Federal Appeals Court Rejects Obama Offshore Moratorium

John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building in New Orleans

Today the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected the Obama administration's bid to keep a moratorium on deepwater drilling while it appealed a federal judge's decision overturning the ban. The three-judge panel ruled that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar didn't prove the U.S. would suffer irreparable harm without an immediate ban on exploratory drilling in deep waters.

President Barack Obama enacted the six-month ban on exploratory drilling in water of depths of 500 feet or greater on May 27 in the weeks following the blowout of a BP PLC-owned well off Louisiana's coast. The government argues that it needs time to determine what caused the disaster and how it can be prevented in other wells. A few oil-services companies led by Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC sued to overturn the ban, arguing that it unfairly hurt companies with good operating records. On June 22, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman sided with the oil-services companies and struck down the moratorium, saying that it was arbitrary.

The Obama administration wanted permission to stop any drilling in deep water until the appeals court ruled on Judge Feldman's decision later. The panel indicated it expected to hear arguments next month on the appeal of the decision to strike down the ban. (WSJ, 7/9/2010)

RestoretheGulf.gov

RestoretheGulf.gov is the official federal portal for the Deepwater BP oil spill response and recovery. This site provides the public with information on the response, current operations, news and updates, how to file a claim and obtain other assistance, and links to federal, state and local partners.

In order to address the long-term environmental, economic, and societal impacts of the Deepwater BP oil spill, and weave together local plans and development priorities with state and federal assistance, the President has asked Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, a former Mississippi Governor, to lead the integrated Gulf Coast Reconstruction Effort. His responsibility is to build a framework that will connect local and state reconstruction plans with the resources they need to succeed in rebuilding and preserving the unique ecosystem of the Gulf, to succeed in creating sustained economic development, and to succeed in giving opportunities back to those whose livelihoods have been shattered by the spill.

Federal Partners: The Unified Area Command

A Unified Command has been established to manage response operations to the April 20, 2010 “Deepwater Horizon” incident. A Unified Command links the organizations responding to an incident and provides a forum for those organizations to make consensus decisions. This site is maintained by the Unified Command’s Joint Information Center (JIC), which provides the public with reliable, timely information about the response.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
U.S. Coast Guard
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Small Business Administration
Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of the Interior's National Park Service
Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

File a Claim
Report a Concern
Volunteer
Submit a Suggestion

BP Horizon Hotlines

Environmental Hotline / Community Information (866) 448-5816
Assistance Hotline / Boom Reports (281) 366-5511
Vessels of Opportunity (boats)(866) 279-7983 or(877) 847-7470
Wildlife Distress Hotline (866) 557-1401
PEC Hotline (Specialty Volunteer Training)(866) 647-2338
Claims Hotline (800) 440-0858
Medical Support - Poison Control Center 800-222-1222

"Forests Forever: Their Ecology, Restoration, and Protection"

Can we use forests with restraint - sustainably - while still enjoying forest products and services?

"Yes." But how?

John J. Berger's newest book, "Forests Forever: Their Ecology, Restoration, and Protection," tackles this question. Astonishingly, it not only shows that generally we can extract a steady supply of timber from forests but that in many cases, when forests have previously been mismanaged and degraded, we can simultaneously improve both forest health and timber quality.

Co-published by Forests Forever Foundation and distributed by the University of Chicago, "Forests Forever" focuses first on basic principles of forest stewardship, including how to prevent forest destruction, restore damaged forests, and protect ecosystem integrity. Many forestry books address forest restoration in an ecological context. Most are concerned with lumber harvesting and timber management. "Forests Forever," however, demonstrates that forests can be saved and protected while still providing us with many valuable benefits and products in perpetuity. The book goes on to show that the better we understand forest ecology and resources and what threatens them, the greater the chance we have of saving them and using them sustainably.

The U.S. Forest Service and federal forest policy are given close scrutiny and issues of forest ecology, economics, history, management, law, and policy are prominently discussed with an emphasis on sustainable forest management. Key points are illustrated with stories of forest conservation from North America to the tropics, and the book has 82 color plates by some of the world’s leading wildlife photographers.

To purchase soft or hardcover copies of the book for personal use, contact the University of Chicago Press or Amazon.com. Discounts are available for bulk orders. Forests Forever (306 pages, hard and soft cover) is distributed by the University of Chicago Press, with an introduction by Charles Little. For more information, please see Dr. Berger's website. John J. Berger, Ph.D. 941 The Alameda – Suite 6 Berkeley, California 94707-2316

NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule

Public Meeting with interested stakeholders on the development of the proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting Rule

Development of a Proposed Rule:

What is this Rulemaking About? This rulemaking is about changing the way facilities discharging pollutants into the waters of the U.S. and report certain information to EPA and the states under the National Pollution DischargeElimination System (NPDES).

Since the 1970's, those facilities, also referred to as NPDES permittees, have been submitting a variety of reports to EPA and the states, including reports about the pollutants they discharge into the waters. Many of those reports are still being submitted in paper form which takes time and money for EPA, states, the regulated facilities to prepare and process. EPA wants to require NPDES permittees to submit their discharge monitoring reports, and possibly others, electronically to reduce this reporting burden for everyone. Not only should this efficiency provide a significant benefit for reducing costs of processing paper forms, it will also improve the quality and accuracy of the data, and increased accessibility and transparencyof the data to the public.

What does EPA want from stakeholders? Through this meeting EPA hopes to receive feedback from stakeholders on a variety of related areas such as the feasibility of electronic reporting requirements, which existing reporting requirements for NPDES subprograms (e.g., pretreatment, or biosolids) could be adapted into electronic reporting, costs and benefits to the states, permittees, EPA and the public, and the timing of the rule implementation schedule.

All Stakeholders Are Invited. This meeting is open to all stakeholders - including the public -that are interested in the development of the proposed NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule. The meeting will be held both inperson and via webinar. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm. The meeting location is Room 1117A EPA East, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460. If you are interested in attending this meeting in person, please contact Mr. Anuj Vaidya 202-564-3549 or Ms. Sharon Gonder 202-564-5256 to register for this meeting no later than Wednesday, July 7, 2010. Join us by Webinar on July 13. Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now

China To Host Climate Talks Before Mexico Meeting

China will host an extra round of international negotiations in October to foster an agreement over a new climate treaty. The extra round of negotiations would take place in the north Chinese port city of Tianjin, which is close to Beijing.

China will introduce some new ideas and opportunities to move the negotiation forward. Governments are hoping to strike agreement on a new binding climate change treaty after a summit in Copenhagen late last year ended with a non-binding accord. The newly added Tianjin talks will come in the build-up to the next major ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, from Nov. 29-Dec. 10, when climate officials hope to agree on the key elements of a new treaty, if not the details.

Chinese officials and other countries have voiced doubts that Cancun can finish a binding climate treaty. They believe it is more likely to occur during major climate talks in South Africa at the end of 2011. (Reuters, 7/5/2010) (China Blog Version)

EPA Proposes To Replace & Improve Clean Air Interstate Rule

EPA Proposal Cuts Pollution from Power Plants in 31 States and D.C.

Rule would reduce smog- and soot-forming emissions contributing to unhealthy air

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing regulations to cut air pollution that impairs air quality and harms the health of people living downwind. The regulation will target power plant pollution that drifts across the borders of 31 eastern states and the District of Columbia. Air pollution is linked to thousands of asthma cases and heart attacks, and almost 2 million lost school or work days. Along with local and state air pollution controls, the new proposal, called the transport rule, is designed to help areas in the eastern United States meet existing national air quality health standards.

The transport rule would reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to meet state-by-state emission reductions. By 2014, the rule and other state and EPA actions would reduce SO2 emissions by 71 percent over 2005 levels. NOx emissions would drop by 52 percent.

SO2 and NOx react in the atmosphere to form fine particle pollution and ground-level ozone (smog), which are linked to widespread illnesses and premature deaths. These pollutants are carried on the wind to other states, contributing to health problems for their residents and interfering with states’ ability to meet air quality standards.

Today’s action would yield more than $120 billion in annual health benefits in 2014, including avoiding an estimated 14,000 to 36,000 premature deaths, 23,000 nonfatal heart attacks, 21,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 240,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and 1.9 million days when people miss school or work due to ozone- and particle pollution-related symptoms. These benefits would far outweigh the annual cost of compliance with the proposed rule, which EPA estimates at $2.8 billion in 2014.

EPA expects that the emission reductions will be accomplished by proven and readily available pollution control technologies already in place at many power plants across the country.

The proposal would replace and improve upon the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered EPA to revise in 2008. The court allowed CAIR to remain in place temporarily while EPA works to finalize the replacement rule proposed today.

EPA will take public comment on the proposal for 60 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. The agency also will hold public hearings. Dates and locations for the hearings will be announced shortly.

More information

Progress Energy To Close 11 Coal-Fired Power Plants?

Progress Energy Inc. will close 11 coal-fired power plants at four sites in North Carolina by 2017 and replace the capacity with gas-burning units. The action is part of a trend in which utilities are shuttering older, smaller coal-burning units and embracing cheap natural gas. The power plants facing retirement in North Carolina were built between 1952 and 1972 and thus will be of retirement age by 2017. They constitute 30% of the utility's North Carolina coal capacity and, in an earlier era, might have been refurbished. But Progress has concluded that it would cost too much money to add scrubbers to reduce controlled pollutants like sulfur dioxide and it also suspects that it will cost too much, in coming years, to purchase the emission allowances that likely will be required for carbon dioxide emissions.

The coal-to-gas strategy will reduce the utility's total carbon-dioxide emissions significantly, although not by the goal set by President Obama, to cut emissions 17 percent by 2020. It is a single-digit number but it will move emissions in the right direction. After 2017, Progress would continue to operate three coal-fired plants in North Carolina, totaling 3,542 megawatts, in which it has invested more than $2 billion for pollution control equipment. That equipment curbs nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions but does nothing to control carbon dioxide, regarded as the leading greenhouse gas. (WSJ, 12/2/2009)

TVA Fined $11 Million By Tennessee Dept of Environment

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will be required to pay $11.5 million in fines as a result of a December 2008 coal ash spill at its Kingston, Tennessee coal-fired power plant. The fine was levied by the Gennessee Department of Environment and Conservation after the agency determined the TVA is guilty of violating state clean-water and solid waste disposal laws.

The Dec. 22, 2008, spill dumped about a billion gallons of toxic coal ash sludge on the Kingston community, located about 35 miles west of Knoxville, spreading across more than 300 acres of land and contaminating the adjacent Emory River.

The fine comes on the heels of a long-awaited proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish guidelines for the storage of toxic coal ash. On May 4, the EPA proposed two different ideas to regulate coal ash storage under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The first would regulate coal ash as a “special waste” and would require the phasing out of wet storage at impoundment ponds. The second proposal would allow for on-site storage of coal ash, but containment ponds would be required to be lined to prevent any toxic materials from seeping into groundwater. (Beasley Allen, 6/15/2010)

European Union Airlines To Use Emissions Trading System

Various estimates for emissions from air travel account for between 2 percent and 3 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Such measurement probably do not fully account for the effect of releasing gases and particles at high altitude. In response, the European Union (E.U.) is making airlines join its five-year-old Emissions Trading System. Most commercial aircraft that land in E.U. countries or take off from one of its airports are expected to have to start trading under that system in 2012, paying for permits for some pollution. E.U. regulators want to use the system to nudge airlines to adopt greener practices and technologies more quickly than they might otherwise.

The regulators also have said that including the airlines in climate regulations was long overdue because international aviation had been left out of the Kyoto Protocol, while most other industrial sectors in developed countries had been included. Airlines are also not covered under the United States Clean Air Act. Various estimates report that complying with the system would cost airlines at least about $3 billion a year. Much of that cost would need to be passed through to consumers in the form of higher ticket prices.

This year the airlines are obliged to record all of their fuel use and have that information verified by independent auditors. Airlines that want a share of free pollution permits need to give detailed information by March 2011 about the amounts of goods and passengers they carried in 2010. By spring 2013, airlines need to hand over the first permits to compensate for flights made the previous year.

In December, the Air Transport Association of America, supported by American Airlines, Continental Airlines and Unite Airlines, filed suit in the High Court in London against the measures. The suit was filed in Britain because it was the first country to implement the system. Britain is also home to one of the busiest airports in Europe, London Heathrow, and the government is in charge of making sure many major U.S. carriers comply with the system.
The airlines complained that the measures had been taken without agreement with other countries in other parts of the world and were contrary to the principle that nations have sovereignty over their airspace. (The NYT, 7/4/2010)

BP's Defense Department & Other Federal Gov't Contracts

The U.S. Defense Department purchases aviation fuel and other petroleum products from BP under contracts worth at least $980 million in the current fiscal year, according to the Defense Logistics Agency. In fiscal 2009, BP was the Pentagon's largest single supplier of fuel, providing 11.7 percent of the total purchased, and in 2010, its contracts amount to roughly the same percentage.

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering debarring BP from all federal contracts -- including those with the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), which buys all fuel for the military services. The EPA plays the lead role in debarment proceedings related to the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, and its probe was sparked by BP's 2006 oil spill in Alaska and a 2005 explosion at a refinery in Texas. The EPA's deliberations, however, are suspended until the gulf spill investigations conclude. The Defense Logistics Agency has communicated to the EPA that there are adequate procedures and processes to protect the U.S. military missions should EPA determine that BP should be debarred. None of BP's current energy contracts are in direct support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and that the department could meet its requirements without BP fuel. Conversely, other estimates put BP as supplying approximately 80 percent of the fuel being used to move U.S. forces in the Middle East. But the Pentagon will not take such action in the absence of an EPA decision.

Several federal agencies have continuing contracts with BP, although none worth as much as the Pentagon's. Since 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration has contracted to spend at least $2.26 million to station weather, communications and aerial surveillance devices on several BP platforms in the gulf, including the Atlantis oil production platform roughly 100 miles from Deepwater Horizon's former location. (Wash Post, 7/5/2010)

BP Seeking Investors and Challenging Macondo Field Partners

BP is seeking a strategic investor to secure its independence in the face of any takeover attempts as it struggles with a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Britain's BP is trying to drum up interest among rival oil groups and sovereign wealth funds to take a stake of between 5 and 10 percent in the company at a cost of up to 6 billion pounds ($9.1 billion).

BP is asking its partners in the ruptured well, Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., to contribute nearly $400 million to the clean-up effort. BP sent out demands for $272 million from Anadarko and $111 million from Japanese company Mitsui on June 2. That represents roughly 40 percent of the $1 billion BP spent in May. BP owns 65 percent of the well, Anadarko owns 25 percent and Mitsui 10 percent. (MSNBC, 7/4/2010)

EPA Announcement on E15 Waiver Decision

DOE is on track to complete testing designed to determine the impact of higher ethanol blends on vehicles built after 2007 by the end of September. DOE is also testing some vehicles built before 2007 and is also testing tanks and other fuel handling equipment to see how they might be affected by E15.

While results from the tests conducted to-date look good, EPA will not make a final decision until DOE completes its current comprehensive testing of the newer vehicles. EPA is taking steps to ensure the appropriate pieces are in place should the results of the complete set of tests be positive. Based on DOE's schedule, EPA believes it will be able to make a final determination on whether to approve the use of higher ethanol blends this fall.

Mirant's Coal Combustion Waste Landfill Challenged By State

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) filed a complaint in March in U.S. District Court against Mirant Maryland Ash Management, charging thta its Brandywine Coal Combustion Waste Landfill is polluting local waterways. MDE claimed it found high levels of pollutants, including arsenic, cadmium and selenium, in ponds that eventually discharge into the Mataponi Creek. The creek flows into the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, which then flows into the Patuxent River. MDE also argued in its complaint that Mirant not only violated its permit by allowing pollutants to discharge at high levels, but also failed to disclose many of the pollutants involved in its discharge permit applications.

Mirant filed a motion June 21 to dismiss charges it violated the federal Clean Water Act, arguing that:

MDE failed to provide enough proof of Mirant's alleged pollution to merit charges,
The company was and still is in compliance with its permits,
The company did disclose all of the pollutants,
MDE failed to follow the proper procedures for filing a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act.
MDE failed to meet its burden by not specifying when most of the alleged illegal discharging took place, where and how it happened, and at what levels.

MDE plans to file a response by the July 21 deadline set by the court; a federal judge is scheduled to rule on Mirant's motion September 8.

The Brandywine landfill stores the waste byproducts of coal combustion from Mirant's Chalk Point Generating Plant in Aquasco, Maryland. Coal combustion waste byproducts have been stored at the landfill since 1970. The landfill features four disposal sites for waste byproducts; three were constructed before Mirant bought the site and do not have special liners to prevent pollutants from seeping into groundwater, according to MDE's complaint. The fourth disposal site is the only one still in use and does have the protective liner.

MDE is pursuing its case against Mirant with assistance from several environmental advocacy groups, including the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Defenders of Wildlife, EarthReports Inc., Patuxent Riverkeeper and Sierra Club. (Gazette.net, 7/2/2010)

EPA Approves Arch Coal Pine Creek Surface Mine

The Obama administration has approved a new mountaintop removal permit with the condition that the operator protects downstream water quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed off on federal Army Corps of Engineers issuance of a Clean Water Act permit for Arch Coal Inc. subsidiary Coal-Mac Inc.'s Pine Creek Surface Mine near Omar, West Virginia in Logan County.

The Center opposes mountaintop removal.

EPA officials instructed Coal-Mac to build its valley fill waste piles one (of three) at a time. Waiting to start the next one until the previous one is finished allows monitoring of each fill prior to initial construction of subsequent fills, ensuring that predicted water quality outcomes are achieved.

The permit involves a 760-acre mountaintop removal operation that was among the mining applications receiving additional scrutiny from the EPA under the Obama administration's effort to reduce impacts from Appalachian strip mining. (The Charleston Gazette, 6/29/2010)

EPA Guidance on Mountaintop Removal

Surface Mining

Steny Hoyer Touts Loan Guarantee for Calvert Cliffs

According to House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Constellation Energy Group’s joint venture with Electricite de France (EdF) to build a new nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs is now “first in line” for a federal loan guarantee. Hoyer, left, believes the Calvert Cliffs project is further along in the loan-guarantee process than competing projects in Texas and South Carolina.

The Department of Energy has only enough loan authority to offer one more project a federal guarantee. Plant Vogtle in Georgia received the first loan guarantee of $8.3 billion for the $14 billion plant. Just like plant Vogtle, Calvert Cliffs has two existing nuclear units. Hoyer is pushing very hard to get an approval of loan guarantees from the Department of Energy for Constellation's third plant.

Under the federal program, the U.S. government agrees to repay the loans for nuclear plant construction if a company defaults on the debt. The Department of Energy has $18.5 billion in loan guarantee authority for 2010. President Obama has requested an additional $35.5 billion in his 2011 budget in order to provide guarantees for more nuclear plants. (The Baltimore Sun, 7/1/2010)

Petitions & Lawsuits Against EPA 'Endangerment Finding'

Ten administrative petitions have been filed asking EPA to reconsider its Endangerment Finding, and lawsuits have been consolidated. The lawsuits and petitions were filed by industry groups, states, and lawmakers challenging the Endangerment Finding, EPA’s new mobile and stationary source rules, and EPA’s reconsideration of the [Steven] Johnson Memo. On June 18th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that 17 consolidated appeals, Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will be held in abeyance until EPA resolves pending petitions to reconsider its December 2009 Endangerment Finding. The Endangerment Finding forms the legal cornerstone of EPA’s recent greenhouse gas regulations, including newly-enacted emission limitations for cars and light trucks and large stationary sources.

The arguments raised in the petitions for reconsideration and lawsuits target the scientific underpinnings of the Endangerment Finding. In particular, they are likely to focus on electronic mail messages and documents by climatologists at the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia that were disclosed last year. Challengers contend that those correspondences cast doubt on the reliability of the data relied on by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and ultimately EPA.

EPA has indicated that it will issue its reconsideration of the Endangerment Finding by the end of July, but there has been no indication from the agency that it will alter its findings. Therefore, it is likely that the legal challenges to the Endangerment Finding will be revived later this summer, in any event no later than the August 16, 2010, deadline set by the D.C. Circuit. If petitioners succeed on the merits of their challenges, EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act will be severely compromised and the vehicle standards and permitting requirements for stationary sources that it has put in place could be delayed or derailed.

MORE (Marten Law)

EPA Administrator Makes Sixth Trip to Gulf Region

To Oversee Response to the BP Spill

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson returns to the gulf coast to monitor EPA’s on-the-ground response to the BP oil spill, meet with federal responders and BP representatives, and speak with residents about ongoing federal efforts to mitigate the spill’s impact on the region. She will travel to New Orleans and Pensacola, Florida.

During the trip, she will be briefed by EPA and Coast Guard officials on the latest response updates and monitoring data, and oversee beach clean up efforts in the region. The administrator will also meet with EPA scientists in Gulf Breeze, Fla., for a briefing on ongoing dispersant testing. Administrator Jackson and EPA continue to work closely with National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, who is leading the administration-wide response and directing all interagency activities.

For more information on EPA’s efforts in the gulf and for the latest air, water, sediment and underwater dispersant monitoring data.

FRIDAY, JULY 2

10:00 a.m. CENTRAL Briefing with Local Officials

1:00 p.m. CENTRAL Town Hall Meeting: “Expanding the Environmental Conversation” Ernest N. Morial Convention Center 900 Convention Center Blvd New Orleans, La.

3:00 p.m. CENTRAL Meeting with Environmental Groups

SATURDAY, JULY 3

10:30 a.m. CENTRAL Tour of EPA’s Gulf Breeze Lab and Pensacola Beach Operations Lab Gulf Breeze and Pensacola, Florida.

1:15 p.m. CENTRAL Stakeholder Meeting Gulf Breeze, Florida.

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Threaten Energy Efficiency Programs

Under the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs, local government borrow money through bonds or other means and then uses it to make loans to homeowners to cover the upfront costs of solar installations or other energy improvements. Each owner repays the loan over 20 years through a special property tax assessment, which stays with the home even if it is sold.

Twenty-two states have authorized PACE programs, which are intended to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to invest in energy efficiency. So far, only a few thousand people have used them. But the Energy Department wants to promote the programs — and give an economic boost to companies that install solar panel and other energy improvement systems — through the $150 million in stimulus funds, which are intended to help communities cover setup and administrative costs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government entities that guarantee more than half of the residential mortgages in the United States, believe taxpayers will end up as losers if a homeowner defaults on a mortgage on a home that uses such creative financing. Typically, property taxes must be paid first from any proceeds on a foreclosed home.

In letters sent to mortgage lenders on May 5, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stated that energy-efficiency liens could not take priority over a mortgage. The purpose of the industry letter was to remind seller/servicers that an energy-related lien may not be senior to any mortgage delivered to Freddie Mac. However, the agencies did not offer guidance to mortgage lenders on how to handle properties that carry the energy liens. Backers of the programs fear that mortgage lenders, who depend on Fannie and Freddie to buy their home loans, will now start demanding that the entire lien be paid off before issuing a new loan. The letters have had a devastating impact on PACE programs in California, placing at risk millions of dollars of federal stimulus funding, millions of dollars of state, local and private funding, and impacting efforts to promote green jobs and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The mixed messages have alarmed state officials and prompted many local governments to freeze their programs, which have been hailed as an innovative way to help homeowners afford the retrofitting of a house with solar panels, which can cost $30,000 or more before incentives.

Local and state officials say that the energy liens are no different than other types of special property taxes, like those used to finance sidewalks and underground utilities. None of those have raised alarms at Fannie and Freddie. (NYT, 6/30/2010)

3 Judge NRC Panel Says DOE Cannot Drop Yucca Application

Administration Cannot Drop Bid for Nuclear Waste Dump in Nevada, Panel Finds
Center President Norris McDonald at Yucca Mountain in 2003
In a 47-page decision, a three-member panel of administrative judges at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ruled on Tuesday that the Energy Department could not withdraw its application to open a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. They said the Energy Department lacked the authority to drop the petition because it would flout a law passed by Congress. The decision on Tuesday could be overruled by the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission itself. President Obama had promised in his election campaign to drop the Yucca Mountain plans if he were elected. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also opposes Yucca Mountain.

In the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, Congress directed the Energy Department to file the application and the commission to consider it and:

“issue a final, merits-based decision approving or disapproving the construction. Unless Congress directs otherwise, DOE may not single-handedly derail the legislated decision-making process.”

Congress would have to appropriate hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the Energy Department to pursue the application. But the president’s budget for next year proposes no money at all.

The three-judge panel noted that the Energy Department was not claiming that Yucca was unsafe or that there was anything wrong with the 86,000-page application, but was saying only that the site was “not a workable option.”

The Energy Department’s waste program has been mostly financed by electricity consumers, who pay one-tenth of a cent per kilowatt-hour into a nuclear waste fund. About $10 billion has been spent so far. (NYT, 6/29/2010)

Constellation Energy Group Invests in NC Smart Grid Company

BGE Parent Invests $17.7 Million In Consert Inc

Constellation Energy Group has invested in Raleigh, N.C.-based Consert Inc., a "smart grid" technology provider. Consert on Tuesday announced the $17.7 million investment by Constellation, GE Energy Financial Services, Qualcomm Inc.,, Verizon Ventures and others.

The investment by Constellation, the corporate parent of Baltimore Gas and Electric, comes as Maryland regulators have denied the utility's smart grid proposal because of up-front costs to consumers. The technology allows consumers to track their electricity use in real time and enables two-way communication between customers and the utility. (The Baltimore Sun, 6/29/2010)

EPA Releases Draft Strategic Plan for Public Comment

The Draft FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan is now available for public review and comment. The Agency’s Strategic Plan identifies the measurable environmental and human health outcomes the public can expect over the next five years and describes how the EPA intends to achieve those results.

EPA welcomes comments from all stakeholders. To read and comment on the Draft Strategic Plan. EPA will use stakeholder feedback to prepare the final FY 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan, which will be released by September 30, 2010. Comments must be received on or before July 30, 2010 for consideration.

EPA has also established a Discussion Forum to engage with the public on the cross-cutting fundamental strategies and actions the Agency can take to tangibly change the way we work.

Additional information about the Agency’s Strategic Plan and the public review and comment on the Draft Strategic Plan.

First Uranium Mill in 25 Years Proposed In Colorado

Western Colorado's Paradox Valley
A proposal to build the nation's first uranium mill in 25 years could transform Paradox, Colorado into the a principle source of uranium milling for the nuclear fuel industry. The mill would process ore from 41 nearby mills and could provide up to 85 jobs paying $45,000 to $75,000 per year, according to mill operator Energy Fuels Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of a Canadian corporation of the same name. A county study showed the mill could increase county housing demand by 31 percent and generate up to 564 additional long-term jobs in the county in sectors like construction, retail, and mining.

The demolished company milling town of Uravan, 16 miles from Naturita, shows the other side of uranium. Originally a radium mining site in the early 1900s, it became a company town in 1935, when U.S. Vanadium Corp. built a mill and expanded the mine. Its output fueled the Manhattan Project and the Cold War's nuclear arms race. But few measures were in place to protect workers, residents or the environment from uranium's harm, and the town was evacuated in 1984 due to extensive radioactive contamination.

After becoming a federal Superfund clean-up site in 1986, the site was reclaimed in 2008 at a cost of $127 million, paid for Vanadium Corp.'s owner, Union Carbide Corporation. In August 2009, a federal appeals court ruled against past residents of the mill town who sought compensation for their illnesses, siding with Union Carbide. Mill supporters discount that history, arguing that regulations have drastically improved since Uravan, with multiple government agencies now overseeing milling and mining operations.

The company will have to post a $12 million bond upfront for clean-up of the site should the company go bankrupt, according to application documents. The mill would use about 150 gallons per minute to process uranium ore. (The Daily Climate, 6/29/2010)

Oil Imports For the United States of America

Total Imports of Petroleum

(Top 15 Countries)

(Thousand Barrels per Day)

(As of April 2010)

Country


CANADA - 2,486

MEXICO - 1,276

SAUDI ARABIA - 1,257

NIGERIA - 1,125

VENEZUELA - 950

RUSSIA - 587

ANGOLA - 508

IRAQ - 490

ALGERIA - 464

COLOMBIA - 423

VIRGIN ISLANDS - 316

BRAZIL - 307

UNITED KINGDOM - 304

KUWAIT - 278

ECUADOR - 179

[OPEC Countries in bold]

OPEC

The founding members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Later members include Algeria, Ecuador, Indonesia, Libya, Qatar, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates

OPEC has twelve member countries: six in the Middle East, four in Africa, and two in South America.

(EIA-DOE, Wiki)

EPA's GHG Reporting Requirements For 4 Sources

EPA Issues Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements for Four Emissions Sources
Agency Also To Consider Data Confidentiality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing requirements under its national mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting program for:

1) underground coal mines,

2) industrial wastewater treatment systems,

3) industrial waste landfills and

4) magnesium production facilities.

The data from these sectors will provide a better understanding of GHG emissions and will help EPA and businesses develop effective policies and programs to reduce them.

Methane is the primary GHG emitted from coal mines, industrial wastewater treatment systems and industrial landfills and is more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere. The main fluorinated GHG emitted from magnesium production is sulfur hexafluoride, which has an even greater warming potential than methane, and can stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years.

These source categories will begin collecting emissions data on January 1, 2011, with the first annual reports submitted to EPA on March 31, 2012.

In a separate proposed rule, EPA is requesting public comment on which industry related GHG information would be made publicly available and which would be considered confidential. Under the Clean Air Act, all emission data are public. Some non-emission data, however, may be considered confidential, because it relates to specific information which, if made public, could harm a business’s competitiveness. Examples of data considered confidential under this proposal include certain information reported by fossil fuel and industrial gas suppliers related to production quantities and raw materials. EPA is committed to providing the public with as much information as possible while following the law.

The GHG reporting program requires suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial GHGs and large direct emitters of greenhouse gases to report to EPA. Collecting this data will allow businesses to track emissions and identify cost effective ways to reduce emissions. EPA is preparing to provide data to the public after the first annual GHG reports are submitted in March 2011.

There will be a 60-day public comment period on the proposed rules that will begin upon publication in the federal register.

More information on the final rule to add reporting requirements for four source categories

More information on the proposal on data confidentiality

Supreme Court Reasserts Standard for Injunctive Relief in NEPA Cases

The United States Supreme Court reiterated the four-part standard for injunctive relief it announced in 2008, confirming that this same standard applies in cases arising under NEPA. In a 7-1 opinion delivered by Justice Alito in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms (Monsanto), the Court relied on its earlier opinions in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, and eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., holding that showings of:

1) irreparable injury,

2) inadequacy of legal remedies,

3) a balance of hardships tipping in favor of the party seeking the injunction and

4) consideration of the public interest

are all necessary before an injunction may issue.

More: Marten Law

ACEEE to Release Smart Meter Report

Advanced (or “smart”) meters for residential electricity use are all the rage today.

According to a new study by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), if Americans are to cut their household electricity use by a substantial margin and save tens of billions of dollars in the process, the nation’s electric utilities will have to lend a hand by providing consumer-friendly “residential feedback” tools, including real-time (or near-real time) Web-based or in-home feedback devices (the Google PowerMeter is one example) and enhanced billing approaches.
The ACEEE analysis shows that advanced metering initiatives now being used by many utilities are neither necessary nor sufficient alone for providing households with the feedback that they need to achieve energy savings. To realize potential feedback-induced savings, advanced meters must be used in conjunction with in-home (or on-line) displays and well-designed programs that successfully inform, engage, empower, and motivate people.


ACEEE’s new report analyzes the results of 57 different residential sector feedback initiatives performed between 1974 and 2010. With approximately 115 million households nationwide, aggregate residential sector energy savings could make a meaningful contribution to U.S. energy security and climate goals, according to the study, which also details potential consumer pocketbook savings. Through tools such as real-time feedback and enhanced billing, residential electricity consumers can better evaluate their energy consumption practices, determine how energy is being wasted, and then take action to be more energy efficient. (ACEEE)

Gulf Oil Spill Hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Senate Energy Committee will have a business meeting (Tues 6/29/2010) mark-up at 9:30 a.m. to consider S. 3516, a bill to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to reform the management of energy and mineral resources on the OCS, and for other purposes.

House Natural Resources holds its final hearings in a series of seven (Tues 6/29/2010) at 10:00 a.m. looking at state planning for offshore energy and the performance of MMS. Witnesses include Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; MMS (Bureau of Ocean Energy) Management Director Michael Bromwich; Janis Searles Jones of the Ocean Conservancy and David Dismukes, Louisiana State University's Center for Energy Studies policy director.

House Energy and Commerce Committee revisits legislation to respond to the BP oil spill on Wednesday (6/30/2010) at 9:30 a.m.

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation holds a hearing on Wednesday (6/30/2010) at 10:00 a.m. to examine the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, focusing on holding industry accountable. (Frank Maisano)

Offshore Drillers Test Blow Out Preventers for MMS

Blowout Preventer
In hopes of moving them along on permit approvals, shallow water drillers recently conducted successful shear ram testing of a Blow Out Preventer (BOP) shearing drill pipe. The drillers wanted to show the Agency Formerly Known As MMS (or TAFKA MMS) (now Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) (or BOE) that it could comply with new rules.

Two different types of shear rams within the BOP - interlocking shear ram (ISR) and shearing blind ram (SBR) ram blocks – were used in these tests. The objective of these tests was to demonstrate that the BOP, with either the SBR/ISR ram blocks, could shear the highest grade drill pipe that well operators plan to use in their well plans.

During the shearing test, the drill pipe and dual string tubing sheared within the allowable shearing pressure tolerances. After the pipe was sheared, pressure was applied beneath the rams at a low and high (10,000 psi) pressure to simulate well bore pressure. The BOP shear ram tests were witnessed by TAFKA MMS, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and several drillers. (Frank Maisano)

Groups Sue To Stop Cape Wind Project

The Center supports the Cape Wind Project.

Several groups filed suit late last week against the proposed Cape Wind project saying that the proposed development may have violated several federal laws including the Endangered Species Act. The project, recently approved by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The groups include the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Cetacean Society International, The Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, Californians for Renewable Energy and Three Bays Preservation.

The Groups argue that

“required scientific studies were not done and that mandated protective measures were ignored in approving the controversial 130-turbine project slated for Nantucket Sound, a principal bird migration corridor off the Massachusetts coast.”

Issues raised by the suit include claimed refusals to adopt recommended protective measures for certain birds, such as shutting turbines down during peak migration periods; refusals to collect or submit acoustic, radar, infrared, or observational data on bird migration; and a failure to “prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement when new information came to light that a large aggregation of the highly imperiled North Atlantic Right Whale was present in the project area.”

This is a frivilous lawsuit and we hope it is dismissed quickly. The Cape Wind folk have been trying to get approval to build this offshore wind project for about 10 years. If their experience is any indication, not many other companies will be follow. Unnecessary delays kill projects. (Frank Maisano)

'A Whale,' World's Largest Oil Skimmer Heading to Gulf

The six opening's (six on each side of the vessel, 12 openings in all) near the bow of the vessel that pulls in the oil. 'A Whale,' is billed as the largest oil skimmer vessel in the world, is 1115 feet long and 196 feet wide and can hold 1 million barrels of recovered oil. The Taiwanese ship is owned and operated by TMT Shipping and will hopefully begin assisting in the clean up effort in the Gulf very soon.

The company is still negotiating with the Coast Guard to join the cleanup and does not have a contract with BP to perform the work. The company also needs environmental approval and waiver of a nearly century-old law aimed at protecting U.S. shipping interests.

Environmental Protection Agency approval is required because some of the seawater returned to the Gulf would have traces of oil.

The company says it also needs a waiver of the 1920 Jones Act, which limits the activities of foreign-flagged ships in coastal U.S. waters. Other interpretations conclude that the Jones Act is does not apply to skimming operations outside of 3 miles from shore. Oil skimming outside 3 miles, including near the well 50 miles from shore that is the source of the leak, is completely open to foreign oil spill response vessels. (Daily Press, 6/24/2010, Wavy.com, 6/25/2010)