S. climate goals. Under one recently produced scenario, the U.S. will need to build an average of nearly 39 GWs of new wind and solar each year until 2050 to meet those goals. This can only happen if substantial changes are made to energy market rules, utility procurements, and transmission infrastructure.
Growing wind and solar at a pace sufficient to meet the ~39 GW annual target and maintain a healthy climate for future generations will require a host of new energy and infrastructure policies, including new market rules that appropriately value the grid services that solar and wind provide and new transmission lines to deliver the lowest-cost renewable resources to demand centers.
Shifting to a renewable energy-friendly policy framework can deliver the low-cost, carbon-free electricity needed to power our economy, while also creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. That’s a win for the economy, human health and the environment.
John Kostyack is executive director of the Wind Solar Alliance.
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/412042-shifting-to-a-renewable-energy-friendly-policy
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FERC Approves Final Rule to Improve Cyber Supply Chain
Oct 18, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Darius Dixon
FERC today approved a final rule aimed at tightening cybersecurity regulations for equipment and software used to operate electric grid infrastructure.
The rule is part of FERC’s effort to expand the scope of the systems that are subject to new supply chain risk management standards, and it will extend to Electronic Access Control and Monitoring Systems, which include technologies like firewalls, authentication services and alerting systems. A North American Electric Reliability Corp. plan did not originally include EACMS and the agency had faced some industry resistance to adding them.
“[Bulk electric system] Cyber Systems rely on EACMS to enable and secure the communications capability that these systems depend on to control their assigned portion of the bulk electric system,” the rule states. “Commenters opposing the NOPR directive fail to provide convincing examples of why EACMS should not receive the same level of protection as the BES Cyber Systems with which they are associated.”
The commission did agree to a request from the Edison Electric Institute that the rule follow an 18-month implementation plan proposed by NERC, rather than FERC’s original call for a 12-month timetable.
The final rule takes effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. NERC will have 24 months from the effective date to file modifications to the standards with FERC.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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EPA Taking UN Climate Report 'Very Seriously,' Agency Chief Says
Oct 18, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Andrew Wheeler said Thursday the agency is taking a recent United Nations report on the dire future of climate change "very seriously" while touting a number of new EPA rule changes that critics say will only worsen emissions.
Speaking at a signing event with the Israeli ambassador on cross-country environmental collaboration, Wheeler pointed to new data that found emissions dropped across the U.S. by 2.7 percent in President Trump’s first year in office.
“The 2.7 percent reduction shows what an advancement in technologies can do in the private sector without government intervention stepping in. I think that’s very important,” Wheeler said.
The numbers released Wednesday by EPA found that between 2016 and 2017 emissions had a notable drop, continuing a downward trend since 2007.
Energy sector experts have largely attributed the emissions decline to increased usage of cleaner-burning natural gas as the fuel became cheaper.
The acting EPA administrator was pressed Thursday on the agency's role in addressing the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which warned that current efforts to mitigate global warming were not enough to stop the earth’s temperature from rising 1.5 degrees celsius overall.
Wheeler responded by pointing to a newly proposed agency regulation that scientists have largely labeled as a weakening of Obama-era policies.
The EPA chief said the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule proposed in August as a replacement to the Obama administration's landmark Clean Power Plan (CPP) “would allow more flexibility."
An EPA analysis of the rule suggests that carbon emissions could be cut to 34 percent below 2005 levels, but does not offer a firm timeline. Instead the EPA says it could occur once "states fully implement the new rule."
That compares to a 2030 goal under Obama's plan of hitting a 32 percent decline below 2005 levels.President Trump previously vowed to unravel the CPP regulations, which aimed to impose new restrictions on coal-fired power plants.
Coal is a major contributor to greenhouse gases.
Environmental groups argued the new plan would exacerbate global warming and have promised to fight it in court.
Wheeler also said that the EPA was looking to the Clean Air Act as well as Supreme Court decisions to determine how to move forward.
Trump on Wednesday announced he was directing his Cabinet secretaries to work towards a 5 percent budget cut to balance out the federal deficit.
Wheeler told reporters at the event Thursday that he was holding a senior staff meeting that morning "to discuss it.”
Since Trump took office, the EPA has weathered a number of budget cuts including hundreds of layoffs of policy staff.
The decreased ranks have concerned experts, who see the cuts as a way to tamp down input from scientists at the agency.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/412062-epa-taking-un-climate-report-very-seriously-agency-chief-says
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Ewire: Environmentalists Say EPA Narrative on GHG Data Is Spin
Oct 18, 2018 | Inside EPA
Environmentalists are arguing that the Trump EPA's narrative explaining its recently released greenhouse gas reporting data is cynical spin, charging that last year's 2.6 percent drop in emissions from stationary sources came in spite of, and not due to, the administration's deregulatory agenda.
Further, they say it is highly ironic if not misleading for agency leaders to tout the emissions cuts as something to be celebrated, given President Donald Trump's dismissal of mainstream climate science and his administration's move to roll back virtually all efforts to reduce GHGs.
“This is both political plagiarism and vandalism,” said David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council, according to a Bloomberg report. “Trump's EPA's appointees are claiming credit for their predecessors' work and trying to destroy it at the same time.”
Doniger was reacting to EPA's Oct. 17 release of data from its GHG Reporting Program, which showed the overall declines were driven largely by cuts in the power sector, even as other sectors saw GHG increases.
Acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler said in a statement that the declines come “largely from technological breakthroughs in the private sector, not the heavy hand of government. The Trump Administration has proven that federal regulations are not necessary to drive CO2 reductions.”
Further, he said other countries were merely “talking” about reducing emissions, while the United States “continues to deliver,” and that the administration has an “action oriented approach.”
The statement seems to suggest that Trump officials welcome the GHG declines as a positive development.
But that implication is at odds with frequent remarks dismissing climate science from Trump and his top deputies -- expressed by the president recently in interviews with CBS and the Associated Press -- as well as policies to promote fossil fuels and scale back carbon controls.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/ewire-environmentalists-say-epa-narrative-ghg-data-spin
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Trump Admin Again Asks Supreme Court to Stop Youth Climate Lawsuit
Oct 18, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The Trump administration is once again asking the Supreme Court to halt a case brought by a group of young Americans claiming that the federal government needs to do more to confront climate change.
Justice Department attorneys filed their motion with the high court on Thursday, less than two weeks before a landmark trial is set to begin in federal court in Oregon.
As part of a series of last-ditch efforts, government attorneys are also renewing their calls for both the trial court and the San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to stop the case while the original judge considers their motion to delay the trial.
“Absent relief from this court, the government imminently will be forced to participate in a 50-day trial that would violate bedrock requirements for agency decisionmaking and judicial review imposed by the [Administrative Procedure Act] and the separation of powers,” government attorneys wrote to the Supreme Court, asking for a rare “writ of mandamus” to stop the proceedings.
“Moreover, in contrast to the obvious harms to the government, respondents can make no credible claim of imminent, irreparable harm,” the lawyers representing the administration argued.
“Their alleged injuries stem for the cumulative effects of CO2 emissions from every source in the world over decades; whatever additions to the global atmosphere that could somehow be attributed to the government over the time it takes to resolve the pending petition are plainly de minimis.”
The Supreme Court previously rejected a plea in July from the Trump administration to stop the case. Still, the court called the breadth of the claims in the case “striking” and said “the justiciability of those claims presents substantial grounds for difference of opinion.”
The case was filed by 21 children and young adults in 2015 with the assistance of climate activist and scientist James Hansen. They argue that the federal government is depriving them of their constitutional rights by not working to stop catastrophic climate change.
The government has argued that the parties are trying to get the judicial branch to direct climate policy, which isn’t within that branch’s purview.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/412045-trump-admin-again-asks-supreme-court-to-stop-youth-climate-lawsuit
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Trump Says He Has 'Natural Instinct for Science' When It Comes to Climate Change
Oct 18, 2018 | Politico (In Real Clear Energy)
By Rebecca Morin
President Donald Trump told the Associated Press that he has a "natural instinct for science" that informs his understanding of climate change and allows him to see through the political bias that he accused some scientists of holding.
In his interview, published Wednesday, the president reiterated his belief that the climate is changing but argued that the climate "goes back and forth, back and forth." He claimed that scientists are divided on whether climate change is the result of human activity, even though the vast majority of climate scientists believe that it is.
"You have scientists on both sides of it. My uncle was a great professor at MIT for many years, Dr. John Trump," the president said. "And I didn’t talk to him about this particular subject, but I have a natural instinct for science, and I will say that you have scientists on both sides of the picture."
Trump's comments to the AP came in response to remarks he made in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," in which the president admitted that climate change is not a hoax, but also said he believes that it may not be "man-made."
Earlier this month, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report saying that the planet will reach 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels as soon as 2030, which could increase the risk for extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.
The president said that he is "an environmentalist."
"Everything I want and everything I have is clean. Clean is very important — water, air," he said. "I want absolutely crystal clear water and I want the cleanest air on the planet and our air now is cleaner than it’s ever been. Very important to me."
But he added that he is unwilling to take steps that might slow the U.S. economy in order to combat climate change.
"What I’m not willing to do is sacrifice the economic well-being of our country for something that nobody really knows," he said.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/17/trump-instinct-climate-change-910004
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Carbon Utilization R&D Needs Coordination: National Academies
Oct 18, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Nick Sobczyk
Carbon utilization can play a key role in managing greenhouse gas emissions, and the U.S. government and private sector should better coordinate their research and development efforts, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
It's a controversial issue, with some environmental groups arguing that capturing carbon for reuse or sequestration simply allows fossil fuel companies to continue polluting and that the money would be better spent promoting clean energy.
The National Academies report, released today, suggests that finding commercial uses for carbon waste could be part of a multifaceted approach to limiting global climate change. But the nascent technology will need support from the government and private sector.
"The more options we have, the more dynamic we can be in our responses," said David Allen, chairman of the committee that wrote the report. "Carbon utilization has the advantage that it allows us in some cases to extract value from the process of capturing greenhouse gases."
To keep warming under 2 degrees Celsius — or the 1.5-degree benchmark laid out in the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's most recent report — that response would undoubtedly include increased use of renewables.
But curbing temperatures would likely require removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in some form, and the National Academies report, much like most global projections, assumes continued use of fossil fuels in the decades to come.
Technologies to reuse carbon waste are largely "in their infancy," the report says, but more coordinated research efforts between the federal government and the private sector could help get them ready for prime time.
The researchers note that carbon reuse research is currently scattered throughout the federal government, including at the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and Department of Defense.
While the report doesn't make recommendations about concentrating that research in any one place, it does suggest better communication among agencies and the private sector, Allen said.
Much of that development would involve getting technologies off the ground, but some are already coming to commercial use in a limited capacity and could be scaled up with more research and development.
For instance, Allen said he was personally interested in technology that uses carbon dioxide waste to cure cement, the key ingredient in concrete. The CO2 creates a stronger cement, which means less is needed to produce concrete.
"That was one very interesting commercialization example where things are already progressing," Allen said. "Research and development activities could further promote that."
There are various proposals floating around Congress to advance carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, and it's one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.
Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) in June floated the "Carbon Utilization Act," S. 2997, to grant carbon utilization projects access to Department of Agriculture loan guarantees and research grants.
And the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee earlier this year advanced the "Utilizing Significant Emissions With Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act," S. 2602, which would direct EPA to support carbon utilization and air capture research (Greenwire, May 22).
The bill — from Whitehouse, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and four other co-sponsors — would also require the White House Council on Environmental Quality to establish guidance on CO2 pipelines.
Whitehouse, Barrasso and two other co-sponsors — Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) — are listed on the National Academies report among the invited speakers and participants at data-gathering sessions.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/10/18/stories/1060103671
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