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(ACC Mentioned) Glycol Ethers Market Analysis, Size, Segments ,Growth And Forecasts To 2020 Outlined In New Market Research Report
Apr 1, 2015 | WhaTech
By Sherry James
Global glycol ethers market is expected to witness increased demand due to growing end-use industries including chemical, automotive, cleaners & inks and construction. Paints & coatings was the largest application of glycol ethers in 2013 on account of high demand for water based coatings over solvent based coatings and propylene oxide based ... -
(ACC Mentioned) Evolving Recycling Stream Is Subject of New Report
Apr 1, 2015 | Packaging World
By Anne Marie Mohan
A new report, “Making Sense of the Mix: Analysis and Implications for the Changing Curbside Recycling Stream,” provides insights into recent and anticipated changes in municipal solid waste streams and what those changes could mean for the recycling industry. Sponsored by the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division, the... -
Scientists Find Transgenerational Oestrogen Effects in Fish
Apr 2, 2015 | Chemical Watch
Research by scientists from the University of Missouri has demonstrated that exposure of fish eggs to artificial oestrogens can have long term effects on fish populations. A paper published in the journal Nature shows that developing medaka fish exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), or the artificial oestrogen ethinylestradiol (EE2) for seven... -
Echa Expands Scope of PACT Tool
Apr 2, 2015 | Chemical Watch
Echa's public activities coordination tool (PACT) table has been extended to include substances selected by authorities for hazard assessment. Previously it included only substances for which a risk management option analysis (RMOA) was completed, or was in development. -
Fireworks Name Change Doesn't Require Extra Approval Application, PHMSA Clarifies
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Fireworks manufacturers need not submit approval applications for firework designs when all they have changed is the product's name, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration clarified in a notice for publication in the April 2 Federal Register. The agency said it won't process the additional explosive approval applications... -
(ACC Mentioned) Criticism of Draft Plan for Offshore Leasing Focuses Especially on Atlantic Drilling
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alan Kovski
Industry associations urged the Interior Department to allow oil and gas exploration leasing in all of the offshore areas the department has proposed for development in a draft five-year plan for 2017-2022 leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf. The draft plan, released Jan. 27 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)... -
Tougher Standards, Targeted Leasing To Be Applied to Drilling in Arctic Waters
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alan Kovski
New standards for oil and gas exploration and production in the Arctic will be combined with judicious selection of exploration sites to allow for orderly leasing of areas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, an Interior Department official said April 1. William Brown, chief environmental officer of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said ... -
Here's why Obama is approving Arctic drilling again
Apr 1, 2015 | Reuters
By Timothy Gardner
For a leader who has made fighting climate change a priority, President Barack Obama's decision to approve Royal Dutch Shell's return to oil and gas exploration off Alaska was seen by many environmentalists as a contradiction. On Tuesday, his administration upheld a 2008 Arctic lease sale, clearing an important hurdle for Shell. The Interior... -
EPA Proposes Fracking Wastewater Treatment Rule
Apr 1, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Afternoon Energy
Municipal water treatment plants would be barred from accepting fracking wastewater under a proposed rule released Tuesday by the EPA, which noted its move “reflects current industry practice.” In a fact sheet on the proposal, the agency stated it “has not identified any existing onshore [unconventional oil and gas] extraction... -
Fracking Operators Racked Up 2.5 Violations a Day, Study Shows
Apr 2, 2015 | Bloomberg
By Mark Drajem
Oil and gas drillers ran afoul of regulators on average 2.5 times a day in three energy-intensive states for mistakes such as wastewater spills, well leaks and pipeline ruptures during the boom in hydraulic fracturing. Online records in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado showed regulators issued 4,600 citations from 2008 to ... -
New York Court Says Leases Can't Be Extended Due to Fracking Ban
Apr 1, 2015 | Reuters
By Ayesha Rascoe
n">Oil and gas companies in New York cannot extend leases stalled by a state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, the New York Court of Appeals has ruled. Inflection Energy, represented by the West Firm, had argued that then-Governor David Paterson's 2010 decision to put ... -
NOAA to Fly Above Shale Oil Crews To Collect Data for Emissions Analysis
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian K. Sullivan
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be flying above shale oil and natural gas basins from North Dakota to Texas through April, collecting air samples to document if drilling is adding to ground-level ozone, Joost de Gouw, a research scientist at NOAA's Earth Systems Research Lab in Boulder, Colo., said. -
EPA Overestimates Methane Emissions From Natural Gas Distribution, Study Says
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
Methane emissions from natural gas distribution systems could be as much as 70 percent less than estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers said in a recent study. The EPA may be overestimating methane emissions from the natural gas distribution network because it is relying on emissions inventory data collected in... -
Council to Discuss Refinery Rule, Clean Power Plan
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
An environmental justice council will determine recommendations for the Environmental Protection Agency about a rule that targets hazardous air emissions from petroleum refineries and the Clean Power Plan at an April 22 public teleconference, the council announced. The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council also will discuss Title VI... -
Senate Budget Votes Hint At Hurdles To Beat Filibusters On Anti-EPA Bills
Apr 1, 2015 | InsideEPA
By David LaRoss
Senators' votes on fiscal year 2016 budget resolution amendments targeting EPA policies show the hurdles that the agency's critics face in securing 60 votes to beat likely filibusters over future bills to block EPA's climate rules and other measures, indicating the agency's Democratic supporters may succeed in stopping such legislation. -
Senators Want Black Carbon Considered In Updates to Air Rules for Arctic Drillers
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrea Vittorio
Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and four others are asking the Interior Department to take the climate change impact of black carbon, or soot, into account when it proposes updated air permitting regulations for offshore drilling in the Alaskan Arctic. -
Democrats Ask Jewell to Account for Black Carbon in Arctic Permitting
Apr 1, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Jean Chemnick
Senate Democrats today asked the Interior Department to solicit public input about the possible climate effects of black carbon when it issues updated regulations on air pollution from offshore drilling in the Arctic. A letter spearheaded by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) asked Interior Secretary Sally... -
Republican Senators Seek Detailed Answers On EPA Climate Change Science, Modeling
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
Four Republican senators are seeking additional information from the Environmental Protection Agency on the science linking climate change to drought, hurricanes and increased temperatures, including an analysis of climate change modeling results. In an April 1 letter, Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Roger Wicker... -
Senate GOP Presses EPA on Climate Models
Apr 1, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
A group of Senate Republicans is pressing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to explain the climate change models it uses for its regulations. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) wrote the letter after a March hearing at which he challenged EPA head Gina McCarthy to answer specific questions about whether the models her agency uses have... -
Democrats Back Obama on Climate, Say U.S. Has Responsibility to Lead in Talks
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Dean Scott
More than 100 members of Congress, virtually all Democrats, sent a letter backing the Obama administration's efforts to demonstrate U.S. leadership in ongoing negotiations toward a global climate accord that is slated to be finalized in December in Paris. The letter to President Barack Obama was sent the same day the U.S. submitted its... -
EPA Reclassifies Areas for Fine Particulates Attainment Based on New Monitoring Data
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
Five areas initially classified as not meeting the current national standards for fine particulate matter have been reclassified by the Environmental Protection Agency based on new data. The EPA, in a final rule signed March 31, revised the attainment status for areas in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana that meet the 2012 national... -
Steyer’s Group Shutters Climate Policy Arm as Political Efforts Ramp Up
Apr 1, 2015 | PoliticoPro
By Elana Schor & Andrew Restuccia
The nonprofit launched by environmentalist Tom Steyer is shutting down its climate and energy program, in a likely signal that the billionaire is shifting resources to his organization’s political arm ahead of the presidential elections. Next Generation, co-founded by Steyer in 2011, plans to end its climate policy work and continue as a “nonprofit... -
Kansas Cites Air Law Discretion In Interstate Planning Lawsuit Against EPA
Apr 1, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Stuart Parker
Kansas is urging a federal appeals court to overturn EPA's rejection of the state's plan to curb interstate transport of air pollution that the agency sought to replace with its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) air trading program, saying the Clean Air Act gives states broad discretion on crafting plans to reduce emissions transport. -
(ACC Mentioned) Industry, Safety Board Call for Changes To ‘Miscellaneous' PHMSA Hazmat Rule
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Shippers, carriers and a federal safety board urged the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to reconsider several provisions of a “miscellaneous amendments” proposed rule. The proposal would amend a variety of Hazardous Materials Regulations sections. Some proposed changes would be “unworkable” and costly, while... -
BNSF Phases Out Some Tank Cars, Lowers Speeds in Upgraded Safety Rules
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Nushin Huq
BNSF Railway upgraded its safety rules for trains carrying crude oil, lowering speeds in cities and phasing out certain tank cars from crude oil services, the company told its customers in a letter. Recent incidents involving crude oil, including a March 5 accident involving a BNSF train near Galena, Ill., prompted the company to further upgrade its... -
Firefighters Undergo Rail Safety Training
Apr 1, 2015 | ABC News 13
The Asheville Fire Department along with other area agencies participated in a rail safety and emergency response training Wednesday to learn what to do in an emergency hazmat situation on the rail line. “Training is definitely the key,” said Abby Moore with the Asheville Fire Department. “The more you train, the better you know.”
Industry and Association News
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Apr 1, 2015 | WhaTech
By Sherry James
Global glycol ethers market is expected to witness increased demand due to growing end-use industries including chemical, automotive, cleaners & inks and construction. Paints & coatings was the largest application of glycol ethers in 2013 on account of high demand for water based coatings over solvent based coatings and propylene oxide based ethers coupled with alterations in E-series products.
Growing application scope of glycol ethers for a wide array of applications and functions including anti-freeze, electronic cleaners, brake fluid, epoxies, floor polishes, lacquers, pastes, metalworking fluids, varnishes, cosmetics, coatings and inks are anticipated to fuel market growth.View summary of this report, click the link:
http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/glycol-ethers-market
Stringent government regulations coupled with fluctuating raw material prices are expected to plague glycol ethers prospects over the forecast period. Asia Pacific was a key market owing to infrastructure development and rapid industrialization in the region.
It is also anticipated to be the fastest growing market due to increasing construction expenditure from emerging economies including Indonesia, India and China.The Propylene Glycol Ether Panel and The Ethylene Glycol Ether Panel merged in 2002 to form American Chemistry Council (ACC) representing manufacturers of commercially available glycol ether. Merger of Dow and Union Carbide in 2001, in order to attain strategic position against DuPont is likely to enhance the company’s presence in the market.
In 2014, Green Biologics acquired Central MN Ethanol Co-operatives ethanol plant with a view to expand existing production capacity However, shutdown of France based glycol ethers plant by INEOS in 2011, aided growth of other regional participants. Technological development in terms of innovative glycol ether production process by Sulzer Chemtech is expected to provide growth opportunities.
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(ACC Mentioned) Evolving Recycling Stream Is Subject of New Report
Apr 1, 2015 | Packaging World
By Anne Marie Mohan
A new report, “Making Sense of the Mix: Analysis and Implications for the Changing Curbside Recycling Stream,” provides insights into recent and anticipated changes in municipal solid waste streams and what those changes could mean for the recycling industry. Sponsored by the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division, the report focuses mainly on plastics, to promote greater understanding among government, materials recovery facilities (MRFs), and waste management firms that are working to generate value from post-use materials.
Over the last decade, recyclers have had to adjust to a range of changes, from the sharp decline in newsprint to the adoption of larger carts and single-stream collection.The report provides a look at factors that have shaped today’s waste stream and trends that are likely to influence the waste stream in the years ahead.
Among the key findings: Because of performance advantages and life-cycle environmental benefits, plastics have been replacing metals, glass, and fibers, particularly in packaging. In many cases, newer types of plastic packaging are multi-material laminates. These multilayered packages are very difficult to disassemble and recycle. As a result, plastics have become a growing part of MSW and in some cases create new recovery challenges for MRFs and recyclers.Consumer demand for recycled plastic content continues to grow. The combination of growing consumer demand plus the availability of “tag-along” materials such as mixed rigid plastics has resulted in tremendous growth of collection and MRF processing for many different types of rigid plastics.Designing for recyclability faces some inherent obstacles because it is a secondary consideration to performance in use, upstream environmental benefits, and marketing of product/package life. As a result, other options for end-of-life recovery for plastics, particularly energy recovery, are growing considerations.Despite these rapid changes over a short time frame, many of these trends point to a continued resolve between materials and packaging manufacturers, brand owners, recyclers, and communities. Stakeholders are working to adapt and implement new technologies and programs that maximize the recycling and recovery of valuable materials in the ever-evolving stream of waste.
“Plastics makers recognize the critical role that recyclers play in the value chain and in sustainable living,” says Steve Russell, Vice President of Plastics for the ACC. “The evolving waste stream can create both challenges and opportunities for recyclers, and we want to help them succeed.”
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Scientists Find Transgenerational Oestrogen Effects in Fish
Apr 2, 2015 | Chemical Watch
Research by scientists from the University of Missouri has demonstrated that exposure of fish eggs to artificial oestrogens can have long term effects on fish populations.
A paper published in the journal Nature shows that developing medaka fish exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), or the artificial oestrogen ethinylestradiol (EE2) for seven days were not noticeably affected. There was also little effect on their offspring. However, the researchers found that the third and fourth generations, grown on from the treated ones – but not subject to any more chemical exposures – were adversely affected.
All of the exposed fertilised eggs hatched and the fish appeared normal. Results only began to appear in the third generation when the number of eggs fertilised was significantly reduced by 20-30% in both the BPA and the EE2 exposed lines. Embryo survival in the fourth generation was also significantly lower in both treatments compared to the control. The fertilisation rate of fourth BPA generation was significantly reduced and fifth generation embryo survival decreased significantly in both treatments.
The scientists note that the developing embryos are undergoing a crucial sex determination stage at the age of 5-7 days when oestrogen exposure appears to have set epigenetic markers. These have an adverse effect on the fertility of subsequent generations.
If such mechanisms occur in wild conditions, the authors note that fish populations inhabiting contaminated environments could be reduced.
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Echa Expands Scope of PACT Tool
Apr 2, 2015 | Chemical Watch
Echa's public activities coordination tool (PACT) table has been extended to include substances selected by authorities for hazard assessment.
Previously it included only substances for which a risk management option analysis (RMOA) was completed, or was in development.
The informal hazard assessment aims to make clear whether a substance has suspected PBT/vPvB (persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic/very persistent and very bioaccumulative) or endocrine disrupting properties.
The website's text has also been updated to provide further information on the table, and there is a glossary explaining its technical details.
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Fireworks Name Change Doesn't Require Extra Approval Application, PHMSA Clarifies
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Fireworks manufacturers need not submit approval applications for firework designs when all they have changed is the product's name, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration clarified in a notice for publication in the April 2 Federal Register.
The agency said it won't process the additional explosive approval applications because review of the documents won't provide additional safety benefits. The clarification should speed up the approval application process for other applicants “with more substantial safety benefits,” the notice said.
“For the industry, this a form of relief that will eliminate redundant paperwork,” Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, told Bloomberg BNA.
PHMSA's notice said: “A change to the product name (not the proper shipping name) has no bearing on the safety of the firework, the original classification of the firework, or regulatory compliance.”
Approvals are hazmat transport actions, such as packaging methods, that are recognized under the Hazardous Materials Regulations but require written consent from PHMSA. PHMSA's Approvals and Permit Division currently processes up to 1,000 approval applications annually for “devices that are chemically and physically identical.”
The notice, which clarifies a July 2013 PHMSA revision of firework regulations, will take effect the day it is published (137 DEN A-7, 7/17/13).
The fireworks industry will benefit from the faster approval application process, Heckman said. The industry is the one of the largest holder of approvals, second only to the Defense Department, she said.
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(ACC Mentioned) Criticism of Draft Plan for Offshore Leasing Focuses Especially on Atlantic Drilling
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alan Kovski
Industry associations urged the Interior Department to allow oil and gas exploration leasing in all of the offshore areas the department has proposed for development in a draft five-year plan for 2017-2022 leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf.
The draft plan, released Jan. 27 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) within Interior, would allow more lease sales in the central and western portions of the Gulf of Mexico, lease sales in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas north of Alaska, and—most controversial—a lease sale off the southern Atlantic coast (18 DEN A-1, 1/28/15).
Associations of oil and gas companies and service contractors filed comments indicating one of their chief concerns was that BOEM might eliminate some of the proposed leasing areas from the plan before completing the planning effort.
“We fully support keeping the [plan] as is with no additional areas being removed from future leasing consideration,” said the American Petroleum Institute and allied associations in the joint comments.
That concern may have especially reflected fears that proposed Atlantic leasing would be removed from the plan at the behest of environmental advocacy groups and many members of the general public.
Atlantic Drilling Opposed
The public comment period for the draft five-year plan closed March 30. More than 2,000 comments have been posted.
“It's garnered a huge amount of interest,” said Janice Schneider, Interior assistant secretary for land and minerals management, while speaking March 31 to the Natural Gas Roundtable. “I've been receiving a lot of comments. Almost all of them are about the Atlantic.”
The environmental advocacy group Oceana and some other groups have been working to build opposition to Atlantic drilling. The results showed in public comments from individuals opposing drilling and in some cases citing Oceana as a source of information.
A form letter expressing opposition said “current estimates for reserves off the South Carolina coast equate to a 6-day supply of oil and gas at current US consumption rates.”
Many of the opponents of offshore drilling also said they didn't want seismic surveys allowed, given the fears of harm to marine life. Seismic surveys use sound waves to map subsurface geologic layers, and they have been used in other work for seabed mapping.
Spills Feared, Recreation Preferred
Overwhelmingly, the opponents of Atlantic drilling said tourism and recreation are far better sources of economic benefit and employment—activities that would be threatened by oil spills.
The highlighting of tourism and recreation echoed a recurrent point made by Obama administration officials and many Democrats in Congress in response to critics who complain of regulations blocking oil and gas drilling, mining and timber cutting.
Many of the opponents of Atlantic drilling also advocated wind and solar energy—including offshore wind energy—as preferable alternatives to oil and gas production. And many mentioned the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and deaths.
“Didn't the Deepwater Horizon disaster teach us anything?” asked one individual commenter.
Comments Cite Lessons Learned
Comments filed by industry groups also mentioned the Deepwater Horizon but to make the point that lessons were, in fact, learned. Industry standards and practices and regulatory requirements have been improved substantially in the last five years to enhance safety and environmental protections, the oil and gas associations said in their joint comments.
The industry associations said they supported the conclusion of the analysis in the draft plan “that risks can be mitigated based on decades of experience.”
The oil and gas associations expressed concern that the draft plan envisioned an Atlantic lease sale not occurring until 2021. It would be somewhere off the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
“Scheduling the sale in 2019 would provide ample time to collect and analyze the needed geophysical data, set the appropriate sale area, and hold the lease sale, and it would provide extra time that would allow BOEM to postpone the sale should there be any administrative delays,” the associations said, referring to extra time before the five-year plan terminates in 2022.
Urge Another Atlantic Lease Sale
In addition, the associations urged BOEM to consider adding another Atlantic regional lease sale to the plan.
The associations criticized the proposed 50-mile coastal buffer zone in the plan, a restriction proposed “without the benefit of an environmental analysis indicating a need for a buffer zone.”
The associations also challenged “BOEM's continued insistence that future infrastructure needs, especially in the area of oil spill response, should be considered when making a lease sale scheduling decision.”
The essence of the associations' criticism was that industry would develop infrastructure as needed, in compliance with laws and regulations, making it pointless to question whether infrastructure needs will be met.
More Areas Requested
The previous hitAmerican Chemistry Councilnext hit urged expanded leasing opportunities. It emphasized that plentiful supplies of domestic energy, especially natural gas, are central to plans for “massive new investment in U.S.-based chemistry production.”
The oil and gas associations said BOEM “has missed an opportunity to include any additional areas of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area.”
The eastern Gulf of Mexico holds much promise for oil and gas development and is close to existing infrastructure, the associations said. The plan “gives no justification as to why additional areas of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico are not being considered for leasing—other than the existence of a temporary congressional moratorium.”
The associations welcomed the intention to hold more lease sales in the Alaska offshore, including one each in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in the Arctic and one in Cook Inlet. But they said they were “disappointed in the reduction of areas available for lease and in the limited number of lease sales proposed.”
On the same day in January that the draft plan was released, the White House announced that President Barack Obama was indefinitely withdrawing some Arctic offshore areas from leasing, notably including the Hanna Shoal area.
Murkowski Raises Concerns
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) filed comments saying the unilateral withdrawal of areas undermined BOEM's assurance that the planning would involve a robust process of public consultation. She urged BOEM to do a good job of consulting with Alaska as the agency continues to shape the plan.
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Tougher Standards, Targeted Leasing To Be Applied to Drilling in Arctic Waters
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alan Kovski
New standards for oil and gas exploration and production in the Arctic will be combined with judicious selection of exploration sites to allow for orderly leasing of areas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, an Interior Department official said April 1.
William Brown, chief environmental officer of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said the difficult operating conditions in Arctic waters led regulators to impose requirements on Royal Dutch Shell Plc for its 2012 drilling in the Arctic, and the new standards proposed for all operators in the Arctic offshore stem from those 2012 requirements.
The proposed Arctic standards were published Feb. 24 and are open for public comment until April 27 (80 Fed. Reg. 9,915).
At the same time, BOEM is reviewing public comments on its next five-year offshore leasing plan, for 2017-2022, and is going through the environmental analyses needed for that plan.
“We are in the midst of preparing a programmatic environmental impact statement” for the five-year plan, Brown said. The final version of the plan and the programmatic EIS probably will be released together by the end of 2016, he said.
‘Targeted Leasing' Applied
President Barack Obama has taken some criticism for his decision to remove some Arctic offshore areas from energy exploration for an indefinite amount of time. But Brown said the protection of some areas also was incorporated into a five-year leasing plan under President George W. Bush.
Decisions to avoid certain areas for leasing recently have been given the label “targeted leasing.” Brown, speaking at an event hosted by the think tank Resources for the Future, said targeted leasing isn't a new strategy.
As part of a five-year plan developed by the Bush administration, a 25-mile buffer along the coast of the Chukchi Sea was put off-limits to leasing, Brown noted. In addition, that Bush-era plan excluded two areas of subsistence whaling, one off the coast of Kaktovik and one off the coast of Barrow, two Alaska north-coast towns.
The current BOEM offshore leasing plan, for 2012-2017, has excluded four areas from leasing for a few years. Obama added a fifth area, around a walrus feeding ground called Hanna Shoal.
Arctic Standards Noted
Brown offered a brief summary of what he considers important elements of the proposed Arctic standards:
• Operators must be equipped to cope with the rigors of the Arctic.
• An integrated operating plan must be submitted at least 90 days in advance of the filing of an exploration plan.
• A capping stack to halt an uncontrolled oil flow must be ready for use within 24 hours of a loss of well control.
• A containment dome must be ready for use within seven days of a loss of well control.
• Blowout preventers must be tested every seven days, doubling the required frequency.
• If a relief well must be drilled, it must be done in 45 days.
• Operators must be able to track and respond to icy conditions.
• Operators must have a system for managing contractors.
• An effective, tested spill response plan must be in place.
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Here's why Obama is approving Arctic drilling again
Apr 1, 2015 | Reuters
By Timothy Gardner
For a leader who has made fighting climate change a priority, President Barack Obama's decision to approve Royal Dutch Shell's return to oil and gas exploration off Alaska was seen by many environmentalists as a contradiction.
On Tuesday, his administration upheld a 2008 Arctic lease sale, clearing an important hurdle for Shell. The Interior Department will now consider the company's drilling plan, which could take 30 days. But Shell, which has already spent about $6 billion exploring the Arctic, expects to return to polar waters this summer and is already moving oil rigs to Alaska.
Meanwhile, environmentalists pointed to Shell's mishaps in the region in 2012 when a massive rig ran aground and the company was fined for pollution, raising questions about Obama's decision:
Isn't Obama opposed to oil extraction in sensitive areas?
While his administration has championed renewable energy, Obama has never disavowed the need for oil and gas in the U.S. energy mix. His approach has been to balance new regulations on high-carbon industries with an appreciation for the economic benefits of the domestic oil and gas boom.
To counter critics, Obama can point to his January proposal to prohibit drilling on 1.4 million acres of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. In addition, drilling offshore Alaska is in relatively shallow waters and would need less pressure than deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, home to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The special U.S. envoy to the Arctic, Robert Papp, said this week that Shell understands the importance of taking necessary precautions after its Kulluk rig ran aground in 2012. "They should be OK," Papp said.
With global crude prices low, why is Shell going to a remote region in search of hard-to-extract oil and gas?
While oil prices have fallen by more than half since last summer, offshore Arctic drilling may not produce substantial new reserves for decades - when onshore shale deposits may start to wane.
The fracking revolution in North Dakota and Texas has led to the highest U.S. oil output since the early 1970s, but nobody knows how long shale will continue to produce at high rates.
"The trick of Arctic energy development is that the time horizons are extraordinary long, some 10 to 30 years from when companies start these complex deals to even seeing when those resources would get to market," said Heather Conley, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Shell will conduct tests to see how much oil and gas are in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The Arctic is estimated to contain about 20 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas, 34 million barrels of oil in U.S. waters alone. Only Russia has bigger deposits. The National Petroleum Council, a group led by oil companies that advises the Energy Department, said in an assessment of Arctic potential last week that the region will boost U.S. energy security. (bit.ly/1Fe08jp)
Won't this add to carbon emissions at the same time Washington is trying to get the world to cut them?
If fracking in the continental United States declines, the government could argue that it is simply replacing barrels it used to produce elsewhere. The Arctic also has a lot of gas that is lower in emissions when burned. Depending on how markets shape up, energy companies could be drilling for more gas than oil in the Arctic.
Could Obama be acting for strategic reasons?
Other countries are present in the Arctic. Russia is exploring its northern waters, although Western sanctions have forced Shell competitor Exxon Mobil to withdraw from partnerships there. China and India are also interested in joining partnerships to drill in the Arctic.
But the United States has a major infrastructure advantage: Due to a decline of Alaskan oil output, the Trans Alaskan pipeline is only operating at 25 percent of capacity and could serve as a conduit for new oil finds. "The Alaska pipeline would be ecstatic to get another customer," said Lou Pugliaresi, president of the Energy Policy Research Foundation, noting that the Russian Arctic's lack of infrastructure could make projects slower to develop.
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EPA Proposes Fracking Wastewater Treatment Rule
Apr 1, 2015 | PoliticoPro - Afternoon Energy
Municipal water treatment plants would be barred from accepting fracking wastewater under a proposed rule released Tuesday by the EPA, which noted its move “reflects current industry practice.”
In a fact sheet on the proposal, the agency stated it “has not identified any existing onshore [unconventional oil and gas] extraction facilities that currently discharge wastewater to” municipal treatment plants, but acknowledges that plants have received requests to accept the material. Fracking wastewater can contain chemicals, heavy metals and other components that pose a potential risk, the EPA noted, and certain treatment plants “continue to receive requests to accept” it for processing. “This proposed rule would provide regulatory certainty and would eliminate the burden on [treatment plants] to analyze such requests,” the EPA said in its summary.
Asked for comment on the proposed rule, an American Petroleum Institute spokesman said the industry group would submit comments after the EPA’s plan is formally released and underscored that the proposal aligns with oil and gas producers’ present general standards for wastewater disposal, which often occurs via underground injection wells.
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Fracking Operators Racked Up 2.5 Violations a Day, Study Shows
Apr 2, 2015 | Bloomberg
By Mark Drajem
Oil and gas drillers ran afoul of regulators on average 2.5 times a day in three energy-intensive states for mistakes such as wastewater spills, well leaks and pipeline ruptures during the boom in hydraulic fracturing.
Online records in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado showed regulators issued 4,600 citations from 2008 to 2013, the Natural Resources Defense Council said Thursday in a report. The report excluded violations in 33 other states with drilling because such records aren’t available on the Internet.
“It’s extremely difficult for the public to get this kind of information,” said Amy Mall, an author of the report for the New York-based environmental advocate. “The companies are violating the law too often, and we need policy solutions to increase transparency and to change the consequences for not complying” with the rules, she said.
Hydraulic fracturing has sparked a producing boom in long-bypassed energy states such as Pennsylvania, site of the first U.S. oil well. The technique lets producers break apart the underground shale formations and free trapped oil or gas. Each job can entail millions of gallons of water with sand and chemicals. The industry says the practice is safe, and fracking itself hasn’t caused chemical contamination of water supplies.
The NRDC report tabulated citations issued by inspectors for breaching rules adopted to make sure wells are constructed soundly and the wastewater is handled safely. The vast majority of violations -- 4,053 -- were in Pennsylvania. West Virginia and Colorado combined had about 600.
In addition, 1,933 spills were reported in Colorado, although most weren’t listed as violations.
The report doesn’t categorize the infractions, but lists examples such as poor well construction and a ruptured pipeline. The report found the number of violations wasn’t directly linked to the number of wells.
Pressure from groups such as the NRDC for more disclosures about fracking comes as drillers grapple with a drop in oil and gas prices, and increasing regulation from the federal government for production on federal lands. Oil prices dropped about 50 percent in the past year through Wednesday, while gas fell 39 percent.
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New York Court Says Leases Can't Be Extended Due to Fracking Ban
Apr 1, 2015 | Reuters
By Ayesha Rascoe
n">Oil and gas companies in New York cannot extend leases stalled by a state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, the New York Court of Appeals has ruled.
Inflection Energy, represented by the West Firm, had argued that then-Governor David Paterson's 2010 decision to put hydraulic fracturing on hold in the state, pending completion of an environmental review, constituted "force majeure" under the terms of leases to develop land in Tioga County, New York.
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NOAA to Fly Above Shale Oil Crews To Collect Data for Emissions Analysis
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian K. Sullivan
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be flying above shale oil and natural gas basins from North Dakota to Texas through April, collecting air samples to document if drilling is adding to ground-level ozone, Joost de Gouw, a research scientist at NOAA's Earth Systems Research Lab in Boulder, Colo., said.
“We do that with a focus on air quality,” said de Gouw, also a senior scientist and fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “What are the reactive trace gases that are being released? How much methane is released from these activities?”
Breathing ozone triggers a variety of health problems for children, the elderly and anyone with lung diseases such as asthma.
It's produced when sunlight mixes with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Gasoline vapors, emissions from factories and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of the pollutants that lead to ozone creation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Ground-level ozone can also have harmful effects on sensitive vegetation and ecosystems,” the agency's website said.
In addition to nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, de Gouw said, the researchers will be looking for methane specific to oil and gas industries. Methane has a lot of different sources, including coal, landfills and animals, but the instruments can distinguish among them.
While outbreaks of ground-level ozone usually happen in the summer, areas of Wyoming and Utah have had incidents in winter corresponding to the time when hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations there intensified, de Gouw said.
“It's very specific to these two basins, and we have only known about it for the last five or six years,” he said.
In addition, summer ozone levels in Colorado, which have existed for decades, had been getting better, de Gouw said in an interview last week. In recent years, that trend has reversed.
“Do these emissions play a role?” said de Gouw. “We don't know the answer.”
State Rules
Colorado regulators last month approved rules aimed at fixing leaks from tanks and piles at oil and natural gas operations in floodplains. North Dakota passed rules effective Oct. 1 to reduce the amount of gas flared at wellheads.
The industry has disputed its role in the formation of ground-level ozone.
“Publicly available information demonstrates that oil and gas production is not a significant contributor to ozone levels,” said Steve Everley, team leader for Energy in Depth, a research and education program of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
In the San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, cars and trucks add much more volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere than oil and gas production, said Everley, who is based in Dallas. Nitrogen oxide releases are in the “single digit percentages in the total area.”
Flying 14 to 21 hours a week, the Orion, with a crew of six researchers and nine crew members, will crisscross the shale oil and fracking sites in the western and central U.S. The data gathered will require about 18 months to process.
De Gouw said while results may be clear immediately, it will take months to make sure the data are good and even longer to do a proper analysis.
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EPA Overestimates Methane Emissions From Natural Gas Distribution, Study Says
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrew Childers
Methane emissions from natural gas distribution systems could be as much as 70 percent less than estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers said in a recent study.
The EPA may be overestimating methane emissions from the natural gas distribution network because it is relying on emissions inventory data collected in the 1990s that do not reflect recent efforts by the industry to improve leak detection and maintenance efforts, researchers said in the report, “Direct Measurements Show Decreasing Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Local Distribution Systems in the United States.” The study was published March 31 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology
Washington State University, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, URS Corp., Aerodyne Research Inc., the University of Cincinnati and the National Institute of Standards and Technology measured methane emissions from 13 urban distribution systems and from 230 individual underground pipeline leaks and found that the emissions estimate is between 36 percent and 70 percent below the EPA's 2011 greenhouse gas emissions inventory data. That sample of pipeline leaks was twice as large as that used by the EPA in the 1990s to develop its emissions factors, the study said.
Researchers caution that some uncertainty remains in their emissions data because they were limited to measurements at local distribution companies that volunteered to participate in the study.
The research comes as the EPA has announced plans to regulate methane emissions from new oil and natural gas wells for the first time.
Methane, a short-lived greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time frame, accounted for nearly 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 (10 DEN A-1, 1/15/15).
The natural gas supply chain accounts for approximately 30 percent of total U.S. methane emissions, the study said.
Industry Touts Maintenance Efforts
The American Gas Association said the study underscores the efforts the natural gas industry has already made to detect and repair methane leaks.
“A concerted effort by natural gas utilities to upgrade our nation's pipeline network in order to enhance safety has contributed significantly to a declining trend in emissions from the natural gas distribution system,” Dave McCurdy, president and chief executive officer of the American Gas Association, said in a March 31 statement. “Natural gas utilities are leading a fact-based dialogue about our nation's energy future. Better data informs that conversation and help us to continually improve the delivery of natural gas to homes and businesses safely and reliably.”
Though the industry has made progress in minimizing emissions from leaks, environmental advocates said natural gas producers can take additional steps to reduce their emissions.
“The study confirms that when regulators and utilities both set themselves to fixing a problem, they can get good results,” Jonathan Peress, air policy director for natural gas at the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement March 31. “But utilities are losing as much as $195 million worth of natural gas each year.”
Researchers Study Methane Emissions
The study is the latest in a series of reports published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology that examine methane emissions from various aspects of the natural gas production chain. In February researchers from Colorado State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Fort Lewis College and Aerodyne Research Inc. published results of a study that measured methane emissions at 114 gathering facilities and 16 processing plants in the U.S., finding that less than 1 percent of the methane that passes through natural gas gathering and processing facilities is leaked (28 DEN A-5, 2/11/15).
In a similar study published in December 2014, researchers found that 20 percent of pneumatic controllers at natural gas wells account for 96 percent of natural gas and methane emissions (237 DEN A-17, 12/10/14).
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Council to Discuss Refinery Rule, Clean Power Plan
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
An environmental justice council will determine recommendations for the Environmental Protection Agency about a rule that targets hazardous air emissions from petroleum refineries and the Clean Power Plan at an April 22 public teleconference, the council announced. The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council also will discuss Title VI civil rights issues, the council said March 31. The teleconference is being scheduled because the council ran out of time on a previous call to finalize recommendations on these issues (54 DEN A-7, 3/20/15). The council decided to look further into fenceline monitoring, a key provision of the refinery rule (RIN 2060-AQ75), and potential language regarding state plan requirements under the Clean Power Plan (RIN 2060-AR33). The meeting will be 2-4 p.m. April 22. Interested individuals may pre-register by 6 p.m. April 20 at http://nejac-teleconference-april2015.eventbrite.com.
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Senate Budget Votes Hint At Hurdles To Beat Filibusters On Anti-EPA Bills
Apr 1, 2015 | InsideEPA
By David LaRoss
Senators' votes on fiscal year 2016 budget resolution amendments targeting EPA policies show the hurdles that the agency's critics face in securing 60 votes to beat likely filibusters over future bills to block EPA's climate rules and other measures, indicating the agency's Democratic supporters may succeed in stopping such legislation.
Even if the GOP-led House approves various bills in the coming months to limit, revise, or block the agency's rules, the measures could stall permanently in the Senate if EPA's supporters wage successful filibusters.
Of the numerous anti-EPA policy riders offered during the budget debate last week, just one amendment came close to the 60-vote threshold that must be met to end a filibuster on a bill. The rider, offered by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), seeks to establish a spending-neutral reserve fund to set “bright lines” for how EPA should craft its contested Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule and won the support of 59 GOP and Democratic senators.
But other measures fell several votes short of signaling filibuster-proof support for efforts to curb EPA's policies. For example, an amendment to bar EPA from withholding highway funds from states that refuse to craft plans to meet the agency's proposed climate rule for existing utilities cleared in a 57-43 vote.
A suite of additional amendments were introduced but never considered, and hint at the likely legislative agenda of EPA's critics in the coming weeks and months. The riders cover a wide range of controversial topics including EPA's national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), climate and water policies, and more.
The budget resolution that cleared the Senate in a 52-46 vote March 27 sets overall spending targets for the federal government, but does not specify suggested funding levels for EPA.
The House resolution, which cleared the lower chamber March 25 in a 228-199 vote, includes a section that cites the pending power plant climate rules as a reason for lawmakers to pass regulatory review bills that would tighten Congress' oversight of agency regulations and mandate more stringent cost-benefit analysis for “major” rules with high compliance costs.
During the Senate budget debate, most of the EPA-relevant amendments aimed to either block entirely or restrict enforcement of EPA's proposed limits on existing power plants' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. “There's always going to be that trade-off, in terms of which one they want to point their fire at, and this time it seems like they've decided to focus on the 111(d) rules,” a state source says.
Future Legislation
Although policy provisions attached to a budget resolution are not binding law, they help pave the way for bills to be introduced later in the year without budget points of order to block them, and signal the legislative agenda for both parties. Votes on amendments can hint at support for the eventual bills to implement such policies.
One environmentalist says the Senate budget amendments generally reflect the policy positions expected of a Republican-controlled Congress, “with no real surprises in terms of how anyone voted. . . . It's really just a sense of the Senate -- they tell you what the Senate is. And it's what we expected it to be.”
EPA's critics secured their greatest number of votes in support of Barrasso's amendment, S. Amdt. 347, to limit the scope of the agency's pending CWA jurisdiction rule, which is due for finalization this spring.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was absent from voting, but the senator has criticized the jurisdiction proposal and warned of massive costs to businesses from the regulation. Therefore Cruz would be expected to join the 59 senators -- five Democrats and 54 Republicans -- making 60 votes in opposition to the rule.
The five Democratic senators that voted in favor of S. Amdt. 347 are Joe Donnelly (IN), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Angus King (ME) and Joe Manchin (WV).
Barrasso's rider says the reserve fund it would create is for legislative efforts to ensure the CWA rule “is focused on water quality,” which may include limiting jurisdiction on a host of factors such as the movement of birds, mammals, or insects; based on groundwater flows through subsurface systems; or on jurisdiction on the movement of rainwater or snowmelt over the land. It would also limit EPA's jurisdiction over various waters.
“I think opponents of the water rule have gotten smart and instead of saying 'we're going to blow the whole thing up,' they're taking a more targeted approach, and that's what happened with this amendment,” the state source says.
A non-controversial CWA jurisdiction amendment, S. Amdt. 755, crafted by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), that aims to preserve existing agricultural exemptions in the CWA, cleared the upper chamber in a 99-0 vote.
Budget Amendments
Opponents of EPA's rules failed to secure 60 votes in favor of various other budget resolution amendments, including S. Amdt. 836, proposed by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), which would bar EPA from withholding highway funds from states that refuse to craft implementation plans for the existing power plant climate rule. The measure cleared in a 57-43 vote, with Donnelly, Heitkamp and Manchin joining Republicans in support.
McConnell has urged governors to “just say no” to submitting GHG compliance plans to EPA for the pending rule. His amendment sought to block the agency from invoking little-used Clean Air Act authority to withhold transportation funding from states that refuse to act. However, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has countered that the agency has no plans to withdraw funding from states that do not submit 111(d) plans.
In addition to the McConnell amendment, one other climate measure was approved through unanimous consent. S. Amdt. 416, introduced by Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), would block EPA rules “that would reduce the reliability of the electric grid.” However, EPA and its supporters have argued that the power plant GHG rules would have no impact on grid reliability and thus would pass muster under such a bill.
Climate riders that failed to reach a floor vote include a measure that would restrict EPA's authority to regulate pollution sources under section 111(d); a series of proposals that would allow states to opt out of the power plant GHG requirements altogether; and an amendment to force a new cost-benefit analysis of the rules.
Another amendment that did not receive a vote would block implementation of international environmental agreements that would result in serious harm to the economy” -- a reference to President Obama's recent agreement with China to reduce GHGs that the GOP has opposed, as well as the upcoming climate talks in Paris.
Meanwhile, two amendments aimed at NAAQS policies issued under the air law also failed to reach a vote but signal continuing opposition to EPA's proposal to tighten its ozone standard.
One amendment would bar EPA from withholding permit approvals in areas out of compliance with the NAAQS, and another would direct funds to implementing the 2008 ozone NAAQS, including language that warns a stricter standard “would impose undue costs on the economy and workforce.”
Finally, an amendment proposed and later withdrawn by Sens. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Michael Rounds (R-SD) would bar EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service from “engaging in closed-door settlement agreements that ignore impacted States and counties.” The rider echoes pending legislation to set new requirements for public participation in settlements between citizen groups and agencies that would set deadlines for rulemaking. Republicans have claimed that this practice is what they have called “sue and settle,” but EPA and environmentalists have countered such settlements do not affect the content of rules.
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Senators Want Black Carbon Considered In Updates to Air Rules for Arctic Drillers
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Andrea Vittorio
Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and four others are asking the Interior Department to take the climate change impact of black carbon, or soot, into account when it proposes updated air permitting regulations for offshore drilling in the Alaskan Arctic.
“Current DOI regulations for air emissions from outer continental shelf operations become less stringent the farther the source is from the shore,” they wrote in an April 1 letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “Yet this approach does not take into account the harmful effects of black carbon on snow and sea ice in the Arctic far from shore.”
The Arctic, which is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, is especially sensitive to black carbon—an air pollutant harmful to human health and a potent driver of climate change—because it covers white snow and ice with heat-absorbing black particles that accelerate melting.
This rapid warming is driving more interest in oil and gas drilling in the Arctic from companies such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips Co., which on March 31 got one step closer to drilling in Alaska's Chukchi Sea when Interior upheld a supplemental environmental impact statement for 2008 lease sales (30 DEN A-11, 2/13/15).
The senators said “introducing new sources of black carbon pollution in the Arctic from ships and heavy equipment used to drill for oil and gas would add a new threat to the fragile Arctic.”
Updating Air Rules
Responsibility for regulating air emissions from offshore energy facilities is split between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, depending on location.
BOEM regulates air emissions off the coast of Alaska, although so far there has been limited drilling activity subject to permitting requirements, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.
As the region receives more attention from the oil and gas industry, the bureau is now working on revisions to its air quality regulations, which have not been substantively updated since 1988.
When Interior proposes those updates, which are expected “soon,” the department should seek feedback from the public on “whether our current understanding of the Arctic warrants a requirement that black carbon pollution be controlled due to its effects on ice, snow, and sea ice,” the senators said in their letter. They also urged the department to seek comment on technologies to control black carbon pollution from the ships and equipment associated with oil and gas drilling.
Sens. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Edward Markey (D.-Mass.) and Angus King (I-Maine) also signed the letter.
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Democrats Ask Jewell to Account for Black Carbon in Arctic Permitting
Apr 1, 2015 | E&E News PM
By Jean Chemnick
Senate Democrats today asked the Interior Department to solicit public input about the possible climate effects of black carbon when it issues updated regulations on air pollution from offshore drilling in the Arctic.
A letter spearheaded by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) asked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to take public comment on the potential for oil and gas production in the Arctic to contribute to climate change by boosting black carbon pollution. They also want Interior to seek information about the availability of control technologies for black carbon.
"The Arctic is especially sensitive to black carbon pollution," the senators wrote. Black carbon can cover snow, accelerating ice melt on both land and sea.
The senators noted that the Arctic is warming at twice the average global rate and that sea ice in the region has shrunk by 75 percent since the 1980s.
And while carbon dioxide is a pollutant that affects all regions of the globe no matter where it is emitted, black carbon has a local effect and would exacerbate ice melt and environmental destruction in the already vulnerable North, they wrote. But they noted that technology exists to mitigate those effects.
"We understand that the Department will soon propose new regulations to address air pollution from offshore drilling," they wrote. They asked the department to take comment on whether developers should be required to implement those controls when drilling in the Arctic.
Independent Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts joined Whitehouse and Schatz on the letter.
The letter comes after Interior yesterday issued final approval of an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic Ocean that could clear a path for Royal Dutch Shell PLC to drill there this summer (E&ENews PM, March 31).
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Republican Senators Seek Detailed Answers On EPA Climate Change Science, Modeling
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
Four Republican senators are seeking additional information from the Environmental Protection Agency on the science linking climate change to drought, hurricanes and increased temperatures, including an analysis of climate change modeling results.
In an April 1 letter, Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) asked EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to defend recent statements that there have been more frequent and more intense hurricanes and droughts and detail whether climate models have accurately predicted temperature increases.
The questions stem from a March 4 hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the EPA's fiscal year 2016 budget request.
During that hearing, Republican members of the committee asked McCarthy several questions about climate change, including a line of questioning from Sessions on increasing global soil moisture, fewer major hurricanes in recent years and other data points that he suggested don't support the existence of climate change (43 DEN A-7, 3/5/15).
In the letter, the senators said that none of the “clear and straightforward” questions on climate science asked during the hearing were directly answered by McCarthy. The senators asked McCarthy to provide data and analysis comparing Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate models with actual global average temperatures.
“Given that the Administration's proposal to fundamentally change the nature of domestic energy generation is based on the apparent need to avoid ‘devastating’ climate impacts to the United States and the planet, it is imperative that the agency be candid and forthright in assessing the reality of this projection,” the senators said.
The letter requested that the EPA respond no later than April 21.
EPA Confident in Science
EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia told Bloomberg BNA in an April 1 e-mail that the agency will respond to the letter and stands by the science and its models on climate change.
“The scientific record and numerous lines of evidence all point to the reality of climate change,” Purchia said. “Projecting with specificity the severity and location of various impacts notwithstanding, climate change is real, it threatens our health, security, our environment and our economy, and that's why the administration is moving forward with solutions that both address the threat, increase our communities’ resilience, and leave a better world for future generations.”
At the March budget hearing, Sessions asked McCarthy to cite specific evidence that climate change modeling has proven to be correct. After McCarthy asked Sessions to clarify which models he was referring to, Sessions said it was “stunning” that the head of the EPA doesn't know about climate modeling.
Temperature Rise Comparison Requested
In the letter, Sessions and the other senators requested that McCarthy provide an EPA-produced chart comparing the actual global average temperature increases with the predictions derived from IPCC climate models.
Additionally, the senators asked the EPA to detail the steps the agency has taken to review the accuracy of climate projections and how much of the EPA's fiscal 2016 budget request of $8.6 billion would be allocated to monitoring the accuracy of climate projections.
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Senate GOP Presses EPA on Climate Models
Apr 1, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
A group of Senate Republicans is pressing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to explain the climate change models it uses for its regulations.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) wrote the letter after a March hearing at which he challenged EPA head Gina McCarthy to answer specific questions about whether the models her agency uses have correctly predicted various climate events.
“Although questions regarding the impacts of climate change were clear and straightforward, none of the questions received direct answers, and many responses contained caveats and conditions,” Sessions wrote in the Wednesday letter, which was also signed by Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), all members of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which hosted the hearing.
“We write today to emphasize that these questions were not posed lightly or in passing,” they wrote.
“Given that the administration’s proposal to fundamentally change the nature of domestic electricity generation is based on the apparent need to avoid ‘devastating’ climate impacts to the United States and the planet, it is imperative that the agency be candid and forthright in assessing the reality of this projection.”
The letter presents the conclusions of various historical climate models and asks if McCarthy endorses the findings, some of which have not panned out.
EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia said the agency stands by the science it uses.
“The scientific record and numerous lines of evidence all point to the reality of climate change — projecting with specificity the severity and location of various impacts notwithstanding, climate change is real, it threatens our health, security, or environment and our economy, and that’s why the administration is moving forward with solutions that both address the threat, increase our communities’ resilience, and leave a better world for future generations,” she said.
The EPA will respond to the senators’ specific questions, Purchia said.
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Democrats Back Obama on Climate, Say U.S. Has Responsibility to Lead in Talks
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Dean Scott
More than 100 members of Congress, virtually all Democrats, sent a letter backing the Obama administration's efforts to demonstrate U.S. leadership in ongoing negotiations toward a global climate accord that is slated to be finalized in December in Paris.
The letter to President Barack Obama was sent the same day the U.S. submitted its formal pledge to the United Nations under which the U.S. vowed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025 from 2005 levels. Pledges from each nation are to anchor an international climate deal that more than 190 countries hope to finalize at the Nov. 30–Dec. 11 UN negotiations (62 DEN A-1, 4/1/15).
The March 31 letter supporting Obama's effort was meant to signal that Democrats are “circling the wagons” to back the president, according to one Senate Democratic aide, as the president battles Republicans who argue that any international agreement must get congressional approval.
Among those signing the letter are 35 senators, all of them Democrats except for two independents—Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Angus King (Maine)—who both caucus with the minority party.
Also signing the letter: House and Senate minority leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
Climate Change Burden Falling on Americans
“Americans are already shouldering the costs of climate change,” according to the letter, which points to U.S. climate-related impacts, including more severe episodes of drought and wildfires in the West, larger and more frequent flooding in the Midwest and rising sea level and more extreme storms along the East Coast.
“As a nation that has contributed more than a quarter of all global carbon, it is our responsibility to lead,” according to the letter.
“As a nation already feeling the effects and costs of climate change, it is also in our national interest to do so,” the senators and House members wrote.
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EPA Reclassifies Areas for Fine Particulates Attainment Based on New Monitoring Data
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
Five areas initially classified as not meeting the current national standards for fine particulate matter have been reclassified by the Environmental Protection Agency based on new data.
The EPA, in a final rule signed March 31, revised the attainment status for areas in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana that meet the 2012 national ambient air quality standards for fine particulates based on 2014 air quality data. Those areas were previously determined to not meet the 12 micrograms per cubic meter standard based on air quality monitoring data from 2011-2013.
The EPA in December classified 14 areas in six states as not meeting the 2012 fine particulate standards but gave areas until Feb. 27, 2015, to submit more recent air quality data to support reclassification before the designations went into effect (244 DEN A-1, 12/19/14).
The following four areas were reclassified from nonattainment to unclassifiable/attainment based on more recent data:
• Canton, Ohio;
• Allentown, Pa.;
• Johnstown, Pa.; and
• the Cincinatti-Hamilton region in Kentucky and Ohio.
The fifth area, the Louisville region in Kentucky and Indiana, has been reclassified from nonattainment to unclassifiable. The EPA has received 2014 data showing that the Indiana portion of that region meets the standards, but valid data don't yet exist for the Kentucky portion of that region.
Areas labeled as unclassifiable for a national ambient air quality standard aren't required to take additional steps to improve air quality but are required to prevent air quality from deteriorating.
Additional Areas Classified
The EPA also used the final rule to designate five affected areas in Georgia that weren't included in the initial designation process.
The EPA extended the designation period for those areas because there was insufficient information to make a decision on attainment status in 2014.
The EPA has designated the following five areas as unclassifiable/attainment for the 2012 fine particulate standards:
• the Augusta region in Georgia and South Carolina;
• the Columbus region in Georgia and Alabama;
• Savannah, Ga.;
• Valdosta, Ga.; and
• Washington County, Ga.
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Steyer’s Group Shutters Climate Policy Arm as Political Efforts Ramp Up
Apr 1, 2015 | PoliticoPro
By Elana Schor & Andrew Restuccia
The nonprofit launched by environmentalist Tom Steyer is shutting down its climate and energy program, in a likely signal that the billionaire is shifting resources to his organization’s political arm ahead of the presidential elections.
Next Generation, co-founded by Steyer in 2011, plans to end its climate policy work and continue as a “nonprofit incubator,” energy program leader Kate Gordon wrote in an email obtained by POLITICO.
The move doesn’t mean Steyer is giving up on his pledges to make the environment and climate change major campaign themes in 2016. In fact, it indicates that Steyer will probably shift more resources away from his organization’s policy arm and toward its political efforts, including his super PAC NextGen Climate Action.
Next Generation is a nonpartisan think tank focused on policy research on climate change, children and families, Steyer’s top priorities, and played a key role in promoting Proposition 39, a California clean energy ballot initiative that passed in 2012. But his super PAC is the part of the organization that has turned him into an increasingly prominent player in liberal Democratic politics.
Steyer contributed more than $65 million of his own money toward the super PAC’s efforts to sway seven key gubernatorial and Senate races last year, though most of his favored candidates lost. Despite that setback, top Steyer political strategist Chris Lehane boasted at the time that the group had created “one of the biggest political infrastructures in the country in the key ’16 states.”
In announcing the decision by the nonprofit’s board to dismantle its energy program, Gordon said in her email that the group’s California-based energy policy operations would shift to NextGen Climate America, a nonprofit led by Natural Resources Defense Council climate advocacy veteran Dan Lashof and “co-located with Tom Steyer’s political organization, NextGen Climate Action.”
Steyer has taken on a growing political profile in recent years, beginning with his successful eight-figure investment in electing Democratic pro-climate candidates in 2013, and he’s been rumored to be harboring dreams of a political run himself someday — though he declined in January to seek the Senate seat that California Democrat Barbara Boxer is vacating.
Steyer’s prominence has, in turn, heightened the visibility of the NextGen Climate portions of his network. And a person familiar with the issue said Steyer World has been in discussions about what to do with Next Generation for about six months.
“It really was an efficiency move honestly more than anything,” the person said. “It’s a mistake to keep things alive just to keep things alive. Strategically I think it’s the right thing now.”
The person added that there were no “mass layoffs” and, because the move was a long time coming, many of Next Generation’s small staff has already found other jobs.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to explain to prospective donors the difference between Steyer’s growing network of organizations, the person said, especially as Steyer’s political arm is ramping up fundraising ahead of 2016.
In her email, which was dated Tuesday, Gordon said that “the great work our team has accomplished here at Next Generation — work focused primarily on bringing new voices and new allies into the fight against climate change and for a cleaner, more sustainable economy — will continue.”
In addition to her work as a senior adviser to Steyer, Gordon served as the first executive director of the Risky Business project, an initiative focused on the economic risks of climate change that Steyer founded along with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Gordon added in her email that Risky Business would be spun off as a separate group, based in New York, for which she would serve as a consultant in its early days.
Next Generation co-founder and President Matt James did not immediately return a request for comment on the closure of the group’s climate and energy program.
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Kansas Cites Air Law Discretion In Interstate Planning Lawsuit Against EPA
Apr 1, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Stuart Parker
Kansas is urging a federal appeals court to overturn EPA's rejection of the state's plan to curb interstate transport of air pollution that the agency sought to replace with its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) air trading program, saying the Clean Air Act gives states broad discretion on crafting plans to reduce emissions transport.
The state's argument is outlined in a March 31 final brief it filed in Westar Energy Inc., et al. v. EPA, pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and slated for May 4 oral arguments.
Kansas and utility Westar are seeking to overturn EPA's July 2011 disapproval of the Kansas state implementation plan (SIP) for limiting fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that drifts downwind across state lines. The SIP aimed to satisfy an air law “good neighbor” provision that requires states to curb emissions that hinder downwind states from being able to attain EPA's national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), including its PM2.5 NAAQS.
EPA disapproved Kansas' plan immediately before finalizing CSAPR, which is designed to curb interstate transport of PM2.5 and ozone-forming pollution. The rule imposed federal implementation plans (FIPs) directly on the 28 participating states, including Kansas.
In the suit, the state claims EPA should have approved Kansas' effort to craft a SIP in the absence of other federal direction, in order to satisfy the Clean Air Act's good neighbor provision, and that EPA never weighed the plan on its merits.
EPA and environmentalists counter that regardless of CSAPR, Kansas' plan failed to demonstrate that the state would not cause air quality problems downwind and hinder attainment of the PM2.5 NAAQS.
Kansas in its final brief cites the Supreme Court's holding in related litigation over CSAPR -- which upheld the agency's authority to implement the trading program -- that states have an independent duty to file good neighbor plans regardless of EPA action to first define their emissions reduction obligations.
'Applicable Requirements'
The air law defines the “applicable requirements” that states must satisfy, and EPA should defer to states' measures to meet these requirements, Kansas says.
“EPA failed to recognize the substantial discretion enjoyed by Kansas to implement the good-neighbor provision in the absence of EPA rulemaking providing specific instructions for State good-neighbor SIPs,” the state argues in its brief.
In EPA, et al. v. EME Homer City Generation, et al., the Supreme Court in April 2014 upheld key principles of the trading program, reversing an earlier ruling by the D.C. Circuit. The appellate court in a 2-1 ruling had vacated the rule for, among other things, what the majority saw as EPA's failure to define the “significant contribution” of each state to downwind pollution problems before imposing FIPs to implement CSAPR.
States and industry in that case argued that EPA must define significant contribution, then allow states to craft SIPs to abate their pollution, winning the support of the D.C. Circuit. The high court, however, disagreed, remanding the rule to the lower court to address unresolved legal questions. Oral arguments in the Homer City litigation took place Feb. 25, and CSAPR is now back in effect pending another ruling by the appeals court.
Westar Energy tests somewhat different issues than those under examination in Homer City. For example, in Homer City, states opposed to CSAPR are challenging EPA's invalidation of their existing good neighbor SIPs that were based on a predecessor trading program, the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), in order to implement the new program. Kansas was never covered by CAIR, and EPA did not have to resort to an “error correction” mechanism under the air law to disapprove its SIP, because EPA never gave final approval for the Kansas plan.
Emissions Modeling
EPA in filings in Westar has said Kansas' plan was submitted in a “vacuum,” without the necessary modeling to show that emissions from the state did not cause problems with other states' attainment or maintenance of NAAQS.
Environmental groups Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club in a March 24 intervenor brief supporting EPA echo that argument. The groups also note, as EPA has done, that the Kansas plan is based on actions already planned to help the state meet its obligations under the regional haze program -- “a separate and distinct” regulatory program intended to restore visibility to natural conditions in national parks and wilderness areas.
“Kansas’s 2010 state plan did not provide any data, modeling, or analysis demonstrating the relationship between emissions in Kansas and downwind nonattainment and maintenance problems despite the fact that it had previously performed such an analysis in 2007 to show Good Neighbor compliance with the 1997 ozone standard,” the groups say. But in its final brief, Kansas refutes the criticisms of its plan. The state notes that EPA's modeling for the Bush-era CAIR found Kansas did not contribute significantly; that the only area to which Kansas had been found to contribute significantly has still not been designated “nonattainment” for the PM2.5 NAAQS; that Kansas was proceeding based on modeling for EPA's proposed CSAPR, not the different modeling contained in the final rule; and that modeling results alone cannot form the basis for a determination of “significant contribution” without key policy judgments from EPA to interpret the results.
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(ACC Mentioned) Industry, Safety Board Call for Changes To ‘Miscellaneous' PHMSA Hazmat Rule
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rachel Leven
Shippers, carriers and a federal safety board urged the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to reconsider several provisions of a “miscellaneous amendments” proposed rule.
The proposal would amend a variety of Hazardous Materials Regulations sections. Some proposed changes would be “unworkable” and costly, while others wouldn't achieve the desired safety benefits, the commenters said.
Correcting these proposals within the “miscellaneous amendments” proposed rule, which would affect shippers and carriers across the hazardous materials sector, could require more data from PHMSA, the National Transportation Safety Board and industry representatives said. In the case of some amendments, commenters recommended that PHMSA take entirely different approaches.
Comments on the hazmat proposal were due March 24 (16 DEN A-5, 1/26/15).
Forbidden Materials, Packages
One of the most widely opposed provisions would bar certain materials that could be dangerous if mixed—such as producing heat—from being shipped in the same transport vehicle. The change would be appear in 49 CFR 173, Section 173.21(e), on “Forbidden materials and packages.”
This PHMSA prohibition would be “unworkable” and puts too much pressure on the carrier to “ensure that all materials are compatible,” Tom Ferguson, senior technical consultant for the Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles, said the council's comments.
Carriers would need to understand—or have on staff someone who does understand—how hazardous materials interact with each other and how nonhazardous materials interact with each other, Boyd Stephenson, director of hazardous materials policy for the American Trucking Associations, said.
For example, mineral water and non-spillable lead batteries (a not fully regulated hazardous material) “can produce significant heat through short circuit,” Stephenson said.
The proposal also wouldn't improve safety, certain industry groups said.
The likelihood that a forbidden material will be created through hazmat interactions is “extremely remote” in certain transport vehicles such as intermodal containers on railroads, Evelyn Nackman, associate general counsel for the Association of American Railroads, said.
Costs, Shipment Speeds
The proposal would significantly increase costs for the industry and slow down shipments, industry members said. They also questioned the agency's decision to include this provision in a miscellaneous rulemaking rather than on its own, and PHMSA's lack of data to support the change.
“Without appropriate cost/benefit analysis of this proposal, the change to Section 173.21(e) should be removed from this collection of ‘Miscellaneous Amendments' for more thorough consideration,” Thomas Schick, senior director of the American Chemistry Council, said in his group's comments.
The National Transportation Safety Board said PHMSA failed to address issues related to mobile acetylene trailers in other amendments proposed within the rule.
PHMSA's proposed revisions wouldn't resolve issues related to cylinder securement and impact protection, the board said. The revisions also don't “fully address” safety issues related to operator unloading procedures for these trailers, it said.
Proposed changes to liquefied petroleum gas odorant requirements and other hazmat areas also were raised as areas of concern by the board and industry representatives.
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BNSF Phases Out Some Tank Cars, Lowers Speeds in Upgraded Safety Rules
Apr 2, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Nushin Huq
BNSF Railway upgraded its safety rules for trains carrying crude oil, lowering speeds in cities and phasing out certain tank cars from crude oil services, the company told its customers in a letter.
Recent incidents involving crude oil, including a March 5 accident involving a BNSF train near Galena, Ill., prompted the company to further upgrade its safety rules, BNSF said in a letter to industrial customers that was posted March 30 (45 DEN A-15, 3/9/15).
On March 25, the company began requiring its crude oil trains to reduce speed to 35 miles per hour through all communities of 100,000 residents or more.
The company also will work with customers to replace all DOT-111 tank cars used for crude oil service within a year and replace them with next-generation tank cars and CPC-1232 tank cars modified to meet pending changes in federal safety standards, the letter said.
The DOT-111 tank car is unpressurized and in common use in North America. The new tank cars, called CPC-1232, are made from thicker and stronger steel and are double-walled and thermally insulated.
“As we are all aware, recent incidents involving the rail transportation of shale crude have continued to raise concerns among customers, railroads and the communities we serve on the ability of this particular commodity to be moved safely,” Steve Bobb and Greg Fox, BNSF chief marketing officer and chief operating officer, respectively, said in the joint letter to industrial customers. “We know this commodity can be moved safely. It requires the right tank cars and ongoing risk reduction. The additional steps we announce today are designed to assist in that by further reducing risk.”
Enhanced Electronic Monitoring
BNSF also will enhance its electronic monitoring program to quickly identify tank cars that may need repairs. Any tank cars flagged by electronic monitors for possible defects will be taken out of service immediately.
The company also will increase rail detection testing frequencies along critical waterways, and it is rolling out a real-time geographic information system tracking application for state emergency-response agencies.
“While DOT-111 and unmodified CPC-1232 tank cars are still in use, it is clear to us that these additional measures need to be taken to prevent future incidents or mitigate the impacts of one,” Bobb and Fox said.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) lauded the company's steps in a March 27 statement released after speaking with company officials about the safety upgrades.
“Railroad operations, equipment and maintenance are critical elements in our overall goal to improve rail safety, and I commend BNSF for taking these significant steps,” Dalrymple said in the statement. “At the same time, we must move forward on other important aspects of rail safety including the need for new federal tank car standards and greater pipeline capacity.”
Dalrymple urged Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to issue new tank car construction standards as soon as possible, the statement said.
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Firefighters Undergo Rail Safety Training
Apr 1, 2015 | ABC News 13
The Asheville Fire Department along with other area agencies participated in a rail safety and emergency response training Wednesday to learn what to do in an emergency hazmat situation on the rail line.
“Training is definitely the key,” said Abby Moore with the Asheville Fire Department. “The more you train, the better you know.”
The training is offered every year, free of charge, and is sponsored by TRANSCAER, Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response.
Emergency responders from across Western North Carolina participate in both hands on exercises and in classroom instruction on leak assessment and control.
Other topics include safety on railroad property, interpreting shipping documents, rail equipment identification, locomotive fires, incident response procedures and working with railroad officials.
Moore says a hazmat situation could arise at any moment and it is important to be prepared for when it happens, rather than if it happens, given the range of materials that are transported by the rail—everything from sulfur and propane to coal and grain.
“We see this type of transportation, coming up and down our rail systems up and down I-40, I-26 and we want to teach real life situations, what would happen,” Moore said.
It is held at the Norfolk Southern Rail yard and will continue Thursday.
“The satisfaction to know that I can maybe make a difference.
If something were to happen, maybe I've got a plan of making a difference,” said Larry Williams with Norfolk Southern Railroad.
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