Preview Newsletter
PM ACC Clips Report - April 23, 2019
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(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Activity Barometer Shows Gain in April, ACC Says
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), rose 0.5 percent in April on a three-month moving average (3MMA)... -
(ACC Mentioned) U.S. Specialty Chemical Markets Down in March, ACC Says
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes eased 0.2 percent in March, after flat activity in February and a 0.3 percent gain in January. -
(ACC Mentioned) Brownsville Littered With Plastic Bags Again After Ordinance Repealed
Apr 23, 2019 | The Monitor
By Steve Clark
If you’re curious about the impact, nine months on, of the city’s repeal of its single-use plastic bag ordinance after the Texas Supreme Court ruled such ordinances illegal, take a look out the window. The answer, my friend, is blowing in... -
Wheeler Rebuffs Advisory Board's Plan to Review Deregulatory Actions
Apr 22, 2019 | Politico Pro
By Alex Guillén
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler rebuffed the Science Advisory Board’s 2018 request to review several high-profile deregulatory actions while also firing a warning shot against SAB making any policy recommendations. -
Wheeler Vows to Cooperate With Science Advisory Panel
Apr 23, 2019 | E&E - Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is pledging closer cooperation with a key advisory panel following complaints last May the agency is slow and stingy in handing over information. "Moving forward, the EPA will ensure that there is early... -
EPA's Methylene Chloride Ban Draws Lawsuit Over Loophole
Apr 23, 2019 | Politico Pro
By Alex Guillén
The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and Natural Resources Defense Council are suing EPA for not completely banning paint strippers containing methylene chloride. EPA’s final rule released in March banned retail... -
Groups Sue Again Over Deadly Paint Stripper
Apr 23, 2019 | E&E - Greenwire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Environmental, public health and labor advocates are going to court over the Trump administration's continued allowance of commercial uses of a deadly chemical found in paint strippers. The Labor Council for Latin American... -
Parliament Approves Draft EU Regulation for Product Compliance
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The European Parliament has endorsed a draft regulation that aims to ensure better checks and safety of goods sold on the EU market. It follows a report from 2017 which found a high number of unsafe products for sale. -
EU Consults on Pic Changes to Ensure Legal Clarity
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has opened a consultation to implement previously agreed changes to the prior informed consent (Pic) Regulation on the export and import of hazardous substances. The changes reflect an amendment to... -
Commission Delays ED Cosmetics Priority List Publication
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The EU has delayed publication of its priority list of potential endocrine disruptors in cosmetics products until after the new European Commission takes office at the end of the year. The list, which was initially planned for release in... -
Experts Call for 'Identical' ED Management for All Sectors
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
By Dr Emma Davies
The current EU regulatory framework does not protect human health and the environment from the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), according to a French scientific report commissioned by the European Parliament... -
A Threat in Trump’s Back Pocket: Shaking up the Global Oil Industry
Apr 22, 2019 | Politico Pro
By Eli Okun
Taking a cue from President Donald Trump, U.S. lawmakers could soon have a new message to foreign oil producers: NO COLLUSION! Trump regularly deploys his Twitter account to fight oil-price upticks, trying to browbeat the world’s... -
Detroit Denies Request to Leave Petroleum Coke Pit Uncovered
Apr 23, 2019 | AP (In E&E - Greenwire)
Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s request to avoid covering a petroleum coke storage pit in southwest Detroit has been denied. Detroit's buildings department says the company failed to show that people living near the refinery would... -
Bayou Bridge Testing Support for More Crude Takeaway to Gulf Coast
Apr 23, 2019 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Energy Transfer LP and Phillips 66 Partners LP are holding a nonbinding open season for their joint venture Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC to gauge support for expanded oil transportation to the Gulf Coast. -
New Mexico’s Oil, Gas Companies Get First Female Land Overseer
Apr 23, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brenna Goth
Oil and gas companies in New Mexico’s booming Permian Basin have a new landlord—a former teacher who wants the industry to pay more to drill on state lands. That goal is a work in progress for state Land Commissioner Stephanie... -
Colorado Driller to Pay $3.5M for Air Pollution Violations
Apr 23, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tripp Baltz
A Denver-based oil and gas company has agreed to pay more than $3.5 million to settle allegations that it failed to control air pollution at its energy production facilities in northeast Colorado. HighPoint Operating Corp, a subsidiary... -
More Than 80 Percent of Waste From Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Drilling Stays in the State: Report
Apr 23, 2019 | Environmental Health News
By Kristina Marusic
More than 80 percent of all waste from Pennsylvania's oil and gas drilling operations stays inside the state, according to a new study that tracked the disposal locations of liquid and solid waste from these operations over 26 years. -
Railroad Commission, Kinder Morgan sued over route of Permian Highway Pipeline
Apr 22, 2019 | Houston Chronicle
By Sergio Chapa
Hays County, the city of Kyle and a coalition of Hill Country landowners have filed a lawsuit to fight the route of Kinder Morgan's proposed Permian Highway Pipeline and challenge how the state agency that regulates the oil and gas... -
Why Some Landfills are Exploring Virtual Pipelines to Capitalize on Gas
Apr 23, 2019 | Waste360
By Arlene Karidis
Bulk transportation of renewable natural gas(RNG) by truck, or a virtual pipeline, is a growing industry in the U.S. While some landfill owners are setting up virtual pipelines to fuel their fleets, a few are tapping into these systems to get gas... -
When Office Buildings Go Beyond Green
Apr 23, 2019 | New York Times
By Joe Gose
Developers and landlords have for decades sought green certification to help them attain a level of sustainability that can make their buildings more efficient, and cheaper, to maintain in the long run. In turn, the buildings can fetch... -
The Energy 202: Trump Isn't Fully Funding a U.N. Climate Program. So Michael Bloomberg Is.
Apr 23, 2019 | Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni
When Michael Bloomberg announced he was not running for president, the 77-year-old former New York mayor said would rather spend his remaining days (and considerable wealth) addressing issues dear to him -- including climate...
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(ACC Mentioned) Chemical Activity Barometer Shows Gain in April, ACC Says
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), rose 0.5 percent in April on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, the second monthly gain after several weak months. On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer is up 4.1 percent (3MMA).
The unadjusted measure of the CAB rose 0.8 percent in April and 0.7 percent in March, ACC said. The diffusion index was steady at 65 percent in April, an improvement over the winter months. The diffusion index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored. The CAB reading for March was revised upward by 0.64 points and that for February by 0.10 points.
“The latest CAB signals gains in U.S. commercial and industrial activity through mid-2019, but at a slow pace,” said Kevin Swift, chief economist at ACC. “As a result, the recovery and expansion underway is likely to surpass the record of 120 months set during the 1990s. The CAB reading suggests that there are glimmers of hope for improving activity in the closing months of the year.”
The CAB has four main components, each consisting of a variety of indicators: 1) production; 2) equity prices; 3) product prices; and 4) inventories and other indicators.
Production-related indicators in April were mixed. Trends in construction-related resins, pigments and related performance chemistry were mixed and suggest further, albeit slow, gains in housing activity. Plastic resins used in packaging and in consumer and institutional applications were slightly positive. Performance chemistry and U.S. exports were mixed. Equity prices rebounded sharply in April, while product and input prices rose. Inventory and other indicators were positive.
The CAB is a leading economic indicator derived from a composite index of chemical industry activity. The chemical industry has been found to consistently lead the U.S. economy’s business cycle, given its early position in the supply chain, and this barometer can be used to determine turning points and likely trends in the wider economy. Month-to-month movements can be volatile, so a three-month moving average of the barometer is provided. This provides a more consistent and illustrative picture of national economic trends.
Applying the CAB back to 1912, it has been shown to provide a lead of two to fourteen months, with an average lead of eight months at cycle peaks as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The median lead was also eight months. At business cycle troughs, the CAB leads by one to seven months, with an average lead of four months. The median lead was three months. The CAB is rebased to the average lead (in months) of an average 100 in the base year (the year 2012 was used) of a reference time series. The latter is the Federal Reserve’s Industrial Production Index.https://www.chemengonline.com/chemical-activity-barometer-shows-gain-in-april-acc-says/?printmode=1
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(ACC Mentioned) U.S. Specialty Chemical Markets Down in March, ACC Says
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Engineering
By Scott Jenkins
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes eased 0.2 percent in March, after flat activity in February and a 0.3 percent gain in January. All changes in the data are reported on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis.
Of the 28 specialty chemical segments ACC monitors, only eight expanded in March, down from 12 in February and 14 in January. Nineteen markets experienced decline in March and one was flat. During March, large market volume gains (1.0 percent and over) occurred only in construction chemicals and textile specialties.
During March, the overall specialty chemicals volume index was up 3.8 percent on a year-over-year (Y/Y) 3MMA basis. Year-earlier comparisons have been easing since the third quarter 2018, ACC says. The index stood at 115.3 percent of its average 2012 levels in January. This is equivalent to 7.85 billion pounds (3.56 million metric tons). On a Y/Y basis, there were gains in 20 market and functional specialty chemical segments, while volumes were down in eight segments, ACC notes.
Performance chemistry reflects trends in manufacturing. For the first quarter as a whole, specialty chemical market volumes were essentially flat, ACC says.
Specialty chemicals are materials manufactured on the basis of the unique performance or function and provide a wide variety of effects on which many other sectors and end-use products rely. They can be individual molecules or mixtures of molecules, known as formulations. The physical and chemical characteristics of the single molecule or mixtures along with the composition of the mixtures influence the performance end product. Individual market sectors that rely on such products include automobile, aerospace, agriculture, cosmetics and food, among others.
Specialty chemicals differ from commodity chemicals. They may only have one or two uses, while commodities may have multiple or different applications for each chemical. Commodity chemicals make up most of the production volume in the global marketplace, while specialty chemicals make up most of the diversity in commerce at any given time, and are relatively high value with greater market growth rates.
https://www.chemengonline.com/u-s-specialty-chemical-markets-down-in-march-acc-says/
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(ACC Mentioned) Brownsville Littered With Plastic Bags Again After Ordinance Repealed
Apr 23, 2019 | The Monitor
By Steve Clark
If you’re curious about the impact, nine months on, of the city’s repeal of its single-use plastic bag ordinance after the Texas Supreme Court ruled such ordinances illegal, take a look out the window.
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
The flimsy bags that virtually disappeared from the cityscape as a result of the ordinance are making a comeback, though whether the problem becomes as bad as it was before remains to be seen.
When Brownsville enacted the state’s first plastic-bag ordinance in January 2010, the lightweight sacks were everywhere: caught in tree branches and along fence lines, clogging resacas and stormwater drains. The Brownsville Public Utility Board reported finding large numbers of the bags during the course of resaca restoration, and noted that the bags can harm resaca wildlife.
The city’s ordinance prohibited free distribution of plastic bags at grocery store points-of-sale and other retail businesses, though customers were able to get unlimited plastic bags for a $1 fee per transaction. The city dropped the fee in 2017 after Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, filed suit.
Between 2011 and 2017 the fee generated more than $4 million, funds that went toward the purchase of sanitation trucks, street sweepers and other equipment, according to the city.
The death knell for bag ordinances in Brownsville and the several other Texas cities that passed them, including South Padre Island, was last year’s ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of Laredo Merchants Association v. City of Laredo. Justices sided with the plaintiff in interpreting Laredo’s ordinance as being in violation of state law, which forbids any rule to “prohibit, restrict, for solid waste management purposes, the sale or use of a container or package in a manner not authorized by state law.”
The Laredo Merchants Association did not and does not exist except as the name of the plaintiff in the lawsuit, though internet searches of the name formerly led to the website of the Empower Texans political action committee.
Following the Supreme Court decision, Paxton declared all bag ordinances in the state unenforceable. While he framed the issue as being all about the primacy of state law over local ordinances, it’s also true that the lobbying group American Progressive Bag Alliance, which represents the plastic bag manufacturing industry, has spent considerable resources successfully challenging bag ordinances and pushing preemptive anti-bag-ban legislation in Texas and other states.
APBA was founded in 2005 and originally was housed within the American Chemistry Council, according to the Sierra Club.
Rose Timmer, executive director of Healthy Communities of Brownsville, who pushed hard for the city’s bag ordinance in the beginning, said it breaks her heart to see plastic bags littering the city and few shoppers bothering to bring reusable bags to the store anymore.
“It’s sad,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of people trying to get in touch with me to see if we’re going to fight it.”
Timmer said the city was very supportive in helping get the ordinance passed, though she was disappointed when commissioners voted to repeal it immediately after Paxton’s pronouncement without making a stand.
Andrew Dobbs, legislative director for Texas Campaign for the Environment, said that in Austin, which also had a bag ordinance, plastic bags haven’t come roaring back after the repeal ala Brownsville and Laredo.
“Here in Austin, most of the big retailers have not brought the bags back,” he said. “They’re hidden away somewhere and you have to ask for them.”
California and New York have banned single-use plastic bags, and Hawaii has a de facto ban. Major cities such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle have passed bag bans, while Boulder, Colo., New York City, Portland, Maine, and Washington D.C. are among the cities with a combination of bans and fees on bags, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Bangladesh was the first country to ban plastic bags, China, Israel, Morocco, South Africa and The Netherlands are among several other countries that have followed suit. New Zealand initiated a one-year phase-out of plastic bags last year.
Dobbs predicted the tide in the United States will turn against plastic bags just as it did, eventually, against the cigarette industry, though it’s not likely to happen soon.
“Unfortunately it’s going to be a very long-term fight to be able to get back to where we need to be,” he said. “Brownsville was leading the way. We may be one of the last ones when we get it back. But the die is cast historically. Single-use plastics bags are going to be going away sooner or later. It’s just too bad we didn’t get to keep leading on that issue.”
https://www.themonitor.com/2019/04/23/brownsville-littered-plastic-bags-ordinance-repealed/
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Wheeler Rebuffs Advisory Board's Plan to Review Deregulatory Actions
Apr 22, 2019 | Politico Pro
By Alex Guillén
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler rebuffed the Science Advisory Board’s 2018 request to review several high-profile deregulatory actions while also firing a warning shot against SAB making any policy recommendations.
The move comes as Wheeler tussles with a separate scientific entity, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, over the use of special expert panels, in the latest sign of growing tension between Trump EPA officials and the expert bodies that are designed to provide the agency with outside advice.
In a letter dated Friday and posted online Monday, Wheeler vowed to take steps to better engage with SAB following complaints from some members that EPA was giving the panel little to no warning about a slew of planned actions. That pledge includes ensuring "more rapid and frequent briefings to the SAB on major proposed regulations shortly after their release," Wheeler wrote.
But Wheeler also reiterated that SAB's mission is not to drive EPA policy. He noted that SAB's handbook allows the panel to comment on the "policy implications of scientific analyses but should not 'cross the line' into policy recommendations."
"The policy decisions that I and other EPA officials are responsible for making are informed by the scientific considerations, including, where appropriate, advice from the SAB and other advisory bodies," Wheeler wrote. "But, ultimately, in exercising the authority given to us by Congress, the EPA must take account of a wide range of considerations if the judgments we make and the actions we take within the proper range of that authority are to be reasonable, defensible and consistent with our responsibilities to the American people."
In a footnote, Wheeler also quoted from court rulings and congressional reports that concluded SAB plays only an advisory role and the administrator does not have to seek its approval to take any action.
As for SAB’s May 2018 requests to review several high-profile deregulatory actions, Wheeler concluded that such reviews should mostly be handled by the separate Clean Air Act Advisory Committee or are otherwise not appropriate for SAB review.
That includes EPA’s work to repeal the carbon dioxide-cutting Clean Power Plan and replace it with the more lenient Affordable Clean Energy rule, which Wheeler said is mostly about statutory interpretation, not scientific questions. EPA therefore “does not anticipate using any information that would be considered influential scientific information or highly influential scientific assessments,” he wrote.
As for EPA’s proposal loosening restrictions on carbon pollution from future power plants, Wheeler offered to brief SAB, but said the agency already has engaged with CAAAC on the rulemaking. EPA’s proposal last year would raise the emissions limits for new coal plants to drop any requirement to use carbon capture and storage technology, a change that EPA has admitted is not likely to lead to any new coal plants being built in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Wheeler said work on methane rules for new oil and gas wells, EPA’s proposal to roll back auto emissions limits and EPA’s aborted plan to ease enforcement of a glider truck emissions rule are best handled by CAAAC, not SAB.
“The EPA believes that CAAAC and its Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee would be more appropriate venues for any future necessary advice on these actions,” Wheeler wrote.
Wheeler did anticipate working with SAB on EPA’s proposed “scientific transparency” rulemaking.
EPA’s transparency proposal called for full public access to underlying data in studies used by EPA in rulemakings. Critics argued that such a restriction could disadvantage key academic studies in part due to concerns about protecting participants’ private data.
"The EPA would benefit from an SAB consultation on existing mechanisms for secure access to confidential business information and personally identifiable information as discussed in the proposal,” Wheeler wrote.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2019/04/wheeler-rebuffs-advisory-boards-plan-to-review-deregulatory-actions-1373439
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Wheeler Vows to Cooperate With Science Advisory Panel
Apr 23, 2019 | E&E - Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is pledging closer cooperation with a key advisory panel following complaints last May the agency is slow and stingy in handing over information.
"Moving forward, the EPA will ensure that there is early engagement between the EPA and the full Science Advisory Board, including more rapid and frequent briefings to the SAB on major proposed regulations shortly after their release," Wheeler wrote in a letter last week to Michael Honeycutt, the board's chairman.
That engagement will include stepped-up efforts to keep the 45-member panel up to speed on EPA's tracking of peer review of "influential regulatory science," Wheeler wrote. He is also asking the agency's program officers to work on ensuring that the process for seeking scientific advice, particularly when it involves specific regulations, factors in the activities of other EPA advisory panels.
His letter, posted on the board's website yesterday, comes almost 10 months after Honeycutt had stressed the need for "more complete and timely information" to help the board make recommendations and decisions on the science underlying "planned actions." As part of the same request, Honeycutt had also sought more information on the peer review linked to the science used for specific activities.
Honeycutt, the toxicology director at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, could not immediately be reached for comment today on Wheeler's letter. Wheeler became acting EPA chief last July following Scott Pruitt's forced resignation; he then won Senate confirmation in February to hold the job on a long-term basis. EPA press aides similarly did not respond to an email asking why it had taken him the better part of a year to address SAB's concerns.
The board, which is named by the EPA administrator, is charged with providing outside advice on an array of scientific and technical issues. At its last public meeting in May, some members had complained of difficulty in getting EPA to hand over information used to make decisions.
"We make a request for information, and we get hardly anything in return," Chris Frey, a North Carolina State University engineering professor, said at the time, while noting that the problem dated back to the Obama administration (Climatewire, June 1, 2018).
At the same meeting, the board also agreed to review the science underlying several particularly contested Trump administration proposals, including its plan to limit the types of scientific studies that can be used in crafting major regulations and the rollback of long-term vehicle fuel efficiency standards.
Eleven months later, the board's online list of current activities does not reflect any work on those reviews, although the panel has issued several advisory reports on such topics as the assessment of biogenic carbon dioxide emissions from stationary sources.
Wheeler's letter, however, includes updates on the status of the proposals flagged by SAB; he also said the agency will likely be tapping the board for advice on improvement in risk communications, an update to EPA's 2005 guidelines for carcinogen risk assessment and the creation of guidelines for noncancer risk assessment.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2019/04/23/stories/1060206157
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EPA's Methylene Chloride Ban Draws Lawsuit Over Loophole
Apr 23, 2019 | Politico Pro
By Alex Guillén
The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and Natural Resources Defense Council are suing EPA for not completely banning paint strippers containing methylene chloride.
EPA’s final rule released in March banned retail sales of the paint strippers and said the agency will work on a federal training program and other steps for its commercial uses. And EPA said an outright ban on that use could be on the table in a future rulemaking.
But the agency was wrong not to immediately ban all uses of methylene chloride paint strippers, the groups argue. Many of the known deaths attributed to the chemical happened to trained workers, according to the advocacy groups.
Direct exposure can lead to death when workers are overcome by fumes and subsequently suffocate. Long term exposure to the chemical is linked to cancer and other ailments.
“There is no law, science or policy behind the exclusion of workers from EPA’s methylene chloride rule. It is a craven and illegal giveaway to companies that want to continue to manufacture and sell deadly paint strippers,” said Earthjustice attorney Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2019/04/epas-methylene-chloride-ban-draws-lawsuit-over-loophole-3121658
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Groups Sue Again Over Deadly Paint Stripper
Apr 23, 2019 | E&E - Greenwire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
Environmental, public health and labor advocates are going to court over the Trump administration's continued allowance of commercial uses of a deadly chemical found in paint strippers.
The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit last week over EPA's refusal to ban commercial uses of methylene chloride, which can cause heart failure and kill people exposed to it.
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group; Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families; and Lauren Atkins and Wendy Hartley — two mothers whose sons died while using the chemical — filed a similar lawsuit. They are represented by Bob Sussman, a high-ranking EPA official during the Obama and Clinton administrations.
Both challenges are in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The groups and individuals had previously sued EPA for inaction on the chemical.
In March, EPA agreed to ban consumer sales of the product but rejected a proposal to ban commercial uses. Critics say the approach creates a major loophole that benefits chemical companies but leaves workers vulnerable (E&E News PM, March 15).
"There is no law, science or policy behind the exclusion of workers from EPA's methylene chloride rule," Earthjustice attorney Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, who is representing the labor council, said in a statement today. "It is a craven and illegal giveaway to companies that want to continue to manufacture and sell deadly paint strippers."
Hector Sanchez Barba, head of the labor council, noted that methylene chloride has already killed dozens of workers.
"This is an inadmissible and criminal attack against our communities," he said. "We will continue to fight for the rights of working families so that Latino and immigrant workers, as well as all workers across our country, are granted the protections needed to keep them safe on the job."
EPA does not comment on pending litigation. The agency is seeking public input for a future program to establish training for commercial uses of the chemical.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2019/04/23/stories/1060205707
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Parliament Approves Draft EU Regulation for Product Compliance
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The European Parliament has endorsed a draft regulation that aims to ensure better checks and safety of goods sold on the EU market. It follows a report from 2017 which found a high number of unsafe products for sale.
If adopted, the regulation would mean that online companies from outside the EU selling electrical and electronic goods into that market will face new compliance obligations under the RoHS Directive.
In a plenary session on 16 April, Parliament voted 562 in favour of the draft Commission Regulation on market surveillance and compliance of products. There were 60 votes against and 33 abstentions.
The new measures include an obligation on online companies to appoint an economic operator responsible for compliance for certain products.
Aidan Turnbull, director of online database BOMCheck for REACH and RoHS compliance declarations, recently said the obligation had become one of the most contentious aspects of the new draft regulation.
The operator is "responsible for compliance information" as a precondition for making products available on the EU market, he added.
The European Council will vote on the draft regulation in May.
https://chemicalwatch.com/76743/parliament-approves-draft-eu-regulation-for-product-compliance
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EU Consults on Pic Changes to Ensure Legal Clarity
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has opened a consultation to implement previously agreed changes to the prior informed consent (Pic) Regulation on the export and import of hazardous substances.
The changes reflect an amendment to Annexes I and V adopted in 2013, a year before the Regulation began to apply. Pic entered into force in 2012 and has applied since 2014.
The changes were carried out under the previous regulation of 2008 concerning the export and import of dangerous chemicals. These were not duly reflected in Pic Regulation when it became effective, but have been implemented by the relevant authorities and operators since 2014 on the assumption that they were, the Commission said.
They will now apply retroactively from 1 March 2014 to ensure legal clarity and consistency, it added.
The consultation period will run until 14 May.
As the draft amendment reproduces the 2013 changes, which member states have already approved, a written consultation of member state experts was considered sufficient, the Commission said.
Annexes I and V were last amended in March.
https://chemicalwatch.com/76733/eu-consults-on-pic-changes-to-ensure-legal-clarity
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Commission Delays ED Cosmetics Priority List Publication
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
The EU has delayed publication of its priority list of potential endocrine disruptors in cosmetics products until after the new European Commission takes office at the end of the year.
The list, which was initially planned for release in the first quarter of 2019, will comprise suspected EDCs that are not already banned from use in cosmetic products, or do not have specific prohibitions applicable to carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxicant (CMR) substances.
At the end of 2018, the Commission drew up a preliminary list, based on a screening study carried out in the context of an impact assessment in the pesticides and biocides sectors.
The list was shared with the Commission’s working group on cosmetic products in December, which generated further input.
Based on this, the EU executive conducted an internal analysis, consulted the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) and identified a number of new potential EDCs in cosmetic products.
Once the list is published the Commission will launch a three-month open call for data. After that the SCCS could undertake a risk assessment, which may lead to possible regulatory measures for these substances if they are found to be unsafe for use in cosmetic products.
In November, a European Commission report said EU provisions to control endocrine disrupting chemicals in cosmetics are "adequate".
The report is part of the delayed review of the cosmetics products Regulation concerning substances with endocrine disrupting properties. The EU executive was under an obligation to deliver this by January 2015.
At the end of 2018, the Commission announced that it will launch a comprehensive screening of existing legislation related to endocrine disrupting chemicals, as part of a long-overdue strategy that targets harmonised identification criteria and coherent policies.
MEPs have criticised the strategy and have pressured the EU executive to take concrete action on EDCs in toys, cosmetics and FCM sectors by June 2020.
https://chemicalwatch.com/76752/commission-delays-ed-cosmetics-priority-list-publication
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Experts Call for 'Identical' ED Management for All Sectors
Apr 23, 2019 | Chemical Watch
By Dr Emma Davies
The current EU regulatory framework does not protect human health and the environment from the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), according to a French scientific report commissioned by the European Parliament Committee on Petitions (Peti).
The report provided background before the European Parliament votedto adopt a resolution calling for greater EU action to regulate EDCs.
"It is very unlikely that the aim of having all EDCs recognised as substances of very high concern by 2020 will be achieved, as promised by the 7th Environment Action Programme, write the report authors Barbara Demeneix and Rémy Slama.
The experts call for "identical management of EDCs across all sectors for which EDC use is very likely to entail population exposure, notably pesticides, food contact materials and additives, consumer goods, cosmetics, medical devices and toys".
There are currently "insufficient data requirements" to efficiently identify EDCs in any sector, they write. "The use of EDC tests covering all EDC modalities and endpoints should be made compulsory in all application dossiers submitted by the industry," they add.
But they also identify an "urgent need" to accelerate test method development and validation, especially for the thyroid system and metabolic hormones. Regulators also need to make better use of academic publications when assessing EDC properties, they add.
The authors point out that the current OECD test guideline validation process can take as long as a decade. "One of the main problems is that the country proposing the test has to find the financial and infrastructural resources to carry the tests out which, in the current economic climate, can be challenging," they say.
France is aware of the problem and has proposed a national centre for EDC testing and validation in its EDC strategy, they add.
Beyond test development, the experts suggest six research areas that need prioritising: epigenetic effects of EDCs; effects across generations; effects on the microbiome; green chemistry; novel EDC modalities; and characterising dose-response functions for EDC effects in humans.
Low-dose effects
The scientific report covers non-monotonic effects, where EDCs have been observed to cause stronger adverse effects at low doses than at higher exposures. As a result, "trying to characterise dose-response functions and identify safe thresholds by testing a small number of doses (usually three in some regulatory tests) may be inefficient for EDCs," they suggest.
They caution that "it is unlikely that safe levels can be set", given the scientific knowledge on specific actions of EDCs. "In consequence, if a substance is an EDC, an 'authorised level' (or risk assessment) logic needs to be replaced by a no exposure logic."
The researchers are confident that their recommendations "will not lead to a ban of a large number of poorly characterised substances". Following the recommendations "would only lead to decreased use or ban for substances with evidence of an adverse effect and their use in products entailing exposure of the general population," they conclude.
Professor Demeneix is a team leader in a National Centre for Scientific Research unit at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Dr Slama is an environmental epidemiologist and senior investigator at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research.
https://chemicalwatch.com/76691/experts-call-for-identical-ed-management-for-all-sectors
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A Threat in Trump’s Back Pocket: Shaking up the Global Oil Industry
Apr 22, 2019 | Politico Pro
By Eli Okun
Taking a cue from President Donald Trump, U.S. lawmakers could soon have a new message to foreign oil producers: NO COLLUSION!
Trump regularly deploys his Twitter account to fight oil-price upticks, trying to browbeat the world’s oil-producing bloc — the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — into boosting production so prices will fall. His administration’s Monday announcement on ending sanctions waivers for buying Iranian oil risks pushing prices higher and could rev up congressional calls to push OPEC harder.Now Trump’s saber-rattling on OPEC has oil producers and traders unnerved by the prospect he could back cartel-busting legislation that sends prices into a tailspin.
The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, a bipartisan bill known as NOPEC, would allow the attorney general to bring an antitrust suit against the bloc — removing the sovereign immunity that currently protects OPEC countries. Lawmakers have been trying and failing to turn it into law for two decades.
Trump’s badgering of OPEC has breathed new life into the effort and renewed attention on it from Wall Street to Texas shale fields to OPEC’s Vienna headquarters.
“We are hostage to other countries’ decisions based on their national interests, not on ours,” retired Adm. Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence under Obama and a NOPEC proponent, said recently.
Long before he became president, Trump openly endorsed the idea in his 2011 book “Time to Get Tough.” Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, who heads the Justice Department’s antitrust division, backed NOPEC in a 2008 op-ed. The DOJ, which would have the ultimate power to bring a suit, hasn’t taken a position on the bill and declined to comment.
Trump closely tracks oil prices — which are featured regularly on cable TV business programs — and has tweeted frustrations with OPEC nine times over the past year, usually whenever price spikes push the threat back into headlines. He’s tweeted another seven times about oil prices and production more broadly.
His oil fixation appears to come from a recognition of oil’s pivotal role in the economy: Rising gasoline prices, which can quickly burn through consumer pocketbooks, have been associated with most U.S. recessions since World War II. Yet two nations Trump has engaged with most — Russia and Saudi Arabia — are pivotal in pushing prices higher.
The Trump tweets are turning heads around the world. They’re often moving markets, at least for a day or two. And Trump has helped reanimate the OPEC bloc as one of American politicians’ favorite international boogeymen — in part a holdover from dynamics of the 1970s and ’80s that still underlie many of the president’s political instincts.
Oil experts are split over what happens next. They’re waiting to see if Trump will finally weigh in on NOPEC from the White House — particularly if prices rise much more over a short time period. Those two changes are “the matches that could set the thing afire,” said Bob McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group.
Heading into Trump’s re-election campaign, the national average price of gas currently sits under $3 per gallon. It’s been rising gradually through most of 2019, though oil prices are still below their most recent peak in early October. Crucial Midwestern swing states have seen some of the biggest hikes this year.
Some analysts predict that if it breaches the $3 threshold, pain at the pump will surge into political salience. Trump’s political team has been focused on touting the country’s extended economic expansion, on track to become the longest in history this summer, as a central reelection messaging plank.
Politicians have been happy to cast OPEC as the central culprit behind high gas prices for decades. Many still do.
But that might not reflect reality as cleanly as it once did. U.S. oil production has been surging during the Obama and Trump administrations, consistently breaking old records.
As the energy landscape has swung toward U.S. shale production, what’s best for American businesses and consumers isn’t as clear as it was during the 20th-century OPEC battles.
“The ideal oil price for the U.S. now may be a Goldilocks scenario of not too high, not too low,” said Jason Bordoff, director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
Enter NOPEC. It’s a debate that scrambles the usual partisan battle lines and dances across nearly every foreign policy flashpoint.
Supporters view the bill as a fundamental free-market measure, applying the principle of fighting anti-competitive corporate collusion to countries that are acting like businesses. They say oil markets should be left to supply and demand — not manipulated by a group that has wielded significant control over prices for decades.
Even momentum toward passage could already be giving the U.S. leverage. “I think oil prices would be $10 higher but for the fact that this bill is threatening,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the program for energy security and climate change at the Council on Foreign Relations.
An array of NOPEC opponents — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, domestic oil interests and OPEC member nations — warn that the legislation would plunge the oil world into chaos, unsettling markets where OPEC has recently acted as a stabilizing force. Price spikes might follow, but so could a crash in prices not seen in decades.
That would ravage the growing U.S. oil industry, which last year leapt ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the largest producer of crude oil in the world and supports millions of jobs.
Opponents also worry that NOPEC would upend fragile diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and other states in the bloc.
OPEC is signaling concern. The bloc reportedly has been considering its first-ever major influence campaign in the U.S. to try to improve its public image. OPEC officials have warned Wall Streetabout risks from NOPEC. Russia in December even cited the bill as one reason it didn’t want to pursue more formal integration with OPEC.
NOPEC has appeared to divide the Trump administration, which has been mulling it internally through an interagency review process for months.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry warned in February that the bill could have ramifications “way past its intended consequences.”
Many experts expect the ultimate decision could emerge in a Trump tweet. “That would be a pretty straightforward catalyst,” said Kevin Book, managing director for research at ClearView Energy. “This is a bill that’s going to be difficult for the Congress to stop.”
NOPEC sailed out of the House Judiciary Committee without objection in February — a rare occasion for bipartisan bonhomie, as Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) called it “a tool to speak softly and carry a big stick.”
“Ultimately this legislation allows us to fight back,” said Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), the bill’s House sponsor.
But the bill has yet to come up for a vote on the House floor or in Senate committee. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) office declined to comment.
Several experts told POLITICO that vocal support from bands of Judiciary Committee members hasn’t historically extended up the ranks. And Trump’s predecessors consistently threatened vetoes. Even when NOPEC has progressed — it passed both chambers in 2007 — the bill never had presidential support.
“House and Senate leadership are not enthusiastic about this thing,” McNally said. But if Trump backed it, “is Mitch McConnell going to die on NOPEC Hill? I don’t think so.”
Some lawmakers who favor NOPEC view it as a way to punish Saudi Arabia if Trump won’t otherwise take on Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is seen as a Trump administration ally.
But a tangled web of foreign policy considerations is at play. Dangling over the debate are two impending deadlines and several geopolitical crises, such as chaos in Libya.
The Trump administration’s sanctions on Iranian oil have tightened oil supplies, helping drive prices up. The announcement this week — ahead of an early May deadline — that the U.S. will end waivers for several countries that are still buying Iranian oil could nudge prices even higher. Iranian officials in return threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, which is crucial for moving oil.
Already, oil prices rose Monday on the news, though Trump tweeted a rare message of cooperation with OPEC to try to tamp down concerns: “Saudi Arabia and others in OPEC will more than make up the Oil Flow difference in our now Full Sanctions on Iranian Oil.” That coordination, if it pans out and tames prices, could spell bad news for boosters of the NOPEC legislation.
In June, OPEC and allies like Russia will convene in Vienna. There they’ll debate whether to continue supply cuts that reduced output by more than 1 million barrels a day.
Then there’s the crisis in Venezuela. The ongoing political tumult and massive humanitarian disaster under Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government had already shrunk oil output — and then the Trump administration’s sanctions, aimed at forcing Maduro out, hit.
Even as new foreign policy developments alter the NOPEC calculus daily, there’s plenty of skepticism that Trump will actually go out on a limb and endorse it — without which it might be difficult for backers to muscle the bill past congressional leaders.
In the administration, “the reticence is because of just how big of a market impact this [could] have,” said Varsha Koduvayur, a senior research analyst on the Gulf states at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank. It would be “unprecedented to strip the sovereign immunity that has guarded OPEC members” for six decades, she added.
And lawmakers might prefer other avenues to punish Saudi Arabia for its perpetuation of Yemen’s humanitarian disaster and the murder last year of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Both chambers recently tried to force Trump’s hand on support for the Yemen war.
But with ties to so many volatile countries and mercurial political actors, the NOPEC debate could bubble above the surface at any moment.
“In today’s world,” Jaffe said, “it’s very hard to predict what could blow up.”
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2019/04/a-threat-in-trumps-back-pocket-shaking-up-the-global-oil-industry-1373935
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Detroit Denies Request to Leave Petroleum Coke Pit Uncovered
Apr 23, 2019 | AP (In E&E - Greenwire)
Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s request to avoid covering a petroleum coke storage pit in southwest Detroit has been denied.
Detroit's buildings department says the company failed to show that people living near the refinery would not be affected by emissions.
Petroleum coke — also called pet coke — is a byproduct of refining crude oil.
Marathon says that the pit is surrounded by 30-foot-high walls and that it isn't necessary to install a covering to meet emission reduction requirements.
The city says refinery officials "offered no analytical data or air monitoring data of any sort that would conclusively show that there are no fugitive dust emissions from the coke pit, among other things."
Marathon spokesman Chuck Rice said the company is reviewing its "options in light of the city's decision."
Nearby residents long have complained about pollutants from the refinery.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2019/04/23/stories/1060205417
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Bayou Bridge Testing Support for More Crude Takeaway to Gulf Coast
Apr 23, 2019 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Energy Transfer LP and Phillips 66 Partners LP are holding a nonbinding open season for their joint venture Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC to gauge support for expanded oil transportation to the Gulf Coast.
Subscription required for full article.
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/118115-bayou-bridge-testing-support-for-more-crude-takeaway-to-gulf-coast
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New Mexico’s Oil, Gas Companies Get First Female Land Overseer
Apr 23, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brenna Goth
Oil and gas companies in New Mexico’s booming Permian Basin have a new landlord—a former teacher who wants the industry to pay more to drill on state lands.
That goal is a work in progress for state Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, a Democrat who took office in January. While her proposal to raise oil and gas royalty rates failed in the Legislature, Garcia Richard’s first few months as commissioner have already changed a role that men had held since the office was established in 1899.
Garcia Richard is the first woman elected to what is considered one of the state’s most influential positions, leading an office that oversees millions of acres of land leased for various uses.
Her campaign focused on raising more revenue for education and tripling renewable energy projects on state lands—platforms that some opponents criticized as being in opposition to oil and gas companies.
“Resources from state lands have been controlled by a small but powerful industry, resulting in sweetheart deals that take money from our schools, hospitals, and colleges,” Garcia Richard told the Albuquerque Journal during her campaign.
New Mexico’s State Land Office generated $852 million in lease payments, oil and gas lease sales, fees, royalties, and other revenue in fiscal 2018, according to the office. That money funds public institutions in a state that depends heavily on oil and gas.
Proposing changes to an industry that reached record production in New Mexico last year inevitably draws controversy. Garcia Richard said some of her priorities will take time, but that her focus is on negotiating how the state can profit the most from its land while protecting it as a resource.
“I think there’s a lot of potential to do good in this office,” she told Bloomberg Environment.
Pressure ‘To Get Things Right’
The ties between the land office and the money it generates for schools inspired Garcia Richard to run for the position. Her background as a public educator means she knows “the value of a dollar in a classroom,” she said.
She grew up in Silver City in the southwestern part of the state, and family ties to ranching connected her to public lands early on, she said.
She spent six years serving in the state House, where she chaired the Education Committee and worked on legislation aimed at increasing access to education, transparency, and investments in renewable energy, job training, and economic development.
The State Land Office is undergoing a culture shift, Garcia Richard said. More than 60 percent of the leadership team are women, according to the office.
It is also working on an internal rule change to make sure leases and documents are gender-inclusive instead of defaulting to “he.”
In a recent announcement outlining her first 100 days as commissioner, Garcia Richard said she felt “a tremendous responsibility to get things right” as the first woman in the role.
The team of female leaders is a change for Jordan Kessler, the office’s new assistant commissioner for mineral resources who previously worked for private law firms on oil and gas regulatory issues. The chance to address water and methane policies as well as work with Garcia Richard convinced Kessler to take the role, she said.
“I so much admired her vision for New Mexico,” Kessler said.
Rate Increases Denied
Industry advocates and other opponents, though, have pushed back on some of Garcia Richard’s positions. One group has criticized her office’s new logo, which features windmills instead of oil wells.
The Rio Grande Foundation, a free-market think tank in Albuquerque, started a contest to redesign the logo to focus on the oil and gas industry. Garcia Richard called the idea a gimmick and said the office logo shows a commitment to sustainability and renewable energy.
Legislators also killed a proposal this year to raise the state’s royalty rates on high-producing oil and gas leases and to require a royalty for vented and flared gas. Garcia Richard argued the rate increase would put New Mexico on par with Texas.
Opponents, though, said the legislation would make New Mexico state lands less attractive to businesses. Producers would move elsewhere, which would reduce competition and hurt the state’s income, they argued.
“We should be looking to attract capital, not push it away,” Aimee Barabe, a lobbyist for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, told lawmakers earlier this year.
But Garcia Richard said she’s seen some early successes. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a law to increase transparency and public input for state land deals.
Garcia Richard also established a renewable energy office within her agency to actively recruit projects to state lands. New Mexico could become a wind and solar leader and diversify its industries, she said.
“We’re shifting our focus,” she said.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/in-a-first-for-new-mexico-woman-at-helm-of-oil-and-gas-leases
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Colorado Driller to Pay $3.5M for Air Pollution Violations
Apr 23, 2019 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Tripp Baltz
A Denver-based oil and gas company has agreed to pay more than $3.5 million to settle allegations that it failed to control air pollution at its energy production facilities in northeast Colorado.
HighPoint Operating Corp, a subsidiary of HighPoint Resources, entered into a settlement agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Colorado to resolve alleged Clean Air Violations for failing to meet requirements to reduce volatile organic compounds.
VOCs are components in the formation of ground-level ozone, which can irritate the lungs, exacerbate diseases such as asthma, and increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
HighPoint will spend about $3 million to install equipment to ensure the vapor control systems on its storage tanks for condensate—liquid formed by condensation—are adequately designed and sized. It has also pledged to improve its operation, maintenance and monitoring practices, Lisa McCLain-Vanderpool, a spokeswoman in the Region 8 office of the EPA in Denver, told Bloomberg Environment April 22.
Infrared CamerasThese improvements, including monthly inspections using infrared cameras to better detect and respond in real time to emissions, will reduce VOC emissions from the company’s facilities in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, a area that doesn’t meet federal air quality standards for ozone, by about 350 tons per year, the EPA said.
In addition to investing in emissions controls, the company has agreed to pay the federal government a civil penalty of $275,000, and to pay Colorado a civil penalty. It will also perform a state-only supplemental environmental project at a combined value of $275,000.
HighPoint Resources didn’t return Bloomberg Environment’s requests for comment.
The enforcement action followed inspections of HighPoint operations conducted from 2014 to 2017 that found VOC emissions from HighPoint’s condensate storage tanks. The company’s undersized vapor control systems and inadequate operations and maintenance practices violated Regulation No. 7 of Colorado’s State Implementation Plan.
A complaint and settlement agreement in the case were filed April 19 by the Justice Department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
The case is United States v. HighPoint Operating Corp., D. Colo., No. 19-cv-01151, proposed consent decree filed 4/19/19.
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/colorado-driller-to-pay-3-5-m-for-air-pollution-violations
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More Than 80 Percent of Waste From Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Drilling Stays in the State: Report
Apr 23, 2019 | Environmental Health News
By Kristina Marusic
More than 80 percent of all waste from Pennsylvania's oil and gas drilling operations stays inside the state, according to a new study that tracked the disposal locations of liquid and solid waste from these operations over 26 years.
The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, looked at waste from both conventional oil and gas drilling and fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, a process of extracting oil and gas from the Earth by drilling deep wells and injecting liquid at high pressure. This is the first comprehensive assessment of Pennsylvania's waste-disposal practices since the state began tracking waste disposal data in 1991, and it suggests that Pennsylvanian's aren't being adequately protected from potential health impacts associated with the industry's waste disposal practices.
"Tracking waste across space—the distance and direction it travels and where it ends up—and across time helps us determine who is absorbing the potential health burdens associated with these waste products, both from recent operations and from legacy pollution across the lifetime of the state's oil and gas operations," said Lee Ann Hill, a researcher at Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) and lead author of the study, in a statement.
The study concluded that Pennsylvania residents are bearing more than 80 percent of that potential health burden. Living near fracking operations has been linked to preterm births, high-risk pregnancies, asthma, migraine headaches, fatigue, nasal and sinus symptoms, and skin disorders over the last 10 years.
Pennsylvania also has the third highest cancer incidence rate of all U.S. states. Approximately half of all Pennsylvanians will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime, and about one in five Pennsylvanians will die of cancer.
Waste from both fracking and conventional oil and gas operations includes high-salinity water that can contain strontium and radium—both of which are classified as carcinogens—and solid waste like cuttings from drilling that bring naturally occurring radioactive materials like uranium, radium and thorium, up to the surface of the Earth from deep below.
In Southwestern Pennsylvania, most solid waste from oil and gas goes to landfills in the county where it was produced, while in northern counties along state borders solid waste is generally moved to neighboring states of Ohio and New York, according to the study.
The study found that solid waste mainly goes into landfills. Some of the state's liquid waste—7.6 percent, or 30 million barrels over 26 years—was sent to municipal or other water treatment plants, which discharged into surface waters like rivers after treatment.
Studies have shown that despite treatment, pollution remains in sediment downstream from release sites. For example, radium persists in sediment for many years and strontium, which accumulates in bones of living things, has been found in the shells of Allegheny River mussels downstream of treatment facilities.
More than half of the liquid waste from oil and gas operations that stays in Pennsylvania was reused in extraction operations, the study found. While recycling wastewater sounds good, the practice can result in more concentrated levels of salinity and chemical residues with each use.
The researchers noted this practice raises questions about how to treat or dispose of these more concentrated waste streams in the future.
The final location is unknown for more than a third of liquid waste from all oil and gas operations—35 percent—often because reporting only lists intermediary locations for transfer or storage.
"This finding illuminates what we don't know," Hill said.
The study also found that conventional oil and gas accounts for nearly a third of all waste generated by the industry in Pennsylvania. The researchers noted that legislation passed in 2016 strengthened disposal location tracking for fracking operations, but similar reporting practices weren't required for conventional operations.
"We know that many of the hazards and risks associated with waste from oil and gas extraction exist for both conventional and unconventional operations," Hill said. "From a public health perspective, it doesn't really make sense that conventional operators are held to a different standard."
The study concludes that a consistent, cradle-to-grave reporting system should be put in place so researchers can properly assess the risks posed to human health and the environment posed by waste from all types of oil and gas production.
https://www.ehn.org/more-than-80-percent-of-waste-from-pennsylvanias-oil-and-gas-drilling-stays-in-the-state-report-2635283061.html
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Railroad Commission, Kinder Morgan sued over route of Permian Highway Pipeline
Apr 22, 2019 | Houston Chronicle
By Sergio Chapa
Hays County, the city of Kyle and a coalition of Hill Country landowners have filed a lawsuit to fight the route of Kinder Morgan's proposed Permian Highway Pipeline and challenge how the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry allows companies to use eminent domain laws.
During a Monday morning news conference at Kyle City Hall, the coalition released copies of a 19-page lawsuit against the Texas Railroad Commission, five agency executives, pipeline operator Kinder Morgan and a subsidiary of the Houston company overseeing the project. The lawsuit, filed in state District Court in Travis County, asks a judge to block construction of the 42-inch pipeline designed to move 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Permian Basin of West Texas to the Katy Hub near Houston. That's roughly enough gas to fuel about 10 million U.S. homes per day.
Opponents claim that the Railroad Commission is allowing the 423-mile pipeline to run through residential areas of Kyle, about 20 miles south of Austin, near the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Stonewall and less than a mile away from Jacob's Well, a popular summertime swimming hole near Wimberley.
"A lawsuit is a regrettable event," said Clark Richards, an attorney for the project opponents. "But we believe that the Texas Constitution affords more protection to our clients than is being provided to them in the current process, and we look forward to the opportunity to present that to the court."
Legal fees for the lawsuit are being paid for by the Texas Real Estate Advocacy and Defense Coalition, or TREAD, which represents landowners. The nonprofit advocacy organization was founded last year in response to concerns over property taxes, water rights and eminent domain issues.
Claiming that the Railroad Commission "abdicated" its regulatory role to the industry, the coalition named five of the agency executives in its lawsuit: Chairman Christi Craddick, Commissioner Ryan Sitton, Commissioner Wayne Christian, Executive Director Wei Wang and Pipeline Safety Director Kari French.
Railroad Commission officials declined to comment amid pending litigation, but the agency's website states that it is authorized to oversee only rates and safety issues for pipelines within state boundaries — not eminent domain proceedings and pipeline routes. Texas law grants pipelines that move products on behalf of other companies "common carrier" status and the authority to use eminent domain, which allows the companies to take private land after compensating owners for the value of the property.
The TREAD Coalition, however, contends that the agency has the authority under the Texas Constitution to hold public hearings, oversee routes and deal with eminent domain issues. Under current regulations, operators of pipelines within the state are required to file a report only with the Railroad Commission 30 days before construction starts.
"This process is unconstitutional because it grants a government power to private parties without standards for the private use of the government power," Richards said.
Kinder Morgan CEO Steve Kean said in an interview that the project to move natural gas to market is in the public interest of all Texans — generating billions of dollars in economic activity, taxes and royalties.
"It's hard to imagine something that's more demonstrably in the public interest in all of Texas than this project," Kean said.
The opposition, Kean said, wanted the company to move the pipeline route either north of Austin or south of San Antonio — which would have required negotiations and eminent domain issues with an even greater number of landowners. The company, he said, held public meetings and already made 150 route changes to accommodate concerns.
"We're confident in our position," Kean said. "We selected this route very carefully. We went above and beyond the requirements to reach out to public officials, hold public meeting, meet with landowners and optimized the route to minimize the impact on environmental, cultural, historical and landowner rights."
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Railroad-Commission-Kinder-Morgan-face-lawsuit-13785118.php?cmpid=ffpipe
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Why Some Landfills are Exploring Virtual Pipelines to Capitalize on Gas
Apr 23, 2019 | Waste360
By Arlene Karidis
Bulk transportation of renewable natural gas(RNG) by truck, or a virtual pipeline, is a growing industry in the U.S. While some landfill owners are setting up virtual pipelines to fuel their fleets, a few are tapping into these systems to get gas into utility pipelines. It’s an expensive endeavor but may be worth it, especially for remote landfills wanting to capitalize on renewable credits. Some utilities find it’s opening opportunities for them, too.
Hexagon Lincoln in Nebraska manufactures mobile pipeline gas transportation modules, delivering about 500 of them throughout North America.
“We have seen gas products from agriculture waste in particular moving,” says Mark Babcock, director of business development for Hexagon Lincoln.
Still, for disposal sites especially, “adoption of this alternative way to reach pipeline has been slow because most opportunities for landfills are built around traditional models where gas is injected directly in the pipeline. But we want businesses to realize there are other methods to move gas into the pipeline,” he says.
Landfill operators showing interest are looking to monetize their gas by tapping into Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS) and the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard.
Utilities looking to lower their carbon footprint and meet renewable fuel obligations will pay an interstate pipeline company to move gas to a city gate where it comes from an interstate pipeline into the utility. Alternatively, utilities could use mobile pipeline to directly inject into their distribution system rather than take it from a transmission pipeline, explains Babcock.
Liberty Utilities in New Hampshire plans to source landfill gas in Bethlehem, N.H., and transport it via mobile pipeline to Keene, N.H.
“Using waste gas to provide low-cost, green energy makes sense for the environment and helps provide price stability for our customers,” says John Shore, Liberty Utilities spokesman. “Meanwhile, many landfills are not connected to or in proximity of local pipeline infrastructure, which makes the virtual pipeline an important tool in expanding landfill RNG potential. We believe this is a growing sector of natural gas utility service, and we look forward to working with other landfill operators and other parties to continue the development of this renewable resource.”
Hexagon Lincoln works with both project developers that want to monetize their gas streams and utility groups looking to source gas from other locations. Each has different questions, says Babcock.
Gas project developers may be concerned about cost to clean, compress and transport their product and then inject it into the distribution system. The utility may be concerned about cost but is more focused on processes and equipment to move the product safely.
Virtual systems only make sense when the pipeline is too far from where gas is produced, says McClain Porter, president of Catalyst RNG, which is based in Lexington, Ky.
Catalyst takes on roles from producing gas to delivering it to pipeline.
“To date, we have not been involved in virtual pipeline, as the general consensus is it’s too expensive. But we are starting to look at different ways to make the economics work. For example, by evaluating a virtual pipeline concept where we would group three projects into one,” says Porter.
There would be one common injection point to interconnect and one hauler utilizing large trucks to reduce trips per week.
“We are starting to look at virtual pipeline because we try and focus on smaller landfills. You have to get creative to put some of these smaller, remote sites on the map for potential developments,” says Porter.
Before it’s transported, biogas is compressed from between 100 and 150 pounds per square inch (psi) to about 3,600 psi. It is decompressed upon delivery.
“The ability of decompression equipment is critical because as one trailer depletes, another one has to come online to maintain a continuous flow of gas,” says Babcock.
Logistics and monitoring to ensure timely delivery are complex. Mobile pipeline operators typically have software that monitors volumes dispensed, pressure and temperature of gas remaining in trailers to predict how long available gas will maintain the system.
Kelley GTM makes high-pressure gas cylinders and assembles them into gas transport modules. It cleans the gas, compresses it to about 4,000 psi, puts it in containers and transports it to a pipeline interconnect or direct to end users—whether fleets or power plants.
Kelley GTM works with producers in agriculture and has a few landfill clients. The company is currently in early stages of developing landfill gas projects in Puerto Rico.
“With our model, we pay for gas and a percentage of the tax credits,” says Ken Kelley, CEO of Kelley GTM. “Everything comes down to economics. We think we can monetize landfill gas profitably.”
https://www.waste360.com/landfill-operations/why-some-landfills-are-exploring-virtual-pipelines-capitalize-gas
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When Office Buildings Go Beyond Green
Apr 23, 2019 | New York Times
By Joe Gose
Developers and landlords have for decades sought green certification to help them attain a level of sustainability that can make their buildings more efficient, and cheaper, to maintain in the long run.
In turn, the buildings can fetch premium rents and achieve higher occupancy rates.
But as the industry for independent review grows, some organizations have started to offer verification in other areas, like digital infrastructure, landscaping and human wellness. The crowded field has left some wondering which ones are necessary and which ones are just marketing gimmicks.
One of the best-known certification programs is run by the United States Green Building Council, which began rating the sustainability of buildings in the 1990s through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, or LEED. The program rates buildings on how their design and systems affect energy and water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions and other “green” performance measures. Some 100,000 commercial properties worldwide are either LEED certified or going through the process, according to the council.
Others see that as an opportunity, and the field for third-party verification has swelled. Dozens of standards and ratings are available in a market that is expected to reach $254 billion by 2020, according to the Green Building Alliance.Heavy timber frames and high-efficiency glazed windows helped the seven-story T3 West Midtown building achieve LEED certification.
Top sustainability programs in the United States include Energy Star from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative. Other third-party certification organizations are finding a niche, like Fitwel and Delos, which rank buildings by their ability to promote good health.
And as technology companies drive a greater share of office leasing in the United States, a growing number of landlords are turning to WiredScore to validate the technological proficiency within their buildings.
The company, based in New York, grades the digital infrastructure in buildings in several categories, including its ability to provide uninterrupted internet connectivity throughout the building and its capacity to integrate future technologies.
Like other certification programs, WiredScore gives landlords one more “piece of the puzzle” in their quest for differentiation and a competitive marketing edge, said Mark Zettl, president of property management for the commercial property brokerage firm JLL.
“Tenants want to know that their landlord is on the technological forefront,” he said, “so that they don’t have to worry about whether their building has the ability to adapt.”
For most of the internet era, office tenants were largely responsible for their own digital connectivity, said Arie Barendrecht, chief executive and founder of WiredScore. But he saw an opportunity to borrow the LEED certification template and apply it to technology, particularly as progressive landlords grasped the benefits of providing a strong digital foundation.
In less than six years, the company has certified more than 1,800 properties totaling some 500 million square feet in the United States, Canada and Europe. Its four levels of digital capability mirror LEED’s.
“I thought a standard like WiredScore could set a bar for landlords to aim at in the complicated world of connectivity,” Mr. Barendrecht said. “There are landlords who understand that having digital connectivity is vital to the tenant experience and will improve asset value.”
A typical WiredScore certification contract, which lasts two years, costs $12,000 to $15,000 and includes a digital assessment and road map for improvements. WiredScore also provides marketing support for the property once it achieves certification.
So far, the decision to pursue a wired rating appears to be paying off. Rental rates for WiredScore office buildings in Manhattan, for example, increase an average of nearly 7 percent with each level of certification, according to a study by CoStar, a commercial property research firm.
By comparison, the cost for LEED certification averages around $3,500 to $5,000. The average premium for rent was found to be around 3 percent over buildings without the certification, according to a study published in The Journal of Portfolio Management in 2015.
Hines, a real estate developer based in Houston, has long been a believer in LEED certification and has adopted WiredScore standards. In Atlanta, the firm is nearing completion of T3 West Midtown, a timber office building with WiredScore’s highest certification. That rating denotes a building with at least four high-speed internet service providers, robust redundancy of components in case of failure and the capacity to support new digital services, among other features.
“Certainly, one of the things that tenants are focused on, particularly in the tech industry, is a building’s ability to provide top-notch internet and other connected services,” said John Heagy III, a senior managing director for Hines in Atlanta. “You don’t get the opportunity to sit at the table with them if the building doesn’t match their expectations. WiredScore responds to that.”The T3 West Midtown was given WiredScore's highest rating, which denotes a building with at least four high-speed internet service providers, robust redundancy and the capacity to support new digital services, among other features.
But some observers play down the significance of such rating systems. John Scofield, a professor of physics at Oberlin College in Ohio, has over the last decade challenged claims that LEED buildings typically used 25 percent to 30 percent less energy. He has conducted subsequent studies, including one in which he has compared the electricity consumption of properties in New York and Chicago, and has concluded that little or no real difference exists in LEED and non-LEED office buildings. He’s conducting similar studies in 10 additional cities.
“The Green Building Council has been very successful in raising the visibility of making buildings sustainable,” Dr. Scofield said. “But is it accomplishing what it says it’s supposed to accomplish? So far, the data don’t support it.”
Mahesh Ramanujam, president and chief executive of the Green Building Council, stands by the organization’s claim that LEED buildings save energy, and he points out that sustainability goes beyond a single component. Nonetheless, his organization has begun a number of initiatives to better highlight the program’s performance, including gathering data from LEED building owners and emphasizing the recertification of older projects.
But the Green Building Council faces an uphill battle when it comes to public sentiment. Few people think green buildings help the environment, the organization found in a survey. Hoping to do more than strengthen the case for LEED, Mr. Ramanujam also wants to put “soul into sustainability” by unearthing stories about how the program has positively influenced the environment, economic prosperity and health.
“We have sent a clear message that we are no longer focused on just strategies and tactics, but also performance and data,” Mr. Ramanujam said. “The burden is on us to not just provide a quantitative response to the market, but to give context to the response.”
Other third-party verification programs are facing similar headwinds. For instance, some observers say that landlords can use engineers and other service providers to design strong and redundant internet connectivity without WiredScore. They also point out that the company does not evaluate speed or bandwidth in buildings.
But because the highest WiredScore certification levels require building owners to bring in two or more high-speed internet providers, tenants can typically get any speed they require if they’re willing to pay for it, Mr. Barendrecht said.
“What matters most is that there is a variety of fiber providers entering the building to give tenants choice,” he said.
Certification providers are gaining support in the commercial real estate industry.
At its core, a WiredScore certification indicates that landlords have taken steps to meet a tenant’s technology needs, which typically gives companies peace of mind, said Eric Tilden, associate director of energy and sustainability for the property brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Some office developers are taking the independent route, however. About two years ago, Carter, a developer based in Atlanta, finished an extensive renovation of 715 Peachtree, a 10-story office building in the city’s Midtown neighborhood near the Georgia Institute of Technology. Carter beefed up the digital infrastructure in the 1970s-era building and brought in other amenities, including a rock climbing gym, restaurants, and a lobby cafe and bar. The property is 95 percent occupied, according to the company.
“Honestly, we didn’t think about any certifications,” said David Nelson, executive vice president for Carter. “But we may have done a lot of things in the building that those scores represent.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/business/commercial-real-estate-leed-certification.html
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The Energy 202: Trump Isn't Fully Funding a U.N. Climate Program. So Michael Bloomberg Is.
Apr 23, 2019 | Washington Post
By Dino Grandoni
When Michael Bloomberg announced he was not running for president, the 77-year-old former New York mayor said would rather spend his remaining days (and considerable wealth) addressing issues dear to him -- including climate change.
On Earth Day, Bloomberg put his money where his mouth is.
The businessman-turned-politician-turned-philanthropist announced Monday that he will donate $5.5. million to the climate agency of the United Nations, filling in a funding gap left by the Trump administration after it said it would withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.
For a billionaire such as Bloomberg, that amount of money put toward the U.N.'s Climate Change Secretariat may amount to a drop in the bucket. But the donation is the latest in a series of donations to help global climate efforts from the former mayor, who has emerged as a major political and environmental donor after leaving office in 2013.
This is the second year in a row that Bloomberg has helped fund efforts at the United Nations to help countries meet voluntary goals under the Paris agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The administration of President Barack Obama, who helped broker the landmark international climate agreement a year before Trump’s election, initially promised to put up $15 million through 2019 toward those U.N. efforts.
“We are really making good on our promise — really on the U.S. commitment previously from the Obama administration,” said Shara Mohtadi, Bloomberg Philanthropies' environment program liaison to the UN.
Under Trump, that funding from the federal government had been scaled back to just $2.5 million last year, with another $2.5 million expected this year, according to Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bloomberg’s donations over the past two years will fill in that $10 million shortfall.
The donations to the United Nations constitute a remarkable instance of a private individual replacing funding once promised by the federal government — one that highlights the urgency some technocrats such as Bloomberg feel about the climate issue.
“The idea of a Green New Deal — first suggested by the columnist Tom Friedman more than a decade ago — stands no chance of passage in the Senate over the next two years,” Bloomberg wrote in a March op-ed explaining his decision not to run for president. “But Mother Nature does not wait on our political calendar, and neither can we.”
Bloomberg's spending seems to have only accelerated since Trump’s election. Bloomberg Philanthropies, the former mayor’s charitable arm, has plowed tens of millions of dollars into various activities meant to reduce climate-warming emissions since 2016.
The spending includes $70 million for efforts by 20 U.S. city mayors to reduce their carbon emissions, $64 million to the Sierra Club and other groups to try to shut down domestic coal-fired power plants and another $50 million to help other nations move away from coal.
And those totals do not include the tens of millions Bloomberg personally gave last year to help Democrats flip the House.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2019/04/23/the-energy-202-trump-isn-t-fully-funding-a-u-n-climate-program-so-michael-bloomberg-is/5cbe0cb9a7a0a46fd9222acc/?utm_term=.a73376f90e8c
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