AM ACC Clips Report - November 14, 2018

Industry and Association News

1. EPA Region 4 Chief Indicted, Likely Bolstering Democrats' Ethics Oversight

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   By Lara Beaven and Dave Reynolds
   
   
   The indictment of EPA Region 4 Administrator Trey Glenn on criminal charges of violating Alabama's ethics laws is likely to bolster House Democrats' plans to strengthen federal ethics law, which they are already justifying based on concerns that former EPA chief Scott Pruitt was able to escape scrutiny due to inadequate requirements.

LCSA News

2. (ACC Mentioned) Congress Gears Up For TSCA Oversight But Bipartisan Prospects Limited

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   By Maria Hegstad and Dave Reynolds
   
   
   Congress is poised to conduct oversight of EPA's efforts to implement the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) but prospects for bipartisan scrutiny of the agency's actions appear limited, sources say, despite broad support for the law's passage and concerns from both industry and environmentalists about different aspects of the program.
3. Asbestos Group Seeks Specialized Review Panel for Assessment

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   The Asbestos Disease Awareness Association (ADAO) is urging EPA to name a specialized panel of experts in asbestos' toxicity and asbestos-related diseases to peer review EPA's pending draft assessment of health risks stemming from certain limited uses of the substance under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
4. Final Clarity for the EPA Formaldehyde Regulation

   Nov 13, 2018 | Woodworking Network

   By Jackson Morrill
   
   
   This month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a series of proposed technical amendments to the TSCA Title VI Formaldehyde Emissions Standards for Composite Wood Products rule.

Chemical Management News

5. Senator, Advocates Call for Nationwide PFAS Standard

   Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Daily

   By Courtney Columbus
   
   
   Public health advocates yesterday joined a Democratic senator to press for the creation of a national standard for a certain class of chemicals.
6. Despite Scientific Uncertainty, ATSDR Chief Backs Strict PFAS Risk Levels

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   By Suzanne Yohannan
   
   
   The head of a federal health agency that earlier this year recommended stricter risk levels for perfluorinated chemicals than EPA's told a Senate hearing that regulators face significant scientific uncertainty assessing the substances' risks, and raised doubts about whether federal agencies will be able to reach agreement on the risks.
7. Deq Expert Was 'Looking into Hell' After Pfas Discovery

   Nov 14, 2018 | MLive

   By Garret Ellison
   
   
   Robert Delaney was profoundly shaken upon his 2010 discovery that PFAS contamination at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda was widespread and that, in all likelihood, the chemicals were infecting the wider Michigan ecosystem in ways that the state is only now starting to quantify.

Energy News

8. (ACC Mentioned) Can Shale Gas Rebuild the Region’s Manufacturing Base?

   Nov 14, 2018 | Ideastream

   By Julie Grant
   
   
   Along the Ohio River, anticipation is mounting for the next phase of the natural gas industry. Beyond cheap electricity, Ohio is looking to use shale gas to rebuild its manufacturing base.
9. Global Economy Will Rely on U.S. Shale to Meet Oil Demand Growth: IEA

   Nov 13, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

   By Jordan Blum
   
   
   The world will increasingly depend on U.S. shale production to supply the crude oil needed to meet modest global demand growth, the International Energy Agency said in a new report.
10. New Governor Offers Hints at Alaska Megaproject's Future

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Margaret Kriz Hobson
    
    
    Late last week, Alaska Gasline Development Corp. President Keith Meyer delivered an upbeat status report on the progress of the Alaska liquefied natural gas export project, the state's proposed $44 billion venture to sell its bountiful natural gas reserves into Asian markets.
11. More Than 100 Expected to Testify at EPA Rule Hearing

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Mike Soraghan
    
    
    Supporters and opponents of the Trump administration's proposed changes to methane rules for oil and gas will be squaring off today at a public hearing in Denver.
12. Zinke Sides with Tribes in Drilling Dispute

    Nov 13, 2018 | AP (In E&E News PM)

    By Matthew Brown
    
    
    The Trump administration plans to appeal a federal court ruling that would allow oil and gas drilling on land considered sacred to Native American tribes in Montana and Canada, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said today.
13. Permian Oil Output Projected to Hit 3.7 Million Barrels a Day in December

    Nov 13, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

    By Rye Druzin
    
    
    Oil production in West Texas' Permian Basin is expected to continue to grow by 63,000 barrels a day in December to nearly 3.7 million barrels a day, according to government data.
14. U.S. Natural Gas Futures Rise Above $4 for First Time Since 2014

    Nov 13, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Christine Buurma
    
    
    U.S. natural gas futures jumped to $4 per million British thermal units for the first time in almost four years as a cold snap stoked concern that unusually low stockpiles will fall short of heating needs this winter.
15. Renewables Surge. Why That Won't Stop Warming

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

    By Benjamin Storrow
    
    
    Renewable energy is now cheaper than natural gas and coal in parts of the United States. The only problem: Cheap renewables may not be enough to stop the world from warming to dangerously high levels.

Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.

Transportation and Infrastructure News

16. Investing in Infrastructure with a Gas Tax: Lessons from California

    Nov 14, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog

    By Joel Day
    
    
    This past election, California voters weighed in on Proposition 6: a measure aimed at repealing the so called “gas tax.” Proponents of the repeal argued against higher taxation and lost decisively at the ballot box.
17. What’s Behind the Delays and Frustration Plaguing Metra’s BNSF?

    Nov 13, 2018 | WGN-TV

    By Amy Rutledge
    
    
    This summer was a tough one for riders of Metra’s BNSF line. Passengers felt confused and frustrated and they dealt with delays, packed trains and a very crowded Union Station.

Environment News

18. Pelosi Handles Climate Protest with Eye on Being Speaker

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Daily

    By George Cahlink
    
    
    House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not flash any anger yesterday when more than 150 activists and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) showed up in her office to loudly demand action on climate change.
19. Ocasio-Cortez, Youth Protesters Storm Pelosi Office to Push for Climate Plan

    Nov 13, 2018 | PoliticoPro

    By Anthony Adragna and Zack Colman
    
    
    More than 200 youth activists, flanked by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, flooded House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office this morning urging Democrats to act more decisively on climate change.
20. Dems Float Resolution Endorsing U.N. Findings

    Nov 13, 2018 | E&E News PM

    By Nick Sobczyk
    
    
    Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley and a list of other Democrats today floated a resolution endorsing the findings of the latest U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
21. Pallone on Select Committee: 'I Don't Think It's Necessary'

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Daily

    By Nick Sobczyk and George Cahlink
    
    
    Rep. Frank Pallone does not like the idea of bringing back the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Industry and Association News

1. EPA Region 4 Chief Indicted, Likely Bolstering Democrats' Ethics Oversight

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   By Lara Beaven and Dave Reynolds

   The indictment of EPA Region 4 Administrator Trey Glenn on criminal charges of violating Alabama's ethics laws is likely to bolster House Democrats' plans to strengthen federal ethics law, which they are already justifying based on concerns that former EPA chief Scott Pruitt was able to escape scrutiny due to inadequate requirements.

   A Jefferson County, AL, grand jury indicted Glenn Nov. 13 on multiple counts of violating Alabama's Ethics Act for his role -- prior to joining the agency -- in urging EPA to keep a contaminated site in Birmingham, AL, off the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

   The charges include soliciting a thing of value from a principal, lobbyist or subordinate, and receiving money in one’s official capacity, according to the news site AL.com.

   Glenn was the first regional administrator appointed by the Trump administration though his appointment renewed long-standing charges that his tenure as head of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) was marked by an investigation of potential criminal ethics violations.

   According to press reports, while applying to be ADEM director, Glenn approved payments to the environmental engineering firm Malcolm Pirnie -- which employed one of the officials on the Alabama Environmental Management Commission (AEMC) that oversees ADEM and selects its director.

   But a grand jury in 2008 declined to indict Glenn on those charges.

   In a statement to local media, Glenn said the charges against him are “totally unfounded” and will be “vigorously defended. I am innocent and expect to be fully vindicated.”

   EPA's spokesman did not respond to requests for comment, but the agency's acting administrator, Andrew Wheeler, had no substantive response when asked about the issue. “I haven’t had a chance to look into the matter or talk to him personally yet,” Wheeler told reporters.

   His comments come as House Democrats are planning to strengthen federal ethics requirements as one of their priorities when the 116th Congress convenes next year, with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the incoming chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, highlighting actions by Pruitt as a focus.

   “My concern with the EPA is how was Mr. Pruitt able to get away with all he got away with and remain there,” Cummings told the Washington Post. “A lot of this is the process. If you had the right guard rails, people pretty much have to stay on track.”

   Pruitt was forced to resign in July as ethics allegations continued to increase, including that he had aides work on personal tasks and sought business opportunities for his wife, and the White House feared the endless ethical scandals were too much of a liability for the GOP in the upcoming midterms.

   Ethics Enforcement

   Democratic leaders in the House have pledged to used their first month in the majority to introduce a package of legislation that includes changes to ethics laws.

   The bills include tightening restrictions on federal lobbyists and beefing up the executive branch’s Office of Government Ethics (OGE), according to a summary of the legislative package from the Democracy Reform Task Force, headed by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD).

   “President Trump has shown blatant disregard for the laws and norms in place to prevent public corruption,” the summary says. “His conduct, and that of his political appointees, has exposed the weaknesses in our nation's ethics laws. We must do better.”

   Among other things, the legislation will provide additional enforcement authority to OGE, which has struggled to enforce ethics requirements during both the Trump and Obama administrations.

   An industry source notes that neither the Obama administration's ethics pledges nor those from the Trump administration are enforceable.

   But the source says Cummings' committee is likely to conduct oversight to determine if additional legislation is needed. “A main goal of congressional oversight is to understand how something happened and whether additional legislation is called for. I would expect that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform would evaluate whether there are gaps in current federal ethics laws and regulations that future legislation could address,” the source says.

   The source expects Democrats to weigh the sufficiency of current ethics regulations as a way to cast aspersions on the Trump administration officials -- even if the legislation cannot pass the Republican-controlled Senate.

   “When people know the priority that we are giving to the integrity and government piece, it increases the confidence they have that we can do what we said,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told the New York Times ahead of the election.

   Glenn's indictment on state charges, along with the indictment of former AEMC Commissioner Scott Phillips, follows federal convictions of a Birmingham attorney and a coal company executive for their scheme to bribe a state lawmaker to oppose the placement of the North Birmingham 35th Avenue Site on the NPL.

   U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon Oct 23 sentenced former Balch & Bingham partner Joel Gilbert and David Roberson, a vice president with Drummond Company, Inc., a liable party at the site, to prison terms and hefty fines for convictions on bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering for their role in trying to keep the 35th Avenue site off the NPL.

   Glenn and Phillips worked together in a company they co-owned, Southeast Engineering & Consulting, at the same time Phillips served on the AEMC, and from 2014 through 2017 worked with Gilbert and Roberson to oppose a Superfund listing, according to trial testimony reported by AL.com.

   One exhibit in that trial showed that Phillips proposed to “hijack” a north Birmingham community organization that had been working with the EPA to clean up neighborhoods there, according to AL.com. During his testimony, Phillips said that by “hijack” he meant “work with.”

   Additionally, while serving on the commission, Phillips forwarded an advance copy of a presentation by the environmental watchdog group Gasp to Glenn, who then forwarded those materials to Gilbert at Balch, trial testimony revealed.

   Superfund Listing

   Since the trial, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin (D) has continued to press EPA to place the site on the NPL, writing in an August letter to Wheeler that the case for such a listing “is compelling."

   Citing the convictions of Gilbert and Roberson, Woodfin said city officials “believe this situation demands a much more robust response.” While the U.S. attorney's office exposed the “criminal hoax” and brought those responsible to justice, he said “these injustices” will continue until the site is listed and resources provided to the community.

   And Gasp wrote to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) Nov. 6 asking her to reverse the state's previous opposition to the listing and back placing the site on the NPL.

   “Today, I am simply asking you to do the right thing and ask the EPA to immediately place the 35th Avenue Site on the National Priorities List,” Gasp Executive Director Michael Hansen writes. “You have substantial power to undo the damage done by Roberson, Gilbert,” former Gov. Robert Bentley and others, the letter says.

   https://insideepa.com/daily-news/epa-region-4-chief-indicted-likely-bolstering-democrats-ethics-oversight
   

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LCSA News

2. (ACC Mentioned) Congress Gears Up For TSCA Oversight But Bipartisan Prospects Limited

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   By Maria Hegstad and Dave Reynolds

   Congress is poised to conduct oversight of EPA's efforts to implement the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) but prospects for bipartisan scrutiny of the agency's actions appear limited, sources say, despite broad support for the law's passage and concerns from both industry and environmentalists about different aspects of the program.

    “There may be some bipartisan oversight on nuts and bolts questions. But my guess is that each side will generally focus questions on 'their' issues and concerns,” says Charles Auer, a former EPA toxics official who now serves as the senior regulatory and policy adviser at the law firm Bergeson & Campbell.

   Another industry source is even more skeptical, telling Inside EPA, “I think the honeymoon of bipartisanship with regard to TSCA is definitely over.”

   This source sees “lots of opportunities to spotlight; fewer opportunities to change” in Democrats' takeover of the House. “I would imagine lots of oversight and subpoenas on climate issues, science policy, ethical lapses, alleged collusion between government and industry, and on and on. Transparency on any or all of these could be a catalyst for moving the court of public opinion and thus begin to shape core issues for 2020.”

   And David Fischer, a partner at IBEX partners and formerly a long-time staffer at the American Chemistry Council, hopes “there is bi-partisan interest in ensuring the new TSCA is implemented in the manner Congress envisioned, so I do think there is room for bipartisanship.”

   He says that “there will obviously be a focus now on oversight,” though he worries it could interfere with the agency's continued implementation of the law and the numerous statutory deadlines it faces, including releasing drafts of the first 10 risk evaluations of existing chemicals and selection of 20 more high priority existing chemicals to evaluate.

   “Hopefully it won't get to the point where it hampers EPA's ability to get things done,” he says.

   With Democrats taking control of the House next year, they are widely expected to step up efforts to oversee Trump administration actions, especially its deregulatory efforts at EPA and elsewhere.

   “We’ll . . . conduct vigorous oversight of the Trump Administration, so Washington works again for the people not the special interests,” incoming House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said in a Nov. 7 statement, where he promised to “restore environmental protections gutted over the last two years."

   And a spokesman for Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), currently the ranking Democrat on the committee's environment panel, told Bloomberg Environment that if he is elected to chair the subcommittee, he plans to hold a TSCA oversight hearing early next year.

   His pledge appears to have some bipartisan support given Rep. John Shimkus' (R-IL), the panel's current chair, commitment earlier this year to hold a TSCA oversight hearing.

   While Republicans will still control the Senate, the environment committee there is also expected to scrutinize EPA's implementation of the law as it considers President Trump's nomination of Region 1 Administrator Alexandra Dunn to lead the agency's toxics office.

   If confirmed, Dunn will be the top political appointee in the office, taking over in that role from Nancy Beck, the former chemical industry lobbyist who has served as deputy assistant administrator and has become a lightning rod for Trump administration critics concerned about industry influence at the agency.

   Fischer, however, predicts a smoother course for Dunn than Trump's previous toxics pick, Michael Dourson, who withdrew after Democrats and a handful of Republicans objected to his industry ties.

   “She has demonstrated her ability to work both sides of the aisle [and] she has the ability to work with multiple stakeholders,” he says.

   New & Existing Chemicals

   Industry and environmentalists -- as well as their congressional supporters -- are each likely to raise concerns with the way the agency has been implementing the program for new chemicals -- those not on the TSCA inventory of existing chemicals.

   Top Senate Democrats, including Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), one of the law's authors who is the top Democrat on the appropriations panel that funds EPA, also sent a letter to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler earlier this year raising a host of concerns with the agency's plans to address new chemicals.

   And an environmentalist attorney tells Inside EPA that advocates are especially concerned with “the way that industry has behind the scenes tried to influence the [new chemicals] program. We don't know the half of what's going on there. There's been a big industry push on some policy approaches. Within the last month we've seen the fruits of that,” as EPA moves away from using enforcement orders as it approves new chemicals.

   “There’s been no transparency for these major policy changes and likely high-level industry influence to pressure EPA. Long-standing PMN policies are being reversed with no public debate,” the environmentalist adds.

   Industry officials meanwhile are concerned the agency is taking too long to approve new chemicals and is imposing overly stringent requirements.

   “Industry has felt on the new chemicals side . . . like the agency is playing a much too conservative role and going too slow and messing up something that used to work; they're over-reading that part of the statute,” a second industry source tells Inside EPA, noting in addition Senate Democrats' letter complaining about the changes to the new chemicals program.

   “Industry definitely has an interest in making sure the agency can review these things in the 90 days that the statute [states] . . . considering where things have been this seems like a great step forward … but there's a way to go . . . It's an opportunity for everybody to sort of air their view points, not necessarily a bad thing. It's a chance for industry to make the case that this is being done properly but slowly and more could be done.”

   On existing chemicals, those that were in commerce before the law was first passed in 1976, environmentalists appear to be leading criticisms of the agency's efforts. One issue likely to gain significant attention is the Trump administration's decision to preclude a range of existing chemicals' uses from assessment and possible regulation -- an issue that is already the subject of appellate litigation.

   “In the view of NGOs and many Democrats on the Hill, this program is badly broken and a betrayal of the bipartisan aspirations [of the TSCA reform statute],” the environmentalist attorney says.

   The environmentalist also sees the drafts of the first 10 evaluations -- expected for release around the turn of the calendar year -- “will get a lot of attention on the Hill. Right now it's pretty abstract, but three months from now … it's going to get a lot more real. . . . You look at some of the chemicals [in that group]: trichloroethylene and asbestos . . . a lot of people around the country are interested in those chemicals.”

   The source argues that as people “focus on these evaluations, there will be a demand for a meaningful opportunity for public comment and probing peer review. There will be a hue and cry if EPA tries to jam through these evaluations and cut corners on comment and peer review -- these chemicals are simply too important for a quick and dirty process that ends up reversing years of scientific consensus on the risks they pose.”

   The source believes that the toxics office's controversial new systematic review process -- being used to perform the risk evaluations, but not peer-reviewed and departing from the approaches being implemented by EPA's research office and the National Toxicology Program -- is an area “I do think will get some attention, just as the EPA secret science rule got attention. … It's going to come to life for people when they see how it's used in the EPA risk assessments, when they see studies that were excluded and the effect that has [on the assessments].”

   https://insideepa.com/daily-news/congress-gears-tsca-oversight-bipartisan-prospects-limited
   

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3. Asbestos Group Seeks Specialized Review Panel for Assessment

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   The Asbestos Disease Awareness Association (ADAO) is urging EPA to name a specialized panel of experts in asbestos' toxicity and asbestos-related diseases to peer review EPA's pending draft assessment of health risks stemming from certain limited uses of the substance under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

   The group's Nov. 5 letter follows an Oct. 30 letter from several environmental groups that urged the agency to carefully review risks posed by the first 10 existing chemicals -- those that were on the market when the original TSCA took effect in 1976, or those that have since been added to the TSCA inventory -- and to take an additional six months to ensure the documents are scientifically rigorous.

   EPA toxics leaders have indicated that they will release drafts of the assessments early next year for public comment and peer review.

   Now, ADAO is joining the environmentalists' call for EPA to group related chemicals in the first 10 together for peer review by knowledgeable experts, while conducting singular peer review of chemicals on the list that are unique, with asbestos being the notable example.

   “The EPA TSCA evaluation will be the Agency’s first comprehensive update of the science on asbestos since the 1980s. It has the potential to reinterpret the extensive body of data on asbestos and human health and revisit well-established scientific findings on asbestos’ hazards, mechanism of action and potency. The implications of the evaluation for the many asbestos prevention and abatement programs now in place in the U.S. and globally could be far-reaching,” ADAO's President Linda Reinstein writes.

   “This makes it imperative that EPA seek the advice and recommendations of leading asbestos experts before finalizing the evaluation. The only credible way to obtain this independent scientific input is to create a special review panel charged solely with reviewing the evaluation. The selection of the panel should be vetted with the public and the panel should receive a specific set of charge questions, consider the comments of interested parties and other experts, hold one or more public meetings and provide a detailed report of its findings to the Agency.”

   ADAO reiterates concerns from the environmentalists that EPA may ask its Scientific Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC), a new federal advisory committee established in the revised TSCA, to peer review the assessments. The groups argue that the chemicals require more specialized expertise.

   “As [Safer Chemicals Healthy Families (SCHF)] indicates in its letter, the [SACC] can provide an umbrella for reviewing these evaluations but there are certain chemicals for which a separate review panel of qualified experts is essential to assure that the Agency receives informed and knowledgeable feedback,” Reinstein writes.

   ADAO provided EPA with a lengthy list of proposed candidates to sit on an asbestos peer-review panel, in response to EPA's September request for nominations. Among its nominations is Brad Black, medical director and CEO for the Center for Asbestos and Related Disease in Libby, MT, an area containing a former vermiculite mine that has become a Superfund site; Steven Markowitz, an occupational medicine physician who directs the Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment (CCHE) at Queens College, City University of New York, sits on ADAO's Science Advisory Board and directs the United Steelworkers Worker Health Protection screening program; Kurt Straif, a senior scientist with the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and Laura Welch, medical director for the AFL-CIO's Center for Construction Research and Training.

   https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/asbestos-group-seeks-specialized-review-panel-assessment
   

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4. Final Clarity for the EPA Formaldehyde Regulation

   Nov 13, 2018 | Woodworking Network

   By Jackson Morrill

   This month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a series of proposed technical amendments to the TSCA Title VI Formaldehyde Emissions Standards for Composite Wood Products rule.  These proposed amendments, when finalized, will ensure greater alignment with the existing California Air Resources Board formaldehyde regulation’s (CARB 2) certification and testing procedures and, in some instances, provide greater clarity on the application of requirements.  This is good news for composite wood panel manufacturers and companies that use the panels to make components and finished goods, as it means one, more seamless regulatory system nationwide. 

   Ideally these technical fixes to the Regulation will be in place well before March 22, 2019, which is the date when only TSCA Title VI certified and compliant panels may be sold or offered for sale in the U.S.  This will provide the regulated community adequate notice so that any adjustments can be made in advance to ensure compliance.  EPA appears committed to making this happen, which is promising. 

   Once these minor fixes are in place, panel producers and those that use composite wood panels to make component parts and finished goods will have the final “rules of the game” in place - welcome clarity after several years of uncertainty.  It is worth revisiting these rules so that U.S. fabricators of component parts and finished goods know what to expect beginning March 22, 2019.    

   Purchasing compliant panels

   From June 1, 2018, through March 21, 2019, fabricators of component parts and finished goods that contain particleboard, MDF or hardwood plywood are required to source either CARB 2 or TSCA Title VI certified panels, with one minor exception.  The “certification” requirement does not apply to certain panels made with no-added formaldehyde (NAF) and ultra-low emitting formaldehyde (ULEF) that qualify for an exemption to the regular CARB and TSCA Title VI testing requirements.    However, all other aspects of the regulation apply to NAF and ULEF products.  Fabricators must be able to demonstrate that they have purchased “compliant” panels, which for NAF and ULEF boards means that those boards have been granted an Executive Order by CARB, are fully compliant with all other applicable requirements under either CARB or TSCA (e.g., labeling, recordkeeping) and are under an EPA-approved third-party oversight program that ensures compliance.

   Starting March 22, 2019, fabricators must purchase only TSCA Title VI certified and compliant composite wood panels.  The TSCA Title VI requirements for fabricators sourcing NAF/ULEF exempt and ULEF-reduced testing panels remain the same.   All other composite wood panels must be certified by a third-party certifier that has been formally recognized by EPA as accredited to certify to the TSCA Title VI standard. 

   Recordkeeping and labeling

   As of June 1, 2018, the TSCA Title VI labeling requirement for fabricators of component parts and finished goods containing regulated composite wood panels applies. This covers products containing all regulated composite wood panels, including NAF and ULEF. 

   Fabricators must also keep all bills of lading, invoices or comparable documents demonstrating the purchase of compliant panels for three years for all regulated composite wood products.  TSCA Title VI does include a “de minimis” exemption for finished goods or component parts sold directly to end users if its composite wood content does not exceed 144 square inches on its largest face.  This exemption applies only to labeling; products such as small picture frames and others that meet the de minimis definition must still be made with compliant composite wood and comply with recordkeeping requirements. 

   Additional resources

   The EPA has developed several guidance documents and frequently asked questions (FAQs) to provide further clarity on certain requirements.  Importantly, several of the FAQs interpret the regulatory requirements under TSCA Title VI and must be followed in order to meet compliance obligations.  It is worth checking these periodically to make sure you are up-to-date on the latest requirements.  The EPA TSCA Title VI guidance materials may be downloaded at the EPA website.

   The Composite Panel Association has also prepared a reference guide, which is periodically updated to reflect amendments to the Regulation.  It includes an at-a-glance table on key regulatory requirements and compliance dates plus additional information on sell-through dates, laminated products and import certifications.  The reference guide is available at the Composite Panel Association website.

   https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/final-clarity-epa-formaldehyde-regulation
   

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Chemical Management News

5. Senator, Advocates Call for Nationwide PFAS Standard

   Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Daily

   By Courtney Columbus

   Public health advocates yesterday joined a Democratic senator to press for the creation of a national standard for a certain class of chemicals.

   A field hearing held by Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in Grand Rapids, Mich., focused on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS.

   The chemicals have been widely used for decades in consumer and industrial products, including firefighting foam and nonstick cookware. There's no legally enforceable drinking water standard for any of the thousands of PFAS.

   Michigan has dozens of PFAS-contaminated sites. Peters, who also led the first Senate hearing on PFAS in September as ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, wrapped up what aides called a summit with three takeaways.

   "It's very clear that we need a federal regulatory standard for these chemicals that is nationwide. And we have to do it very, very quickly," he said.

   "We're going to have to have some sort of action before five years because people simply can't wait. We also have to look at both long- and short-chain PFAS."

   There must be transparency about what's known and unknown about PFAS, and what people should do if they've been exposed to the chemicals, Peters said.

   "And third, we have to look at alternatives that are available, whether it's in firefighting foam or other types of products, so that we stop this stuff from getting out into the environment," he said.'We need money'

   "Budget," added Carol Isaacs, director of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART), which marked its anniversary today. It was created last year by Gov. Rick Snyder (R).

   "We need money for cleanup," said Isaacs, touting MPART's accomplishments, such as providing alternate water or filters to affected households.

   Adam London, administrative health officer with the Kent County Health Department, called for a "clear national strategy and a playbook for PFAS response," including communications tools to help residents.

   "People in this county have lived in fear for the past two years as we struggle to understand what happened and what should happen next."

   The strategy should include a federal drinking water standard for PFAS based on the latest science, London told Peters and audience members.

   "It would be unfortunate if we end up with a 50-state patchwork of regulations as states either struggle to identify their own standards or to ignore the problem altogether," he said.

   Robert Delaney, an environmental specialist who has worked for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for more than 30 years, spoke about how PFAS contamination caught his attention in 2010, making him increasingly angry the more he learned. Delaney stressed that he was not testifying on behalf of the state.

   "PFAS are not the only contaminants to be concerned about, but given their indestructible nature, how useful they are to us in everyday life and their toxicity, they scare me," he said.

   "In 2010, I began to feel that I was at the edge of the abyss looking into hell and the weight of the world was on my shoulders. My fear and anger turned into conviction and determination."

   And that led to a 2012 report on the chemicals to the MDEQ director at the time, Dan Wyant, to include suggestions for sampling water and wildlife with the aim of reducing people's exposure to the chemicals. MPART is doing a "terrific job" on that now, Delaney said.

   But he didn't get any feedback from agency leadership on his report until this year, he said, although a state employee later told him that Wyant had distributed it to some other DEQ leaders.

   "Our agency was really struggling for money and acceptance in various corners, so [Wyant] was brought in to help us with those things, but he really didn't understand environmental science or the issues very well," Delaney said.'Surrounded by toxic waste'

   Also among the witnesses was Sandy Wynn-Stelt, a Belmont, Mich., resident who lives across the street from a site used as a dump by Wolverine World Wide Inc.

   Testing of her well water in 2017, the year after her husband died of liver cancer, found it was polluted with PFAS. The concentration of one type of PFAS, called PFOS, in her blood was found to be about 750 times the national average. The combined total of four types of PFAS in her blood was 5 million parts per trillion.

   "Once you start adding all those zeros on, it kind of becomes meaningless to me. It's extraordinarily high, I know that," she said. "I stay awake wondering what this is going to do to me and if I'm going to have to go through chemotherapy by myself."

   Wynn-Stelt called for the lifetime health advisory level of 70 ppt combined for PFOS and another type called PFOA to be lowered. She also floated concern about the fate of property values in PFAS-contaminated areas.

   "[My husband] knew that because we don't work in professions that we make a lot of money, our property was probably our best investment because property values don't go down, right? Well, they do if you're surrounded by toxic waste," she said. "I now live on property that's probably worth nothing."

   No witnesses from EPA nor the Department of Defense testified at the summit. EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp sent written comments to the subcommittee and a statement to Peters. The Republican majority was not involved in the meeting.'Working tirelessly'

   In the statement, she apologized for being unable to attend. She described the national leadership summit EPA held earlier this year on PFAS and a roundtable held last month in Michigan, and reiterated the steps on PFAS that EPA has said it will take this year.

   "EPA Office of Water staff are working tirelessly to deliver a national PFAS Management Plan by the end of the year," she wrote in the statement to Peters.

   "This Management Plan will outline EPA's approach on identifying and understanding PFAS, EPA's actions to address PFAS, and effective strategies for communicating about PFAS with the public."

   An ongoing frustration among community members has been the multiple years federal agencies say it will take for regulatory action and health studies on PFAS to be completed.

   "How do we speed this up? ... What's your advice?" Peters asked Patrick Breysse, director of the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the other panelists.

   "I wish there was a magic bullet that we could produce, and we could produce it quickly," Breysse said.

   "If we want to make sure the science is as strong, as defensible as possible, it's going to take time. There's just no way around it. And I don't think anybody will be served well by science that can't stand up to the scrutiny that peer review will give it," he said, adding that in the meantime they're working to cut off exposure to PFAS.

   https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2018/11/14/stories/1060106157
   

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6. Despite Scientific Uncertainty, ATSDR Chief Backs Strict PFAS Risk Levels

   Nov 13, 2018 | Inside EPA

   By Suzanne Yohannan

   The head of a federal health agency that earlier this year recommended stricter risk levels for perfluorinated chemicals than EPA's told a Senate hearing that regulators face significant scientific uncertainty assessing the substances' risks, and raised doubts about whether federal agencies will be able to reach agreement on the risks.

   But Patrick Breysse, director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), told the field hearing in Grand Rapids, MI, that lawmakers should continue to pressure agencies to address the issue, saying it will likely help officials prioritize it.

   “We appreciate the pressure that you put on us to make sure that we continue to address concerns important to your constituency,” he said.

   And he backed his agency's strict risk levels and recommended that citizens exposed to the substances at levels above the ATSDR thresholds should inform officials and consult with physicians.

   Breysse made his remarks at a field hearing on federal, state and local responses to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Michigan, before the Senate Governmental Affairs and Homeland Security Committee's Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management Subcommittee.

   The panel's ranking Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chaired the event and highlighted the gap in federal and state regulations on PFAS and communities' and local public health agencies' demands for action and resources.

   EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp declined to be a witness, but submitted written testimony, according to Peters.

   PFAS are part of a ubiquitous class of substances -- widely used in consumer products and in aqueous firefighting foam due to their non-stick, water repellant properties -- but which are linked to certain cancers and other harms and are turning up in the drinking water of hundreds of community drinking water systems.

   While EPA is developing an action plan to address widespread contamination, the agency has been slow to respond to state and local concerns. For example, despite widespread calls for the agency to develop an enforceable drinking water standard, officials are debating whether they should do so and warning that if they do, it could take years to complete.

   During the hearing, Peters noted various efforts to examine and address PFAS, but asked Breysse what should be done to better coordinate those efforts to obtain universal agreement on what the safe action level should be.

   “That's a very challenging question,” Breysse responded, noting that ATSDR is currently working “carefully” with EPA and the Defense Department at contaminated sites across the country, and other agencies as well.

   “We're all moving forward with these issues,” he said, but added, “I'm not quite sure where the scientific consensus is going to come from, given the fact that there's so much uncertainty around the science right now.”

   He said agencies should develop guidance in their own purview, but should also “make sure that guidance is coordinated as much as possible.” He gave the example of ATSDR's lengthy discussions with EPA prior to releasing its minimal risk levels as part of its toxicological profile for a set of PFAS chemicals in order to place ATSDR's MRL in context with what EPA is doing.

   Draft Profile

   ATSDR released a draft toxicological profile listing MRLs for four PFAS in June, weeks after Inside EPA and other outlets reported it had been blocked in the face of opposition from EPA and other agencies concerned that its proposed MRLs were stricter than values EPA adopted to address two of the four substances covered by the profile.

   The draft MRLs for “intermediate” duration oral exposures for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are between seven and 10 times stricter than risk estimates underlying EPA's 2016 drinking water health advisories of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for lifetime chronic exposure to the two PFAS. Prior to the draft profile's release but after the news reports, Breysse told an EPA summit on PFAS that agencies were working to develop “consistent messaging” for rolling out the document.

   At the Nov. 13 hearing, Breysse said if EPA does develop a drinking water standard for chemicals in the PFAS class -- something the agency has been pondering for PFOA and PFOS -- then ATSDR will offer to help review that standard to ensure its input is part of the standard-setting process, playing a supportive role.

   Peters also pressed the ATSDR official on what he would recommend residents do if their drinking water exceeds drinking water levels that correlate with ATSDR's MRLs. He noted that the draft MRLs the agency released in June can be roughly translated into drinking water levels of 14 ppt for PFOS and 21 ppt for PFOA.

   Breysse agreed that the translated water levels Peters cited are accurate, and stressed the MRLs cannot be read as black-and-white figures, saying that drinking water levels above those amounts is where there might be concern. That said, he said if drinking water levels are above the 14 ppt and 21 ppt, respectively, then residents should begin to take steps to lower their exposure, notifying state and local authorities so they can address concerns.

   Further, the residents should consult with their physician. He added that ATSDR has information on its website and in its toxicological profile for physicians to use, and doctors can also contact ATSDR's environmental specialists in Region 5 if they have questions, he told the audience.

   Peters also told Breysse and other witnesses that residents cannot wait, given the contamination currently facing communities. “How do we speed this up?” he asked.

   Breysse responded, “I wish there was a magic bullet that we could . . . produce it quickly,” but he said that ATSDR's multi-site study -- which will include exposure assessments at at least eight military sites, per congressional direction -- will take five years to complete. He added that if entities want to ensure that the science is as defensible as possible, it will take time. “There's no way around that.” At the same time, he noted that his agency is reaching out to communities to discuss steps to reduce exposure and cut off exposures where they are high.

   https://insideepa.com/daily-news/despite-scientific-uncertainty-atsdr-chief-backs-strict-pfas-risk-levels
   

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7. Deq Expert Was 'Looking into Hell' After Pfas Discovery

   Nov 14, 2018 | MLive

   By Garret Ellison

   Robert Delaney was profoundly shaken upon his 2010 discovery that PFAS contamination at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda was widespread and that, in all likelihood, the chemicals were infecting the wider Michigan ecosystem in ways that the state is only now starting to quantify. 

   Delaney, a veteran geologist with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, testified before a U.S. Senate field hearing that he felt as if he were standing at the "edge of the abyss looking into hell with the weight of the world on my shoulders."

   Delaney's testimony was the highlight of a two-hour hearing Tuesday, Nov. 13 in Grand Rapids convened by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who, sitting alone at a table onstage, sought answers about PFAS contamination in Michigan from two panels of witnesses, including Delaney, the director of Michigan's PFAS response, and the head of the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

   Peters, the ranking Democrat on the federal spending and emergency management subcommittee, convened the field hearing at the Grand Valley State University Pew Campus as a follow-up to a similar hearing held Sept. 26 in Washington, DC.

   Witnesses included Sandy Wynn-Stelt, a Belmont widow living next to the Wolverine World Wide House Street dump, Rick Rediske, a GVSU Water Resources Institute professor who helped expose Wolverine's use of PFAS chemicals, Adam London, administrative health officer with the Kent County Health Department, and Drew Youngedyke with the National Wildlife Federation.

   Also testifying were Pat Breysse, head of the ATSDR, and Carol Isaacs, director of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, or MPART, a task force created last November that's coordinating contamination response at numerous locations around Michigan.

   Cathy Stepp, administrator of the regional Environmental Protection Agency office in Chicago which oversees Michigan and the Great Lakes, was a no-show.

   After the hearing, Peters said the EPA told him Stepp had a scheduling conflict, but "we were willing take anybody from the EPA qualified to talk about this," he said. "I'm sure they had folks qualified to be here, so I'm very disappointed they were not."

   "Perhaps this is something the Trump Administration does not want to focus on at this time," Peters said. "But we're going to make them focus on this."

   Onstage, Peters lauded Delaney as a "legendary figure among the community of Michiganders working to protect our water," and someone whose name surfaced repeatedly as his staff sought information and experts on the contamination in Michigan.

   Delaney, who previously was accessible to media and the general public, has been difficult to reach through official channels at the DEQ following a radio appearance a year ago during which he revealed that he'd written a 2012 report warning former DEQ director Dan Wyant that PFAS was going to become public health crisis.

   That report has become problematic for outgoing Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder because Wyant essentially buried it rather than acting on numerous recommendations. As PFAS contamination discoveries in Michigan have increased over the past two years, many wonder whether the state might have saved many from exposure had it acted decisively years earlier.

   Delaney testified he felt like "Chicken Little" sending his "brainstorming" report up the chain, but he felt compelled to highlight actions the state government could take, such as sampling and mapping PFAS levels in blood serum, checking food supplies, drinking water and surface waters for contamination and developing an in-home carbon filtration program.

   "I wanted to give home real ideas on what you could do," Delaney said. "One of the things I though we ought to focus on -- and what MPART is doing a terrific job on -- is focusing on exposure. It takes years and years to clean up sites ... but to get out there and prevent people from drinking and eating these, that was something we could tackle right off the bat."

   Of the many recommend actions, only Delaney's call for surface water testing was acted upon before last fall, when Snyder created the MPART following the revelation of severe PFAS contamination in Kent County caused by Wolverine tannery waste dumping.

   The DEQ has repeatedly denied it ignored Delaney's report.

   Delaney said he didn't get "any feedback" from DEQ leadership about the report until this year.

   In his testimony, Delaney stressed that he was speaking as a private citizen, not as a spokesperson for the DEQ. After the hearing, Delaney said the toxicology science was available at the time to justify taking the actions he recommended.

   "There was plenty of evidence these things were dangerous," he said, citing an early 2000s manufacturing phase-out of PFOS and PFOA, two types of individual PFAS compounds. Unfortunately, he said counties like China picked up production after domestic manufacturers stopped making the compounds. And laws like the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) don't require that chemicals coming to market in the U.S. be proven safe beforehand.

   "We've kind of been on a downward spiral on protecting the people of America from chemicals," Delaney said. "The industry is producing so many new chemicals all the time. They're fantastic chemicals. We use them for everything, but they're not tested. We call it 'whack-a-mole' -- where you get a couple of chemicals you're concerned about, you start to regulate them, then five more pop-up because you need some chemical to replace them."

   "The problem with this set of chemicals is that they're so unique -- they do things no other chemicals can do," Delaney said. "Usually you say, ok, we're getting a replacement, but the replacement is just another type of these types of chemicals. It's not like you really know that you're making things better. You could be making thing worse."

   Breysse, in his testimony, said that ATSDR -- the toxicological arm of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- can't state whether such replacement compounds are less harmful than PFOS and PFOA, the only two PFAS compounds for which the EPA has a health advisory level and the state of Michigan has regulations for in groundwater and surface waters.

   The vast majority of all PFAS testing done in Michigan has detected other compounds either besides or in addition to PFOS and PFOA, a measure that DEQ quantifies as Total PFAS.

   "I don't think we know enough to say those short-chain compounds are safe," Breysse said.

   https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/11/peters_pfas_hearing_delaney.html
   

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Energy News

8. (ACC Mentioned) Can Shale Gas Rebuild the Region’s Manufacturing Base?

   Nov 14, 2018 | Ideastream

   By Julie Grant

   Along the Ohio River, anticipation is mounting for the next phase of the natural gas industry. Beyond cheap electricity, Ohio is looking to use shale gas to rebuild its manufacturing base.

   The Ohio Valley has long been known for coal and making steel, but the future, according to some predictions, is natural gas and plastics. Richard Regula, is a commissioner in Stark County, Ohio, and is working to expand the petrochemical industry.

   “What’s going to happen in this region in the Utica and Marcellus Shale plays is going to impact us positively for the next 100 years in my opinion, at least 50,” Regula said.

   More than 2400 gas wells have been drilled using hydraulic fracturing in Ohio since 2012. 

   Regula is talking not only about the cheap gas from that, but the spinoff industries and development many expect. Excitement has been building since the announcement in 2016 that Shell should be building an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County.

   Right now, the ethane, which is a component of the natural gas that’s produced at the region’s wells, is exported to China, Europe or piped to the Gulf Coast.

   BUILDING A PETROCHEMICAL HUB

   Shell’s $6 billion facility along the Ohio River in Pennsylvania will “crack” the ethane at very high temperatures to make ethylene locally.

   “Ethylene is a major raw material that goes into the making of polyethylene,” explained Heather Rose-Glowacki of the trade group, American Chemistry Council. “And polyethylene goes into thousands of products that are used by people every day.”

   Polyethylene is used to make everything from plastic bags to car parts to medical devices. A study by the American Chemistry Council looked at the ethane supply in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. They concluded that there could be up to five ethane crackers supported in the region, creating an Appalachian petrochemical hub as an alternative to the Gulf Coast.

   Supporters of this idea like to repeat these numbers: 12,000 manufacturers who use plastics are already located within a day’s drive–600 miles–of the region.

   But those manufacturers don’t have access to a local supply of polyethylene.

   “Right now, this industry operates using product that is transported from the Gulf Coast,” said Iryna Lendel, Director of the Center for Economic Development at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Ethane crackers close the loop between gas wells and plastic manufacturers.

   “That’s the whole point–to link our oil and gas that we are pumping out, to use this, refine it, and use this within the region,” Lendel said.

   A decision is expected soon about construction of a second ethane cracker, a $10 billion facility would be built along the river in Ohio. A company called Mountaineer NGL storage could start storing natural gas liquids, like ethane, in salt caverns in the region as soon as next year.

   According to Lendel, the region would also need more plastic and resin manufacturing, more chemical manufacturing, and more petroleum refineries to build the supply chain for a real petrochemical hub.

   “The more product we refine within the region, the more and longer we keep this product within our economies and the more we capture benefits and economic wealth,” she said.

   More than 75,000 people in Ohio are already employed in the plastics industry, second nationally to California, according to the Plastics Industry Association. Pennsylvania has 47,000 people working in plastics.

   LOCAL ECONOMIES EXPECTING A BOOST

   Officials in Stark County, Ohio, say the Shell cracker is already creating new business interests there.

   Ray Hexamer, president of the Stark Economic Development Board, finds it exciting. In the past six months, three companies have come to them looking at opportunities in the plastics industry.

   “So, what it means for Northeast Ohio–they’re good paying jobs, those jobs will elevate the economic environment for our community. We all get lifted by a rising tide,” Hexamer said.

   A new, yet to be published study by economists at Washington and Jefferson College, south of Pittsburgh, bolsters that argument. It finds that counties with ethane crackers have higher individual earnings than the national average, more than $5,600 per year.  The study found that counties adjacent to cracker plants also saw an earnings boost.

   WHAT ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT?

   But of course, locking the region into a petrochemical hub of gas wells, pipelines, chemical cracking and plastics manufacturing is concerning to many people.

   Outside an October meeting of Marcellus Shale industry leaders in Pittsburgh, about 60 people, including members of various native tribes, gathered to protest. Standing where the Allegheny meets the Ohio River, Sharon Day of Minnesota, a member of the Ojibwe Nation, remembered her walk along 980 miles of the Ohio a few years ago.

   “This a beautiful, beautiful river,” she said. “It has undergone so much stress and pollution over the years, that it’s going to really require effort by everybody to make her healthy again.” The Ohio River is the drinking water source for five million people, and many people fish and boat on it.

   While supporters of petrochemical development say they trust regulators to protect public safety and the environment, Cheryl Johncox, of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, based in Columbus, Ohio, doesn’t think they should.

   “We can’t assume the regulators are taking care of it anymore,” she said.

   Johncox pointed to the recent explosion of a natural gas pipeline that destroyed a home in Pennsylvania as an example of the safety concerns. When it comes to keeping the air and water clean, Johncox gave a litany of regulatory rollbacks underway by the current administration in Washington.

   “They are trying to gut the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, all the components,” she said. “The methane emissions program; they’re attacking the Ohio River Water Sanitation Commission. There’s a no holds barred on those protections.”

   THE REGION CAN’T PASS UP THIS CHANCE TO REBUILD ITS INDUSTRY

   In Ohio, Stark County Commissioner Richard Regula doesn’t see reason for concern about the environment. His family has a long history in Ohio politics, including his father Ralph Regula’s 18 terms in Congress.

   “My father was the founder of the Ohio EPA, and I’m carrying on his legacy to protect the environment,” Regula said. “But to me this is a once in a lifetime, or once in a generation opportunity.”

   Regula is pushing for roadway improvements to help expansion of a Marathon oil refinery in his county, and looks forward to all the jobs he says he expects in the coming years.

   http://www.ideastream.org/news/can-shale-gas-rebuild-the-region%E2%80%99s-manufacturing-base
   

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9. Global Economy Will Rely on U.S. Shale to Meet Oil Demand Growth: IEA

   Nov 13, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

   By Jordan Blum

   The world will increasingly depend on U.S. shale production to supply the crude oil needed to meet modest global demand growth, the International Energy Agency said in a new report.

   The World Energy Outlook report focuses on the shift from oil to electricity to power the global economy. As a result, crude’s market share will continue to shrink, but the United States will be leaned on to supply more than half of global oil and gas production growth at least through 2025. 

   As much as 75 percent of global oil production growth could come from the U.S. in the years ahead, meaning increasing volumes of crude would be exported around the world from port hubs in the Houston and Corpus Christi areas

   “The shale revolution continues to shake up oil and gas supply, enabling the United States to pull away from the rest of the field as the world’s largest oil and gas producer,” the report said.

   Driven by West Texas’ booming Permian Basin, the United States has emerged this year as the world’s top oil producer — the nation already churned out the most natural gas. U.S. oil production, which reach an estimated 11.6 million barrels of crude a day as of last week, accounts for more than 10 percent of the world’s supplies and that should jump to nearly 20 percent by 2025, the IEA said.
   

   But over-reliance on American oil could trigger a supply crunch in the years ahead, which would lead to higher oil and fuel prices, the IEA warned. Oil production in shale formations declines at faster rate than in convention wells, but energy companies are not investing in developing enough other oil and gas fields.

   “Our projections already incorporate a doubling in U.S. tight oil from today to 2025, but it would need to more than triple in order to offset a continued absence of new conventional projects,” the report added.

   Most of the world’s energy growth outside of the United States is expected to focus on renewable energy and natural gas, the report said.

   By 2040, global electricity demand could nearly double while oil demand will only grow by about 10 percent — if it grows at all. The IEA’s environmental sustainability scenario — the possible future that sees countries working more aggressively to combat climate change — sees oil consumption declining by 2040. Nearly half of the global vehicle fleet could be electric by 2040, the IEA projected.

   IN HOUSTON: Gasoline prices drop another 7 cents in a week

   Crude oil use for automobile fuel will peak in the mid-2020s, but petrochemical demand for oil will keep rising, as will crude-based fuels for trucks, planes and ships.

   It’s anticipated that renewable power will surpass coal in the global power mix. Renewables’ share is expected to rise from 25 percent to 40 percent in 2040 as coal continues to lose ground. Solar power growth is expected to surpass wind in the coming decades. Solar alone would move past coal by 2040.

   Still, without new governmental policies around the world, the report warned that carbon emissions will keep growing through 2040, contributing to climate change and falling short of the goals established in the recent Paris climate accord.

   Gobal trade in liquefied natural gas is expected to more than double to supply developing nations, especially China. Several LNG export projects are in construction or planned along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.

   Global energy demand overall will continue to be led by Asian nations. In 2000, more than 40 percent of global energy demand came from Europe and North America, with about 20 percent from developing economies in Asia. By 2040, the positions are likely to be reversed, according to the IEA. China already leads the world in global demand, and both India and Africa will surpass the European Union by 2040.

   https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/IEA-Shale-13385734.php
   

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10. New Governor Offers Hints at Alaska Megaproject's Future

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Margaret Kriz Hobson

    Late last week, Alaska Gasline Development Corp. President Keith Meyer delivered an upbeat status report on the progress of the Alaska liquefied natural gas export project, the state's proposed $44 billion venture to sell its bountiful natural gas reserves into Asian markets.

    Speaking at the AGDC board of director's monthly meeting, Meyer talked about the corporation's recent discussions with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staffers about the state's application to build the export project.

    He shared the details of recent visits to Alaska by officials of PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corp. and the China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, which are both considering buying Alaska's natural gas.

    Meyer also laid out a plan to create two new limited liability companies within AGDC to handle some of the agency's operations.

    It wasn't until the very end of his presentation that Meyer finally addressed the elephant in the room — the results of the Alaska elections, which could drastically alter the future of the LNG project.

    Two days before the AGDC board meeting, Alaska voters elected Republican Mike Dunleavy as governor. Throughout his campaign, Dunleavy questioned the economic viability of having the state run the Alaska LNG project. He insisted that the venture should be handled by private oil companies.

    On Friday, Dunleavy's team announced that former Gov. Sean Parnell (R) will serve as Dunleavy's special assistant for the state natural gas project.

    In early 2014, Parnell was instrumental in negotiating a joint development agreement under which the state of Alaska planned to work with BP Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska and Exxon Mobil Corp. to build the Alaska pipeline and LNG export project.

    But in November of that year, Parnell lost his bid for re-election to Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I), who advocated having the state run the gas commercialization project.

    By appointing Parnell to manage the project, Dunleavy appears to be seeking a return to the state-industry alliance.

    Once Dunleavy takes over as governor on Dec. 3, he'll have the authority to appoint a lineup of new AGDC board members who also support Parnell's approach. That transition could very well cost Meyer his job.

    But at the AGDC board meeting, the looming presence of a potentially hostile new boss didn't appear to rattle Meyer.

    He offered an optimistic assessment of the gasline's future under Dunleavy and the newly elected Republican-controlled state Legislature.

    "I'm hoping that under the new leadership here and under the changes in the Legislature that the government and AGDC are working in great harmony," Meyer told the board.

    "I expect a whole level of alignment and harmony here that really is going to free us up" to compete with natural gas projects around the world, he said.Winding road for LNG project

    Meyer, a former executive with Cheniere Energy Inc., was hired by Walker in June 2016 to handle the state's participation in the Alaska LNG project.

    The terms of his three-year contract were generous by Alaska standards. Meyer received a salary of $550,000 and relocation assistance of up to $50,000, as well as the potential of an annual $200,000 performance bonus.

    Alaska legislators criticized Walker for making Meyer the state government's highest-paid employee.

    At the time, the natural gas export project was being advanced under Parnell's agreement to work jointly with BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon, with Exxon taking the lead.

    The public-private alliance proposed a plan to build a gas treatment plant on the North Slope, an 800-mile gas pipeline running from Prudhoe Bay to the Cook Inlet, and a liquefaction plant and export terminal in the Cook Inlet town of Nikiski.

    The oil companies continued to work with the state through 2016, when the staff finished work on a comprehensive early front-end engineering and design report on the project.

    But by the end of the year, the oil majors decided to drop out of the partnership, citing a glut of natural gas on the world market and what they called strong economic headwinds (Energywire, Feb. 6, 2017).

    In the aftermath, Walker and Meyer eagerly took control of the Alaska LNG project, moving the original blueprint forward under state management. Over the last 18 months, AGDC has made significant progress.

    In April 2017, the state agency filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build the gasline, a move that triggered initial work on an environmental impact statement for the project. Federal regulators have committed to releasing a draft EIS on the project in February 2019.

    The state signed a joint development agreement with three large Chinese companies that are considering partnering with AGDC to build, finance and buy gas from the Alaska pipeline project. A final contract with those companies is targeted for the end of 2018.

    More recently, AGDC reached agreements with BP and Exxon to buy their North Slope natural gas for the Alaska LNG project.Dunleavy questions state's role in project

    On the campaign trail, Dunleavy said he has a long list of questions he'd need answered before he would commit the state of Alaska to continuing work on the proposed, multibillion-dollar LNG export project.

    High on his list would be why Alaska's top oil producers really withdrew from the project in late 2016. "I'd ask them, was it truly not economical? Was there something else that we're missing? Why aren't you in this project?" Dunleavy said in an interview with E&E News this summer.

    "I'd ask about things like the real cost of the project. Who pays for the cost overruns? Who pays for infrastructure that some may construe as not being directly related to the project itself, such as widening our bridges so that we can get pipe north?

    "What happens if the whole economics change in five years, one way or the other?" he asked.

    "Like all Alaskans, I want our gas monetized," Dunleavy explained. "But we have to make sure that we're going to make money off of our resources. This is a big project. I think it begs a lot of scrutiny and a lot of questions."

    Much of the most critical financial information on the project is not available to the public due to confidentiality agreements between the state and the companies involved. But once Dunleavy takes office, he'll have access to far more data.

    Before the election, Dunleavy observed, "I can't just sit here and say, 'Yes, this project is great.' I can't justify that answer because I don't have enough information. By the same token, I don't have enough information to say that we ought to kill it."

    Would he rather see the private sector managing the Alaska LNG project?

    "If the private sector is in it, then that means they're going to make a dollar," he suggested. "They're the experts in this. So would I rather see them in it — yes. Yes, absolutely."For Walker, a dream unrealized

    Walker's dream of seeing the Alaska LNG project through to completion went up in smoke in October when his running mate, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott (D), resigned and withdrew from the campaign after making what was described as "an inappropriate overture" to a woman.

    Days later, Walker also dropped his bid for re-election and threw his support behind former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D). At the time, Walker said he was backing Begich in part because of his support for the Alaska LNG project.

    In an interview with E&E News shortly before the election, Begich suggested that if he was elected governor, he would ask for Walker's help on the Alaska LNG venture.

    "He took it to the 10-yard line," Begich observed. "Over time, if the governor wants to continue to help on [the gasline project] — it would be great. We're close to the finish line. And if I'm elected governor, we're going to push it over the goal line."

    The day before the general election, Walker issued an open letter to the next governor appealing to his successor to continue work on the gas export project.

    Walker described the venture as "by far the brightest spot on Alaska's economic horizon," which would create tens of thousands of jobs in the state.

    "Don't slow that progress: Keep your foot on the gas of Alaska LNG," Walker urged.

    Instead of moving forward with Walker's plans for a state-owned LNG project, however, Dunleavy is turning to Parnell to develop an industry-based approach.

    Larry Persily, former director of Alaska natural gas transportation projects under the Obama administration, said he anticipates that Dunleavy will have the Alaska gasline agency continue its efforts to secure a building permit from FERC.

    "I expect Gov.-elect Dunleavy, though he is skeptical of state control of the project, sees the wisdom of finishing the EIS and getting a decision from FERC, while waiting to see if private-sector partners sign on to pick up future development costs," Persily said.

    But he added, "I do not expect [Dunleavy] is willing to put any more state money into this project."

    Former state legislator Mike Hawker, who authored the bill that originally created AGDC, praised Dunleavy for asking for Parnell's help on the Alaska gasline project.

    "I really believe that Gov. Dunleavy working with former Gov. Parnell will restore the state of Alaska to an approach of getting our natural gas to market that recognizes the need to create alignment between industry, government and the market," Hawker said.

    "I believe we're back on the right track now of letting industry be industry and government be government."

    https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/11/14/stories/1060106035
    

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11. More Than 100 Expected to Testify at EPA Rule Hearing

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Energywire

    By Mike Soraghan

    Supporters and opponents of the Trump administration's proposed changes to methane rules for oil and gas will be squaring off today at a public hearing in Denver.

    The rule would allow oil and gas companies to check their wells for emissions less frequently than they do under the current rule enacted during the Obama administration.

    At least 125 people signed up ahead of time to speak at EPA's regional headquarters, according to a list posted online by EPA. Most speakers appear to represent environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and Moms Clean Air Force. But representatives of the American Petroleum Institute and Western Energy Alliance have also signed up to speak.

    Environmentalists are expected to lambaste the administration proposal for weakening the Obama-era rule. Oil and gas industry representatives are expected to praise the effort to make the rule less onerous, but they maintain that Trump officials missed opportunities to reduce regulatory burdens further.

    Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) is expected to submit testimony in support of keeping the existing rule, noting that Colorado has "aligned" methane restrictions.

    "I respectfully request that you learn from the very state that you have selected to host this public hearing in today and retain the EPA methane standards in full," Bennet states in the testimony released last night. "There is so much to gain for Colorado and the country."

    Under the proposal rolled out in September, operators would have to monitor wells on an annual basis and low-production operations every other year, rather than twice a year under the Obama-era rule (Energywire, Oct. 26).

    The changes, which EPA calls "targeted improvements," were sought by the oil and gas industry. The agency says it's leaving broader policy issues to be handled at a later date. Those issues could include whether methane should be directly regulated.

    Some oil and gas companies have taken a more pro-regulatory stance. Exxon Mobil Corp. has pledged to reduce its own methane emissions. And the head of XTO Energy Inc., an Exxon subsidiary, has voiced support for more comprehensive restrictions.

    EPA says the proposed reductions in monitoring and record-keeping will save oil and gas companies $484 million through 2025. That's much of the $530 million the rule was expected to cost drillers.

    The agency has said that higher emissions, degraded air quality, and "adverse health and welfare effects" will forgo benefits of the rule valued between $13.5 million and $54 million between 2019 and 2025.

    A key element of the plan is allowing companies to opt out of the relaxed federal rules if they abide by their state rules. The state's rules must be deemed "equivalent." The EPA proposal grants that status to six states — California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.

    The Obama-era rule remains in place for now, requiring companies to look for leaks in their equipment and repair them promptly.

    Today's session is the only public hearing EPA is planning to hold on its methane proposal. The comment period on the proposal is set to end Dec. 17.

    https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/11/14/stories/1060106173
    

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12. Zinke Sides with Tribes in Drilling Dispute

    Nov 13, 2018 | AP (In E&E News PM)

    By Matthew Brown

    The Trump administration plans to appeal a federal court ruling that would allow oil and gas drilling on land considered sacred to Native American tribes in Montana and Canada, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said today.

    Zinke said it would be inappropriate to allow drilling in northwestern Montana's Badger-Two Medicine area, site of the creation story for the Blackfeet tribes. He's asked government attorneys to appeal a September ruling that reinstated a nearly 10-square-mile oil and gas lease in the area bordering the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park (Energywire, Sept. 25).

    The lease had been canceled under President Obama at the urging of the tribes and environmentalists before it was reinstated by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon.

    "I have tremendous respect for the Blackfeet Nation and strongly believe resource development in these most sacred of lands would be inappropriate," Zinke said in an interview with the Associated Press.

    An appeal will pit Zinke's agency against an oil and gas company's development plans — a relatively uncommon position for the pro-energy Trump administration.

    Lease owner Solenex LLC of Baton Rouge, La., had urged Zinke to uphold its drilling rights.

    "I'm very disappointed," said Solenex attorney William Perry Pendley with the Mountain States Legal Foundation. "What Zinke is asking for is the right of a secretary of Interior to cancel any oil and gas lease at any time for any reason."

    Solenex has held the lease for more than 30 years. It has not yet drilled because of numerous bureaucratic delays within the U.S. departments of the Interior and Agriculture that prompted the company to sue in 2013.

    The Badger-Two Medicine area is part of the Rocky Mountain Front, a scenic expanse of forested mountains that's been subject to a long campaign to block oil and gas development and mining.

    Congress in 2006 provided tax breaks and other incentives that prompted 29 leaseholders to relinquish their drilling rights, but some leaseholders declined the offers. Fifteen leases in the area were given up voluntarily by Devon Energy Corp. in 2016, and the government later canceled what had been the last two leases in the area.

    https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2018/11/13/stories/1060106113
    

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13. Permian Oil Output Projected to Hit 3.7 Million Barrels a Day in December

    Nov 13, 2018 | Houston Chronicle

    By Rye Druzin

    Oil production in West Texas' Permian Basin is expected to continue to grow by 63,000 barrels a day in December to nearly 3.7 million barrels a day, according to government data.

    With the increase, the Permian would account for nearly half  -- 47 percent -- of oil production from the seven shale oil plays the Department of Energy studies in its monthly Drilling Productivity Report.

    The continued growth in the Permian comes despite a lack of pipeline capacity to move crude oil out of the remote region and to the Gulf Coast or to the Cushing oil hub. Billions of dollars are being spent building or upgrading pipelines out of West Texas to move millions more barrels of oil to market.

    The Permian Basin is the most productive oil field in the U.S. and spans West Texas and parts of southeastern New Mexico.
    

    Oil production in South Texas' Eagle Ford Shale and North Dakota's Bakken region is expected to grow by 17,000 and 15,000 barrels a day, respectively.

    Overall oil production for the seven shale oil and gas plays will be nearly 8 million barrels a day in December, an increase from November of 113,000 barrels a day.

    https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Permian-oil-production-to-hit-3-7-million-barrels-13388514.php
    

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14. U.S. Natural Gas Futures Rise Above $4 for First Time Since 2014

    Nov 13, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report

    By Christine Buurma

    U.S. natural gas futures jumped to $4 per million British thermal units for the first time in almost four years as a cold snap stoked concern that unusually low stockpiles will fall short of heating needs this winter.

    Gas has rallied 36 percent this year as inventories enter the peak heating season at the lowest level since 2003. That triggered speculation a supply crunch will send prices soaring even higher in the coming months.

    Though production from shale basins has climbed a record, the U.S. is exporting unprecedented volumes of the heating and power plant fuel to Mexico and overseas buyers as domestic demand climbs.

    Stockpiles totaled 3.208 trillion cubic feet as of Nov. 2—16 percent below the five-year average for the time of year.

    https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/us-natural-gas-futures-rise-above-4-for-first-time-since-2014
    

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15. Renewables Surge. Why That Won't Stop Warming

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Climatewire

    By Benjamin Storrow

    Renewable energy is now cheaper than natural gas and coal in parts of the United States. The only problem: Cheap renewables may not be enough to stop the world from warming to dangerously high levels.

    The dynamic is outlined in a pair of recent reports. The first, by the financial advisory firm Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, finds wind and solar costs have declined by 69 percent and 88 percent, respectively, over the last nine years. In some parts of America, renewables don't need subsidies to outcompete fossil fuels.

    That should be music to the ears of climate hawks.

    Yet the International Energy Agency's (IEA) annual World Energy Outlook outlines the scope of the challenge facing greens. The agency projects global energy demand will rise 25 percent through 2040 if it stays on its current trajectory.

    Even more vexing for would-be carbon cutters: The average coal plant in Asia is 11 years old, meaning emissions from the sector will likely be locked in for decades to come, even as older American plants are retiring.

    "If we're trying to avoid the absolute worst and scariest impacts of climate change, we should be transforming the energy system far faster than we are on the economics alone," said John Larsen, director of power sector and energy systems research at the Rhodium Group.

    The IEA's findings serve as a powerful reminder that the dynamics playing out in America's power sector are not mirrored everywhere.

    In the U.S., coal plant retirements in 2018 are nearing record highs, even as President Trump works to lessen the burden of environmental regulations (Climatewire, March 15).

    The Lazard report shows why. The levelized cost of energy — the total cost of building and running a power plant over its lifetime — for an onshore wind farm ranges from $29 per megawatt-hour to $56. Utility-scale solar costs are $36-$44 per MWh. And those numbers continue to decline. Average wind and solar costs fell by 7 and 13 percent from 2017 levels.

    By contrast, the cost of a coal plant was $60-$143 MWh while a combined-cycle natural gas plant registered at $41-$74 MWh.

    "Although diversified energy resources are still required for a modern grid, we have reached an inflection point where, in some cases, it is more cost effective to build and operate new alternative energy projects than to maintain existing conventional generation plants," George Bilicic, vice chairman and global head of Lazard's Power, Energy & Infrastructure Group, said in a statement.

    The IEA expects renewable growth to continue. It estimates renewables will account for two-thirds of all new power plant additions by 2040, growing from 25 percent of global electricity generation today to 40 percent.

    The report also lays out the challenges facing the world when it comes to tackling emissions. To keep up with rising oil demand, crude production would have to grow by 10 million barrels a day through 2025. That's roughly equivalent to Russian oil output, the world's third-largest crude producer.

    The demand comes despite projected gains by electric vehicles. In fact, it is being driven by the petrochemical, shipping and aviation sectors, areas of the economy almost completely reliant on petroleum products.

    "The fastest growing petroleum demand is the hardest to address from a climate perspective," said Larsen, noting other alternatives are not readily available in those sectors.

    Meanwhile, the IEA estimates that coal will still account for a third of total global emissions in 2030, driven by projects in Southeast Asia. That's one reason why the IEA sees global emissions edging higher in the future. Carbon emissions climbed 1.4 percent in 2017 (Climatewire, March 23).

    The IEA's analysis shows that 70 percent of all new energy investment will be government-driven.

    "This means that if the world is serious about meeting its climate targets then, as of today, there needs to be a systematic preference for investment in sustainable energy technologies," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

    https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/11/14/stories/1060106149
    

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Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.

Transportation and Infrastructure News

16. Investing in Infrastructure with a Gas Tax: Lessons from California

    Nov 14, 2018 | The Hill - Congress Blog

    By Joel Day

    This past election, California voters weighed in on Proposition 6: a measure aimed at repealing the so called “gas tax.” Proponents of the repeal argued against higher taxation and lost decisively at the ballot box. While this result still leaves roads, bridges, and transit massively underfunded at the state and local level, the root of the issue was the state wanting to fix a problem created by the federal government, where our Congress chronically subsidizes oil and gas at the expense of taxpayers.

    The gas tax, at the federal level, funds new infrastructure — such as roads, bridges, and rail — and is critical for addressing the devastating consequences of our cars’ carbon on the environment. The problem is that this tax is not pegged to inflation, and Congress, who has had no political will to raise the gas tax since 1993, has failed to use that power. So, in an act of political courage, states across the country are raising their own gas tax to fund infrastructure and climate resilience projects.

    While advocates for the tax are labeled “tax and spend liberals,” the reality is quite the opposite: I support the gas tax because it makes sense from a market economy point of view. The true cost of driving is not only the cost of car plus gas, but also the wear and tear on roads, costs of alleviating congestion, funding climate resilience, and other costly externalities of driving. The gas tax builds those costs into driving now, rather than burdening future generations with the consequences of our poor planning. It’s the true cost of the driving market.

    Most Americans are not interested in subsidizing either carbon polluters or traffic congestion by not charging users the true market price of driving. Instead, when we drive, we want safe roads and understand that those cost money. We want safe, well-marked bike lanes and understand that cars being on the road affect the ability for bikers to operate safely, which comes at a serious cost. We want the ability to build new transit alternatives, which should be paid for by an assessment on the status quo. These are the true costs of using fossil fuels, and whether one is a market liberal, social democrat, or fiscal conservative, there is no excuse for not factoring in those true costs.

    The federal gas tax was last raised in 1993 and is not indexed to inflation, which increased by a whopping 64.6 percent from 1993 until 2017. Costs are going up, and taxes should reflect that market-based reality so that we can solve climate and transit stressors.

    All this means two very important things for voters. First, California was absolutely right to create a higher gas tax to fix what Washington has gotten so wrong. The proponents of the measure would have been wise to make a serious argument about fixing the faults of Washington subsidizing oil and gas, rather than simply advocating for what was viewed as excess taxation. And second, our newly Democratic Congress and Democratic presidential candidates in 2020 should support plans that would index the federal gas tax to inflation and create a lock-box fund for that money to combat climate change and rebuild our country’s crumbling infrastructure.

    This is something that makes sense for progressive democrats, market liberals, fiscal conservatives, and climate hawks all at once: Don’t subsidize gas companies and then stick our kids and grandkids with the bill. Want to bring our country together and actually work on issues the majority agrees on? Start here.

    Joel Day, PhD, is Visiting Professor of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego and is a Security Fellow with Truman National Security Project. Views are his own.

    https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/416525-investing-in-infrastructure-with-a-gas-tax-lessons
    

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17. What’s Behind the Delays and Frustration Plaguing Metra’s BNSF?

    Nov 13, 2018 | WGN-TV

    By Amy Rutledge

    This summer was a tough one for riders of Metra’s BNSF line.  Passengers felt confused and frustrated and they dealt with delays, packed trains and a very crowded Union Station.

    It was the first Metra line to fully roll out Positive Train Control, or PTC.  PTC is a federally mandated system designed to stop a train before certain crashes could occur, including train-to-train collisions and deadly derailments like the one in Washington last year where the engineer missed an upcoming speed reduction.

    Dave Martinez is a manager of regulatory compliance for Metra.

    “BNSF led the industry nationwide and there’s been some questions as to why did we go to the heaviest used line first (for PTC),” he said. “It wasn’t directly our choice to go there but by going to that line we’re learning lessons that are going to help us on all of our lines.”

    The system uses GPS and communication software in conjunction with hundreds of wayside sensors to monitor the journey ahead including track grade and curve, the trains stopping distance, speed changes, construction zones and signals.  If a train is getting too close to a speed change or work zone, the system will warn the engineer and then stop the train.

    The system monitors every foot of track Metra trains travel across.

    PTC is now required on all railroads in the U.S., passenger and freight, including the 14 which operate in the Chicago region.

    But the problems and delays riders have noticed in recent months mean the added high tech safety means less money for upgrades to trains and the physical infrastructure.  PTC costs Metra $400 million by the time it’s fully deployed and $15 to $20 million a year to operate it.

    Metra CEO Jim Derwinski said upgrades will largely have to wait until a funding partner can be found. It’s been nearly a decade since the state legislature passed a capital bill to pay for transportation infrastructure.

    While Metra’s 2019 operating budget does not include a fare increase, the board has warned the system is deteriorating and might have to downsize unless capital shortfalls are addressed..

    Meanwhile PTC is rolling out on the Rock Island line now and Southwest service by the end of the year.  And some schedules, like on the BNSF, may be affected.

    https://wgntv.com/2018/11/13/whats-behind-the-delays-and-frustration-plaguing-metras-bnsf/
    

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Environment News

18. Pelosi Handles Climate Protest with Eye on Being Speaker

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Daily

    By George Cahlink

    House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not flash any anger yesterday when more than 150 activists and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) showed up in her office to loudly demand action on climate change.

    Instead, Pelosi tried to wave off Capitol Police from arresting the protesters and said she was "inspired" by their activism. The veteran lawmaker then sent out a release noting she would re-establish a select panel on climate change if she is elected speaker in the next Congress.

    Pelosi's handling of the protesters reflects the bet she is making as she seeks to reclaim the gavel that she held from 2007 to 2011. She believes her experience navigating the party's sometimes fractured and often raucous caucus will allow her to become speaker again when the new Congress convenes in January.

    House Democrats will caucus this morning for the first time since the elections, and Pelosi's future is certain to come up. But it won't be until after Thanksgiving that the party will vote on its next speaker, a pick that the full House will have to ratify in January.

    There were signs yesterday that Pelosi's approach might be paying off as freshmen-elect arrived on Capitol Hill for a two-week orientation. It would largely fall on newer members, including a freshman class of more than 50 Democrats, to propel change at the top, and none yet seems ready to go that far.

    "I want to see who is running and do appropriate due diligence," Rep.-elect Harley Rouda (D-Calif.), who defeated Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R) in a district that has traditionally favored Republicans, said when asked about Pelosi.

    Rep.-elect Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), who scored the surprise of the elections by winning a seat in deep-red Oklahoma, offered a similar sentiment. "I have said for some time we need new leadership, and I am going to make a decision based on the best interests of Oklahoma," she said.

    Both declined to say they would vote against Pelosi.

    Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), a Pelosi supporter who is poised to become Budget chairman, said he expects her to get the job, given no challengers have emerged, and expects some of the opposition from newcomers to dissipate as the size of the Democratic majority nears 40 seats.

    "I am sure some of them hedged a little bit," Yarmuth said of incoming members who signaled concerns about Pelosi on the campaign trail.

    Other incoming Democrats were squarely behind promoting the party's leader, citing in part her political savvy and track record.

    Rep.-elect Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), the former secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration, echoed a point made by several of Pelosi's allies that she was chiefly responsible for getting President Obama's health care law enacted in her previous tenure as speaker.

    "She is a skilled leader. She can manage the caucus, which is complicated," said Shalala.

    Rep.-elect Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) made an argument that has emerged during the past few weeks — Pelosi could serve as a transitional speaker until new leaders are ready to step up.

    "This era with this president in office, we need to navigate this in a careful and cautious way. There is no question we need strong, experienced leadership right now. I look forward to other leaders emerging as time goes on; there is no such person right now," said Haaland, who added that she is backing Pelosi.

    Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), who was sworn in last night to fill out the remainder of Republican Rep. Patrick Meehan's term and then will serve a full term come January, agreed there are no other options.

    "Right now, as far as I understand, she is the only person running, so that makes it a real easy decision," said Scanlon.

    Several freshmen stressed their interest in focusing on legislative issues, most notably health care and infrastructure, and oversight of the White House rather than having a bruising leadership fight.

    Rouda, for example, said he wants to focus on bipartisan infrastructure and climate action legislation.

    He added, "The voting public wants to see some checks and balances in Congress, and obviously we'll do our job."

    Even Ocasio-Cortez, who made her name ousting conference Chairman Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary earlier this year, seemed cautious in moving against Pelosi and offered her some praise after the protest.

    "One of the things I admire so much about Leader Pelosi is that she comes from a place of activism and organizing," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And so I think that she really appreciates civic engagement."

    https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2018/11/14/stories/1060106163
    

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19. Ocasio-Cortez, Youth Protesters Storm Pelosi Office to Push for Climate Plan

    Nov 13, 2018 | PoliticoPro

    By Anthony Adragna and Zack Colman

    More than 200 youth activists, flanked by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, flooded House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office this morning urging Democrats to act more decisively on climate change.

    Capitol Police said they arrested 51 protesters for unlawfully demonstrating outside Pelosi's office in the Cannon House Office Building. The arrests began a few hours after the demonstration began, when protesters refused to leave the area. Pelosi said she welcomed the protest and called on the police "to allow them to continue to organize and participate in our democracy.”

    Ocasio-Cortez, who left before the arrests began, said she was there to support the protesters and encourage Pelosi to listen to them. Ocasio-Cortez has not made clear yet whether she'll back Pelosi for speaker when Democrats hold leadership elections later this month, though noted today she's "looking forward to us working together."

    “We need a Green New Deal and we need to get to 100 percent renewables because our lives depend on it,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. “The IPCC themselves, they say we have 10 years left and I — not just as an elected member, but as a 29-year-old woman — am thinking not just about what we are going to accomplish in the next two years but the America that we’re going to live in in the next 30 years.”

    The Green New Deal has become a rallying cry for liberals who want to build out renewable energy through a big infrastructure and jobs package, though there are few specific plans on what it might entail. Protesters outside Pelosi's office held signs asking, “what is your plan?”

    Pelosi, though, will have to balance the desires of the party’s liberal wing and more moderate Democrats, all while keeping options open for the eventual White House nominee. Most observers don’t expect the caucus to tender ambitious climate change initiatives early in the new Congress following a campaign season that focused on health care and other priorities.

    Protestors lined the hallways wearing shirts that said, “we have a right to good jobs and a livable future” and “12 years,” the latter a reference to the time window outlined in a recent United Nations report to stave off the worse impacts of climate change. The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned last month that sharp cuts to global carbon emissions are needed by 2030 to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

    Pelosi welcomed the protesters and said she planned to address climate change by relaunching a special committee on the issue and including climate-related proposals in an infrastructure bill.

    “We are inspired by the energy and activism of the many young activists and advocates leading the way on the climate crisis, which threatens the health, economic security and futures of all our communities," Pelosi said in a statement. "I have recommended to my House Democratic colleagues that we reinstate a select committee to address the climate crisis. House Democrats ran on and won on our bold campaign for a $1 trillion investment in our infrastructure that will make our communities more resilient to the climate crisis, while creating 16 million new good-paying jobs across the country.

    Pelosi has racked up the support of many mainstream environmental groups like the League of Conservation Voters, who noted that she ushered the only successful cap and trade bill through the House back in 2009.

    But organizers of Tuesday's protest say the Democrats need more than a piecemeal approach like a panel to examine settled science.

    “Forty years ago, when we first knew about the science of climate change, that would’ve been a great first step,” said Garrett Blad, a volunteer with the Sunrise Movement, which organized the protest. “I think in 2018, when fires, floods, storms are getting worse and when the U.N. climate report says we have 12 years to radically transform our entire economy at a scale that’s unprecedented in human history, I think studying climate change is absolutely the wrong thing to do.”

    https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/article/2018/11/ocasio-cortez-youth-protesters-storm-pelosi-office-to-push-for-climate-plan-962915
    

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20. Dems Float Resolution Endorsing U.N. Findings

    Nov 13, 2018 | E&E News PM

    By Nick Sobczyk

    Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley and a list of other Democrats today floated a resolution endorsing the findings of the latest U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

    The nonbinding measure lays out the top-line findings of the report and recognizes "the need for bold climate action in response."

    It has little chance to pass with Republicans still in control of the House until January, but it does effectively lay out Democratic messaging on climate change in the next Congress.

    It's endorsed by groups such as the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists and has a plethora of Democratic co-sponsors, including Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva of Arizona and Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone of New Jersey.

    "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with IPCC recommendations is vital in avoiding the worst climate impacts of our generation and generations to come," Quigley said in a statement. "With the new majority in the 116th Congress, House Democrats will ensure that common-sense climate policy is a cornerstone of our legislative agenda."

    The IPCC report, released last month, offers dire warnings if global temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels. To keep temperatures in check, the report says, the world will have to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, a tall order for the United States, let alone the developing world.

    Democrats aren't likely to pass major climate legislation in the next Congress, despite controlling the House, but they intend to make global warming the subject of congressional oversight.

    New progressive members, however, are already pressing for more aggressive action.

    New York Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for instance, joined a large group of protesters in the office of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) this morning to push for a "Green New Deal" (Greenwire, Nov. 13).

    Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who plans to introduce a companion resolution in the Senate, said time is running out to come up with a solution.

    "There is no part of our nation that won't be seriously impacted by climate chaos," he said in a statement. "It's time for Congress to embrace the science and recognize that we have no time to waste in transitioning to clean and renewable energy."

    https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2018/11/13/stories/1060106125
    

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21. Pallone on Select Committee: 'I Don't Think It's Necessary'

    Nov 14, 2018 | E&E Daily

    By Nick Sobczyk and George Cahlink

    Rep. Frank Pallone does not like the idea of bringing back the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

    The New Jersey Democrat, who is poised to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress, yesterday called the proposed revival of the select panel unnecessary.

    "I just think right now we have great people who want to take action on climate change who would be chairing the committees of jurisdiction. We got a lot of people on the committees that are real champions, so I don't think it's necessary," Pallone told reporters last night in his first remarks on the proposal that has emerged as a priority for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who also aspires to be House speaker next session.

    Pallone's comments mark a mixed-up rehash of what happened last time Democrats instituted the select committee, from 2007 to 2010, when the panel held dozens of hearings and briefings but didn't have the power to pass legislation.

    Then-E&C Chairman John Dingell of Michigan was a staunch defender of his committee's jurisdiction as well as the auto industry, and he felt Pelosi had gone around him (Climatewire, Nov. 13).

    Pallone's concerns are different. He's a longtime climate action advocate. But his message is similar: The select panel is useless.

    Pallone, the Energy and Commerce Committee's current ranking member, noted the select panel would be a "fact-finding panel" without the authority to move legislation.

    Pelosi, meanwhile, underscored her push for the panel yesterday after climate activists, led by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), staged a protest in the leader's office seeking action on a host of environmental priorities (Greenwire, Nov. 13).

    Asked whether he had raised concerns with Pelosi, Pallone said, "The way I tell you I tell anyone who asks: I just don't think it's necessary."

    Pelosi and Pallone are not especially close. She backed Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) for ranking member of E&C in 2014 against Pallone, who prevailed. Since then, though, they have found common ground working on health care legislation.

    Pallone's opposition could also frustrate greens who heavily campaigned for Democrats this cycle and see the panel as a way to focus attention on global warming.

    Still, he may not be alone. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said other standing committee chairs "aren't excited about a committee that could potentially take away some of their power."

    For instance, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), who is in line to lead the Ways and Means Committee, might want to make sure any carbon-pricing legislation goes through his panel, Beyer said.

    There's also some debate among Democrats about what the select panel's role would be. Last time around, Pelosi stressed that the panel had no legislative jurisdiction, and Pallone suggested that's the way it would be again.

    But Ocasio-Cortez and the progressive wing of the party are pushing for it to have more teeth this time, and Pelosi told The New York Times that its reincarnation would pave the way for energy efficiency measures and legislation to reduce emissions.

    In any case, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Democrats would find a way to "navigate the jurisdictional tension."

    The select committee would likely serve a "coordinating function" among the standing committees of jurisdiction, he said.

    Huffman, who co-chairs the Democratic Environmental Message Team, likened its potential role to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which coordinates environmental policy across the government and performs "air traffic control."

    "Everyone understands that E&C has a really broad jurisdiction," he said. "And I really don't think this threatens the pre-eminence of the E&C Committee as the place where a lot of the policy — particularly on the energy side — is going to take place."Details still elusive

    Some Democrats are excited about a potential revival of the select committee but said the full details are yet to emerge in internal conversations.

    Huffman and Beyer both said they would like to be on the panel, and Rep. Don McEachin (D-Va.) said he would be open to it, as well.

    As for the chairmanship, "there will be the usual dogpile of members interested in a gavel in their hands, so we'll see where that goes," Huffman said.

    McEachin added that he was "unaware of any conversations" as of yet about who would take the gavel.

    It's also unclear who would take the Republican side of the committee. Advocates such as the Citizens' Climate Lobby — the group behind the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus — are hoping the GOP members come from the section of the party that has voiced concern about climate change.

    Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), co-sponsor of Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo's carbon tax bill, is one possibility in that vein.

    Beyer said he would "love" to lead the select committee but suggested that Pelosi might prefer someone in that position who isn't a white man, especially given the surge of women who are set to take office in January.

    "I think I know her well enough to know that she will want to make the committee look like not just Congress, but look like the various communities that we represent," Beyer said. "For example, I think she'll have a strong emphasis on environmental justice. Make sure that it's not just coastal people from affluent communities."

    Beyer added that it would be a "lose-lose" proposition to embark on a fight over the climate committee's jurisdiction.

    But he said that if it simply exists to raise awareness, "that'd be really valuable, especially in an era when the Trump administration removes the words 'climate change' from every website."

    https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2018/11/14/stories/1060106169
    

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