Preview Newsletter
AM ACC Clips Report - December 12, 2018
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(ACC Mentioned) Louisville Breeds Successful Swimmers Despite Limited Pool Space
Dec 11, 2018 | WHAS11
By Juliana Valencia
...According to the American Chemistry Council, chloramines are the result of chlorine disinfectants mixing with sweat, oils, and urine that enter pools on the bodies of swimmers. -
Whole Foods Removing Hot-Food-Bar Packaging After Chemical Study
Dec 11, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tiffany Kary and Deena Shanker
Whole Foods Market ranked last in a study of five major U.S. grocery chains for chemicals it uses in packaging at its popular hot-food bar. -
Senator Presses for Release of IRIS Formaldehyde Assessment
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
US Senator Edward Markey (D–Massachusetts) has reiterated his call for the EPA to progress its long-delayed Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of formaldehyde. -
U.S. House Bill Aims to Boost Detection of PFAS in Environment
Dec 11, 2018 | The Detroit News
By Melissa Nann Burke
Michigan lawmakers are introducing bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House this week seeking to expedite the federal government's detection of contamination by harmful fluorinated compounds known as PFAS chemicals. -
Butanone, Antimony Most Reported Substances in Oregon Scheme
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Methyl ethyl ketone and antimony were the 'chemicals of concern' most frequently reported as present in children's products sold in Oregon last year, according to a recent NGO review of the state’s reporting scheme. -
Aise Urges Drive to Improve Compliance on Safe-Use Packaging
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Caterina Tani
An EU trade body has called on trade associations, national enforcement authorities, Echa and the European Commission to develop a joint initiative to promote safe packaging requirements for hazardous chemicals. -
EU Opens Consultation on Amending Two REACH Annexes
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has opened a four week consultation on modifying Annexes I and V of the REACH Regulation. -
Coal Supporter Manchin Named Top Dem on Senate Energy Committee
Dec 11, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Senate Democrats on Tuesday named Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, despite objections by progressive groups. -
Revised Clean Water Rule Seen as Positive for Oil, Gas Industry
Dec 11, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
In a positive development for the oil and gas industry, but one that is also sure to generate legal challenges from environmental groups, the Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled a narrowed definition about which waterbodies deserve protection under the federal Clean Water Act. -
Dems Gear up to Fight Interior's ANWR Drilling Plans
Dec 11, 2018 | E&E News PM
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
House Democratic leaders are promising to fight Trump administration plans to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas development when the Democrats take control of the House in the new year. -
More Than 100,000 People Want to Keep Fracking out of the Delaware River Basin. What Will Murphy Do?
Dec 12, 2018 | NJ.com
By Michael Sol Warren
Fracking is still big business in Pennsylvania. -
DOE Sued over FOIA Request for Tax Credit Lobbying Records
Dec 11, 2018 | E&E News PM
By Christa Marshall
A conservative group sued the Department of Energy today seeking lobbying records related to a federal tax credit for storing captured carbon dioxide. -
Comment Period Extended on Beaufort Sea Leasing Plan
Dec 12, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
Federal regulators are rescheduling three public hearings and extending the comment period on a proposal to sell oil and gas leases next year in Alaska's Beaufort Sea. -
Industry Wants Taxpayer Help to Fix Pollution Problem
Dec 12, 2018 | Bloomberg (In E&E Climatewire)
By Jeremy Hodges
Some of the world's biggest fossil-fuel producers are calling on taxpayers to help them kick their pollution habit. -
Key Stream Definition in New EPA Water Rule Looks Clear as Mud
Dec 11, 2018 | PoliticoPro
By Annie Snider
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is promising that landowners will be able to walk out on their property and know on their own whether a stream or wetland falls under Clean Water Act jurisdiction. -
States Cite Climate Report in Urging EPA to Withdraw GHG Rollbacks
Dec 11, 2018 | Inside EPA
Led by New York and California, a coalition of 29 states, counties and cities are citing the Trump administration's recent National Climate Assessment (NCA) that forecasts dire impacts from climate change to urge EPA to withdraw its proposals to roll back greenhouse gas regulations on vehicles and power plants. -
Dems See a Budding Movement, 'Public Enthusiasm' in Sunrise
Dec 12, 2018 | E&E Daily
By Nick Sobczyk
It's becoming a near-daily refrain on Capitol Hill: The Sunrise Movement has grown its coalition.
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(ACC Mentioned) Louisville Breeds Successful Swimmers Despite Limited Pool Space
Dec 11, 2018 | WHAS11
By Juliana Valencia
Louisville may be known for basketball, but in terms of high school sports, most college recruits are swimmers. In fact, 20 of the state's top 50 swimming recruits this year are from Louisville.
For a city producing D1, even Olympic swimmers, our community is said to be "pool poor". A study to look into getting a new aquatics center for Louisville is underway. Two public meetings are happening this month on the 11th and 15th for comment.
There have been discussions of getting this study for more than a year now. The $25,000 study is focusing on four types of users: recreation groups, competition, instructional, and wellness/therapy groups.
From 5:30 in the morning to 9 p.m., the water at the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic center is moving. Lakeside swimmer Caroline Mercer is one of about 600 people who use this pool daily.
“Even though it's really hard, I get a lot out of it, and it will help me out a lot in life. It helps me work hard for something I want but not just for myself but for my team,” Mercer said.
Some of the groups include triathlon groups, Bellarmine University, the Marine Corp., LMPD's dive team, in addition to the general public. During swim meets there can be as many as 1,000 people at the aquatic center.
Caroline's mom, Mary Lois Mercer, says building a new facility is necessary.
“At meets, there's nowhere to sit for the swimmers. There's nowhere for the parents to sit and they are unable to see their swimmers at a meet here," Lois Mercer said.
She says the crowds can also make air quality an issue.
"Every indoor facility has an issue, and struggles with air quality on a daily basis," Lois Mercer.
The "pool smell" that makes it difficult for swimmers to breathe is the effect of chloramines, which is a problem for most indoor facilities. According to the American Chemistry Council, chloramines are the result of chlorine disinfectants mixing with sweat, oils, and urine that enter pools on the bodies of swimmers. By showering before entering the pool, swimmers can help minimize pool smell, which leads to coughing and irritated eyes. The more swimmers there are, the worse it can get. That's why more swimmers often complain about air quality during meets.
Louisville Parks and Recreation invested $2.2 million dollars into a new HVAC and light system in 2015. Interim Louisville Parks and Recreation Director Dana Kasler says other filtration systems have been put in through 2017 as well. He says while a new aquatic center could improve air quality, the issue of chloramines developing is still there.
Kasler says what's unique about this study is that six different groups are helping fund it. The city of Louisville, the University of Louisville, Jefferson County Public Schools, and Bellarmine University Hospital each contributed $5,000. Kasler says the owner of Norton Healthcare is giving $2,500, Myrtha Pools is providing $2,000 and Swimville USA is paying $500.
Lakeside Swim team Head Coach Mike DeBoor says the economic benefit for the city could be huge.
"The hotel rooms, the restaurants, the impact of visitors coming to the city," DeBoor said.
The University of Louisville has a nicer newer aquatic center, but space is still an issue. Their pool also doesn’t meet some of the standards required for certain swim meets.
"The space is drastically needed and to be done well. I think of UofL with the ACC championship issues. It’s a great facility but it's limited to what you can do,” DeBoor said.
A national’s meet could bring in 3,000 people, and Louisville has a lot to offer in terms of competition.
“The University of Louisville has done an outstanding job. They’ve been huge on the international level as we have on the Lakeside level with an Olympian in '04, '08, and '12. I don’t think any sport can match that. As far as Division 1 athletes, I think we have over 45 D1 athletes training right now,” DeBoor said.
The Lakeside Swim team has produced 10 U.S. Olympians over the years like siblings Clark and Caroline Burckle. Even the aquatic center is named after a 3-time Louisville Olympian - Mary T. Meagher.
“Even though we don't have the best facility we are still one of the top teams so think where we could be if we had everything other teams have,” Mercer said.
In November, pool consultant Counsilman-Hunsaker started creating the needs assessment. The public meetings are on 11th at Cyril Allgeier Community Center from 6 to 8pm, and December 15th at Central High School from 1 to 3 p.m.
"The Yum! Center is the standard in basketball arenas. If we go somewhere else, we don't think it's as nice. You need to open those doors up and be willing to bring those things in the community," DeBoor said.
Kasler hopes that by the end of January the feasibility study on the aquatics center will be finished. Once the feasibility study is done, they will need to acquire funding, establish a design team, and then start the design process. After that, would be the bidding for constructions. Kasler says it will be about a two-year process once funding is acquired.
https://www.whas11.com/article/news/louisville-breeds-successful-swimmers-despite-limited-pool-space/417-622887509
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Whole Foods Removing Hot-Food-Bar Packaging After Chemical Study
Dec 11, 2018 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tiffany Kary and Deena Shanker
Whole Foods Market ranked last in a study of five major U.S. grocery chains for chemicals it uses in packaging at its popular hot-food bar. In response, the company said it has removed all the coated paper products in question and has started a search for new biodegradable packaging.
The study—released by watchdog groups Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and Toxic-Free Future—found Whole Foods had the highest level of food contact papers that appear to have been treated with a class of chemicals, some of which have been linked to cancer. It found high levels of fluorine in five of the 17 items tested at Whole Foods—four of which were containers for its salad and hot-food bar.
“Whole Foods Market introduced compostable containers to reduce our environmental footprint, but given new concerns about the possible presence of PFAS, we have removed all prepared foods and bakery packaging highlighted in the report,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We’re actively working with our suppliers to find and scale new compostable packaging options.”
Albertsons, KrogerOther grocers, including Albertsons, Kroger, and Ahold Delhaize NV, the owner of Food Lion and Stop & Shop, had fewer items that tested positive for the substances. These were usually deli or bakery papers. Trader Joe’s was the only company that had zero items.
PFAS are widely used in waterproof or stain-proof fabrics and electronics. The substances help prevent grease from soaking through paper in food contact materials.
Many kinds of PFAS are widely found in U.S. drinking water supplies, and lawsuits from states, water districts and people who claim personal injury or property damage allege pollution through industrial sites or their use in fire-fighting foams.
The development highlights how chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are drawing greater attention from consumers. The substances also are the target of renewed scrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/whole-foods-removing-hot-food-bar-packaging-after-chemical-study
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Senator Presses for Release of IRIS Formaldehyde Assessment
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
US Senator Edward Markey (D–Massachusetts) has reiterated his call for the EPA to progress its long-delayed Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of formaldehyde.
The controversial evaluation is said to link the substance to leukaemia in the face of loud industry dissent. And suspicions have arisen that this pushback has slowed its release by more than a year.
The issue surfaced during the recent nomination process for Peter Wright to serve as the EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. According to Mr Markey, the agency then made "a commitment to abide by the normal IRIS process and timeline" .
And Senator Markey has seized on this to press the EPA to "keep its promise and move forward with the release of the long-overdue formaldehyde report".
"The EPA has succumbed to pressure from industry for far too long, endangering the public’s health," he added. "I urge the EPA to ensure that there are no more efforts to delay or block the publication of this assessment."
Formaldehyde is used in manufactured wood products, glues and adhesives, paints and other products.
In August, EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler hinted that the agency may be revisiting the science underlying the assessment in line with industry requests. He did not indicate a timeline for its formal release.
Meanwhile, the NGO Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a lawsuit on the agency's failure to respond to a public records request related to the assessment.
Kevin Bell, staff counsel at PEER, told Chemical Watch that the litigation is ongoing. Negotiations are underway over the agency's proposed search terms and determining whose emails will be searched under the FOIA request.
But, he added, the draft terms the agency had sent "don’t seem to acknowledge the possibility that they might provide us the draft health assessment itself, which is the actual goal of the litigation, just emails about it."
The EPA did not respond to a request for comment on the current status of the assessment or why its release has been delayed.
https://chemicalwatch.com/72745/senator-presses-for-release-of-iris-formaldehyde-assessment
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U.S. House Bill Aims to Boost Detection of PFAS in Environment
Dec 11, 2018 | The Detroit News
By Melissa Nann Burke
Michigan lawmakers are introducing bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House this week seeking to expedite the federal government's detection of contamination by harmful fluorinated compounds known as PFAS chemicals.
U.S. Reps. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, and Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, are pushing the bill regarding PFAS contamination after toxic compounds were detected at high levels in at least 34 sites throughout Michigan, including around military bases in Oscoda, Alpena and Grayling.
PFAS chemicals have long been used in products such as Teflon, Scotchgard and firefighting foam.
The PFAS Detection Act would designate $50 million over five years for the U.S. Geological Survey to set a performance standard and develop new technologies to detect PFAS in the environment.
The legislation also requires the Geological Survey agency to conduct nationwide sampling for PFAS chemicals to determine the concentration of perfluorinated compounds in water, air and soil, starting with areas with confirmed or suspected PFAS contamination.
That data could be shared with states like Michigan to help identify contamination and better protect communities, the lawmakers said.
"There’s been a lot of conversation as these particular sites have been revealed about how ubiquitous PFAS is in our environment, but there’s not really good data — just a lot of speculation based on history — about how many sites there might be or where they are located," said Kildee, whose district includes the affected area around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base.
"Step one in dealing with a contamination of this magnitude is getting our arms around the size and scope of the problem and sharing that with the relevant agencies of the government."
Bergman said his district includes five sites with confirmed PFAS contamination, including Escanaba, Alpena and Grayling.
"We introduced this bill to continue our work on gaining a better understanding of how the problem arose and what must be done to remedy the situation," Bergman said.
"As we know, this was not intentional. This was people at the time doing what they thought was right but, as it turned out, it had a long-term negative effect."
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, previously introduced a version of the bill in the Senate with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota.
Other sponsors of the House bill include Reps. Sandy Levin, D-Royal Oak; Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn; Peter Welch, D-Vermont; and Jared Huffman, D-California.
PFAS compounds have been used in manufacturing to make carpets, clothing, furniture fabrics, packaging for food and other products resistant to water, grease or stains.
Starting in the 1970s, the Department of Defense used firefighting foam containing two well-known PFAS compounds — PFOS and sometimes PFOA — for emergency response and training.
Health officials have said the continued exposure to certain PFAS chemicals in drinking water could harm human health. Studies link exposure to developmental effects on fetuses, cancer and effects on liver and immunity function, among other issues.
Michigan lawmakers are pushing another bill in Congress, the PFAS Accountability Act, which would create reporting requirements and deadlines for cleaning up PFAS contamination at federal facilities, including current and decommissioned military bases.
That bill was introduced earlier this year in the Senate by Stabenow and in the House by Reps. Kildee; Dingell; Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph; and Tim Walberg, R-Tipton.
The legislation urges federal agencies to expedite or amend cooperative agreements with states to produce a plan of action within a year of a request from the state.
Stabenow's office has said such agreements would lay out actions that federal authorities would take and guarantee states and local communities are reimbursed for costs incurred to address PFAS contamination.
Both bills are expected to be reintroduced in the next session of Congress starting in January if not taken up by year's end.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/12/11/house-bill-pfas-detection/2279210002/
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Butanone, Antimony Most Reported Substances in Oregon Scheme
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Methyl ethyl ketone and antimony were the 'chemicals of concern' most frequently reported as present in children's products sold in Oregon last year, according to a recent NGO review of the state’s reporting scheme.
Under the Toxic-Free Kids programme, manufacturers of children's products must report to the Oregon Health Authority if any such items sold in the state contain one of more than 60 chemicals that appear on the High Priority Chemicals of Concern for Children's Health (HPCCCH) list.
According to a roundup from the NGO Oregon Environmental Council, methyl ethyl ketone (also known as butanone) was the most frequently reported substance in 2017, with 664 occurrences. The solvent is used in surface coatings, adhesives, printing inks, chemical intermediates, magnetic tapes and lube oil dewaxing agents.
Antimony came a close second with 635 reports. Antimony alloys are used in batteries and cable sheathing. Its compounds are used to make flame-resistant materials among other things.
Other substances with more than 100 reported instances of a children's product sold in the state include:ethylene glycol (463);styrene (365);cobalt and its compounds (244);ethylbenzene (191);toluene (191);molybdenum and its compounds (169);formaldehyde (158); anddi-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) (127).
Under Oregon's reporting scheme, the first biennial notices were due on 1 January this year for products containing intentionally added HPCCCH substances above de minimis levels.
The OEC points out that the data is available only at the product category ('brick') level, and does not correspond to specific products. And it notes that while the substances have been linked to health impacts for children, their presence in a product does not necessarily indicate an increased risk for these.
Earlier this autumn, the state made several amendments to its fees and notification requirements, and expanded its list of reportable substances.
In the coming year, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) will begin to implement the third phase of the 2015 Toxic-Free Kids Act. This will detail the process for manufacturers to either remove chemicals of concern from their products or seek a waiver for their continued use.
https://chemicalwatch.com/72749/butanone-antimony-most-reported-substances-in-oregon-scheme
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Aise Urges Drive to Improve Compliance on Safe-Use Packaging
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Caterina Tani
An EU trade body has called on trade associations, national enforcement authorities, Echa and the European Commission to develop a joint initiative to promote safe packaging requirements for hazardous chemicals.
The initiative outlined by the soap and detergents group Aise aims to help retailers, distributors, SMEs and other supply chain actors to meet CLP requirements on child-resistant fastenings (CRF) and tactile warnings of danger (TWD).
It was presented at the Echa Enforcement Forum meeting on 13-16 November.
Aise’s call follows a 2015 Echa Enforcement Forum pilot project that found a high number of inspected SMEs (70%) and retail or wholesale traders (around 68%) were not compliant with the CRF and TWD requirements. This suggested that those supply-chain actors were "ill-equipped" to deal with CLP obligations, Aise said.
According to the trade body, the initiative should include "practical, accessible and concise" tools in line with the Forum’s recommendation to the industry.
In particular, Aise said, it should provide:guidance outlining what CRF and TWD requirements intermediate and terminal level supply chains are subject to, with a specific emphasis on the certification process and documentation required to support it;implementation aids, check-lists or decision-making trees to compliment guidance, assist decision making and internal review/audit processes; andawareness raising/outreach activities, such as information sessions, email campaigns and networking.
The Forum pilot project was carried out across 15 EU and European Economic Area countries in 2015, with the results published in June 2016.
Out of 797 inspected products containing hazardous chemicals, almost one third (230) did not meet the requirements under the CLP Regulation. Aise said more than a half of the overall products tested (415) were cleaning or maintenance products.Industry advice
Considering the "relatively high non-compliance rate" identified by the Forum during its pilot project, and the ongoing enforcement project on classification, labelling and packaging (Ref-6) – launched by the Forum in November 2016, Aise advised its members to:periodically review product classifications, evaluate if labelling and packaging obligations are being met and act if necessary, particularly in relation to CRF and TWD;ensure that packaging conformity certificates are readily available in the supply chain; andensure packaging is certified by an accredited laboratory.
The last two suggestions are in line with the Forum’s recommendations to industry.
The trade body intends to "further develop" this working item in the coming months, Aise’s Roberto Scazzola told Chemical Watch.
The provisions on safe packaging and child-resistant fastenings are included in Article 35 (2) of the CLP Regulation.
https://chemicalwatch.com/72746/aise-urges-drive-to-improve-compliance-on-safe-use-packaging
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EU Opens Consultation on Amending Two REACH Annexes
Dec 12, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has opened a four week consultation on modifying Annexes I and V of the REACH Regulation.
The aim is to align the annexes with the classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) Regulation. The Commission notice says that changes are necessary because the existing terminology, which concern entries for digestate, "comes from two old Directives that were repealed by CLP".
Digestate is a residual semisolid or liquid material of anaerobic digestion processes of biodegradable materials originating from non-hazardous sources, such as food waste, manure and energy crops.
The consultation runs from 10 December until 7 January 2019.
https://chemicalwatch.com/72747/eu-opens-consultation-on-amending-two-reach-annexes
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Coal Supporter Manchin Named Top Dem on Senate Energy Committee
Dec 11, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Senate Democrats on Tuesday named Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, despite objections by progressive groups.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced the appointment, along with the ranking members of other panels.
While Senate Democrats decide committee leadership roles by seniority, the Democratic caucus ratified the lineup.ADVERTISEMENT
“I am excited for the opportunity to continue to serve West Virginians in this new role as the lead Democrat on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,” Manchin said in a statement.
“This committee has a long history of bipartisanship that has helped propel our nation’s energy technology forward. West Virginia is a leading energy producer and major contributor to advanced energy technologies, and I intend to ensure this progress is continued,” he said.
“The problems facing our country are serious, and I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find common sense solutions for long-term comprehensive energy policy that incorporates an all-of-the-above strategy and ensures our state and our nation are leaders in the energy future.”
The panel oversees the Energy and Interior departments, including public lands, energy policy, energy efficiency standards and fossil fuel production on federal land and offshore.
Manchin, who won a rough reelection race last month, is a strong supporter of the coal industry and frequently sides with the Trump administration and the GOP on energy matters. He famously shot a copy of the Democrats' cap-and-trade climate change bill in a 2010 campaign commercial to demonstrate his opposition to it and support for coal.
But he voted last week against Bernard McNamee, President Trump’s nominee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It was a flip from his vote in the Energy Committee, and he said it was because McNamee denied the science of climate change.
Congressional Democrats generally favor moving away from fossil fuels like coal, which cause climate change.
Environmentalists have for weeks slammed Manchin and called on Schumer to use his authority to name someone else ranking member.
"Joe Manchin’s appointment as ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee is a stark failure of Chuck Schumer’s leadership," Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. "Schumer is out of touch with the progressive voters who will continue to push for a Green New Deal in the next Congress."
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) also called on Senate leaders to stop Manchin’s ascension, circulating a petition last week to try to convince him.
Manchin, meanwhile, has promised to go in with an open mind and take seriously concerns of the rest of the Democratic caucus, environmentalists, renewable energy advocates and others.
“Hopefully there’s concern over nothing, because I’m happy to work with everybody,” he said last week.
Four senators outranked Manchin in seniority and could have blocked him from becoming ranking member. But each wanted instead to be ranking member of another committee.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking member since 2015, took over as the top Democrat on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. That spot opened up because Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) lost reelection last month.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) remained atop the Finance Committee, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) kept the top spot on the Agriculture Committee and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) kept the ranking position on the Budget Committee.
Some progressive had pushed for Sanders to move to the Energy Committee ranking spot, but he refused. He declined Tuesday to answer reporters’ questions about his decision.
The National Wildlife Federation welcomed Manchin’s leadership.
“At a time when Republicans control the U.S. Senate, Senator Manchin’s leadership atop the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee presents us with a bipartisan bridge-builder who could help us confront America’s wildlife crisis and find other durable solutions to the challenges we face,” Collin O’Mara, the group’s president, said in a statement.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/420886-coal-supporter-manchin-named-top-dem-on-senate-energy-committee
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Revised Clean Water Rule Seen as Positive for Oil, Gas Industry
Dec 11, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Charlie Passut
In a positive development for the oil and gas industry, but one that is also sure to generate legal challenges from environmental groups, the Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled a narrowed definition about which waterbodies deserve protection under the federal Clean Water Act.
Under a proposed rule signed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers, some types of ditches and wetlands would be excluded from the official definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). Specifically, the agencies proposed limiting the definition of a "tributary" to include perennial or intermittent waterbodies, but not ephemeral ones, while the definition of "wetlands" would include those adjacent to other water features under the agencies' jurisdiction, but not isolated wetlands.
"The agencies believe that limiting jurisdiction to perennial and intermittent streams most appropriately balances the federal government's interest in regulation [of] the nation's navigable waters while respecting state land use authority over features that are only episodically wet following precipitation events," the agencies said in the pre-published version of the proposed rule.
Also proposed is a new definition for ditches that would include those built in a tributary, satisfy the definition of a tributary, or are constructed in adjacent wetlands. All other types of ditches would be excluded. A new definition for "lakes and ponds" was also proposed, as was dropping "interstate waters" as a separate category.
The American Petroleum Institute told NGI’s Shale Daily that it "appreciates the efforts of the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to solicit feedback from stakeholders during the creation of the replacement rule. We look forward to a new water rule that protects U.S. waters while providing much needed clarity for all stakeholders, including property owners, land developers, and state regulators."
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute CEO Karen Harbert said the proposed rule "is good news for businesses, farmers and localities because it strikes a better balance between economic growth and environmental progress than the rule it replaces."
The proposed rule effectively completes the second in a two-step process to review and revise the controversial Clean Water Rule (CWR). The first step was completed last year, when EPA announced it would rescind the WOTUS definition and accepted public comments on the matter.
EPA and the Army Corps said they would accept public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register.
The agencies jointly promulgated the CWR and unveiled it in May 2015, during the Obama administration. But in October of that year, the Sixth District Court issued a stay and blockedit from being implemented. President Trump signed an executive order in February 2017 instructing EPA and the Army Corps to review the CWR. EPA said it would repeal, rather than modify, the WOTUS definition last July.
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/116746-revised-clean-water-rule-seen-as-positive-for-oil-gas-industry
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Dems Gear up to Fight Interior's ANWR Drilling Plans
Dec 11, 2018 | E&E News PM
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
House Democratic leaders are promising to fight Trump administration plans to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas development when the Democrats take control of the House in the new year.
At a rally today for the 58th anniversary of the Arctic refuge, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Democrats will hold oversight hearings and introduce legislation to protect ANWR and other places that are sacred for Native people.
"The Trump administration and the Republican Congress are putting the profits of big corporations over our Native communities," Hoyer said. "That is wrong. That should not be done. As a country, we must respect the human rights of all of our people and their way of life."
After his speech, Hoyer said the Democrats are hoping to pass measures to protect ANWR despite Republicans' continued control over the Senate.
"You say [Arctic refuge] legislation won't pass the Senate?" Hoyer asked. "Very frankly, there are a lot of Republicans who represent a large number of Native Americans. And if they listen to them, I'm not at all sure we won't get some help from them."
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), House Natural Resources Committee vice ranking member, said he will reintroduce the "Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act," which would designate the Arctic refuge's 1.6-million-acre coastal plain as wilderness and bar future oil drilling.
He criticized Senate Republicans for using the 2017 tax bill as a vehicle for opening the door to leasing in the coastal plain. Since that measure passed, the Bureau of Land Management has held a series of hearings and begun drafting an environmental impact statement on government plans to auction off oil and gas leases in the region.
Huffman charged that Trump administration officials are rushing ahead with their review of proposals to allow drilling in the Arctic.
"The administration's review process has destroyed any chance of scientifically sound review or tribal consultation to assess the serious biological, culture, climate impacts of their fossil fuel extraction plans, including the impacts on the Gwich'in people ... who have relied on the Arctic refuge for generations," he said.
Huffman insisted that Arctic drilling could be stopped by "applying pressure in the courts. We need to keep pushing back on the regulatory process to slow it down in every way that we can until the new Democratic Congress can get in and fight this fight."
The Democrats made their comments as tribal leaders from the Gwich'in Nation in Alaska, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Navajo Nation and Lummi Nation rallied in Washington in opposition to drilling in the Arctic refuge.
Gwich'in Steering Committee Executive Director Bernadette Demientieff argued that the Trump administration's plans to allow drilling in the refuge threaten the future of her people.
"For us as Gwich'in, our home, our very existence and identity is under threat," she said. "The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a sacred place. We want to continue to live our cultural and traditional way of life with the Porcupine caribou herd. It is our basic human right to continue to feed our families and practice our traditions."
https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2018/12/11/stories/1060109351
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More Than 100,000 People Want to Keep Fracking out of the Delaware River Basin. What Will Murphy Do?
Dec 12, 2018 | NJ.com
By Michael Sol Warren
Fracking is still big business in Pennsylvania.
More than 7,000 wells in the Keystone State have been sunk into the Marcellus Shale, reaching out through the ground to seek out and recover oil and gas.
But since the beginning, fracking has come with public health concerns. People worry that the chemical cocktails that are pumped through the ground to force out oil and gas will make their ways into drinking water supplies. And those same concerns surround the wastewater produced by the fracking process.
Now, thousands of people want Gov. Phil Murphy to make sure fracking and those public health risks never come to New Jersey.
Environmental activists delivered more than 104,101 petitions calling for a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin to Murphy’s office on Tuesday. The petitions also call for a ban on processing and disposing fracking wastewater in the river basin, and a ban on exporting water from the river basin to be used for fracking elsewhere.
The petitions were signed by people living in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. All four of those states are part of the Delaware River Basin, a watershed that supplies drinking water for about 17 million people, including 2.9 million in New Jersey. The petitions were also delivered to the governors of New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Murphy serves as the current chair of the Delaware River Basin Commission. The interstate organization, which is made up of the governors of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware as well as the Army Corps of Engineers, manages the health and use of the Delaware River.
In February, Murphy announced his support for a ban on fracking in the river basin.
The DRBC has had a temporary moratorium on fracking in the river basin since 2010. A permanent ban on fracking is currently being considered by the DRBC, but environmentalists say the measure doesn’t go far enough because it allows for fracking waste to be dumped in the river basin.
“Having a partial ban that actually allows the dumping of fracking waste still puts the drinking water and environment of the Basin at risk,” Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said. “This could lead to pollution and contaminated drinking water for tens of millions of people.”
In Trenton, state lawmakers are pushing a bipartisan resolution, SCR150, through the legislature that calls on Murphy to make sure the DRBC’s fracking ban includes a ban on fracking wastewater and a ban on exporting water from the watershed to be used for fracking elsewhere.
“Fracking and fracking waste should get kept out of the Delaware River watershed. New Jersey’s drinking water sources shouldn’t be placed in danger by out-of-state fracking companies discharging their pollution into our watershed,” said Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex,) a lead co-sponsor of SCR150. “I urge Gov. Murphy to do everything he can to ensure the DRBC moves forward with a full ban on fracking and fracking waste in the Delaware watershed.”
There is currently no fracking in New Jersey, but there is no statewide ban on the practice either. A one-year ban existed in the state from 2012 to 2013. Gov. Chris Christie had repeatedly vetoed efforts to ban the dumping of fracking waste in New Jersey.
https://www.nj.com/news/2018/12/more-than-100000-people-want-to-keep-fracking-out-of-the-delaware-river-basin-what-will-murphy-do.html
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DOE Sued over FOIA Request for Tax Credit Lobbying Records
Dec 11, 2018 | E&E News PM
By Christa Marshall
A conservative group sued the Department of Energy today seeking lobbying records related to a federal tax credit for storing captured carbon dioxide.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute charged that DOE failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request in 2017 seeking correspondence and records about a credit under Section 45Q of the tax code. Congress passed legislation in February that more than doubled the value of the 45Q credits for stored CO2 and eliminated a cap on the program.
According to CEI's complaint, DOE slowed down its response to the FOIA request "as the lobbying campaign intensified to expand 45Q" last year.
"The Department of Energy suddenly slammed on the brakes, and has refused to release any of the records it had identified as responsive," said CEI senior fellow Chris Horner. "The program is a consequential one, the campaign to expand it is disturbing, and DOE's behavior is remarkable."
Along with compelling DOE to release the records, CEI is requesting payment of attorney fees.
DOE said in a statement that it does not respond to pending litigation.
Many climate and industry advocates hailed passage of the expanded credits and said they would be critical to building more projects that remove carbon dioxide emissions resulting from fossil fuel use. Others called them a giveaway to coal, oil and gas (Greenwire, May 23).
There have been several lawsuits against DOE this year requesting documents from FOIA requests, including one last week seeking information about a canceled solar grant announcement.
https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2018/12/11/stories/1060109355
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Comment Period Extended on Beaufort Sea Leasing Plan
Dec 12, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
Federal regulators are rescheduling three public hearings and extending the comment period on a proposal to sell oil and gas leases next year in Alaska's Beaufort Sea.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management canceled hearings in three North Slope Native villages after south-central Alaska was hit by a 7.0 earthquake Nov. 30.
Under the new schedule, meetings are planned in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) on Dec. 17, in Nuiqsut on Dec. 18 and in Kaktovik on Dec. 19. The bureau has already held one public scoping session in Anchorage.
BOEM also announced that it will take public comments on the Beaufort Sea leasing proposal through Jan. 4. The original deadline for comments was Dec. 17.
At issue is a government plan to draft an environmental impact statement on leasing in the Beaufort Sea.
The lease sale would be the first offered under the Trump administration's 2019-2024 offshore leasing plan for the U.S. outer continental shelf. That plan has not yet been finalized.
BOEM is proposing to offer leases on all 65 million acres of the Beaufort Sea. Regulators are seeking information on how oil and gas development can be balanced with protections for offshore whaling areas, environmentally important regions and deepwater exclusion zones in the region.
The proposal could be complicated by a pending lawsuit over President Trump's decision to overturn former President Obama's ban on drilling in much of the Arctic Ocean.
Environmentalists charge that Trump exceeded his power when he signed an executive order reversing Obama's ban on drilling in the Arctic and parts of the Atlantic Ocean.
But government attorneys argue the law was not intended to bind one president with decisions made by a previous one. The lawsuit is pending before U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage, who hasn't indicated when she might rule.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/12/12/stories/1060109363
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Industry Wants Taxpayer Help to Fix Pollution Problem
Dec 12, 2018 | Bloomberg (In E&E Climatewire)
By Jeremy Hodges
Some of the world's biggest fossil-fuel producers are calling on taxpayers to help them kick their pollution habit.
The world's biggest oil, natural gas and mining companies are stepping up their campaign to deploy carbon capture and storage, or CCS, as a way to slow global warming. But with a potential $90-billion-a-year price tag, it's too rich for them to do it on their own.
The technology siphons pollution away from the chimneys of industrial plants and injects it permanently underground. It holds the promise of reducing greenhouse gases without overhauling the world's energy system. For all its potential, CCS raises unpalatable questions for policymakers about how to fund it, and nobody in the industry has worked out a solution beyond either direct subsidies or much higher carbon taxes. Either of those measures would make burning fossil fuels much less economical.
Even so, companies including the mining giants Glencore PLC and BHP Billiton Ltd. as well as oil majors Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA have been emboldened in their push by a United Nations report showing CCS is critical to containing global warming.
"It's about changing the way people look at CCS from thinking that it's kind of inevitable but impossible and turning into kind of necessary and doable," Fiona Wild, head of climate change and sustainability at BHP Billiton, said in an interview in Edinburgh. "We need to get policy regimes in place that support development over the longer term because we need scale."
The CCS industry's lobby group yesterday released a report outlining the benefits of the technology and backers ranging from a polar explorer to the former Republican U.S. Sen. John Warner. The paper from the Global CCS Institute is meant to draw attention to the issue at the U.N. climate talks in Katowice, Poland, yesterday.
Cost is the biggest impediment to CCS. The International Energy Agency estimates the price for sequestering carbon starts at about $40 a ton, double the cost of emissions in Europe. Industry needs to capture 2.3 billion tons a year by 2040. That suggests CCS would need $92 billion a year in support to work at scale — more than the entire coal industry took in investment last year.
Those figures leave CCS vulnerable both to challenges from environmentalists, who dislike the principle of helping fossil fuels, and from developers of renewables, who increasingly are building wind and solar farms at a cost rivaling traditional forms of energy.
"CCS is a get-out-of-jail card and a great business opportunity," said Michael Liebreich, founder of the Bloomberg NEF research group in London now owned by Bloomberg LP. "Not only would it allow them to keep on doing what they do, but also it offers the prospect of being paid to clean up their own pollution. I just can't see it ever happening at scale."
There are other challenges, too, blocking widespread adoption of CCS:There's no agreed business model indicating developers can make money on the technology. Before a plant is built, its promoters must answer how they will extract and monitor their captured emissions. Possible ways of supporting CCS include putting a price on polluting either through carbon markets or a tax. The other options would be a direct subsidy or strict regulations on coal plants.Developers are reluctant to take on the liability for looking after sequestered carbon for more than a few decades. That means governments usually need to step in with guarantees to make projects work.CCS won't work everywhere for technical reasons. Carbon must be stored in geologically stable rock formations, most often in depleted oil and natural gas fields. Those fields need to be close enough to the source of pollution to make the project work economically.
Regardless of the hurdles, the industry is pressing ahead. On a grey autumn day in Edinburgh last month, executives from Shell, Total and the Norwegian oil company Equinor ASA joined with Britain's Energy Minister Claire Perry at a conference calling to reinvigorate CCS.
For its part, the U.K. government announced measures it hopes will lead to the country's first CCS project up and running by the middle of the next decade.
Other efforts include:Drax Group PLC, which operates what used to the U.K.'s biggest coal plant, recently announced it was firing up Europe's first biomass CCS pilot that will siphon off 1 ton of CO2 a day when fully operational.The Port of Rotterdam is working with its largest emitters on transporting carbon to a remote part of the facility where it can then be moved offshore. The project may reach a capacity of 10 million tons a year.A group of energy companies known as the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is partnering with BP PLC, Shell, Equinor, Total, Eni SpA and Occidental Petroleum Corp. to develop CCS at a new gas-fired power plant to be built in the northeast of England. "We have the ambition to do more," said Shell CEO Ben van Beurden. "We are ready and able to deliver CCUS if we can operate within a well understood fiscal, policy and risk allocation framework."
Nevertheless, even the industry's proponents acknowledge it's had a number of false starts since CCS first developed in the 1970s.
"We have great momentum but we also had momentum in the past," said Riccardo Puliti, senior director of the World Bank's energy and extractive practice, which helps administer a $55 million fund devoted to the technology.
For now, CCS remains an experimental industry. About 30 million tons of carbon are currently being siphoned away from smokestacks, according to IEA estimates. That's a tiny fraction of the 33 billion tons the world emits.
There are currently 18 large-scale CCS facilities operating worldwide, with five more under construction and a further four in advanced development, according to the Global CCS Institute. It's seeking an industry 100 times larger — requiring hundreds or even thousands of plants worldwide.
A combination of significant changes to regulatory frameworks, generous subsidies and corporate muscle would be needed to even just get started. The IEA points to two facilities that can show how CCS works. Petra Nova in Texas and Boundary Dam in Saskatchewan each capture more than 1 million tons a year.
For environmentalists, the scale of what the industry is asking for is well beyond what it could do for the planet. Even reaching the IEA's goal of sequestering 2.3 billion tons a year through CCS would only offset the annual emissions of India, where pollution is growing rapidly. The U.N. says emissions from fossil fuels of all kinds must fall to near zero by the middle of the century to limit global warming to what's already the quickest shift since the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago.
"Most of the talk about carbon capture and storage is not serious talk about reducing emissions," Lauri Myllyvirta, an air pollution expert at Greenpeace. "It's meant to lull investors, plant operators and politicians into believing you can keep running coal-fired power plants or even build new ones and avoid having your investment stranded in the future."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/12/12/stories/1060109367
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Key Stream Definition in New EPA Water Rule Looks Clear as Mud
Dec 11, 2018 | PoliticoPro
By Annie Snider
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is promising that landowners will be able to walk out on their property and know on their own whether a stream or wetland falls under Clean Water Act jurisdiction. But even regulatory experts are scratching their heads about which of those waterways are in or out of the agency's new proposal.
Rather than offering clarity around "intermittent streams" that EPA says are protected under the new Waters of the U.S. proposal, the definition given Tuesday lacks some critical details, experts said.
The Trump administration rule would include federal protections for waters that flow year-round, and exclude them for streams that run only after rainfall. But half of the waterways in the U.S. fall somewhere in between, according to an internal Army Corps of Engineers slide presentation obtained by E&E News.
And distinguishing an intermittent stream from an ephemeral one isn’t clear-cut. As a note in the slide presentation underscores, outside of the arid West, ephemeral streams are often classified as intermittent.
The new Trump rule doesn’t offer much guidance. It defines intermittent streams simply as waterways with “surface water flowing continuously during certain times of a typical year, not merely in response to precipitation, but when the groundwater table is elevated, for example, or when snowpack melts.”
But it does not say how many days or months a stream must flow in order to meet the definition, nor the volume of water it must carry. In the rule, EPA states that it decided against setting a specific time frame “as the agencies believe the time period that encompasses intermittent flow can vary widely across the country.”
Experts who have spent years working on water regulations say this lack of specificity in the definition would make it virtually impossible for them to know if a stream or creek qualified as intermittent, let alone for an untrained farmer or landowner to figure it out.
“[I] can’t even answer the basic question: what is the difference between (a) an ephemeral stream, (b) an intermittent stream and (c) a seasonal stream,” Patrick Parenteau, a longtime environmental lawyer who teaches at Vermont Law School, said by email.
In practice, that decision would appear to be left in the hands of the Army Corps of Engineers' regulators in the field. These regulators are notorious for having come to wildly different conclusions on similar waters over the past decade, when EPA guidance made them the final arbiters for many on-the-ground jurisdictional decisions.
That lack of a simple standard led to widespread calls for EPA to issue a formal rule to clear up the situation. While the Obama administration cast its 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule as responding to this demand for clarity, farmers, homebuilders and other developers argued that its rule was too confusing.
Now, the same accusation is being leveled against the Trump administration rule.
“It’s completely flying in the face of the regulatory certainty that everybody wanted,” said Betsy Southerland, a retired EPA water scientist who worked on the Obama administration’s 2015 WOTUS rule.
Southerland said EPA's failure to provide an analysis showing how many streams and wetlands its new rule would deregulate only added to the confusion about how far the category of intermittent waters would extend.
EPA water chief David Ross told reporters Monday night that “no one has that data” on how many streams and wetlands that are currently regulated would be excluded under its new proposal.
But EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have long used the U.S. Geological Survey's National Hydrography Dataset to estimate the impact of regulatory changes and court decisions. The Army Corps of Engineers also has a database of previous jurisdictional determinations that it used to assess the impact of the Obama administration’s 2015 rule.
The fact that the Trump administration has not estimated the impacts of the rule could open up a legal vulnerability: the National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to clearly lay out the environmental impact of their actions. While NEPA has been interpreted not to apply to EPA, it does apply to the Army Corps of Engineers, which cowrote the new WOTUS rule.
The Obama administration determined that NEPA would apply to its 2015 rule and prepared an environmental assessment at the time.
But the Trump administration has released no such documents for its new rule, despite the fact that it would vastly retract federal protections. Parenteau, the Vermont Law School professor, said that could open a major legal vulnerability for the agency.
"It’s a slam dunk NEPA case,” he said.
EPA did not respond to request for comment on the lack of NEPA analysis.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/article/2018/12/key-stream-definition-in-new-epa-water-rule-looks-clear-as-mud-1026141
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States Cite Climate Report in Urging EPA to Withdraw GHG Rollbacks
Dec 11, 2018 | Inside EPA
Led by New York and California, a coalition of 29 states, counties and cities are citing the Trump administration's recent National Climate Assessment (NCA) that forecasts dire impacts from climate change to urge EPA to withdraw its proposals to roll back greenhouse gas regulations on vehicles and power plants.
“The science is clear: climate change is having an increasingly destructive and deadly impact on people, communities, and our economy,” New York Attorney General (AG) Barbara Underwood (D) says in a press release announcing the coalition's Dec. 11 letter to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Yet, in the face of its own stark assessment, the Trump EPA continues to advance reckless plans to gut crucial controls on climate change pollution from its largest sources: power plants and cars.”
The coalition cites the Trump administration's Fourth NCA, released Nov. 23, which among other things calls for stepped up efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change to prevent increasingly severe risks. Given those threats, the states urge EPA to withdraw its proposals to freeze vehicle GHG standards at model year 2020 levels and to significantly weaken the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) that required power plants to slash their GHG emissions.
“The combined effect of these two rollbacks would harm Americans by making climate change worse: Conservatively, based on EPA’s own figures, the vehicle emissions rollback would result in increased emissions of 540 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent just from model year 2022-25 motor vehicles (i.e., not even counting the 2021 and 2026 model years) . . . ” the letter states, citing EPA's estimates.
And the CPP rollback “would cause an increase of up to 55 million metric tons (61 million short tons) of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2030,” the coalition says.
In light of the NCA's findings, “we renew our request that you immediately withdraw the proposals to weaken the motor vehicle and power plant [GHG] standards. At a minimum, EPA should reopen the comment periods for each of the rollback proposals to allow for public input on and adequate consideration of the bearing of the Assessment’s findings on both proposals.”
The state and local officials say in a footnote in their letter that because “we cannot assume that EPA will grant our request to withdraw the proposals or at least reopen the public comment period,” they intend to “submit the climate assessment to the dockets of the two rulemakings shortly, along with letters discussing how the Assessment supports our legal and policy concerns previously expressed in our rulemaking comments.”
Policy and legal experts have said that the NCA provides fresh political ammunition to challenge Trump administration efforts to dismiss the issue, as well as new legal fodder for those fighting EPA's various climate rule rollbacks. For example, California AG Xavier Becerra (D), who is part of the coalition, recently said the assessment will be used against the Trump administration in legal challenges to the rollbacks.
EPA and its sister agencies “cannot ignore or downplay their own Assessment,” the coalition says in its letter. “The Assessment represents the federal government’s authoritative analysis of climate science and the impacts of climate change on the United States. . . . EPA and other federal agencies must give full weight to the scientific facts and findings presented in the Assessment, and consider the implications of the Assessment for its proposed actions.”
In addition to Underwood and Becerra, the letter was signed by the AGs of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, as well as officials with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the District of Columbia, Broward County, FL; Boulder, CO; Chicago; Los Angeles; New York; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia; San Francisco and South Miami.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/states-cite-climate-report-urging-epa-withdraw-ghg-rollbacks
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Dems See a Budding Movement, 'Public Enthusiasm' in Sunrise
Dec 12, 2018 | E&E Daily
By Nick Sobczyk
It's becoming a near-daily refrain on Capitol Hill: The Sunrise Movement has grown its coalition.
After the group occupied a trio of Democratic offices Monday, 10 more members endorsed the select committee on a "Green New Deal" proposed by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), bringing the total to 35.
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, added themselves to the list yesterday, underscoring the proposal's growing clout on the left flank of the Democratic Party.
"This is part of a movement," Jayapal told reporters. "And we should think about it that way and think about it as an opportunity for us to really take up this issue with more strength and more power and more excitement from young people across the country."
Democrats across Capitol Hill say that's exactly why the Sunrise Movement and its progressive allies, such as Ocasio-Cortez, have gained traction so quickly. Their importance is not so much their policy prescriptions, or lack thereof, but the kind of grassroots energy they bring to an issue that's long been dormant in the public consciousness.
It's something that's been missing from the climate movement since the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill passed the House but foundered in the Senate in 2009, said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who endorsed Ocasio-Cortez's proposal this week.
Until now, climate hawks have often involved themselves too much in wonky policy discussions about how to structure a carbon tax, rather than painting "a picture of a better economic future," said Schatz, who himself is the co-sponsor of a carbon tax bill.
"Describing in dry terms carbon projections, and how Wall Street may or may not trade, and the social cost of carbon — all of that is worth doing at the wonk and staff level," he told E&E News. "But none of this happens unless we have public enthusiasm, and the Green New Deal is providing it."The panel's mandate, jurisdiction
The select committee would be tasked with crafting legislation by 2020 that would bring the U.S. to 100 percent renewable energy and build a national "smart grid," among other things, all within 10 years. The plan would also include a job guarantee program.
Whether that's realistic is a matter of debate, but either way, it would be a massive political and technical challenge (Greenwire, Dec. 10).
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has made clear that she favors creating a select climate panel in one form or another, though she has not specifically endorsed Ocasio-Cortez's committee. Her staff has planned a meeting with the Sunrise Movement.
Jayapal and Pocan said they agreed to sponsor Ocasio-Cortez's resolution after lobbying for a few changes to the language in the select committee's mandate, in part to bring labor groups into a discussion about massively transforming the energy sector.
For one thing, they wanted the proposal to be more realistic about transitioning workers reliant on the fossil fuel industry. Pocan called the resolution "an evolving document."
"There's just a little bit of language added that says a 'goal' of 10 years and a 'goal' of 100 percent," Jayapal said.
"We like the fact that there's urgency and a quick timeline and a bold goal," she added, "but we also want to make sure that we can have discussions with some of our champions and some of our labor friends and some of the people who really need to be a part of building a strong coalition."
They also wanted to make sure it would not infringe on the jurisdiction of the standing committees responsible for dealing with climate change, an issue that has come up repeatedly as the Democratic caucus debates its rules for next year.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the incoming chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has been among the most outspoken critics of a select committee for that very reason. Jayapal said the language changes would be unlikely to bring Pallone, a member of her caucus, onboard but could help assuage concerns among more senior members skeptical of Ocasio-Cortez's proposal.
She added that she and Pocan have been talking to other members of the Progressive Caucus about signing on.
"We may not get everybody onboard still, but I think people do appreciate that we're trying to bridge some of the divides that really don't need to be there because the problem is not here with some of these Democrats," Jayapal said. "The problem is with the fossil fuel companies and the people who are really pushing to stop progress."
Sunrise Movement organizers clarified Monday they simply want the select panel to draft legislation, which would then be considered by the standing committees.
And they seem to have hurdled some practical concerns, bringing the proposal closer to reality.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the incoming Rules Committee chairman, endorsed the select committee Monday after the Sunrise Movement demonstrated in his office. McGovern will craft the rules package that would likely authorize the select committee early in the next Congress.
"We can have a select committee, and they can come up with ideas, and the committees of jurisdiction are going to have to deliberate on them," McGovern told reporters yesterday. "That's the way select committees have operated in the past."
While there are still critics of the proposal, some appear to have softened their tone, including Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who will lead the Natural Resources Committee next year.
"Resources is going to do what it needs to do in terms of our jurisdiction, what we need to do on issues of climate change, elevating the science on all decisions that we make," Grijalva said yesterday. "I'm pretty comfortable with that, and if there's a select committee that galvanizes more attention to the issue, it can be a plus."Moving the needle
The Republican Senate remains a major hurdle for Democrats hoping to act on climate change, and the GOP and energy industry are already gearing up to oppose the Green New Deal.
The Republican Policy Committee, led by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), circulated a memo yesterday calling the Green New Deal "a crazy, expensive mess."
The document is particularly critical of the proposed job guarantee program, and it notes that U.S. emissions are already on a downward trend.
"Producing 100 percent of electricity from renewable sources is a practical impossibility in the near future," the memo reads.
Frank Maisano, a partner in Bracewell LLP's Policy Resolution Group, which represents a mix of energy clients, mocked McGovern for "going out on a limb" to endorse the Green New Deal after the Sunrise Movement protested in his office.
"It is easy to get arrested protesting on the Hill," Maisano said in an email. "It is much harder to go to the Hill and work on complex energy policy legislation that can have unintended consequences."
Indeed, part of the challenge for Democrats is to bridge the divide between young progressives and members who have spent careers working on policy and introducing bills to fight climate change, Jayapal said.
"I like the idea of an expansive vision, but I think we have to understand that this is going to take work, and there are tensions that we have to address," she said.
Jayapal added that the Green New Deal effectively amounts to a "great frame" to talk about climate change, even though some progressives have been talking about getting to 100 percent renewable energy and green jobs for years.
"I'm an organizer, so I appreciate this energy, and that's what I think is so useful about this," she said.
Democratic senators who are still in the minority are hoping the House will move the needle on climate change and perhaps convince some Republicans to change their tune.
Even outside of the Sunrise Movement, climate change has been almost constantly in the spotlight for the past few months as Democrats prepare for the next Congress.
"Several things have happened in the last month to help provide energy and focus attention on the need to get serious about climate change," Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Tom Carper (D-Del.) said yesterday.
The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released in October, followed by the most recent National Climate Assessment from the federal government last month, has juiced the issue among voters. A string of unusually extreme weather events over the past few years added a factor to the mix, Carper said.
But "to the extent that my son's generation can be motivated and turned on fire on this issue, it will only be helpful," Carper added, noting that his son is a millennial.Climate bill
Meanwhile, Democrats across Capitol Hill have continued their more traditional messaging on climate change.
The Senate Climate Change Task Force met yesterday with more than a dozen members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.
An aide said the Senate group is looking to work more on a bicameral basis in the next Congress, including on bipartisan issues such as energy tax extenders.
On the House side, Reps. Don McEachin (D-Va.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) floated a messaging bill Monday that would require the secretary of State to offer quarterly public assessments on the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.
The bill is named the "Produce All Relevant Information to Safeguard Climate Act."
"Three years after the signing of the Paris Agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference, Congressman Schneider and I introduced the P.A.R.I.S. Climate Act because we know the Paris Agreement was a crucial step toward ensuring our world is livable and healthy, and science shows our withdrawal endangers that precious goal," McEachin said in a statement.
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2018/12/12/stories/1060109391
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