Preview Newsletter
AM ACC 1/4/2019
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Trump Will Have to Start Anew on EPA, Interior, Energy Nominees
Jan 3, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern and Dean Scott
Nominees for the EPA, Interior, and Energy departments will have to be sent back to the Senate, because the chamber didn’t confirm them before the 115th Congress ended. -
Senate Republicans Unveil New EPW, ENR Rosters
Jan 3, 2019 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Anthrony Adragna
Freshmen Republican Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) will be new members on the Environment and Public Works Committee, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced today. -
Senate Confirms Pick for EPA International Office
Jan 4, 2019 | Inside EPA
The Senate has confirmed William McIntosh as the chief of EPA's international office, formally installing the former auto industry executive in an office that deals with various international environment issues including global climate change agreements and tribal affairs. -
Extended Shutdown Imperils EPA's Deregulatory Agenda, Worsens Morale
Jan 3, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By David LaRoss, Doug Obey and Dawn Reeves
The ongoing, indefinite government shutdown threatens to stall EPA's deregulatory agenda by sidelining staff who were working on high-profile rollbacks of Obama-era regulations and preparing to defend those efforts in court, sources say, while worsening morale... -
EPA Denies Petition to Expand TSCA Asbestos Reporting
Jan 3, 2019 | Inside EPA
EPA has denied a petition from environmentalists and public health advocates calling on the agency to drop a number of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) exemptions for asbestos, concluding the petitioners' proposals aren't warranted... -
Firms Don’t Have to Provide More Asbestos Use Data, EPA Says (1)
Jan 4, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
The EPA has denied a request to require companies to report more information about their imports of asbestos or asbestos-containing products. -
This EPA Appointee Could Impact the Health of All Americans for Decades
Jan 4, 2019 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Wendy Cleland-Hamnett
Americans should be able to trust that their government is protecting them from needless chemical risks in our homes and communities. -
Senate Confirms Two EPA Nominees, But Waste Office Pick Stalls
Jan 3, 2019 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
The Senate unanimously confirmed President Donald Trump's nominees to lead EPA's toxics and international offices in the final hours of the 115th Congress, but his nominee to lead EPA's waste office remains stalled after Democrats reportedly sought a recorded vote. -
(ACC Mentioned) Mass. Lawmakers Sign off on Ban of Certain Flame Retardants Used in Furniture
Jan 4, 2019 | Boston 25 News
By Blair Miller
State lawmakers agreed to ban certain chemicals that many people have in their bedding and furniture in their homes today. -
Dems to Scrutinize Cleanups, Rule Rollbacks, Lead Plans
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Daily
By Corbin Hiar and Courtney Columbus
When staffers for EPA's solid waste and chemical safety programs get the funding they need to return to work, they'll have a lot to do — and answer for on Capitol Hill. -
Weyerhaeuser Faces Homeowners’ Suit in Court Over Formaldehyde
Jan 3, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Peter Hayes
Weyerhaeuser Co. failed to move out of court a proposed class action by homeowners who allege construction joists manufactured by the company are off-gassing formaldehyde. -
Commission Urged to Increase Transparency of REACH Authorisations
Jan 3, 2019 | Chemical Watch
By Clelia Oziel
The European Commission should make the REACH authorisation process for SVHCs more transparent and avoid relying on confidentiality rules to reject public access to documents, an NGO said. -
Remove Hazardous Substances in Plastics by 2025, EU Body Says
Jan 4, 2019 | Chemical Watch
Hazardous substances should be "completely removed" from plastic products by 2025, the EU Committee of Regions (CoR) has said in an opinion on the European Commission’s plastics strategy. -
EU Committee Publishes Opinion on Salicylic Acid in Cosmetics
Jan 4, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has adopted a final Opinion on salicylic acid in cosmetics. -
Battles on Public Lands, Monuments, ANWR Sure to Resurface
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Daily
By Kellie Lunney
The 115th Congress is a wrap, but many of the previous legislative session's top natural resources issues — from Land and Water Conservation Fund renewal to the size of national monuments — will spill over into the new one, albeit with a few twists now that Democrats control the House. -
Williams Gets OK to Put Texas Expansion Feeding LNG Projects into Service
Jan 3, 2019 | Platts
By Maya Weber and Ross Weyno
The expansion marks the second Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line project to serve Gulf Coast LNG terminals and follows the company's February 2017 start of the 1.2 Bcf/d Gulf Trace Project feeding Cheniere's Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project. -
BLM Pushes Ahead with Public Meetings on Alaska Drilling
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
The Interior Department has locked public buildings and stopped plowing snow-covered roads in national parks across the nation. -
Enviros Appeal NPR-A Rulings
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
Environmental groups yesterday appealed a set of decisions that squashed their challenges to the sale of millions of acres of Alaskan lands to oil and gas developers. -
Homes That Make More Energy Than They Use Quickly Pay Back Added Costs
Jan 3, 2019 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
Efficiency should be the core of national, state and local energy policy. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimates that, since 1990, advances in energy efficiency have supplanted the need for more than 300 large power plants... -
Energy Companies Alerted to China-Linked Hacking Threat
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Energywire
By Blake Sobczak
The Department of Energy warned energy companies about a China-linked hacking campaign last month as part of a budding effort to share more U.S. cybersecurity intelligence with the private sector. -
(ACC Mentioned) Positions Filled at Top Rail Regulatory Agency
Jan 3, 2019 | Freight Waves
By John Gallagher
The U.S. Senate confirmed two commissioners yesterday to sit on the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal agency that oversees rates and service within the railroad industry. -
US EPA Plan Would Hobble Its Ability to Regulate
Jan 4, 2019 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Cheryl Hogue
A Trump administration proposal could make it harder for the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate in the future and endanger existing rules that protect public health. -
Pelosi Calls for Climate Action After Retaking Speaker's Gavel
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E News PM
By George Cahlink
The address was at least partly directed at people in the Trump administration and in the House GOP caucus who have questioned the science behind global warming. But Pelosi also hinted at a focus on green jobs, an issue that could draw bipartisan support. -
House to Launch Climate Panel, But It Won’t Issue Subpoenas
Jan 4, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Dean Scott and Tiffany Stecker
The select climate panel House Democrats are resurrecting in 2019 won’t have the power to subpoena Trump administration officials and other witnesses—but its new leader says she can get another committee to do its bidding. -
House Energy Panel to Dedicate First Hearing to Climate Change
Jan 3, 2019 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold its first hearing under the chamber’s new Democratic majority on climate change. -
'There's Nobody There.' Agencies Sputter on Climate
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Climatewire
By Mark K. Matthews
The government shutdown might only be a partial one, but not when it comes to federal climate efforts.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Transportation and Infrastructure News
Environment News
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Trump Will Have to Start Anew on EPA, Interior, Energy Nominees
Jan 3, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rebecca Kern and Dean Scott
Nominees for the EPA, Interior, and Energy departments will have to be sent back to the Senate, because the chamber didn’t confirm them before the 115th Congress ended.
President Donald Trump will either have to resubmit the nominees or make new selections.
Several of the nominees who didn’t make it through the Senate had drawn objections from Democrats, who accused them of being too closely aligned with industry to fairly represent their agencies’ interests.
The Senate on Jan. 3 did confirm by voice vote W. Charles “Chad” McIntosh to lead the EPA’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs. The office is responsible not only for environmental issues that affect tribal lands but also for issues that cross international borders, such as water pollution issues in the Great Lakes and global environmental treaties on lead paint, mercury, and other contaminants.
Nominees Not ConfirmedThe Senate didn’t confirm four Energy Department nominees at the end of 115th Congress, including Christopher Fall to lead the Office of Science, Rita Baranwal to lead the Office of Nuclear Energy, William Cooper to be general counsel, and Lane Genatowski to lead the Advanced Research Program Agency-Energy.
The Senate also didn’t confirm Peter Wright to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Solid Waste, which is in charge of contaminated land and waste programs, including Superfund, brownfields, emergency cleanup, and underground storage tanks. Democrats and environmentalists have raised concerns about Wright, who spent nearly two decades as a top lawyer at the Dow Chemical Co.
Additionally, the Senate didn’t finalize the nomination of Raymond David Vela to be director of the National Park Service and Susan Combs to be the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget.
The Senate didn’t confirm Patrick Wyrick, a longtime Oklahoma protege of former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt nominated by Trump for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Lastly, the Senate didn’t confirm the nomination of Barry Lee Myers to serve in the dual position of under secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Myers is CEO of AccuWeather Inc. and has complained that the National Weather Service forecasts are unfair competition for the private entity he heads.
Senators also on Jan. 2 confirmed by voice vote Alexandra Dunn to head the EPA’s chemicals office; Mary Neumayr to lead the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality; Kelvin Droegemeier to direct the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Daniel Simmons to lead the Energy Department’s renewables office.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/trump-will-have-to-start-anew-on-epa-interior-energy-nominees
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Senate Republicans Unveil New EPW, ENR Rosters
Jan 3, 2019 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Anthrony Adragna
Freshmen Republican Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) will be new members on the Environment and Public Works Committee, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced today.
They will replace Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who will no longer be among the 11 Republicans on the panel.
Meanwhile, Republican Sens. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) will join the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will see the departure of Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and the retired Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, shrinking the number of Republicans on the committee from 12 to 11.
WHAT'S NEXT: The assignments must be ratified by the Republican conference and full Senate. That's expected to happen next week.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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Senate Confirms Pick for EPA International Office
Jan 4, 2019 | Inside EPA
The Senate has confirmed William McIntosh as the chief of EPA's international office, formally installing the former auto industry executive in an office that deals with various international environment issues including global climate change agreements and tribal affairs.
The nomination was approved by voice vote Jan. 3 moments before the 115th Congress ended, according to the Republican Senate Cloakroom, saving the White House from having to renominate McIntosh for reconsideration by the 116th Congress.
McIntosh's nomination was approved after the Senate on Jan. 2 approved dozens of other nominees, including several other top environmental positions.
McIntosh's nomination had been held up by Democrats' questions about work he was already doing at the agency before winning Senate confirmation, with the lawmakers earlier alleging he was “skirting” the upper chamber's constitutional advice and consent role, and violating federal law.
Similar concerns focused on Trump's pick for EPA's waste office, former chemical sector executive Peter Wright, who did not secure a last-minute confirmation before the last Congress concluded.
After both were nominated, acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler hired them as “special counsels,” effective on the first day of his tenure after he took over from former Administrator Scott Pruitt.
In a pair of July letters, Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Edward Markey (D-MA) questioned McIntosh and Wright about their work in their interim jobs.
In the letters, the senators asked each nominee to answer a slew of questions, including providing their official job title and type of appointment; who they supervise; their relation to the acting assistant administrators; a written job description; the status of their ethics agreements; a copy of their signed Trump ethics pledge and any waivers or recusals from it; a copy of their recusal statements; and a list of all email addresses in use at EPA.
Additionally, they asked both to re-respond to follow-up questions for the record from their confirmation hearings that they said they lacked familiarity to answer at the time. For Wright, the senators ask him to reply to 21 unanswered questions. For McIntosh, they seek responses to 12 unanswered questions.
At the nominees' Aug. 1 confirmation hearing, all of the Democrats on the Senate environment committee voted against their nominations, with Carper noting that he was “concerned that Mr. McIntosh has had minimal interactions with tribal communities and limited international experience.”
Among other duties for EPA's international office is coordinating with other agencies regarding international climate change pacts, including the Paris Agreement and a separate deal to limit the use of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants that act as potent greenhouse gases.
Trump has pledged to leave the Paris deal, and administration officials have not said whether they will seek to ratify the HFC agreement, which is known as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/senate-confirms-pick-epa-international-office
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Extended Shutdown Imperils EPA's Deregulatory Agenda, Worsens Morale
Jan 3, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By David LaRoss, Doug Obey and Dawn Reeves
The ongoing, indefinite government shutdown threatens to stall EPA's deregulatory agenda by sidelining staff who were working on high-profile rollbacks of Obama-era regulations and preparing to defend those efforts in court, sources say, while worsening morale and deterring new hires by raising questions over job security at the agency.
Operations at EPA have been shuttered since midnight on Dec. 28, when its funding reserves ran out following the lapse in appropriations for several agencies that began on Dec. 21. While about 800 “essential” staff are still operating -- such as those tasked with responding to pollution spills or processing new pesticide imports -- rulemakings, legal filings and most day-to-day functions have been suspended until the shutdown ends.
Sources say the forced delays will make it even more difficult to achieve the administration's aggressive schedule for issuing new policies and rolling back Obama-era positions before the end of 2019 including its bid to undo the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule and Clean Power Plan greenhouse gas rule for utilities.
Although EPA has only lost about a week of work time so far, there is no end in sight for the shutdown as Republicans and Democrats are struggling to find a way around President Donald Trump's demand that any new spending bill include $5 billion to build a border wall.
As of press time, the new Democratic House majority was poised to vote the night of Jan. 3 on a set of “clean” bills that would extend current funding levels for EPA and other agencies, similar to legislation that passed the Senate on a voice vote before Trump made his veto threat late last year.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a Jan. 3 floor speech that the president's oppositionmakes the new versions of those bills “a total non-starter” and they will not receive a vote in the upper chamber. McConnell also said he expects the shutdown to last for “weeks.”
That position might end up hurting Republicans' environmental policy goals, however, as an industry source says a prolonged shutdown could quickly make it more difficult if not impossible for EPA to meet its self-imposed deadlines for a host of major rulemakings that the GOP sees as high priorities, such as climate rules that would loosen Obama-era emissions limits on power plants and motor vehicles.
The suspension of operations at both EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is also putting most litigation that involves the federal government on hold, delaying resolution of court challenges to already-issued environmental rules.
Beyond the shutdown's impact on nationwide rules and lawsuits, officials with EPA's staff unions say that putting workers on unpaid furlough is only deepening low morale at the agency, and could contribute to resignations and retirements that have risen during the Trump administration.
“There's been a big focus on how do we retain younger workers. . . . Younger workers want security. We want job security. We want benefits that we don't have to worry about having them taken away,” Sarah Watterson, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) EPA Local 907 in Kansas City, KS, told Inside EPA in a Jan. 3 interview.
Much of the public blow-back against the shutdown, both from observers and government employees, has focused on the fact that staff in the affected agencies will not be paid until the government reopens. “I'm now the person in the grocery store with a calculator because I can't go one penny over my budget,” Watterson said.
A federal employee union is already suing the government for wages to “essential” staff who are working without pay, and EPA's unions could join that suit after the agency misses its first pay cycle of the shutdown on Jan. 5.
Rulemaking Delays
EPA's latest Unified Agenda of rulemaking actions, issued in October, said it was planning to finalize new, more lenient GHG limits for existing power plants as well as a proposed “freeze” on standards for new cars and trucks in March. A rule repealing Obama-era standards that determine which waterbodies are subject to the CWA is also due in March.
The industry source says that the loss of work time will add to the expected slowdown over the holiday season. In total, “you may be talking about a month of lost time" that could push back the rules' overall timelines, the source says.
Those deadlines are self-imposed but may still be critical for the agency to achieve its overall deregulatory goals and complete expected litigation before the end of Trump's current term, thanks to the sheer volume of rules and repeals under development at EPA.
A former GOP staffer acknowledges that the Trump administration faces increasingly pressing deadlines for acting before “time runs out.” Industry and other groups that favor the current agenda have already expressed frustration that such efforts have been slowed by early staffing delays and distracting scandals during the tenure of former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who resigned in July following a series of ethics scandals.
Moreover, the industry source says that the agency's deadlines were tight even without the government shutdown, partly because Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler and air chief Bill Wehrum are expected to plod rather than speed through the rulemakings, including extensive responses to public comments, in a deliberative manner that will take time.
They will "try to avoid shooting themselves in the foot" by "avoiding the procedural errors" during Pruitt's tenure, that source says. "That takes time and effort [to] make sure the significant comments are adequately assessed. That type of due diligence is what [could] slow them down" even if EPA were operating at full capacity.
Public hearings and other events being held as part of current rulemaking processes are also facing delays; the agency on Jan. 4 announced that it would have to postpone a hearing at an East Chicago, IN, Superfund site.
If the shutdown continues, hearings slated for January on the CWA jurisdiction rule, GHG new source performance standards for power plants and chemical assessments could all be on the chopping block.
Even beyond the agency's self-imposed deadlines, some of its actions are fundamentally tied to the calendar, such as the forthcoming rule proposal that would allow summertime sales of 15-percent ethanol (E15) fuel blends. A proposed E15 rule was expected in February, in part because the change would have to be finalized by May to take effect before the summer season when E15 is currently prohibited, from June 1 to Sept. 15.
Industry sources have already warned that even that timeline might not be generous enough to allow gas stations to add infrastructure to support a new fuel, meaning only those that currently sell E15 in the off-season would be able to take advantage of a May rulemaking. But if the rule is delayed further, even those facilities might face difficulties switching to year-round sales.
EPA Operations
Another agency source says that beyond rule development, day-to-day EPA operations are also likely to suffer as the shutdown stretches beyond the seven-day mark. “Where you start to see some impact is if this thing goes to next week or beyond,” the source says.
The source says the shutdown has already likely delayed basic EPA tasks, including the release of its annual enforcement statistics typically released by the end of the year or shortly thereafter.
Similarly, union officials say, staff are losing time to prepare for site cleanups and other projects that rely on favorable weather. “This is a time when folks are planning their projects so when spring comes you can hit the ground running. Delays like this throw off the whole season,” AFGE Local 704 Steward Loreen Targos told Inside EPA.
Watterson said many staffers used the week when the agency was operating on reserve funds to accomplish those time-limited goals, but still left with outstanding tasks. “Because we had an extra week because the agency had carryover funding, we did have time to sort of get things off of our desks. But it was the holiday season and some people weren't there, so some things still didn't get done. We just kind of left saying, 'oh, hopefully we'll be back in a few days.'”
Litigation Stays
Beyond the delays to EPA's own operations, the shutdown at DOJ means no government attorneys are available to litigate on the agency's behalf.
Instead, the government has asked for stays on dozens of pending cases where it is a party, and courts have almost universally accepted the requests, postponing a suite of regulatory challenges and other actions indefinitely.
For instance, litigation over EPA's role in the 2015 Gold King Mine wastewater spill was halted without the need for a specific request, under a blanket order staying all cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico that involve the federal government.
DOJ is also seeking stays in cases over EPA wastewater rules, its guidance exempting animal feedlots from the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, Freedom of Information Act document requests and a wide variety of other subjects.
Yet despite the shutdown, DOJ has acted to file a new brief supporting Supreme Court review in a pair of CWA cases, following the high court's request for input from the Solicitor General on suits testing CWA liability for pollution that flows through groundwater to protected surface waters. DOJ filed its brief supporting review of those suits on Jan. 3
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/extended-shutdown-imperils-epas-deregulatory-agenda-worsens-morale
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EPA Denies Petition to Expand TSCA Asbestos Reporting
Jan 3, 2019 | Inside EPA
EPA has denied a petition from environmentalists and public health advocates calling on the agency to drop a number of Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) exemptions for asbestos, concluding the petitioners' proposals aren't warranted because they would not provide new information and would not affect EPA's ongoing asbestos risk analysis.
EPA released its denial of the petition Dec. 21, along with a pre-publication copy of the Federal Register noticeexplaining its rationale. The notice is yet to publish, and will not do so while EPA remains shuttered.
As EPA acknowledges in its letter, Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)'s citizen's petition section 21 gives petitioners “the right to appeal the agency's denial of your petition by commencing a civil action in a U.S. district court to compel the Administrator to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to amend the CDR rule as requested in the petition within 60 days of the date of this letter,” states the agency's Dec. 21 reply from Nancy Beck, the deputy head of EPA's toxics office.
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), American Public Health Association (APHA), Center for Environmental Health (CEH), Environmental Working Group (EWG), Environmental Health Strategies Center (EHSC) and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (SCHF) filed the petition last September. TSCA section 21b allows citizens to request that EPA take certain actions under TSCA sections 4, 5, 6 or 8 and requires EPA respond to the petitions within 90 days of receipt. In this case, petitioners asked EPA to undertake a TSCA section 8(a) rule to amend CDR.
The petition sought a series of EPA actions, including adding asbestos to the CDR and strengthening reporting mandates by lowering the reporting threshold, eliminating exemptions for impurities and 'articles' and requiring reporting by processors. The petition also asked EPA to “determine that reports submitted on asbestos are not subject to protection as confidential business information (CBI) because disclosure is necessary to protect against an unreasonable risk of injury to health under section 14(d)(3) of TSCA.”
But EPA replies that it “does not believe that the requested amendments would result in the reporting of any information that is not already known to EPA.”
The agency said it “conducted extensive research and outreach to develop its understanding of import information on asbestos-containing products in support of its ongoing asbestos risk evaluation. After more than a year of research and stakeholder outreach, EPA believes that the Agency is aware of all ongoing uses of asbestos and already has the information that EPA would receive if EPA were to amend the CDR requirements.”
In a reference to the strict TSCA deadline Congress set for EPA to complete its first 10 assessments of existing chemicals -- of which asbestos is one -- the notice adds that “even if EPA believed that the requested amendments would collect information on any new ongoing uses, EPA would not be able to finalize such amendments in time to inform the ongoing risk evaluation or, if needed, any subsequent risk management decision(s).”
The groups' petition responds to a July 2017 letter from Jeff Morris, director of EPA's toxics office, who told Occidental Petroleum Corp. in response to a threatened citizen suit that its asbestos imports “were not required to be reported under CDR” because the rule's “[naturally occurring chemical substance (NOCS)] exemption applied and the import was exempt from CDR reporting.”
Such a determination is significant because EPA uses data reported under the CDR to determine what chemicals on its TSCA inventory are actively in use, helping the agency prioritize them for assessment and possible regulation, while also providing a crude form of exposure data.
Environmentalists described EPA's letter to Occidental as a loophole EPA created when it said the rule does not cover asbestos because it is “naturally occurring."
But EPA says the finding was unique to Occidental. “Petitioners mistakenly seem to believe that no domestically manufactured or imported asbestos is currently required to be reported under the CDR rule as a result of the exemption for naturally occurring substances. EPA’s letter to Occidental, however, found that the exemption for naturally occurring substances applied under the specific circumstances described in the letter. EPA did not find that the exemption applied for all 'manufacturers or importers of asbestos or asbestos-containing products' as claimed by petitioners.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/epa-denies-petition-expand-tsca-asbestos-reporting
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Firms Don’t Have to Provide More Asbestos Use Data, EPA Says (1)
Jan 4, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
The EPA has denied a request to require companies to report more information about their imports of asbestos or asbestos-containing products.
The Environmental Protection Agency already has enough information about asbestos imports to evaluate the health risks the cancer-causing mineral poses, it said in a recent response to environmental and health groups.
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the American Public Health Association, the Center for Environmental Health, the Environmental Working Group, the Environmental Health Strategy Center, and Safer Chemicals Healthy Families asked the EPA in September to revise its Chemical Data Reporting Rule to collect more information about imports of asbestos and products made with it.
Three companies—the Occidental Chemical Corp., Olin Corp. and Westlake Chemical Co.—are known to import asbestos into the U.S. They bring in tons of asbestos each year to make chlorine and caustic soda, according to information the agency already has released.
The risks of these and other uses of the mineral are being examined in a forthcoming EPA risk assessment, which draws heavily on voluntarily provided industry information, as well as data from sources including the U.S. Geological Survey.
Full Picture?The health groups had asked that EPA require more information from the three companies as part of its risk assessment. While EPA’s denial of the request has not yet been published in the Federal Register due to the partial government shutdown, the agency posted it online Dec. 26.
There’s no guarantee that the agency has the full picture of asbestos’ ongoing uses, Linda Reinstein, president of ADAO, told Bloomberg Environment Jan. 3.
“Asbestos use and imports continue and the industry is not required to disclose the amounts of asbestos and asbestos-containing products entering the country, where and how these products are used and how many people are exposed,” she said in a statement about the EPA’s denial of the coalition’s petition.
The EPA’s analysis is expected to be released early this year, once the partial government shutdown ends.
Chemical Production, Oilfield UsesAt least 555 metric tons of asbestos were imported into the U.S. in 2018 as of August, according to information ADAO obtained from the Department of Commerce. That followed about 300 metric tons imported in 2017, and 702 metric tons in 2016, according to information from the U.S. Geological Survey’s mineral commodity reports.
The asbestos primarily is used by Occidental, Olin, and Westlake to make equipment that allows them to manufacture chlorine and caustic soda.
At least one other chemical manufacturer, the Chemours Co., has told the EPA it imports equipment containing asbestos to make titanium dioxide. And at least one other company, which the agency has not identified, sells asbestos-containing brake blocks to prevent oil drilling equipment from moving.
“EPA has been given the authority under the new chemicals law to seek additional reporting from industry on where and how much asbestos is being used,” Reinstein said in an email to Bloomberg Environment. “There’s no reason why the agency can’t seek the fullest picture possible from industry while it carries out the risk evaluation.”
When asking the agency to gather more information, the environmental and health groups said they might sue the EPA if it didn’t do so.
“If we have to take EPA to court to force them to do their job and protect Americans from deadly asbestos, we will,” Reinstein said.
(Updated with new reporting throughout.)
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/firms-dont-have-to-provide-more-asbestos-use-data-epa-says-1
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This EPA Appointee Could Impact the Health of All Americans for Decades
Jan 4, 2019 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Wendy Cleland-Hamnett
Americans should be able to trust that their government is protecting them from needless chemical risks in our homes and communities. While government, industry and the public health community don't always agree on the specifics of what this means, all did agree, in 2016, that an ineffective chemical safety system, which lacked public confidence, served no one. And Congress did something about it, by passing the first major environmental legislation in decades. Unfortunately, the fruits of that surprising and historic agreement are at risk of being lost.
Whether implementation of this law can be saved may well depend on a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appointee confirmed by the Senate on the very last day of the 115th Congress.We have reached this point by way of a long history of government’s inability to protect Americans from toxic chemical exposures. For much of my 38-year career at the EPA, I worked on the mission of chemical safety. We struggled, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, with an outmoded and ineffective law. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) didn’t give us the tools we needed to adequately review new chemicals before they were sold to consumers and industry, or to evaluate and stop or limit the use of dangerous chemicals such as asbestos and lead.
After many years of debate and failed attempts to pass legislation, all sides came together to reform the law with strong bipartisan support in Congress. At the White House signing ceremony, Republicans and Democrats jockeyed for position on stage behind the president. Industry representatives and environmental advocates applauded and posed for pictures together. This success was possible because key constituencies were willing to engage in an honest effort to find a balance between their competing interests.
As the director of the EPA's chemicals program at that time, I knew that continued success would depend on implementing the law in a way that maintained the hard-won balance so critical to its passage. I also knew this would involve at least as much hard work, listening and compromise as passing it had required.
Unfortunately, that balance has been lost. Implementation of the law has heavily skewed in the industry’s direction and away from bipartisan Congressional intent. This has played out in nearly every area of implementation, including the EPA’s adoption of industry-supported, narrow and selective approaches to evaluating the safety chemicals, and an approach to reviewing health testing that favors industry studies over those of university scientists.These are not merely process problems. Ignoring key sources of exposure to chemicals, and discarding important safety studies, will result in flawed and ineffective risk evaluations.
Reversing progress on chemical safety will impact the health and safety of communities across the country. We risk repeating the mistakes of the past on other dangerous chemicals, with decades-long consequences for health and the environment.
The Senate has recently confirmed President Trump's nomination of Alexandra Dunn to head the chemical safety office at the EPA. At her confirmation hearing, Dunn and her record of public service and knowledge of environmental issues were received with cautious hope on the part of senators who helped to create the new law. They also pressed her to commit to putting implementation of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act back on track. Dunn will have a key role in shaping how the EPA evaluates chemicals. Her decisions will have a major impact on Americans for generations. I can say from experience that the job is always difficult and that she will have her work cut out for her — perhaps more so than at any time in the past. I would urge her to acknowledge the need for a fundamental change in direction that makes clear the EPA will implement the law as intended, and to engage in open discussion and debate. After consulting with the interested parties and the EPA staff, she should quickly and publicly identify and take concrete steps that will demonstrate that new direction.
Time is of the essence if the EPA wants to rebuild trust and start the long process of restoring public confidence in our chemical safety system. As someone who is convinced of the critical importance of chemical safety to a strong and healthy America, I hope Dunn and the EPA staff can begin this critical restoration and revive the broad cooperation and courage that led to the law’s landmark passage.Wendy Cleland-Hamnett was the acting assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety during the last part of the Obama administration and the first eight months of the Trump administration.
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/423735-this-epa-appointee-could-impact-the-health-of-all-americans-for
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Senate Confirms Two EPA Nominees, But Waste Office Pick Stalls
Jan 3, 2019 | Inside EPA
By Maria Hegstad
The Senate unanimously confirmed President Donald Trump's nominees to lead EPA's toxics and international offices in the final hours of the 115th Congress, but his nominee to lead EPA's waste office remains stalled after Democrats reportedly sought a recorded vote.
As a result, the administration will have to renominate former Dow Co. lawyer Peter Wright to lead EPA's waste office for consideration in the 116th Congress, along with the expected nomination of Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to lead the agency.
The Senate Jan. 2 confirmed by voice vote Alexandra Dunn to serve as assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), ensuring her ability to lead the office that faces a host of looming deadlines to implement the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The Senate Jan. 3 also confirmed William Charles McIntosh, a former auto industry executive, to be assistant administrator of EPA's Office of International and Tribal Affairs.
However, neither Dunn nor McIntosh can be formally sworn in due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Wright's nomination to lead the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) stalled after Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) “demanded a vote on Wright and of course that wasn’t possible so the nomination died,” an environmentalist tells Inside EPA.
Menendez' spokespersons did not return a request for comment by press time.
Wright's failure to win confirmation appears to be a win for Democrats and environmentalists, who have raised concerns with his nomination given a series of issues related to his past service as a Dow Co. lawyer as well as broader issues related to the Trump EPA's policy agenda.
For example, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) last month fretted in a press release that Wright might win Senate approval even though the EPA has not followed through on Wright's pledge during his confirmation hearing that the agency would release its long-delayed assessment of the health risks of formaldehyde.
“No matter the final disposition of Mr. Wright’s nomination, the EPA should keep its promise and move forward with the release of the long-overdue formaldehyde report,” Markey said in a Dec. 10 press statement.
“EPA has succumbed to pressure from industry for far too long, endangering the public’s health. I urge the EPA to ensure that there are no more efforts to delay or block the publication of this assessment,” he added.
Markey's spokeswoman also did not respond to a request for comment.
Environmentalists had also urged the Senate to block Wright's nomination, charging that he is a bad fit to lead OLEM given his years-long work for the chemical industry giant that created numerous toxic waste sites and its opposition to the agency's Obama-era chemical security rule, which the Trump EPA is working to roll back.
“Due to his nearly two decades of work protecting the interests of a corporation with a striking record of hazardous chemical releases and toxic waste sites, Mr. Wright should not be granted the responsibility and decision-making authority to lead [OLEM], which would require him to implement and enforce vital health, safety, and environmental laws against his current employer and others like it,” environmentalists wrote in a letter prior to his confirmation.
The Sierra Club also also objected to his nomination, saying his conflicts of interests relating to his representing the chemical industry “make him wholly unfit for this position.”
Markey, along with several other Democratic senators, had also raised concerns after Wheeler brought Wright and McIntosh on as special counsels before the Senate voted on their nominations, charging it violated the Senate's constitutional advice and consent role.
'Big Job'
While Wright faced controversy, Dunn -- the former Region 1 Administrator with a lengthy resume in environmental policy -- was confirmed with bipartisan support and cautious praise -- even from environmentalists.
Dunn “is a person of integrity and expertise but faces a big challenge in getting a failed program on a better track and the question is how much can she salvage and will the Trump higher-ups give her the support she will need to make a positive impact,” the environmentalist said.
And Liz Hitchcock, director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, said in a Jan. 3 statement that OCSPP “has the important job of protecting Americans from toxic chemicals, and it needs strong direction to carry out that mission. Ms. Dunn has a big job ahead of her: she will be responsible for ensuring that the [TSCA] is implemented as Congress intended, and for restoring the focus on public health and environmental protection that the current program leadership has ignored.”
Industry groups also reacted positively to Dunn's confirmation.
National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) President Eric R. Byer says in a Jan. 3 statement that the trade group is “pleased that the Senate has confirmed Alexandra Dunn … strong leadership is needed to ensure continued successful implementation of the 2016 TSCA reforms. Dunn’s extensive environmental experience, most recently as EPA Region 1 Administrator, makes her well qualified to lead TSCA and EPA’s other chemical product regulations.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-news/senate-confirms-two-epa-nominees-waste-office-pick-stalls
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(ACC Mentioned) Mass. Lawmakers Sign off on Ban of Certain Flame Retardants Used in Furniture
Jan 4, 2019 | Boston 25 News
By Blair Miller
State lawmakers agreed to ban certain chemicals that many people have in their bedding and furniture in their homes today.
For years, firefighters have sounded the alarm on the flame retardants used on furniture, saying that when they catch on fire, the fumes are toxic.
"There's nothing that shows these things have kept anyone safe from fires in this country," Boston Fire Deputy Chief Jay Fleming said. The situation is so concerning that Massachusetts firefighters have been pushing state lawmakers to pass a bill to ban certain chemicals.
This week, the House and Senate approved banning 11 flame retardants used in children's products, furniture and bedding.
Fleming, the city's former fire marshal, is an expert on the issue, and stressed the importance of the topic.
"It's a huge deal," Fleming said. "We're getting the kinds of cancers that have been associated with these chemicals. But it's not just firefighters. Everyone is being exposed to these chemicals."
Fleming said the bill would restrict all the common flame retardants that are used, but would also allow the state to review and regulate all new chemical flame retardants.
Firefighters say the chemicals play a role in how often they're diagnosed with cancer from years on the job, and officials said reports from Boston 25 News helped motivate lawmakers to approve the bill.
"I do think that the attention of bringing cancer to Boston firefighters, and firefighters in general, with your stories helped keep it in the public eye," Fleming told Boston 25 News reporter Blair Miller. "When it's in the public eye, the legislature tends to give it higher priority."
Now, it's up to Gov. Charlie Baker to decide what will happen with the bill, and he has until January 11 to sign the bill into law.When Boston 25 News asked administration officials where he stood on the issue, officials provided a statement saying:
"The administration is reviewing a series of bills the legislature passed within the last few days. We don't typically comment on them before taking action on them. We will keep you in mind if/when there's action to it."
The American Chemistry Council, who represents manufacturers, took issue with the passing of the bill.
"Forcing through bills that remove an important layer of fire protection with little input and no debate does not support public safety and endangers the integrity of the legislative process," the council said.
https://www.boston25news.com/news/mass-lawmakers-sign-off-on-ban-of-certain-flame-retardants-used-in-furniture/898697790
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Dems to Scrutinize Cleanups, Rule Rollbacks, Lead Plans
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Daily
By Corbin Hiar and Courtney Columbus
When staffers for EPA's solid waste and chemical safety programs get the funding they need to return to work, they'll have a lot to do — and answer for on Capitol Hill.
During the Trump administration, EPA has made speeding the cleanup of heavily polluted Superfund sites and reducing lead poisoning two of its top priorities. Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler has indicated that those will remain atop EPA's agenda in 2019.
On chemicals, the agency has taken steps to roll back pesticide protections and limit the release of some public health research while also promising to restrict some toxic substances.
The future of those efforts will now be determined in large part by Alexandra Dunn, whom the Senate confirmed at the end of the 115th Congress to lead the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (E&E Daily, Jan. 3).
Newly empowered House Democrats are likely to dig into all of those initiatives and potentially pursue new legislation that would provide EPA with additional requirements, although getting any public health measures through the GOP-controlled Senate will be a heavy push.
"I expect it to be an active year" for waste and chemical issues, said Rena Steinzor, a University of Maryland Carey Law School professor, former congressional staffer and activist on regulatory issues.
Democrats are likely to scrutinize changes former Administrator Scott Pruitt implemented to the Superfund program, which include creating two separate lists for sites that are priority cleanups and priorities for redevelopment.
An Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing last year revealed bipartisan confusion about the leadership, focus and funding of the program (E&E Daily, Jan. 19, 2018).
Leadership will remain a question for the Office of Land and Emergency Management, which includes Superfund. The Senate didn't approve President Trump's pick for the solid waste chief, former DowDuPont Inc. lawyer Peter Wright, who is already serving at EPA as a senior counselor (Greenwire, Jan. 3).
"It'd be very hard to move too many sites along if you did a half-decent job," Steinzor, who worked on the 1986 Superfund reauthorization law, said in an interview. "So I don't know what Wheeler has on his mind, but he's going to get more and more bogged down."
The House will also probably take a closer look at the administration's plan to reduce childhood exposure to the neurotoxin lead. The plan lays out a "road map" for cross-agency efforts but doesn't create any new programs or propose any new funding for the initiative (Greenwire, Dec. 19, 2018).
In its most recent governmentwide regulatory plan, the Trump administration indicated that EPA plans to issue two proposals to weaken Obama-era regulations for workers applying or potentially exposed to pesticides.
One could lower the minimum age for pesticide applicators, and the other could shrink the buffer zones around fields treated by pesticides. EPA aims to finalize both rules by next September. The rollbacks have already stoked Democratic opposition (E&E Daily, March 14, 2018).
EPA will also be under pressure from Democrats to finalize restrictions on the production, sale and use of the deadly paint stripper methylene chloride. The agency had planned to issue those rules by the end of last year but failed to meet that self-imposed deadline (Greenwire, Oct. 17, 2018).
Chlorpyrifos, formaldehyde, PFAS
Dunn will be tasked with getting those rules over the finish line and could have to defend the agency's approach to weighing and regulating the health risks associated with chlorpyrifos; formaldehyde; and a class of toxic nonstick chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
The administration has attacked the science behind an influential study that helped lead the Obama EPA to ban the widely used insecticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to brain damage in children (Greenwire, Aug. 23, 2018).
On formaldehyde, Senate Democrats have raised concern that EPA is withholding a review that allegedly found the industrial chemical causes cancer in some people who are exposed to it (E&E News PM, May 18, 2018).
For PFAS, EPA said last year that it would take a series of steps to limit the widespread contaminants, including issuing a national management plan that hasn't yet been released (Greenwire, May 22, 2018).
The chemicals have been widely used for decades in products such as cookware and firefighting foam and have been linked to a variety of health effects. There's no enforceable federal drinking water standard for any of the thousands of chemicals that make up the PFAS family.
"At a high level, our understanding of the scope of the problem has grown — the number of states and water systems impacted, the number of different chemicals scientists have identified, and the known sources of contamination — all of those have increased in 2018," Tom Bruton, a scientist with the Green Science Policy Institute, said in an email.
'Very concerned'
In 2018, lawmakers introduced a flurry of bills on PFAS. Provisions to combat the use and health effects of the nonstick chemicals made their way into the annual defense authorization bill and the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, both of which have been signed into law.
"The attention from Congress has at least encouraged EPA to focus on PFAS in a way that was not happening before," Bruton said. "My understanding is that the agency is now directing a lot of resources to work on these chemicals, but we have yet to see much meaningful regulatory action."
Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) is among the lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who sponsored legislation on PFAS last year. Spokeswoman Robyn Bryan said Kildee plans to continue working on PFAS legislation in the new Congress.
"In addition to cleanup and making sure families have the health care they need, it's important to Congressman Kildee that the EPA set a national standard on PFAS so what has occurred to his constituents in Oscoda does not happen again," she said in an email.
Concerns about exposure to PFAS and other water contaminants will be a growing problem for EPA next year, Steinzor predicted.
"People are very concerned at the idea that there's problems with their drinking water," she said. "I expect there to be series of exposes — and there would be even more if the media was still in decent shape."
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2019/01/04/stories/1060110935
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Weyerhaeuser Faces Homeowners’ Suit in Court Over Formaldehyde
Jan 3, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Peter Hayes
Weyerhaeuser Co. failed to move out of court a proposed class action by homeowners who allege construction joists manufactured by the company are off-gassing formaldehyde.
Named plaintiff Kevin Swehla isn’t limited to arbitration under a home purchase agreement as a “post-closing claim,” the court said.
Swehla may proceed in court because he filed suit before he closed on his home in Carver, Minn. Under the terms of his purchase agreement, claims brought prior to closing are to be heard by the court with jurisdiction where the property is located.
Swehla, who says he has suffered headaches, nausea and other health symptoms from the offgassing, seeks to represent a class of all those who own homes where Weyerhaeuser’s TJI Joists with Flak Jacket Protection were installed.
He alleges in his complaint the defective joists have been sold for use in homes in Minnesota and other parts of the U.S. since at least December 2016.
The court, in allowing the suit to proceed in court, said Swehla’s purchase agreement doesn’t limit pre-closing disputes to those that can be resolved before closing by one of the parties being ordered to perform a specific act.
Nor would Swehla’s claims be deemed post-closing on the basis that ownership of the joists was necessary to establish injury, the court said.
It is sufficient that Swehla alleged Weyerhaeuser’s conduct interfered with, and delayed, his ability to close on his home, the court said.
Judge Susan Richard Nelson issued the ruling.
Berger & Montague PC represents the proposed class.
Blackwell Burke PA, and Latham & Watkins LLP represent Weyerhaeuser.
The case is Esanbock v. Weyerhaeuser Co., D. Minn., No. 17-cv-3702, 1/2/19.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/weyerhaeuser-faces-homeowners-suit-in-court-over-formaldehyde
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Commission Urged to Increase Transparency of REACH Authorisations
Jan 3, 2019 | Chemical Watch
By Clelia Oziel
The European Commission should make the REACH authorisation process for SVHCs more transparent and avoid relying on confidentiality rules to reject public access to documents, an NGO said.
In a letter to the director generals of DG Grow and DG Environment – Lowri Evans and Daniel Calleja Crespo – ClientEarth said there is no confidentiality rule that prevents the Commission from ensuring the transparency needed.
On the contrary, the 11 December letter said, information on the order in which authorisation and restriction decisions are to be discussed, and why certain cases are delayed or prioritised, is essential when it comes to monitoring and scrutinising effectively the "exercise of the powers vested in the Commission".
It is the second time ClientEarth has written to the Commission on the issue. It first wrote back in June, questioning "excessive delays" in authorisation decisions. The Commission responded in July, arguing that it is subject to "specific confidentiality rules" and that dissemination is already beyond the minimum requirements.
But the NGO invited the EU executive to "reconsider" this assertion. It should be "particularly vigilant", ClientEarth said, to ensure greater transparency when it is acting in a legislative capacity with regard to REACH decisions.
The NGO made the following recommendations to the EU executive to improve transparency of authorisation processes:
· publish a detailed work plan, including the date at which a draft decision can be expected to be published, and systematically disseminate it in written form to the Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP (Caracal), and allow public access to the relevant website;
· make clear oral communication to Caracal on the reasons for delay or prioritisation; and
· improve ease of access and user experience in the comitology register, with publication of draft, final version, relevant dates and full legislative history.
ClientEarth welcomed the Commission's efforts so far to address the problem. It noted, for example, access given to a detailed work plan at the November Caracal meeting, and said the EU body considered making the information available on a public platform.
Backlogs
The Commission also gave a commitment to clear the backlog of authorisation and restriction cases before the end of the year, and to establish new internal arrangements to speed up the proceeding of the cases, ClientEarth said.
To avoid future backlogs, however, it must work with Echa and EU member states to improve the quality of applications, ClientEarth added.
The Commission argued in its letter that delays were due to some cases being "more complex than others", but the NGO said the issues underlying those cases were mostly due to poor quality information provided in applications, particularly from upstream users.
The EU must not create a "more lenient regime" for these applicants, it said, warning that granting an authorisation to companies that do not provide the necessary information "is equivalent to granting a blank cheque".
It recommended that the Commission:
· improve templates for authorisation applications;
· gather and use more information from third parties;
· undertake actions to find and assess alternatives;
· reject applications failing to meet REACH conditions; and
· withdraw authorisation when key information is found missing from the application.
If there is a large wave of applications, the Commission should prioritise dossiers where delays in decision-making are detrimental to human health or the environment, the NGO's letter said. These include cases for which Echa's Risk Assessment Committee (Rac) has asked for additional measures to be put in place.
Priority should never be given to cases where the applicant has missed the application deadline to allow them continued use of SVHCs, ClientEarth said.
The NGO's lawyer Apolline Roger said the Commission has three months to submit a draft decision to the REACH Committee, but respecting this timeline must not be "at the price of ensuring a full scrutiny of each case".
A recent ClientEarth study has revealed that the EU executive’s decisions are "delayed unreasonably in a whopping 96% of all authorisation cases and in 89% of all restriction cases".
https://chemicalwatch.com/73032/commission-urged-to-increase-transparency-of-reach-authorisations
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Remove Hazardous Substances in Plastics by 2025, EU Body Says
Jan 4, 2019 | Chemical Watch
Hazardous substances should be "completely removed" from plastic products by 2025, the EU Committee of Regions (CoR) has said in an opinion on the European Commission’s plastics strategy.
According to the Committee, this would be necessary in order to make all plastic products and packaging recyclable by that date.
The Committee of Regions is an advisory body made up of representatives of local or regional authorities in the EU. It issues opinions on proposed legislation and agrees on resolutions for further action by the European Union.
According to the EU plastics strategy, published in January last year, by 2025 some 10m tonnes of plastics should be recycled.
However, the presence of hazardous chemicals in recycled materials poses a challenge for a ‘clean’ circular economy.
"Ambition is needed to make the transition towards a circular economy and to tackle the societal and environmental challenges and practical issues relating to plastics," the CoR says.
The Committee's opinion also emphasises the role of innovation and investment towards circular solutions in promoting "social and behavioural changes needed for the transition to a circular economy as a crucial step towards implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals at EU, national, regional and local level".
And it asks the European Commission and EU member states to "fully explore" options for an increase in funding for the circular plastics economy during their negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF).
The Committee also argues that energy recovery is preferable to landfill and that "in the short term", unrecyclable plastic waste, or plastic waste which contains hazardous substances, should be treated in the "most effective and cleanest" waste-to-energy plants, where the high energy content of plastic waste can be utilised to generate heat and power.Future goals
In May last year, Echa committed to identifying all substances of concern and to start regulatory action on them by 2025, mainly by identifying new chemicals and generating relevant data.
However, NGO Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) said it doubted the agency’s ability to reach the goal, given its slow progress in updating the REACH candidate list.
In December NGO Changing Markets Foundation called on carpet manufacturers to agree to a target for all commercial and household carpets put on the EU market to be free of potentially harmful substances by 2025. And supporting the target, Zero Waste Europe called for carpets to be separately collected, reusable and fully recyclable by that date.
In the same month, the European Commission confirmed that the EU’s non-toxic environment strategy, due by the end of the year, will be postponed until the new European Commission takes office in 2019.
Under the 7th Environment Action Programme, which steers the bloc's policies until 2020, the Commission is legally obliged to release its strategy this year on how it will eliminate toxic substances from the environment.
The EU executive is due to publish a communication in January on the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation.
https://chemicalwatch.com/73041/remove-hazardous-substances-in-plastics-by-2025-eu-body-says
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EU Committee Publishes Opinion on Salicylic Acid in Cosmetics
Jan 4, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has adopted a final Opinion on salicylic acid in cosmetics.
The SCCS concluded that the substance is safe when used as preservative at a concentration of 0.5%, except for sprayable and oral products other than lipstick.
The committee also said that salicylic acid used for other purposes is safe at concentrations up to 3% for cosmetic rinse-off hair products and 2% for other products.
However, in some products, such as body lotions, eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick and roll on deodorant, the acid is only safe to use as a preservative and within the specified limit.
According to the classification provided by companies in REACH registrations it is harmful if swallowed and causes serious eye damage.
Meanwhile, a study carried out by the Danish environment ministry said that salicylic acid is also an endocrine disruptor. The study, which also analysed eight other substances, was published in November last year and based on "solid scientific evidence", the ministry said.
https://chemicalwatch.com/73029/eu-committee-publishes-opinion-on-salicylic-acid-in-cosmetics
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Battles on Public Lands, Monuments, ANWR Sure to Resurface
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Daily
By Kellie Lunney
The 115th Congress is a wrap, but many of the previous legislative session's top natural resources issues — from Land and Water Conservation Fund renewal to the size of national monuments — will spill over into the new one, albeit with a few twists now that Democrats control the House.
Among the primary issues to watch: Expect Congress early on to reauthorize LWCF, an urgent priority for many Democrats and Republicans in both chambers.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who is likely to take over the reins of the House Natural Resources Committee, told reporters yesterday he planned to drop a bill soon to permanently renew and fully fund LWCF.
"We're going to have mandatory [funding] in there," the Arizona Democrat said of the yet-to-be-introduced legislation. He acknowledged, however, that the funding component ultimately could be stripped from whatever bill he introduces.
"We'll see what happens," Grijalva said, adding he was "arguing" with some colleagues right now over the language.
The new legislation could come as early as today, he said, but it's more likely by the end of this month.
Grijalva is mindful of the risks of asking for both reauthorization and funding at once. He has said before that he won't let full funding get in the way of securing permanent reauthorization of the bipartisan program, a longtime goal of supporters (E&E Daily, Dec. 21, 2018).
Full funding, while supported by Senate Republicans including Richard Burr of North Carolina, Steve Daines of Montana and Cory Gardner of Colorado, nevertheless faces a steep climb in the upper chamber.
Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who supports reauthorization for LWCF, is not a fan of the mandatory funding component that ended up in the Senate's version of the bill late last session. And it faces major opposition from senators such as Utah Republican Mike Lee, who singlehandedly tanked the massive bipartisan public lands package at the end of December.
Outside groups are anxious for Congress to take care of LWCF quickly.
"The Land and Water Conservation Fund, a critical program for conservation and public access, has languished without funding for close to 100 days," said John Gale, conservation director of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
"Sportsmen and women expect our leaders in Congress to honor their commitment to the American people and prioritize advancement of a public lands package — one that includes permanent reauthorization and full, dedicated funding of LWCF — expeditiously in the new Congress," he said.
Public lands, wildlife
LWCF isn't the only public lands issue on the radar of conservation and sportsmen's groups.
For instance, BHA and the National Wildlife Federation want lawmakers to reintroduce the bipartisan "Recovering America's Wildlife Act" that would authorize up to $1.3 billion annually for state agencies to support state wildlife action plans and amend the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act.
The state wildlife action plans identify species at risk of becoming threatened or endangered and outline how to keep them off the Endangered Species Act list.
That legislation had bipartisan support in both the House and Senate in the 115th legislative session.
Those who oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — which Congress approved in the 2017 tax law — also haven't given up that fight.
"Last Congress did exceptional damage to wildlife and our public lands," said Robert Dewey, vice president for government relations at Defenders of Wildlife. "Instead of following the administration's energy dominance playbook, the new Congress' first actions should include reversing the damage done to protections for migratory birds and iconic places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."
Several House Natural Resources Committee Democrats last spring introduced legislation that would repeal the language in the 2017 tax law that allows oil and gas drilling in a portion of ANWR, and it's likely that bill will resurface (Greenwire, May 22, 2018).
But Democratic efforts to roll back oil and gas exploration in places such as ANWR will meet fierce resistance from many Republicans and other groups supporting traditional energy development.
Jeff Eshelman, senior vice president of operations and public affairs at the Independent Petroleum Association of America, characterized the "Green New Deal" movement as anti-energy.
The creation of the select panel on climate change and expected increase in investigations of the oil and gas industry in the House are a "reiteration of the 'Keep It in the Ground' movement" and "strictly anti-oil and natural gas," he said.
Eshelman said IPAA will be "advocating against and debunking these efforts to derail the industry and its benefits to the economy, national security, global energy leadership and cleaner air."
New Interior secretary
Lawmakers and interest groups also are eagerly awaiting President Trump's nomination to replace Ryan Zinke, something the commander in chief said was coming last month.
Several groups are preparing for Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, currently acting secretary, to officially take the helm. But Bernhardt reportedly prefers being behind the scenes (Greenwire, Jan. 3).
Former Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) is under consideration, as is outgoing House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah).
Bishop has repeatedly said he's not likely to succeed Zinke. "Don't bet your retirement on that," he quipped before the House left town in December (E&E Daily, Dec. 20, 2018).
But yesterday evening he confirmed to E&E News he talked to a White House official about the job over the phone late last month (see related story).
Separately, Grijalva says he's keen on Zinke testifying about alleged misdeeds during his tenure, Politico reported.
Parks and recreation
The House and Senate pushed major bipartisan legislation in the last half of 2018 aimed at fixing the multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog at national parks and other public lands.
The effort didn't go anywhere, but Republicans and Democrats in both chambers have said they plan to revisit it.
The effort would create a five-year, $6.5 billion fund to tackle the maintenance backlog using unallocated revenue from all energy production on federal lands and waters.
With national parks reeling from the partial government shutdown — the Trump administration has kept many of them open to visitors but without facilities maintenance — the issue could resurface in the new Congress sooner rather than later (Greenwire, Jan. 3).
"Piles of trash and human waste are building up," said Phil Francis, chairman of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks. "President Trump took responsibility for creating this mess, and it will be National Park Service employees cleaning it up when they get back to work."
Diane Regas, president and CEO of the Trust for Public Land, called on Trump yesterday to close the national parks that remain open during the shutdown.
"I do not make this request lightly — closing the national parks will disrupt many lives," Regas said in a letter to the president. "But leaving them open without the staffing and resources they need imperils the health and safety of visitors and the long-term integrity of the parks.
"Someday — and we hope that day comes soon — the government will reopen, and we can address the longstanding need to better fund and support our national parks," she said.
Patricia Rojas-Ungar, vice president of government affairs for the Outdoor Industry Association, said the shutdown "has shed a glaring spotlight on how important our national parks and public lands are to Americans' recreation opportunities."
OIA has estimated that businesses facilitating access to public lands generated $887 billion in consumer spending in 2017. The group in April released a study that detailed recreation spending across the country's 435 congressional districts (E&E Daily, April 17, 2018)
.Monuments
House Democrats also plan to push Interior on the administration's decision to significantly shrink two national monuments in Utah and recommend the reduction of others.
Groups such as the Wilderness Society are hoping for a reintroduction and vote on a Democratic bill that would strengthen the Antiquities Act.
Former Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, now governor of New Mexico, led a group of more than 60 Democrats to introduce legislation in July that declares congressional support for 51 national monuments designated between 1996 and 2017, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, the two monuments in Utah that Trump pared down in December 2017 (E&E Daily, July 18, 2018).
Offshore drilling
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had planned to publish this month its latest offshore drilling proposal and related draft environmental impact statement for 2019-2024.
The partial government shutdown has likely affected that timeline, but once it's released and the subsequent comment period begins, expect another round of energetic debate from opponents and supporters.
The issue has not fallen across traditional party lines in Congress, with many coastal Republicans vehemently opposed to offshore drilling near their states.
Among others, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) has been trying since he was elected in 2016 to get the existing moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico extended beyond 2022 (E&E Daily, July 18, 2018).
"I don't care how many times they turn me down, I'm going to keep coming back at them like a rabid dog to get offshore drilling banned in the eastern Gulf," Rooney said in July of his multiple unsuccessful attempts to insert language into various bills that would prohibit drilling off the coast of the Sunshine State.
Rooney is sticking to his word. The Florida Republican yesterday — on the first day of the 116th Congress — introduced legislation to permanently ban oil and gas leasing, preleasing, and related activities in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Green groups are looking to the new Congress to block offshore drilling efforts, fight for park funding and protect public lands, among other things.
"We're counting on both chambers to move quickly to reinstate the Land and Water Conservation Fund — including full funding, which will ensure Congress keeps its promise to our parks and public lands. And we're also looking to the new House majority to pass legislation pushing back on President Trump's offshore drilling expansion," Alex Taurel, conservation director at the League of Conservation Voters, said in an email.
https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2019/01/04/stories/1060110943
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Williams Gets OK to Put Texas Expansion Feeding LNG Projects into Service
Jan 3, 2019 | Platts
By Maya Weber and Ross Weyno
Williams received the go-ahead from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin full service on the 475,000 Dt/d Gulf Connector Expansion Project, designed to feed two LNG export terminals on the Texas coast: Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi terminal and Freeport LNG.
The expansion marks the second Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line project to serve Gulf Coast LNG terminals and follows the company's February 2017 start of the 1.2 Bcf/d Gulf Trace Project feeding Cheniere's Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project.
It comes as US midstream developers are pushing to connect existing networks to growing natural gas export markets, a key source of future demand. Total US LNG feedgas demand averaged 3.4 Bcf/d in 2018 and is expected to grow another 80% in 2019, supported by the startup of the Elba Island, Cameron and Freeport export facilities.
FEEDGAS DEMAND
US LNG feedgas demand has averaged just under 4 Bcf/d this January, down roughly 0.3 Bcf/d (7%) from December. The drop in feedgas deliveries has been shouldered by all three US LNG export facilities: Sabine Pass, Cove Point and Corpus Christi, which just recently began commissioning liquefaction trains in November.
"Since 2017, Williams has now added more than 2 Bcf of export capacity via Transco to directly serve global natural gas markets," Williams spokesman Christopher Stockton in an email. "Projects like Gulf Connector leverage existing Transco gas pipeline infrastructure, which already has a significant presence along the Gulf Coast."
The Gulf Connector Expansion Project (CP16-494) provides incremental firm transportation capacity from St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, to several interconnections, including with Cheniere Corpus Christi Pipeline in San Patricio County, Texas. It consists of three new compressor stations, a new pipeline interconnect and modifications to two compressor stations in southeast Texas.
Partial in-service, approved on November 29, enabled up to 290 MMcf/d of service on an interim basis along the full path of the project. Facilities entering service December 1 included Compressor Station 40 in Hardin County, Texas; Compressor Station 30 in Wharton County, Texas; Compressor Station 23 in Victoria County, Texas; and the Corpus Christi Interconnect in San Patricio County, Texas.SIGNOFF JANUARY 2
On December 13, Transco asked FERC for permission to start remaining facilities, including Compressor Station 17 and Compressor Station 23, and to commence full service of up to 475,000 Dt/day on January 1, 2019. The commission granted that permission January 2.
The expansion will provide firm gas transportation service to Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi Liquefaction, developer of the Corpus Christi LNG export terminal, as well as to Japan 's Osaka Gas Trading and Export, a customer of the Freeport LNG export terminal.
Freeport LNG is targeting the third quarter of 2019 for commercial startup of Train 1, a Q1 2020 start for Train 2, Q2 2020 start for Train 3 and a 2023 start for Train 4.
Cheniere is ramping up the first train from its Corpus Christi LNG plant, which has a nameplate capacity of 4.5 million mt/year, and exported its first cargo in December.
https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/010319-williams-gets-ok-to-put-texas-expansion-feeding-lng-projects-into-service
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BLM Pushes Ahead with Public Meetings on Alaska Drilling
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Energywire
By Margaret Kriz Hobson
The Interior Department has locked public buildings and stopped plowing snow-covered roads in national parks across the nation.
But despite the government shutdown, the Bureau of Land Management still managed to find enough money to pay for public meetings on its proposal to open more land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) to oil and gas development and to allow construction of roads and pipelines in the region.
In a memo sent yesterday to Alaska stakeholders, BLM said it is moving forward with a public scoping meeting tonight in the Alaska Native village of Utqiagvik and additional sessions over the next week in the North Slope villages of Nuiqsut, Wainwright and Point Lay.
The meetings will focus on BLM's proposal to write a new integrated activity plan and an environmental impact statement for the 22.1-million-acre petroleum reserve, located in northwest Alaska.
The current management plan for the reserve, developed in 2013 under the Obama administration, prevents the government from leasing almost half of the NPR-A.
Federal regulators also said they will not change their Jan. 22 deadline for public comments on the proposal.
David Krause, Arctic lands conservation specialist for the Wilderness Society, was critical of BLM's plans to hold public meetings during the government shutdown. "This is a disturbing example of the Trump administration's obsession with selling off and developing our public lands.
"While neglected trash bins and bathrooms are overflowing in our national parks and monuments because nonessential federal workers have been furloughed during the government shutdown, BLM is relentless in its effort to drill for oil in the Arctic," he said.
Late last year, BLM postponed the public meetings and extended the comment deadline on the NPR-A proposal after Anchorage was hit by a major earthquake (Energywire, Dec. 17, 2018).
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2019/01/04/stories/1060110919
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Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
Environmental groups yesterday appealed a set of decisions that squashed their challenges to the sale of millions of acres of Alaskan lands to oil and gas developers.
U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska Judge Sharon Gleason last month rejected motions for summary judgment in two lawsuits accusing the Interior Department of skirting its duties under the National Environmental Policy Act and other statutes. Gleason, an Obama appointee, found that Interior was not required to conduct entirely new environmental analyses to support lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (Greenwire, Dec. 7, 2018).
Environmental plaintiffs in the cases filed their appeals in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"We'll continue to fight actions like this every step of the way," said Kristen Miller, conservation director at the Alaska Wilderness League, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits.
The Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society are also parties to the challenge.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are the plaintiffs in the second case.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2019/01/04/stories/1060110921
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Homes That Make More Energy Than They Use Quickly Pay Back Added Costs
Jan 3, 2019 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
Efficiency should be the core of national, state and local energy policy. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimates that, since 1990, advances in energy efficiency have supplanted the need for more than 300 large power plants, averting the release of hundreds of millions of tons of air pollution and saving consumers nearly $790 billion.
But there’s enormous potential for even more efficiency, and improvements in the energy efficiency of houses and other residential buildings are essential to that goal. Buildings account for 40 percent of all energy usage nationwide. Residential buildings contribute almost 20 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, from the use of electricity and natural gas.
Across the nation, builders and buyers are investing in net zero energy, or ZE, housing – residences that produce as much energy as they use. According to the Department of Energy, ZE housing is at least 40 to 50 percent more efficient than the average home or apartment. Efficiency measures include Energy Star appliances, air and water heat pumps, LED lighting, and insulation of walls, attic and foundation. A combination of energy efficiency and solar power is required to reach net zero energy.
Net zero energy residences cost 7 to 8 percent more than conventional housing, but the energy investment can pay for itself in a surprisingly short time. A recent report from the Rocky Mountain Institute estimates how long it will take in 50 major cities for ZE homes to pay back the added investment in efficiency and solar. Here are the top 10:
Payback Period for Net Zero Energy Homes
City
Years to pay back added cost
San Francisco
7.8
Detroit
9.1
Baltimore
9.2
Columbus, Ohio
9.7
New York
10.1
Phoenix
10.7
Jacksonville, Fla.
10.9
Los Angeles
11
Washington
11
Chicago
11.4
Source: Rocky Mountain Institute.
Interestingly, payback periods don’t depend on region but rather on factors such as electricity rates and labor costs. Shorter payback periods can be realized in cooler-weather cities in the Midwest due to higher heating costs. But the presence of four warm-weather cities in the top 10 show that the efficiency door swings both ways.
The Rocky Mountain Institute cautions that although not all homes in all areas can be ZE, all homes can be highly efficient. The key is being fully electric for central heat and water heating. Homes with gas heat can achieve net zero electricity use.
The Net Zero Energy Coalition publishes an annual report on the extent of the new and retrofit market for ZE housing. Right now, less than 1 percent of all housing in the U.S. is either net zero energy or ready to be made ZE with more efficient systems. But from 2016 to 2017 the number of ZE housing units doubled. According to Building Design+Construction, citing an analysis by Navigant Research, the ZE market in the U.S. is expected to grow by more than 40 percent a year, reaching nearly $130 billion in less than 20 years.
The benefits of high-efficiency housing go beyond cost. To avoid mold, ZE buildings employ ventilation systems to circulate outside and inside air throughout the building while maintaining its efficiency rating. To further improve indoor air quality, ZE building requirements contain guidelines about which building materials to avoid – namely, those that emit volatile organic compounds, such as conventional paint and carpeting – and which to use, with the goal of improving indoor air quality.
The Net Zero Energy Coalition emphasizes that changes in public policy are essential for capturing the economic and public health benefits of energy efficient housing. These policy options include updating building codes to require the necessary efficiency measures, worker training, builder education and proper certification of high-efficiency housing.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2019/01/homes-make-more-energy-they-use-quickly-pay-back-added-costs
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Energy Companies Alerted to China-Linked Hacking Threat
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Energywire
By Blake Sobczak
The Department of Energy warned energy companies about a China-linked hacking campaign last month as part of a budding effort to share more U.S. cybersecurity intelligence with the private sector.
As the Justice Department unsealed indictments against two Chinese nationals accused of cyberespionage just before Christmas, DOE tipped off three privately held groups representing the oil, natural gas and electric utility industries, according to Karen Evans, head of a new cybersecurity office at DOE.
The agency is "making sure that industry has the tools and the information to be able to respond, and be able to discern when they need help [and] what is actually happening," said Evans, who has testified before Congress that she would make information sharing a priority at the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response.
The advance warning to the three information sharing and analysis centers, or ISACs, reflects the government's urgent concerns about the hacking threat, dubbed APT10 in cybersecurity circles (E&E News PM, Dec. 20, 2018). On Wednesday, the FBI issued a technical bulletin warning of Chinese "cyber actors stealing high value information from commercial and governmental victims in the U.S. and abroad," adding to a spate of alerts and media reports since DOJ's Dec. 20 announcement.
Law enforcement officials detailed a 12-year hacking spree by Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong, who allegedly targeted managed service providers, including major technology firms offering "cloud" data hosting to a wide range of organizations worldwide.
The hackers are said to have sought information on U.S. critical infrastructure, including IT, energy and manufacturing firms, as well as oil and gas drillers.
"We briefed the ISACs ahead of time so they would be able to know what the impact of that was, how that applied to managed service providers, how they can provide assistance to their constituency," Evans said in an interview yesterday. "We gave them the background of how to put all those pieces together."
DOJ claims Zhu and Zhang conspired to hack more than 45 technology companies and government organizations across 12 states, including computers at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. The indictment further alleges that the two Chinese citizens acted under orders from the Ministry of State Security's bureau in Tianjin. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in D.C. denied claims that the spy agency played a role in the attacks.
The hackers' interest in U.S. critical infrastructure turned heads at DOE, the agency charged with leading any federal response to energy sector emergencies. Specialists there prepared an "Analysis of Risk in the Energy Sector," or ARES, report as news broke of the APT10 campaign.
Such bulletins include "very specific technical information that can be executed by the grid operators out in their own environments, so that they can work to protect themselves against the threat," Evans noted.
Her office works closest with the Oil and Natural Gas, Downstream Natural Gas and Electricity ISACs, each of which have their own teams of analysts to alert companies that subscribe. Evans said her office leans on them for getting the word out about fast-moving threats like APT10, or any other vulnerabilities — "there's a lot that is happening in the energy sector."
At a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing last September, Evans pledged to make information-sharing a top priority in her newly established assistant secretary position at CESER (Energywire, Sept. 28, 2018).
"I want to make sure that I'm providing [utilities] all the information that they need to have so that they can make sure that they have the proper defenses in place," she said.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2019/01/04/stories/1060110947
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(ACC Mentioned) Positions Filled at Top Rail Regulatory Agency
Jan 3, 2019 | Freight Waves
By John Gallagher
The U.S. Senate confirmed two commissioners yesterday to sit on the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal agency that oversees rates and service within the railroad industry. It is a move that both carriers and their customers believe is necessary for action on pending regulatory proposals.
Patrick Fuchs, a Republican from Wisconsin, and Martin Oberman, a Democrat from Illinois, were confirmed as STB commissioners for five-year terms expiring on December 31, 2023. They join STB Chairman Ann Begeman, a Republican, as Begeman’s previous lone colleague on the board, Deb Miller, a Democrat, awaits renomination. Miller’s term expired on December 31.
Because Begeman had taken a stance to decline acting on major regulatory proceedings until she had a fuller complement of commissioners on what is supposed to be a five-member board, there has been little movement on issues affecting railroads and their customers for almost two years – but that could now change.
“As Congress helps the Board get closer to a full complement of five members, we believe that the agency is now one step closer to realizing its Congressional charter to maintain a proven economic framework that allows the industry to earn the revenues it needs to serve a vast set of customers, while providing appropriate regulatory protections for these same rail shippers,” Association of American Railroads president and CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement.
“We hope that after careful review of pending proposals that the Board forgoes measures that limit the rail industry’s ability to invest for the future.”
Those proposals, many of which are aimed at allowing commodities such as grain, chemicals, and coal to have access to more than one rail line, have been a major concern for shippers of those cargoes for years.
Such access, shippers contend, is needed to ease the effects of rail service disruptions and to discourage railroads from charging what shippers assert are unreasonable rates.
Other issues pending before the board involve rail fuel surcharges, small rate cases, and revenue adequacy proceedings.
“The Board can now get down to business on adopting new policies that will help promote a more competitive and reliable freight rail system,” said Cal Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical shippers, in commenting on the Senate confirmations.
“With more than $200 billion in new capital investment in more than 330 projects to grow chemical manufacturing in the U.S., it’s more important than ever that we have a freight rail system in this country that can help deliver the growth in our industry,” Dooley stated.
Along with Miller, Republican Michelle Schultz, who was nominated last year but has yet to be confirmed, would give the board its full five members.
Former STB chairman Dan Elliott said that even if Begeman continues to put major regulatory decisions on hold until the board is filled, having three members is a significant improvement.
“This is a positive,” he told FreightWaves. “It makes it much easier to do business than having one person calling the shots, and it’s more the way that a board is supposed to be operating.”
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulations/positions-filled-at-top-rail-regulatory-agency
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US EPA Plan Would Hobble Its Ability to Regulate
Jan 4, 2019 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Cheryl Hogue
A Trump administration proposal could make it harder for the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate in the future and endanger existing rules that protect public health.
The proposal would change how the EPA calculates the health and environmental benefits from cuts in toxic air pollutants. The EPA announced the plan Dec. 28, 2018, just hours before it shut down because of a lapse in government funding.
The driver of the proposal is a 2012 regulation from the Obama administration to slash emissions of neurotoxic mercury from coal- and oil-fired power plants. The EPA estimated the cost of the regulation to be between $7.4 billion to $9.6 billion annually. The quantifiable benefits of reducing mercury were $4 million to $6 million.
However, the pollution controls that capture mercury also cut down on emissions of fine particles, which are linked to lung and cardiovascular problems. The health benefits from reduced particulate matter and mercury releases together added up to $33 billion to $90 billion a year, so the EPA under Obama deemed the rule “appropriate and necessary.”
Adopting an industry argument, the Trump administration proposed to reverse that determination based on the costs and benefits of mercury control alone. The EPA says it will leave the rule in place because power companies have spent billions to comply with it.
If finalized, the change would open a new line of legal attack on the mercury rule and potentially others that limit toxic air emissions from chemical plants.
Jeff Holmstead, an attorney for the law firm Bracewell who represents industry clients, says the proposal would apply only to regulatory decisions in which nearly all of the benefits for controlling a hazardous air pollutant stem from limiting other contaminants.
But by not considering these side benefits, “you’re ignoring important effects” on society from regulations, says Alan J. Krupnick, an economist with the think tank Resources for the Future. He says the EPA’s proposal would downplay side benefits while fully tallying their counterparts—the indirect costs of rules. An example of an indirect cost is unemployment if companies opt to close polluting factories.
“They’re trying to cook the books in favor of industry at the expense of the public health of Americans,” says Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/US-EPA-plan-hobble-ability/97/i1
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Pelosi Calls for Climate Action After Retaking Speaker's Gavel
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E News PM
By George Cahlink
California Democrat Nancy Pelosi today reclaimed the speakership of the House, emphasizing in her first address that the American people better understand the "urgency" to address climate change than Congress.
Pelosi did not offer specific policy proposals in a speech that mostly focused on Congress' oversight role. But she highlighted the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis that she created to hold hearings and make recommendations on how to address global warming.
"The American people understand the urgency. The people are ahead of the Congress. The Congress must join them. That is why we have created the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The entire Congress must work to put an end to the inaction and denial of science that threaten the planet and the future," Pelosi told the House chamber shortly after being elected.
Her remarks were met with sustained applause from Democrats. Pelosi called the climate crisis the "existential threat of our time," which she said was highlighted by recent "epic" natural disasters.
The address was at least partly directed at people in the Trump administration and in the House GOP caucus who have questioned the science behind global warming. But Pelosi also hinted at a focus on green jobs, an issue that could draw bipartisan support.
"This is a public health decision for clean air and clean water, an economic decision for America's global preeminence in green technology, a security decision to keep us safe, and a moral decision to be good stewards of God's creation," Pelosi said.
Pelosi, 78, who served as speaker from 2007 to 2011, retook the gavel with 220 votes out of 430 cast, giving her a narrow five-vote victory. A majority of the entire House is required to elect a speaker.
Fifteen Democrats voted against Pelosi, but they did not unite behind a single candidate. Other people who got votes were Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), former Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).
ncoming Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) received 192 votes for speaker, largely uniting his caucus, although there were five votes for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a staunch conservative who lost the minority leader contest late last year.
Pelosi only secured the job that places her second in line for the presidency after agreeing to, in effect, limit her second tour as speaker to four years. She also made concessions aimed at appeasing the party's large class of incoming progressives, including the creation of the climate panel.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) gave a rousing nominating speech for Pelosi to cheers from Democrats as he ticked off a long list of legislative accomplishment in recent years.
Jeffries, however, made no specific mention of accomplishment on the environment or how Pelosi would seek to address climate change in the new Congress.
"Nancy Pelosi is just getting started," Jeffries said. Referring to the speaker by her initials, he added, "Let me be clear, House Democrats are down with NDP."
Many Democrats sported blue-and-white pins reading "Madam Speaker," a nod to Pelosi's historic role as the first female in that role.
Among those wearing a pin were incoming Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who in recent weeks has expressed frustration over Pelosi's push for the select panel on climate.
Greens generally regard Pelosi favorably and have not forgotten her push to have the House pass carbon cap-and-trade legislation when she last served as speaker.
Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, welcomed the newfound focus on global warming from the House and said it signals a "new era of accountability" for combating the Trump administration's "reckless" environmental policies.
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune called Pelosi's election a chance to restore "U.S. leadership on climate action." He also cited her "tireless commitment" to protecting the environment.
https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2019/01/03/stories/1060110901
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House to Launch Climate Panel, But It Won’t Issue Subpoenas
Jan 4, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Dean Scott and Tiffany Stecker
The select climate panel House Democrats are resurrecting in 2019 won’t have the power to subpoena Trump administration officials and other witnesses—but its new leader says she can get another committee to do its bidding.
The House is set to formally launch the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, with Democrats picking nine members and House Republicans selecting six, established under the first title of a rules package (H. Res. 6) that determines how bills will be brought to the floor in the 116th Congress. The House voted 234-197 on Jan. 3 to approve that title.
Democrats who now control the House succeeded in relaunching a climate panel they created more than a decade ago that was later killed when Republicans won control of the chamber in the 2010 elections. But the new select climate panel, to be chaired by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), will lack authority to “take legislative action on any bill or resolution,” according to the rules package.
It also won’t be able to issue subpoenas and take depositions from witnesses. Congressional subpoena power has long been regarded as an important tool to compel witnesses to provide evidence under threat of punishment.
Castor told Bloomberg Environment Jan. 3 she lobbied for the select committee to have legislative authority and subpoena power, but that Democratic leadership decided instead to allow the committee to collaborate with standing committees.
“If we need to subpoena anything, that shouldn’t be a problem working with the Energy and Commerce Committee” or other committees that would hold hearings on climate change, Castor said.
Committee Choices Soon
Committee members for the select committee will be announced in the next week or two, Castor said.
The climate panel was directed to report a series of policy recommendations to various committees by March 31, 2020.
Castor expects competition among many Democratic House members to serve on the select panel. But two Democrats active on climate issues told Bloomberg Environment they’re unlikely to seek a spot on the committee.
Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), who sits on the energy and environment subcommittees in the Energy and Commerce Committee, said he had little interest on a committee with no subpoena or legislative power.
“I’ve worked pretty hard to get where I am,” Peters said.
A spokesman for Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), who will chair the environment subcommittee, said the congressman would focus on enacting climate policies through legislation.
Top-ranking Energy and Commerce Republicans Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan and Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois told Bloomberg Environment they have no interest in joining.
‘A Show Kind of Committee’
The top Republican on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee—which also is expected to focus on the climate issue now that Democrats control the House—also said he won’t seek a seat on the new climate panel.
“I suspect the competition for slots on this committee will be rather intense, and if I remember correctly, with that 2-1 ratio, there won’t be many Republicans,” Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) told Bloomberg Environment Jan. 3.
Republicans willing to join will “have to have a thick skin and a certain set of media skills because this will become a show kind of committee,” he said, likely to be stocked with House Democrats passionate about combating climate change but not “the best versed in the issues or what the long-term environmental or economic impact” of solutions might be, he said.
Castor said she wants to highlight efforts on the state and local level to lower carbon emissions as federal action has stalled, and “shame” fossil fuel companies that have pushed to continue the use of high-carbon fuels.
She is hopeful that Republicans will support hearings on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, green buildings, energy efficiency, and other topics she will broach.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/house-to-launch-climate-panel-but-it-wont-issue-subpoenas
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House Energy Panel to Dedicate First Hearing to Climate Change
Jan 3, 2019 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold its first hearing under the chamber’s new Democratic majority on climate change.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who became the panel’s chairman Thursday when the new Democratic-majority House was sworn in, said climate will come before other major issues within Energy and Commerce’s broad jurisdiction, including health care and technology.
Pallone said he is dedicating the first hearing to climate is meant in part to highlight how Democrats believe Republicans ignored the issue during their eight years in the majority.
“Part of the reason why we want to deal with climate change first is because of the necessity, because of what’s happening, the acceleration of global warming,” he told reporters.
“But it’s also the fact that we haven’t been able to have any hearings on that issue, because the Republicans wouldn’t allow it.”
Pallone said GOP leaders “were all climate deniers,” and that the party consistently blocked Democratic attempts to prioritize climate change in the Energy and Commerce Committee.
The panel said in a statement that the hearing will focus on “assessing the environmental and economic impacts of climate change.”
Pallone said it’s unclear when the hearing will take place, but it will likely be about a week after the committee’s organizational meeting.
How to address the issue of climate change in the majority has divided the House Democratic caucus. Pallone has been an outspoken critic of creating a special select committee on climate change. Energy and Commerce is the main committee with jurisdiction over environment and climate policy, and a new select committee may step on that jurisdiction.
“I think it’s not necessary,” he said in November.
House leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), proposed setting up a special climate panel but with features that address many of the concerns from Pallone and other chairmen of standing committees. The would include giving it no power to pass legislation or issue subpoenas.
By Thursday, Pallone said he accepted the plans for the panel as outlined in the House rules that Democrats are due to vote on soon. It’s been dubbed the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) is in line to be its chairwoman.
“We’ll work with the climate committee,” he said. “They’re going to issue reports and findings and make recommendations to us. And so I’m going to work with them.”
Pallone faced sharp criticisms from progressives for his stance on the select committee. But he denied that making climate the focus of his first hearing is meant to push back on the select committee.
“Every time I’ve ever talked to anybody who’s progressive or a Democrat, they’ve said that they understand that we take it very seriously,” he said.
Pallone announced the hearing plans at a Thursday event in which former Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who chaired Energy and Commerce before Republicans took the House majority in 2011, ceremoniously gave him a gavel.
The new chairman said the next two hearings in his committee after the climate one will be on the impacts of a recent Texas federal court ruling that said the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, is unconstitutional, and on the Trump administration’s family separation policy for undocumented child immigrants.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/423771-house-energy-panel-to-dedicate-first-hearing-to-climate-change
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'There's Nobody There.' Agencies Sputter on Climate
Jan 4, 2019 | E&E Climatewire
By Mark K. Matthews
The government shutdown might only be a partial one, but not when it comes to federal climate efforts.
Among the dozens of agencies and departments shuttered by the shutdown — now in its 14th day — are several shops that spearhead the government's response to global warming, notably NASA, NOAA, the Agriculture Department and EPA.
The impact, so far, has been irritating if not terribly consequential, said activists, analysts and former agency officials. Travel has been curtailed, for example, and research largely has been put on hold.
But they warned that the problems would multiply if President Trump and congressional Democrats can't reach a deal quickly to reopen the federal government.
"The inevitable result [of a shutdown] is that everything costs more and you do less," said Keith Cowing, editor of the space publication NASA Watch.
Most of NASA's workforce has been furloughed, with the exception of top officials and those who work on critical missions such as the continued operation of the International Space Station.
That puts NASA's climate scientists in a strange position, Cowing said. Their instruments and satellites still will collect data, but few if any researchers will be around to analyze the information.
"What's affecting them is affecting every mission at NASA," he said. "There's nobody there. The lights are not on."
It's a similar situation at NOAA. A planning document released last month by the Trump administration ordered the suspension of "most research activities" at NOAA in the event of a shutdown.
That's a bad thing — and not just for NOAA scientists, said Addie Haughey, the associate director of government relations at the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental group.
She said a broad swath of people rely on NOAA for new data, and during a government shutdown, "there's no one to make it available to the public."
Another impact, Haughey added, was the restriction on travel.
Federal officials generally are prohibited from hitting the road during a shutdown, and that means affected agencies won't be represented at major conferences — such as the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society next week in Arizona.
"The current partial government shutdown is frustrating for all of us, but especially for our government employee colleagues who are directly affected," Roger Wakimoto, the group's president, said in a statement.
Over at USDA, climate change efforts are overseen by the Office of the Chief Economist.
A shutdown memo released by the department noted that just about everyone in that division would be furloughed, save a handful of staff. The memo anticipated problems, as well.
"The most significant OCE activity that may lapse during a shutdown is the preparation and release of the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report," according to the memo.
Former EPA officials said one issue to watch is how the shutdown could affect the agency's rulemaking process — including the Trump administration's efforts to replace the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era initiative aimed at cutting emissions from power plants.
"Rulemakings have to consider and respond to public comments. If they don't, it increases the risk that courts will find them arbitrary and capricious," said former EPA acting Deputy Administrator Stan Meiburg. "With no staff to review comments and prepare responses, any effort to rush rulemakings through will only increase this legal risk."
Although that might sound like a good thing to environmentalists, another former EPA official warned that a disruption to the rulemaking schedule can inhibit public input.
"It adds confusion to the process," said Mark Hague, a former EPA regional administrator. It "makes it harder for the public to be a part of the dialogue," he said.
Bob Perciasepe, who once served as EPA's second in command, said he's worried about the shutdown's impact on staff morale.
The agency was in turmoil for months under the leadership of former Administrator Scott Pruitt, and a shutdown is just another unneeded headache.
"My hope is that this kind of management of government doesn't further deplete the talent that is at the EPA," Perciasepe said.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2019/01/04/stories/1060110949
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