Maryland Dept of the Environment Climate Change Hearings

The public comment period for Maryland's climate change plan is now open and your opinions and ideas are needed.

In 2009, Maryland Governor O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly passed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act of 2009. The law requires the State to develop and implement a plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25 percent by 2020.

Maryland is among the states most vulnerable to climate change. With the fourth longest tidal coastline, Maryland is the third most vulnerable state to sea level rise -- one of the major consequences of climate change. Rising sea levels, along with increased storm intensity could have devastating and far-reaching environmental and economic impacts on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the quality of life Marylanders currently enjoy.

Public Meeting Dates: May 8, 2012 - noon - 2 p.m. Elkton Central Library 301 Newark Avenue Elkton, Maryland 21921 410-996-5600 May 15, 2012 - noon - 2 p.m. Queen Anne's County Health Department 206 North Commerce Street Centreville, Maryland 21617 410-758-0720 May 24,2012 - noon - 2 p.m. C. Burr Artz Public Library First Floor - Community Room 110 East Patrick Street Frederick, Maryland 21701 301-600-1630 May 31, 2012 - 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Maryland Department of Natural Resources C1 Conference Room 580 Taylor Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21401 1-877-620-8367 June 5, 2012 - 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Maryland Department of the Environment First Floor - Aqua & Terra Conference Rooms 1800 Washington Boulevard Baltimore, Maryland 21230 410-537-3240

AFL-CIO President Supports Keystone Pipeline

Richard Trumka

The AFL-CIO does not have a formal position on Keystone XL pipeline, but AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is backing construction of the project. Trumka is also downplaying divisions among unions in the labor federation over the controversial project.

President Obama, who has won the AFL-CIO’s endorsement, has said more review is needed but has not taken a position on the cross-border pipeline itself.
Regarding the different positions by unions, Trumka notes:

“They are not divided on the pipeline itself; they are divided on how the pipeline is done. I think we are all unanimous by saying we should build the pipeline, but we have to do it consistent with all environmental standards, and I think we can work that out, I really do, and we are for that happening.”

The pipeline has been a thorny issue for the labor federation and harmed at least one major union's relationship with environmentalists.  Environmentalists bitterly oppose Keystone due to greenhouse gas emissions from extracting and burning oil sands, forest damage from the massive projects in Alberta, and fear of spills along the pipeline route.

Although some unions oppose the pipeline, others support it. Many unions including the Laborers’ International Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Teamsters, the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and others strongly back construction of Keystone, calling it a way to create jobs.

But the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union have opposed Keystone due to environmental concerns about the oil sands and potential pipeline spills. The United Steelworkers, the United Autoworkers, the Communications Workers of America and the Service Employees International Union joined those two unions and two big green groups in a statement that backed Obama’s January decision to reject a permit for Keystone.

The White House, when rejecting a permit for the pipeline in January, said the decision was not on the “merits” of the project but instead alleged the GOP was demanding a deadline that would short-circuit review. TransCanada Corp. re-applied for a federal cross-border permit late last week.
Backers of the project say construction should be authorized and that the project should go forward even as a route to avoid ecologically sensitive regions of Nebraska is studied.  (The Hill, 5/6/2012)

Maryland Flush Taxes To Double To $60

Gov. Martin O'Malley signed legislation Wednesday that will double the flush tax for most Marylanders. The flush tax, a fee used to renovate wastewater treatment plants in an effort to clean up the Bay, will double from $30 to $60 starting in July, raising roughly $56 million.

The tax as passed is a far cry from the governor's earlier proposed hikes to the fee -- a panel had originally suggested tripling the charge.

Lawmakers say the extra revenue will help the state comply with new federally led efforts to restore the Bay's water quality by 2025, and that the legislation keeps Maryland ahead of the curve when it comes to protecting the environment.

Another bill requires local jurisdictions to adopt development practices that move septic systems away from areas where water pollution is more likely to occur. And the governor signed legislation that requires locally funded projects to prevent storm water runoff from making its way from roads into rivers, streams and farmland. (Washington Examiner, 5/2/2102)

EPA Life-Cycle Assessment of Lithium Ion Battery

EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics and Office of Research and Development (ORD) has announced that the draft final report for the life-cycle assessment (LCA) conducted by the Design for the Environment (DfE)/ORD Li-ion Batteries and Nanotechnology Partnership has been posted on EPA’s DfE Program web site for a 60-day public comment period.

The LCA results for advanced batteries used in plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles are expected to help promote the responsible development of these emerging energy systems, including nanotechnology innovations, leading to reduced overall environmental impacts and the reduced use and release of more toxic materials. The LCA study identified key materials and processes within the batteries’ life cycles that are likely to pose the greatest environmental impacts, including occupational and public toxicity impacts, which will help the Li-ion battery industry to identify environmentally sound process, material, and design choices. The partnership included battery manufacturers, suppliers, and recyclers, as well as representatives from academia, trade and research institutions, and the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

For further information, please contact Kathy Hart in OPPT's DfE Program, at (202)564-8787. .

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins Is Having A Baby

Dear Norris,

Phaedra Ellis- Lamkins

As Green For All approaches its 5^th Anniversary, I am more hopeful than ever about our efforts to build a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. We’ve made great strides, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

I’m also thrilled to share some exciting new developments.

In a few weeks, I will become a mother for the first time. As I think about the world I want my child to grow up in, the work we do at Green For All takes on new urgency and weight. I’m more committed than ever to leaving behind a healthier, more equitable and prosperous planet.

Kimberly Freeman Brown

That’s why I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that the amazing Kimberly Freeman Brown will be joining our team. Kimberly will serve as interim executive director of Green For All during my maternity leave. As executive director of American Rights at Work, Kimberly has developed a reputation as a fearless leader who has brought together civil rights, labor, and environmental leaders to advocate for workers. We’re fortunate to have her.

Kimberly will help guide us into our next phase of growth, as we ramp up our work to create real jobs and build a movement strong enough to change our economy. As part of that effort, we’ve begun a search for a talented executive director, who will join me in my new role as president of Green For All. Our new executive director will focus on making Green For All an even more resilient and strategic institution, and I will devote more time to communicating our vision with the rest of the world and building our movement. 

It’s true that the challenge before us is daunting. But as I look ahead at the changes we’re making at Green For All, and at the successes we’re already seeing in the growing green economy, I believe that we have arrived at our moment. And as I think about the new addition to my family and my life, the stakes seem higher than ever. We have to win. And with your help, we will.

Sincerely,

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Chief Executive Officer
Green For All

EPA Hearings Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants

Comment Period Extension 

EPA will hold two public hearings on the proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants. The hearings will be May 24, 2012 in Washington DC and Chicago. EPA is also extending the comment period on this proposed rule by 30 days, until June 25, 2012, to give the public ample time to comment after the public hearing.

 

More information on the standard and the hearings

 

Background

Such public hearing will begin at 8:30 a.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. (local time). The public may preregister to speak at the hearings at a specific time. People also may register in person on the day of the hearing, and will be accommodated as time allows. The EPA must close the hearing promptly at 4:30 p.m. To preregister to speak at the hearings, please contact Ms. Pamela Garrett, telephone 919-541-7966 or email.

The proposal's fact sheet provides a summary or the rule and detailed instructions on how to comment.

EPA Takes Next Step to Implement 2008 Ozone Standards

Most areas that need to take steps to reduce ozone pollution are close to meeting the standards; only three new areas have been added. Working closely with states and tribes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is identifying areas that meet or do not meet the 2008 air quality standards for ground-level ozone, known as smog.

The agency’s approach to implementing these standards will improve air quality, protect public health, increase certainty for states and tribes, maximize flexibilities and minimize the burden on state, tribal and local governments. Breathing air containing high levels of smog can reduce lung function and increase respiratory symptoms, aggravating asthma or other respiratory conditions. Ozone exposure may also contribute to premature death, especially in people with heart and lung disease.

In 2008, EPA set new smog standards at 75 parts per billion. Working with states and tribes and following an open public process that included a 45-day public comment period, EPA has determined that 45 areas across the country, including two separate areas of Indian country, are not meeting the 2008 standards based on the most recent certified air quality data. Almost all of these areas already have programs in place to improve air quality because they did not meet the 1997 smog standards. Only three areas will be identified for the first time as not meeting smog standards.

Reflecting ongoing improvements in air quality, EPA is identifying fewer areas that do not meet the 2008 standards than the agency identified as not meeting the 1997 standards. Reducing smog and improving air quality is a shared responsibility of federal, state, local and tribal governments. National clean air programs such as EPA’s standards to reduce power plant emissions that cross state lines, clean vehicle and fuel standards, and more locally focused state, tribal air quality programs are already contributing to air quality improvements. These actions will help areas meet the standards and protect public health. In addition, EPA expects that most areas would be able to meet the 2008 standards as a result of recent and pending rules.

The Clean Air Act requires EPA to review and, if necessary, revise air quality standards every five years to ensure that they protect public health with an adequate margin of safety. Following a change in standards, EPA works with states and tribes as appropriate to identify areas that do not meet the standards and establish plans to improve air quality. EPA continues to work to review the science needed to inform the next five-year review of the smog standards and currently expects to propose action in 2013.  (EPA)

More about final designations throughout the country

Cummins Engine Company Profiting From Regulations

Cummins Inc., the U.S. manufacturer of engines for trucks, buses and off-road machinery, is thriving in good measure because of tough, new government regulations around the world. In the last few years, the $18 billion-a-year-in-sales company has become the go-to partner for overseas vehicle manufacturers in Asia and Latin America looking to avoid years of costly engineering work to bring their own engines into compliance with the new standards. Demand for more efficient engines is aiding Cummins.

There is a very strong push for better environmental regulations by governments in almost every country. America has technologies that can help those countries meet emissions regulations with a relatively low impact to their economies. Cummins' willingness to customize its engines and other components for specific regions—a strategy the Columbus, Ind., company calls fit-for-market—has allowed it to penetrate foreign markets faster and more thoroughly than other U.S.-based manufacturers.

About 35% of Cummins sales last year came from fast-growing markets, such China, India and Brazil, up from 27% in 2007. Cummins' all-in approach to emerging markets exposes the company to inevitable second-guessing as sizzling economies in China and Brazil weaken lately.  Emerging markets are going to grow at somewhere between two and three times what the U.S. and Europe are going to grow at over the next 10 years.

Cummins' revenue from its engine-and-component content on heavy-duty trucks in North America has doubled in the last 10 years to $30,000 a truck. That figure is almost certain to increase as U.S. truck makers comply with new regulations starting in 2014 to lower carbon dioxide emissions and an improve fuel mileage. Moreover, manufacturers of new commercial trucks in China, India and Brazil face ever-increasing restrictions on nitrogen oxide, a component of ozone-depleting greenhouse gas that Cummins already has reduced to ultra-low levels on its U.S. engines. Cummins already accounts for nearly half the engine market for light and medium-duty trucks in Brazil and 35% of the engine market for construction machinery. (WSJ, 5/1/2012)

EPA To Assist Drinking Water System Monitoring

EPA to Work with Drinking Water Systems to Monitor Unregulated Contaminants The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today published a list of 28 chemicals and two viruses that approximately 6,000 public water systems will monitor from 2013 to 2015 as part of the agency’s unregulated contaminant monitoring program, which collects data for contaminants suspected to be present in drinking water, but that do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

EPA will spend more than $20 million to support the monitoring, the majority of which will be devoted to assist small drinking water systems with conducting the monitoring. The data collected under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 (UCMR 3) will inform EPA about the frequency and levels at which these contaminants are found in drinking water systems across the United States and help determine whether additional protections are needed to ensure safe drinking water for Americans. State participation in the monitoring is voluntary. EPA will fund small drinking water system costs for laboratory analyses, shipping and quality control.

The list of contaminants to be studied includes total chromium and hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6. Addressing hexavalent chromium in drinking water is a priority for EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. In January 2011, EPA issued guidance to all water systems on how to assess the prevalence of hexavalent chromium and in the March 2011 proposal for UCMR 3, EPA invited comments on whether the agency should include chromium in the final rule. Public comments received by EPA were strongly supportive of adding total chromium and hexavalent chromium for monitoring.

EPA selected the contaminants by first reviewing the agency’s contaminant candidate list, which highlights priority contaminants that need additional research to support future drinking water protections. The contaminants on the list are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems. However, they are not addressed by existing national drinking water standards. Additional contaminants of concern were selected based on current occurrence research and health-risk factors.

EPA has standards for 91 contaminants in drinking water, and the Safe Drinking Water Act requires that EPA identify up to 30 additional unregulated contaminants for monitoring every five years.

More Information

Compton To Catalina Program Launches

1st Trip A Complete Success

The Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy (Center) established a partnership with the Greater Union Baptist Church (GUBC) to operate an environmental tour called the “Compton To Catalina Program,” which takes students and other young people from Compton, California to Catalina Island. The Center and the California Center for Economic Initiatives (CCFEI) are also partnering under the Compton To Catalina Program to expose Compton youth to boat repair and to provide technical training services.

"Our Weekly"

The Center initiated its Compton-To-Catalina Program on Saturday, April 21, 2012, which is the day before Earth Day. The program began with a press conference at the Greater Union Baptist Church in Compton, California. Participants then traveled to Long Beach, California to board the Catalina Express to make the one hour trip to the island. Once on Santa Catalina Island, the participants boarded the Emerald submersible to observe underwater life around the island. Finally, participants toured Southern California Edison's electricity generating plant at Pebbly Beach, the island's primary electricity generation source.

Long Version 

The purpose of the program is to expose young people from Compton to the Pacific Ocean and an incredibly beautiful island. People take it for granted that the vast majority of these kids never get on the water and many people live their entire lives without directly experiencing the Pacific Ocean even though they live within five or ten miles of it. We believe that such early exposure to this environment could lead to a lifelong environmental stewardship ethic.

The Compton To Catalina Program is being operated thanks to a grant from Southern California Edison.

GUBC recruits people to participate in the Compton To Catalina (CTC) Program. The Center makes arrangements for the tours and facilitates educational experiences for the students. Each is a daylong affair that includes transportation to Long Beach, where the tours originate. Participants have escorts at all times and activities on the island are arranged to maximize the environmental experience.

We utilize the transport services of Catalina Express. Passengers on board Catalina Express can expect to arrive in Catalina in about an hour from Long Beach. The Catalina Express fleet consists of eight high-speed vessels including four catamarans. The largest vessel in operation, the Catalina Jet has the capacity to carry nearly 500 passengers across the channel. Catalina Express offers up to 30 round trips daily

There are numerous activities available on Catalina Island, including: an Eco Tour Zip Line, hiking, biking, camping, swimming, snorkeling, diving, sightseeing, dining, shopping or relaxing, to name a few. Our main activities include a submersible ride to view submerged vegetation and fish species and an electricity power plant tour.
The Center, GUBC and CCFEI are providing important environmental and technical services to the youth of Compton, California. This partnership provides a rich environmental experience for participants. The Center will engage institutions and individuals to support the program.

Short Version 

Coal: Metallurgical or Coking & Thermal or Steam

Coal is divided into two basic categories:

1) Metallurgical or Coking (used in steelmaking) and

2) Thermal or Steam (used for heating and electrical generation).

Metallurgical or coking (used in steelmaking) and thermal or steam (used for heating and electrical generation).

Metallurgical is the highest grade in terms of heating value, and sells for the highest price. The U.S. consumes about 15 million tons per year, and exports 30 to 40 million tons.

Metallurgical and thermal coal are basically different products with different markets. Thermal coal production is a giant in comparison. World-wide consumption is over 7 billion tons, and U.S. consumption is around a billion tons per year.

China is a large consumer and producer of thermal coal. It relies on coal for almost 70% of its electric power, and uses almost 3 billion tons per year. According to the World Coal Institute, China gets its coal from 18,557 mines, 95% of which are underground rather than surface. The U.S., for comparison, has 1,458 coal mines, of which 60% are opencast. (Seeking Alpha, 9/15/2012)

EPA Region 6 Administrator Fired

'Resigns' Vover ‘Crucify’ Comment

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz has resigned due to his comments about crucifying the oil and gas industry.  According to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson:

“Over the weekend Dr. Armendariz offered his resignation, which I accepted. I respect the difficult decision he made and his wish to avoid distracting from the important work of the agency. We are all grateful for Dr. Armendariz's service to EPA and to our nation.”

The decision comes days after Armendariz – who oversaw oil-and-gas producing states including Texas and Louisiana – drew GOP attacks over 2010 comments that surfaced in which he compared his enforcement strategy to the way ancient Roman conquerors would use terror to keep order. A number of GOP lawmakers, shortly after the 2010 comments surfaced last week, called for his ouster despite his apology for the remarks.

EPA’s Region 6 covers Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Last Wednesday, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) unveiled a 2010 video of the regional administrator making controversial comments about EPA enforcement against oil and gas companies.  (The Hill, 4/30/3012, Politico, 4/30/2012)

EPA Publishes National U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the 17th annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory. The final report shows overall emissions in 2010 increased by 3.2 percent from the previous year. The trend is attributed to an increase in energy consumption across all economic sectors, due to increasing energy demand associated with an expanding economy, and increased demand for electricity for air conditioning due to warmer summer weather during 2010.

Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases in 2010 were equivalent to 6,822 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. The report indicates that overall emissions have grown by over 10 percent from 1990 to 2010.

The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010 is the latest annual report that the United States has submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. EPA prepares the annual report in collaboration with experts from multiple federal agencies and after gathering comments from stakeholders across the country.

The inventory tracks annual greenhouse gas emissions at the national level and presents historical emissions from 1990 to 2010. The inventory also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere by “sinks,” e.g., through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation and soils. (EPA)
More on the greenhouse gas inventory report

Natural Gas Fracking Air Rules Due This Week

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” is making the country’s vast natural gas reserves accessible at low cost. Natural gas produces about half the carbon emissions as coal and is an attractive and  affordable alternative. But extracting and transporting all that natural gas, which is mostly methane, also results in fuel leaks.When methane leaks, it has a shorter-lived but much stronger global warming effect as the carbon dioxide released when the same amount of methane is burned. Particularly on relatively short time frames of 10 or 20 years, too much methane leakage can make the fuel less attractive than even dirty old coal.  Methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Assuming the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimate of the industry’smethane leakage rate — 2.4 percent — is accurate, choosing to build a new gas power plant instead of a new coal plant produces immediate greenhouse emissions benefits. Replacing old, inefficient coal plants with new natural gas facilities would presumably produce larger benefits. But using natural gas to run cars wouldn’t reduce net climate impacts for 80 years. Fueling heavy-duty trucks with natural gas wouldn’t result in greenhouse emissions benefits for 300 years.

These results undercut the environmental rationale for the proposed NaturalGas Act, which would provide federal support for converting America’s heavy-truck fleet to run on natural gas. But they underscore the appeal of rules about to be finalized at the EPA, which would require natural gas producers to prevent leaks from wells, pipelines, storage tanks and other infrastructure. The rules are designed to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds that formdangerous smog, but the EPA estimates that they would also result in the collection of 3.4 million tons of methane annually, a quarter of current methane emissions from the sector.

On top of environmental benefits, gas producers would have more product to sell. Reducing leaks might not be a money-making proposition at every well — and the industry naturally claims the government is off in its figures — but the EPA

reckons that, overall, new standards will save the industry about $30 million a year.

The Obama administration must issue the final regulations by Tuesday. As long as regulators have a reasonable confidence that drillers will have enough time to deploy the necessary equipment, the rules will help ensure that natural gas contributes to the fight against climate change inexpensively, and perhaps mightily. (Wash Post, 4/16/2012)

China Crude Oil Imports Increasing

China's crude-oil imports reached 5.55 million barrels a day in March. d Iran supplied 11% of China's total imports in 2011, giving it an incentive to ensure it has enough oil in reserve if any global embargo against Iranian oil goes into effect. A European Union embargo on Iranian crude exports is set to take full effect this summer.

China and other emerging markets have less oil on tap to provide for domestic demand than Western counterparts. China's total oil stocks, both strategic and commercial, are enough to cover only about 40 days of domestic usage, analysts estimate. By comparison, the U.S.'s strategic and commercial stockpile can cover the country's needs for 94 days. (WSJ, 4/11/2012)

Department of the Interior Proposed Fracking Rules

The American Petroleum Institute, America’s Natural Gas Alliance, the American Exploration and Production Council, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, Exxon, and Anadarko Petroleum are part of a wider industry push that has taken concerns about looming Interior Department "fracking" regulations they consider burdensome to the White House. Interior is proposing rules to govern fracking that occurs on public lands. The rules are expected to require disclosure of chemical ingredients used in the fracking process, and also address well integrity and water management.

Industry fears the rules could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of annual delays for industry projects on public lands, and warns of “onerous” reporting requirements. The presentation also cites concerns that Interior could deny fracking from occurring at wells that have already been drilled.
Fracking involves high-pressure injections of water, chemicals and sand into rock formations to open up seams that enable trapped gas to flow. The method, along with advances in horizontal drilling technology, is enabling a U.S. gas production boom but bringing pollution fears along with it.
Environmental groups are pushing for stronger federal oversight on several fronts, including the repeal of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempted fracking from EPA Clean Water Act rules.

Iidustry recommendations for the looming Interior rules include adoption of the format used by FracFocus — a voluntary disclosure database run by the Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission — for the required federal disclosures. The industry groups support current state-level requirements and recommend that Interior should use the FracFocus system “instead of attempting to create a different, costly and unnecessary new reporting process.” They also say there is no need for a “national well construction model.”

Federal officials have signaled that they could let companies disclose the required data through FracFocus, which is currently a voluntary registry.

The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing separate air emissions rules for wells developed with hydraulic fracturing, and studying fracking’s effect on water supplies. (The Hill, 4/9/2012)

Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Coal Fly Ash

Fly Ash Pond

Several environmental groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force completion of long-planned national regulations to govern disposal of so-called coal ash, a waste product from power plants. The lawsuit filed on Thursday by the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Environmental Integrity Project and others, states:

"In the absence of national standards requiring safe disposal, coal ash has been dumped in thousands of unlined and unmonitored ponds, landfills, pits and mines. The result has been the widespread release of hazardous pollutants from coal ash to water, air and soil, endangering human health and the environment."

The groups, who filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, say EPA is violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by failing to update its regulations. The complaint says the waste streams contain “large quantities” of arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxins linked to neurological, developmental and other health problems.

EPA floated draft rules almost two years ago laying out options for regulation of the wastes. The coal industry and many coal-state lawmakers are seeking to prevent EPA from going with the tougher of the two options: regulating the materials under the hazardous waste title of RCRA, which is Subtitle C.

The push for coal ash rules stems in part from a late 2008 spill from a breached storage pond in Tennessee. The accident dumped 5.4 million cubic yards of the liquid material into and around a nearby river, destroying and damaging several homes.

It has bee three decades since EPA last reviewed the coal ash disposal standards and over three years since the Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston spill.  In 2010, power plants used unsafe and leak-prone coal ash ponds to dispose of wastes containing 113.6 million pounds of toxic metals, a nearly ten percent increase from 2009. Yet EPA’s proposed standards for safe disposal, including a plan to close down ash ponds within five years, have gone nowhere. (The Hill, 4/5/2012)

Cushing Oklahoma Crude Oil Inventories Rising in 2012

Crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub, the delivery point for the NYMEX light-sweet crude oil futures contract, are up by 12.0 million barrels (43%) between January 13, 2012 and March 30, 2012. This was the largest increase in inventories over an 11-week period since 2009. The inventory builds can be partly attributed to the emptying of the Seaway Pipeline, which ran from the Houston area to Cushing, in advance of its reversal. While Cushing inventories are now approaching the record levels of 2011, the amount of available storage capacity at Cushing is much greater now than it was a year ago, relieving some of the pressure on demand for incremental storage capacity.

Historically, the Seaway Pipeline delivered crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Cushing, where it then moved to the refineries connected by pipeline to the storage hub. In November 2011, Enbridge Inc. acquired a 50% share in the pipeline from ConocoPhillips; at this time, Enbridge and joint owner Enterprise Product Partners announced they would reverse the direction of the pipeline to flow from Cushing to the Gulf Coast. Currently, the pipeline is expected to deliver 150,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) from Cushing to the Gulf Coast beginning in June 2012. The companies plan to expand Seaway's capacity to 400,000 bbl/d in 2013 and to 850,000 bbl/d in 2014.

In early March, approximately 2.2 million barrels from the Seaway pipeline was emptied into Cushing storage in order to prepare for the pipeline's reversal. This accounts for about 20% of the build in inventories during this period. However, even without the emptying of Seaway, inventory builds over the past months have been particularly steep compared to the five-year average. As of January 13, Cushing inventories stood at 28.3 million barrels, slightly below their seasonal five-year average. After the 12.0-million-barrel increase, inventories were almost 11 million barrels above their average level, the largest such variation to average since June 2011. This is largely due to flows into Cushing as a result of increasing production in the mid-continent region. (DOE-EIA)

EPA Delays Fracking Air Pollution Rules For Two Weeks

Deadline for Final Oil and Gas Rule extended to April 17, 2012

FACT SHEET

Center Criteria For Evaluating Fracking Projects

EPA and litigants WildEarth Guardians and the San Juan Citizens Alliance have agreed to a two-week extension – until April 17, 2012 - on a consent decree to issue air pollution standards for natural gas wells developed with hydraulic fracturing. EPA, under the consent decree, faced an April 3 deadline to complete rules to cut smog-forming and toxic emissions from gas wells, compressors, oil storage tanks and other oil-and-gas sector equipment.  The agency requested the additional time to fully address the issues raised in the more than 156,000 public comments we received on the proposed rules.

 The rules are aimed at curbing smog-forming volatile organic compounds, emissions of benzene, which are linked to cancer, and releases of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.  The proposal would cut smog-forming volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by nearly one- fourth across the oil and gas industry, including a nearly 95 percent reduction in VOCs emitted from new and modified hydraulically fractured gas wells.  

In addition to EPA plans to set air pollution standards for "fracked" wells, the Interior Department is crafting rules for fracking that occurs on public lands. The upcoming Interior Department proposal will require disclosure of chemical ingredients injected underground, and will also address well integrity and management of large volumes of wastewater.

Fracking involves high-pressure injections of water, chemicals and sand into rock formations in order to open up seams that enable trapped gas to flow.

The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for industrial categories that cause, or significantly contribute to, air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare. Oil and gas production, processing, transmission and storage are significant sources of VOCs, which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone (smog). The law requires EPA to review new source performance standards every eight years.

The proposal would cut smog-forming volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by nearly one-fourth across the oil and gas industry, including a nearly 95 percent reduction in VOCs emitted from new and modified hydraulically fractured gas wells. This significant reduction would be accomplished primarily through use of a proven technology to capture natural gas that currently escapes to the air.

The proposed rules would apply to the more than 25,000 wells that are fractured and refractured each year, as well as to storage tanks and other pieces of equipment. In 2009, about 1.1 million wells were producing oil and natural gas in the United States. The wells are located in many areas of the country, including both urban and rural areas.

Some of the largest air emissions in the oil and gas industry occur as natural gas wells that have been fractured are being prepared for production. During a stage of well completion known as "flowback," fracturing fluids, water, and reservoir gas come to the surface at a high velocity and volume. This mixture includes a high volume of VOCs and methane, along with air toxics such as benzene, ethylbenzene and n-hexane. The typical flowback process lasts from three to 10 days. Compression is necessary to move natural gas along a pipeline. The proposed rule would reduce VOC emissions from two types of compressors:

Centrifugal compressors would have to be equipped with dry seal systems.

Owners/operators of reciprocating compressors would have to replace rod packing systems every 26,000 hours of operation.

Pneumatic controllers: Pneumatic controllers are automated instruments used for maintaining a condition such as liquid level, pressure, and temperature at wells, gas processing plants, compressor stations, among other locations. These controllers often are powered by high-pressure natural gas. These gas-driven pneumatic controllers may release natural gas (including VOCs and methane) with every valve movement, or continuously in some cases.

EPA is proposing VOC emission limits for pneumatic controllers.

For new or replaced pneumatic controllers at gas processing plants, the proposed limits would eliminate VOC emissions. These limits could be met through using controllers that are not gas-driven.

For controllers used at other sites, such as compressor stations, the emission limits could be met by using controllers that emit no more than six cubic feet of gas per hour. (The Hill, 4/2/2012, EPA)

EPA to Allow 15 Percent Renewable Fuel in Gasoline

Approves 1st Applications For Registration of Ethanol to Make E15

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the first applications for registration of ethanol for use in making gasoline that contains up to 15 percent ethanol – known as E15. Ethanol is a renewable fuel that can be mixed with gasoline. For over 30 years ethanol has been blended into gasoline, but the law limited it to 10 percent by volume for use in gasoline-fueled vehicles. Registration of ethanol to make E15 is a significant step toward its production, sale, and use in model year 2001 and newer gasoline-fueled cars and light trucks.

To enable widespread use of E15, the Obama Administration has set a goal to help fueling station owners install 10,000 blender pumps over the next 5 years. In addition, both through the Recovery Act and the 2008 Farm Bill, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Agriculture have provided grants, loans and loan guarantees to spur American ingenuity on the next generation of biofuels.

Today’s action follows an extensive technical review required by law. Registration is a prerequisite to introducing E15 into the marketplace. Before it can be sold, manufactures must first take additional measures to help ensure retail stations and other gasoline distributors understand and implement labeling rules and other E15-related requirements. EPA is not requiring the use or sale of E15.

Ethanol is considered a renewable fuel because it is generally produced from plant products or wastes and not from fossil fuels. Ethanol is blended with gasoline for use in most areas across the country. After extensive vehicle testing by DOE and other organizations, EPA issued two partial waivers raising the allowable ethanol volume to 15 percent for use in model year 2001 and newer cars and light trucks.

E15 is not permitted for use in motor vehicles built prior to 2001 model year and in off-road vehicles and equipment such as boats and lawn and garden equipment. Gas pumps dispensing E15 will be clearly labeled so consumers can make the right choice.(EPA)

More information

Scana Corp Gets NRC Green Light For New Nuclear Reactors

Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 Friday to approve power company Scana Corporation's  proposal to build two nuclear reactors in South Carolina at a cost of $11 billion.  This is the second such approval in two months after a drought that lasted more than 30 years.

Two Southern Company reactors in Georgia also received the NRC's blessing last month. The Georgia reactors will be built at the Plant Vogtle site.

Chairman Gregory Jaczko was the lone dissenting vote.  He believes the commission should have required compliance with any changes the agency adopts in light of Japan's 2011 nuclear accident.

The two reactors are to be built by Scana unit South Carolina Electric & Gas and state-owned utility Santee Cooper. The reactors will serve customers of both utilities. The license approved Friday clears the way for construction of the two reactors, which will sit next to an existing unit at the Virgil C. Summer nuclear station in Jenkinsville, S.C.

Scana said it would complete one 1,117-megawatt unit in 2017 and another of the same size the following year. The reactors are designed by Toshiba Corporation unit Westinghouse Electric Company

Both the Scana and Southern power plants will operate in regulated markets, where state boards that support the nuclear expansion will allow the companies to recover their costs on customers' electricity bills during construction of the facilities.  (WSJ, 3/30/2012)

EIA Projects Lower Coal Use By U.S. Power Sector in 2012

Coal consumption by the U.S. electric power sector in 2012 is expected to fall below 900 million short tons for the first time since 1996 as the electric industry increased its use of natural gas for power generation, EIA projected in its March Short-Term Energy Outlook.

Coal demand by the power sector is projected to decline by nearly 5% this year to about 884 million short tons, the lowest level since 1995. The decline in coal consumption reflects, in part, the continued switch by the electric industry to natural gas. Power sector demand for natural gas is expected to grow by almost 9% this year to a record high of 22.7 billion cubic feet per day. Coal use by the power sector is projected to rise slightly in 2013 but remain below the 2011 level.

As a result, the share of U.S. power generation fueled by natural gas is projected to rise from 24.8% in 2011 to 27.1% this year. Conversely, the share of electricity generation from coal is projected to drop from 42.2% to 40.4%.

These projections include the prices of natural gas and coal, as well as assumptions about temperatures, that are key drivers in the need for electric generation. If prices or temperatures differ significantly from those included in the projections, then the amount of electricity generated by coal and natural gas would likely be different from the projections shown in the STEO forecasts.

The power sector consumes about 92% of U.S. coal production. Other large users of coal are coking plants involved in the steelmaking process and industrial users such as cement and paper manufacturers. (EIA)

Compton-To-Catalina Program

Background

The Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy (Center) established a partnership with the Greater Union Baptist Church (GUBC) to operate an environmental tour called the “Compton To Catalina Program,” which will take students and other young people from Compton, California to Catalina Island.  The Center and the California Center for Economic Initiatives (CCFEI) are also partnering under the Compton To Catalina Program to expose Compton youth to boat repair and to provide technical training services.

The Center will be initiating its Compton-To-Catalina Program on Saturday, April 21, 2012, which is the day before Earth Day.  The program will begin with a press conference at the Greater Union Baptist Church in Compton, California.  Participants will then travel to Long Beach, California to board the Catalina Express to make the one hour trip to the island. Once on Santa Catalina Island, the participants will board the Nautilus to observe underwater life around the island.  Finally, participants will tour Southern California Edison's Pebbly Beach Generating Station, the island's primary electricity generation source.

The Compton To Catalina Program is being operated thanks to a grant from Southern California Edison.

The purpose of the program is to expose young people from Compton to the Pacific Ocean and an incredibly beautiful island. People take it for granted that the vast majority of these kids never get on the water and many people live their entire lives without directly experiencing the Pacific Ocean even though they live within five or ten miles of it. We believe that such early exposure to this environment could lead to a lifelong environmental stewardship ethic.

GUBC will recruit people to participate in the Compton To Catalina (CTC) Program.  The Center will make arrangements for the tours and facilitate educational experiences for the students.  Each tour will be a daylong affair that will include transportation to Long Beach, where the tours will originate.  Participants will have escorts at all times and activities on the island will be arranged to maximize the environmental experience.

We will utilize the services of Catalina Express.  Passengers on board Catalina Express can expect to arrive in Catalina in about an hour from Long Beach.  There are numerous activities available on Catalina Island, including: hiking, biking, camping, swimming, snorkeling, diving, sightseeing, dining, shopping or relaxing, to name a few.  Our main activity will be a Nautilus submarine ride to view submerged vegetation and fish species.

The Center, GUBC and CCFEI are providing important environmental and technical services to the youth of Compton, California.  This partnership will provide a rich environmental experience for participants.  We will engage as many churches, schools and other institutions as possible and we will also appeal to the greater Los Angeles community to support the program.  

Call us today if you are interested in supporting this program: 443-569-5102  or email us at cfece@msn.com