California Public Utilities Commission Votes To Underground Chino Hills Electricity Line

The California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday in San Francisco to underground the lines in Chino Hills, California.

 

The Center opposes this decision.

The cost estimate of undergrounding in Chino Hills is approximately $224 million, including offset for Chino Hills’ financial contribution of real property, which is valued at approximately $17 million. The Southern California Edison estimate of the cost is $533 million.  Completion of the portion of the Tehachapi overhead line in Chino Hills, as originally approved by the commission in 2009, would have cost $4 million.

The Southern California Edison transmission lines, built on land owned by the utility company since the 1940s, bring wind-generated electricity to consumers. Thursday's vote to move 3.5 miles of the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project underground, combined with the closure of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, puts Southern California electricity reliabily at significant risk.

Commissioners Michael R. Peevey, Mark J. Ferron and Catherine J.K. Sandoval voted in favor of putting the lines underground. Commissioners Michel Florio and Carla Peterman opposed the plan.

(NBC Southern California, 7/12/2013, CPUC Press Release, CPUC Decision)

Wildfire Mitigation: Why Can't We Solve This Simple Problem?

Outcomes from reducing hazardous (trees and brush) fuels are hard to quantify because you can't measure fires that might have gotten out of control or destroyed houses but didn't because of fuel source reduction or elimination programs?  Yet, no lives should be lost trying to save homes from burning.

The Center has a Wildfire Mitigation Program.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, 65 million to 82 million acres of National Forest lands are at a "high or very high risk of fire," and are in need of restoration.

Between 1960 and 1970, there was only one year, 1969, when wildfires burned more than five million acres in the U.S. In the last decade, it happened eight out of 10 years.

The U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department agencies spent a combined $206 million on fire suppression in 1991, $953 million in 2001 and $1.7 billion in 2011.

If the pending federal budget passes, funding for the Forest Service's hazardous-fuels program would decline to $201 million from $301 million, and the Interior Department's would fall to $96 million from $145 million.

Why are the Forest Service and Interior Department budgets being reduced? Officials at the Forest Service and Interior Department note the growing costs of fighting larger fires forced them to choose.  And again, wildland firefighting is utilized more than wildfire prevention because fighting wildfires can be easily quantified and wildfire prevention cannot.

According to the USDA Forest Service, the number of housing units within a half mile of a national forest grew to 1.8 million in 2000, from 484,000 in 1940. In the same period, housing units within national forest boundaries grew to 1.2 million, from 335,000.  (WSJ, 8/11/2013)

California State Energy Panel Hearing on San Onofre Closing

California State Capitol Building

The Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, chaired by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, held a hearing on Wednesday to hear from officials from San Onofre's operator Southern California Edison, commissioners from the California Public Utilities Commission and the chief executive of the California Independent System Operator. The hearing was to discuss the lost electricity, lost jobs and other consequences of the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear power plant that was announced last month.

Southern California Edison, owner of the San Onofre nuclear generating station (SONGS), recently told state utility officials that 30 percent of the utility's electricity was from carbon-free resources last year.  That's a decline from 2011, when San Onofre was still running, and 50 percent of its electricity came from carbon-free nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable sources. 

San Onofre was responsible for one-fifth of the electricity used by San Diego County and southern Orange County. Lawmakers are trying to figure out how to replace its capacity.  Edison announced June 7 that it was permanently closing San Onofre.

 

San Onofre's twin reactors hadn't produced electricity since January 2012, after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of damage to hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water in nearly new steam generators. The problems arose just after a $670 million upgrade to the plant.

 

San Onofre was a key part of California's energy supply both because of the more than 2,000 megawatts it produced but its strategic coastal location between San Diego and Los Angeles. It was able to power 1.4 million homes and was responsible for about 20 percent of the electricity used by San Diego and southern Orange County.

 

Since the shutdown, utilities have upgraded transmission lines and increased generation at other plants, businesses have been paid to shift consumption to off-peak hours and consumers have been paid to have their air conditioners automatically shut down during heat waves.

July 10, 2013 - Electrical System Stability and Reliability: Life After SONGS.

• Agenda
• Background
• Presentation: Jim Avery, Senior Vice President of Power Supply, San Diego Gas and Electric
• Presentation: David Mead, Senior VP of Transmission and Distribution Planning, Southern California Edision
• Presentation: Robert Weisenmiller, Chairman, California Energy Commission
• Presentation: Steve Berberich, President and Chief Executive Officer, California Independent System Operator
• Presentation: Mike Florio, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission

August 13, 2013 - Electrical System Stability and Reliability: Life After SONGS.

• Agenda
• Background
• Presentation:

September 24, 2013 - Electrical System Stability and Reliability: Life After SONGS.

• Agenda
• Background
• Presentation:

(Times Union, 8/10/2013, California Senate, Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee)

The Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots

AZ Granite Mountain Hotshots – the 19 firefighters who died last week in Yarnell, AZ fire

Wildland firefighters — those who fight vegetation fires instead of house fires — are trained to protect human life, property and natural resources, in that order.

We honor the Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots.  Our condolences to their families, friends, colleagues and associates.

The Montecito Firefighter's Charitable Foundation (a non-profit organization) is establishing a fund to assist families of the Hot Shots.

 

To make a donation:

 

* Make checks out to "Montecito Firefighter's Charitable Foundation"

 

* The Tax I.D. number is: 204817396

 

* In the "memo" please reference "Nineteen Lost"

 

* Submit donations by mail to: Montecito Firefighter's Charitable Foundation, PO Box 5881, Montecito, CA 93150

 

(News Channel 3 KEYT, 7/1/2013)

Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada Oil Train Wreck Disaster

 

The small lakeside town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada was shaken Saturday when an oil-laden train bound for a Saint John refinery derailed and exploded, leaving at least 13 dead and dozens unaccounted for. The Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway train, with 72 cars of crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken basin, was left unattended by its conductor and rolled downhill, blowing a hole in downtown Lac-Mégantic.

The explosion near the border of Maine highlighted the debate about what mode of transportation is safest and most economical for carrying crude oil from North Dakota and northern Alberta’s oil sands.  Proponents of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline may now be bolstered by arguing that pipelines are safer and more fuel-efficient than trains.

U.S. railroads are already carrying more than 1 million barrels of crude oil a day.

The State Department said in its recent environmental impact statement that if a permit

for the Keystone XL pipeline is denied, oil producers would simply send their product to markets via railroads. The pipeline would carry oil from northern Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast. As a result, the State Department reasoned, blocking the pipeline would have no beneficial impact on greenhouse gas emissions because the oil sands would be developed anyway.

Valero, the nation’s largest oil refiner, has ordered 5,300 rail tank cars and would be a major customer of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Over the past two years, the increase in crude oil shipped by rail in the United States has bolstered the fortunes of railroads, many of which have seen coal shipments drop substantially. Canada’s railroads are experiencing the same boom now. The Canadian Railway Association estimates that companies will ship as many as 140,000 tanker cars of crude oil on Canada’s tracks this year — up from 500 carloads in 2009.

The Association of American Railroads points to statistics that showed that pipelines have an average hazmat spill size more than four times that of railroads and that their total amount spilled per billion ton-miles is about 1.6 times that of the railroads. The group said that from 1990 to 2009, the pipeline spill ratio was about 1.25 gallons spilled per billion barrel miles and that the railroad spill ratio was about 1.13 gallons or 9 percent lower.

From 2002 to 2012, U.S. railroads spilled 2,268 barrels of crude oil, according to Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration data cited by the AAR. Photos of Lac-Mégantic showed crumpled tank cars, each carrying 600 to 700 barrels. Canadian officials said oil had spilled in town and into the lake. (Wash Post, 7/8/2013)

Federal Budget For Reducing Wildfires

The Obama administration continues to spend more on putting out forest fires while spending less on preventing them.  Drought, climate change, an increasing number of homes being built near forests and other factors have made for worse fire seasons. For example, in 1991 fires consumed 13 percent of the annual budget of the Forest Service; by 2012, it was 40 percent.

The Center has a Wildfire Mitigation Plan.

For the third year in a row, the Obama administration has proposed slashing spending on hazardous fuels reduction, the federal buzzword for clearing away underbrush and smaller trees through controlled burning and cutting. The idea behind such work is to make future fires easier to put out by removing now the fuel they need to spread rapidly. Congress has cut the program in the past two years. For fiscal 2014, the administration proposes cutting by another 41 percent, or $205 million, eliminating more than 1,000 jobs. These cuts will hit the Forest Service, the National Park Service and other federal land agencies.

In the Yarnell Hill fire that killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots fire crew from Prescott, Ariz., dense fuel is one of the conditions that investigators will be looking at.

The remains of a house destroyed by the Yarnell Hill fire, which killed 19 firefighters, the nation's greatest fire loss since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

 

So far more than $800,000 has been raised for the families of the 19. See http://yarnellfallenfirefighters.com/ for details.  (NBC News, Photo: Andy Tobin / AP

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System

The BrightSource Energy's $2.3 billion Ivanpah project, is being constructed by project partners NRG Energy, BrightSource, Google and Bechtel.

Ivanpah will generate nearly 400 MW of solar electricity for more than 140,000 homes.

Upon completion, the 3,500-acre project will be the largest solar thermal power tower system in the world.  The project employed as many as 2,100 workers during construction. 

The project was designed to minimize environmental impact (vegetation co-existing under the heliostats, minimal grading to retain the land’s natural features); dry cooling technology, which enables Ivanpah to use 90% less water than a solar thermal plant using wet cooling; and an observation deck. The 450-foot towers will create electricity the same way that most of the world’s electricity is produced – by creating high-temperature steam to turn a conventional turbine.

The tortoise nursery shows BrightSource’s approach to species protection, including

Ivanpah’s desert tortoise care program and rare plant nursery. The Ivanpah project owners are going to great lengths to ensure minimal impact to the desert tortoise population at and near the project site. In fact, the desert tortoise care program is actively supporting efforts to repopulate the species in the Ivanpah Valley. In addition to moving the desert tortoise out of harm’s way during plant construction at the Ivanpah project in the California desert, the Head Start Program is enabling tortoise eggs to be hatched, young tortoises to be cared for, and adults to be safeguarded within protected areas. These areas are watched over and managed by a dedicated team of biologists to ensure tortoises are more likely to survive, and ultimately be released into their natural environment to further repopulate. For the desert tortoise, which has a 98% mortality rate in the wild, this level of protection is contributing to the future survival of the species. (Frank Maisano)

DOE Asset Revitalization Initiative

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a website for the Asset Revitalization Initiative (ARI), which is a DOE-wide effort to advance the beneficial reuse of its unique and diverse mix of assets, including land, facilities, infrastructure, equipment, technologies, natural resources and a highly skilled workforce.

ARI promotes a more efficient business environment to encourage collaboration between public and private resources. ARI efforts will maximize benefits to achieve energy and environmental goals as well as to stimulate and diversify regional economies. ARI helps communities to transition existing assets to future beneficial uses thus enhancing their local and regional communities and economies.

The key to success of ARI is effective communication and cross-functional coordination that includes both field and headquarters components. The ARI Task Force is organized into five teams led by a steering committee which identifies, prioritizes, and resolves issues for effective site revitalization, addresses crosscutting issues, and incorporates ARI’s mission into programmatic business practices. The five teams include diversification, real property and assets, modernization, energy, and communications.

ARI focuses on communicating past efforts and lessons learned from DOE’s long history of asset revitalization and focus current and future efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of future land, asset and facility transfer and beneficial reuse. Since the 1950’s, DOE and its predecessor agencies have completed 95 transfers of approximately 25,500 acres of land, facilities and other assets for beneficial reuse, including excess fire stations, water treatment plants, water production facilities and other land, assets and facilities that local communities are using to support their civic, economic and social needs.

DOE has already supported the cleanup and closure of approximately 90 sites that were involved in US nuclear weapons development and many of these sites are in beneficial reuse. Additional departmental efforts to consolidate mission areas, sites and facilities and reduce the overall operational footprint of the DOE complex across the country will make additional land, assets and facilities available for beneficial reuse. (DOE)

Wildfire Mitigation Program

The Center's Wildfire Mitigation Program (WMP) includes pre-cutting wood in wildfire areas to prevent or mitigate uncontrolled burns and to generate electricity via construction of 10 megawatt wood-chip-to-electricity plants.  We want to save lives and property while producing electricity and employing youth by building power plants that would use wood from wildfire areas.



Trees Cut To Prevent Wildfire

We intend to get wood from national forests, federal and state park lands and other public and private lands.  We intend to utilize young people to collect the wood, which is described in detail in our Cities To Wilderness Program (CWP)
 

Woodchip-To-Electricity Plant

Although no commercial activities or machinery can be operated in some wilderness areas, we intend to recruit youth to produce wildfire buffer areas that eliminate some of the wood and brush that fuels uncontrolled wildfires.  In areas that prohibit machinery of any kind, this will involve some cutting that uses axes and manual or animal assisted transport of fuel to collection areas.

Center With Interns On Creek Walk

The Center initiated a project called Green Electric (GE) in 2011 to coordinate the construction of wood-chip-to-electricity plants.    We conducted scoping and plant construction promotion in Mississippi and California (and Catalina Island).  We are also proposing to build a plant in Kogelo, Kenya. 

Senate Approves Alison Macfarlane as NRC Chair

The Senate approved Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC) Chair Alison Macfarlane Thursday night to serve a full five-year term as chairwoman.  There was a June 30 deadline on her term as replacement of previous Chair Greg Jaczko, who was fired in the middle of his term. 

Power Africa

President Obama in South Africa on Sunday touted a “new model” of U.S.-Africa ties that featured new energy and trade initiatives. Obama touted the “Power Africa” plan, a five-year, $7 billion dollar U.S. initiative to help double electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa.  “Power Africa” will initially work with Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Tanzania and is aimed at providing 20 million more households and businesses with access to energy.

The president said energy is vital to help students study, businesses operate, families meet basic needs and provides:

“the connection needed to plug Africa into the grid of the global economy. A light where currently there is darkness, the energy needed to lift people out of poverty. That’s what opportunity looks like.”

Obama vowed steps including new trade missions and seeking renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

More than two-thirds of residents of sub-Saharan Africa currently do not have electricity, including more than 85 percent of people in rural areas.

From policy and regulatory best practices, to pre-feasibility support and capacity building, to long-term financing, insurance, guarantees, credit enhancements and technical assistance, Power Africa will provide coordinated support to help African partners expand their generation capacity and access.

The program – which the White House said is leveraging more than $9 billion in private sector commitments – will include financing and assistance through a number of agencies.  That includes up to $5 billion through the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and $1.5 billion in financing and insurance through the Overseas Private Investment Corp.  (The Hill, 6/30/2013)

19 Firefighters Die Fighting Wildfire In Arizona

Our condolences to the families, relatives, friends and associates of the firefighters.

A home burns in Yarnell, Arizona
(Tom Story / Arizona Republic / June 30, 2013)

Nineteen firefighters died Sunday while battling a fast-moving wildfire northwest of Phoenix.  The was the worst firefighter loss of life in a wildland blaze since 1933.

An out-of-control blaze had engulfed the evacuated community of Yarnell, population 649, burning down much of the town. An estimated 200 structures were lost.

The firefighters went missing while fighting the Yarnell Hill fire and 19 members of the 20-person crew died. One survivor was hospitalized with injuries. The firefighters belonged to the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, an elite unit sponsored by a fire department in nearby Prescott.  Approximately 25 firefighters are killed on average each year.

The blaze was sparked Friday by lightning. Sunday's incident appears to be the deadliest in modern wildland firefighting. The previous highest number of deaths in a fire came in Colorado on July 6, 1994. There, at Storm King Mountain near Glenwood Springs, 14 firefighters were trapped when a wind-driven blaze blew up a hill.
Since the 1950s — until Sunday — only three other wildfires had claimed the lives of 10 or more firefighters, and each prompted changes in safety regulations and training.
According to National Interagency Fire Center statistics, Sunday's deaths were the worst since 1933, when a fire in Los Angeles' Griffith Park killed at least 25 firefighters. (L.A. Times, 6/30/2013)

The Center has a Wildfire Mitigation Program.

Sacramento Outreach

EPA and Commerce Link Environmental Solutions Toolkit

Offers Other Countries U.S. Approach to Specific Environmental Issues

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Commerce are announcing the launch of an interactive online reference tool for international audiences that connects EPA environmental analysis and regulatory structure to U.S. solutions providers.

EPA

The U.S. Environmental Solutions Toolkit was developed as a joint venture between the EPA and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) to offer environmental stakeholders in other countries a broad perspective on the U.S. approach to specific environmental issues.

The Toolkit is a web-based resource that combines EPA expertise on solving environmental challenges with ITA’s catalogue of U.S. providers of related technologies. The newly launched resource emphasizes user-friendliness, featuring a series of interactive menus, search functionality, and adaptive formatting to allow for a range of mobile uses.

The environmental solutions toolkit shares EPA’s knowledge and experience with global neighbors, making it easier to move environmental protection efforts from concepts and ideas to action,” said EPA’s Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs Michelle DePass, EPA and Commerce are working together to support the U.S. government Environmental Export Initiative to promote American environmental technology in the global marketplace and advance the President’s National Export Initiative by developing export opportunities.

The development of the toolkit is part of EPA’s export promotion strategy to facilitate strengthened environmental and human health protection efforts around the world while boosting job creation and economic activity in the U.S. Statistics from the Department of Commerce indicate the U.S. is a global leader in the environmental products and services sector, generating approximately $312 billion in annual revenues and employing nearly 1.7 million workers.

For more information or to participate, or contact the Environmental Export Initiative.

Senate Confirms Anthony Foxx as DOT Secretary

Anthony Foxx with President Obama

The Senate on Thursday voted 100-0 to approve the nomination of Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx as Transportation Secretary. Att 42, Foxx will be the youngest member of the Obama Cabinet. He replaces Ray LaHood at the helm of DOT.

The Manchester 4-Walls Project

Center President Norris McDonald spoke at a forum in Manchester, Connecticut sponsored by MC² Technology, Inc (MC²) with the theme: "Preparing Failing Students for Success In Education & Life."  The forum was coordinated by MC² President Samuel O. Cephas.  The forum was held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church on Friday, June 14, 2013.  The Manchester 4-Walls Project is being coordinated by Sam Cephas.

The Manchester 4-Walls Project is a 3-year pilot program that prepares failing students for success in education and life.  The 4-Walls Project partners include Beyond The Gap and Students of Color (SOC). St. Mary's Episcopal Church will also serve as an instruction site for the students.  The partnership grew from the shared vision of providing services that will attack the achievement gap, reduce truancy and drop-out rates, and provide paths to gainful employment or post high school education for low-performing students who are really "on-the-bubble."

Norris McDonald, Sam Cephas, Rev. Josh Pawelek

MC² Technologies, Inc (MC²) provides training to young people through youth-at-risk programs. These programs include mentoring, tutoring, after school programs, scholarship assistance, life choices instruction and apprenticeship opportunities. Math and science are major emphases of MC² programming. MC²'s mission is to decrease truancy, reduce drop-out rates, raise student's GPA by one point, ensure success in core subjects, work primarily with low income students, provide scholarships to all program participants, promote retention for Connecticut colleges and universities, offer certifications and college credits, provide internship and co-op opportunities, teach financial literacy, build special curricula to overcome achievement gap, emphasize math and science and hands-on courses with field research.

The 4 Walls Project began in July 2012 and included discussions with local businessmen, town leaders, social service providers and surrounding colleges. The goal is to begin with 12-15 students during the first year.

Norris McDonald, Rev. Paul Briggs, pastor at St. Mary's Episcopal Church

The first year of the program will introduce students to basic math, science and financial literacy principles and concepts, providing the student with the foundation that will enable them to participate in the second year program. Students will also be assigned to instruction teams during the first year that will provide individuals with professional knowledge and experience in the targeted field of study.

MC² staff and volunteers work with students who are serious about making a difference in their own lives. Students are identified with the assistance of guidance counselors, teachers, parents and it is expected that a number of students will self-identify. Tutors work with these students to develop skills within the fields of mathematics, science, reading, writing, business -- utilizing desktop computers, interesting reading materials, and industry-related supplies and services, while also providing fun activities, such as games and field trips. Healthy food and beverages will also be available to ensure our young people remain mentally alert.

Sam Cephus, Norris McDonald, Dr. Duncan Harris

In order to be accepted into the program, students are required to go through an application process, with the added requirement of a minimum 2.0 GPA. All students are required to attend seminars, programs or classes within the program three days a week. The students are required to fill out an application, provide a resume and letters of recommendation. Students are required to submit a writing sample; complete a pre-test that includes a math aptitude test; provide GPA and school attendance records, along with a letter from a current instructor and parental permission. The plan is that students accepted into MC are able to take their skills and leverage them into paid positions and acceptance into institutions of higher learning after high school.

President Obama's 'Net Effect' Decision on Keystone XL Pipeline

President Obama will direct the State Department to approve the Keystone XL pipeline because he will conclude that the oil would be shipped by rail anyway, probably further increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

In his climate change speech on Tuesday, President Obama said:

“Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation’s interest,” Obama said. “And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.”

“The net effects of climate impact will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project will go forward,” he added. “It is relevant.”

The State Department draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) already concluded that Keystone XL would not lead to significantly more carbon pollution.  Of course, an EPA assessment concluded that shipping tar sands oil by rail would be cost prohibitive.  The State Department report estimates that shipping Alberta’s heavy crude by pipeline costs about $10 per barrel, with rail in the $15 to $18 per barrel range. Yet some producers estimate that shipping by train to the Gulf Coast could cost as much as $30 per barrel.

The amount of oil on Canada’s rail system has already hit 150,000 barrels a day and is on track to hit 300,000 barrels a day by year’s end.  At least two oil sands producers, Suncor and MEG Energy, are adding rail capacity. Canadian National Railway expects to double its crude shipments this year and will expand storage and other facilities in Geismar, La. Two large heavy crude refineries are located there. 

The $5.3 billion Keystone pipeline addition (875 mile northern leg) and extension will carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day 1,200 miles from the tar sands of Alberta down to the Gulf Coast. (Wash Post, 6/24/2013, Wash Post, 6/24/2013, FleetNewsDaily)

Penny Pritzker Confirmed as Secretary of Commerce

Penny Pritzker

Penny Pritzker was nominated as United States Secretary of Commerce by President Barack Obama on May 2, 2013. Her confirmation hearing was on May 23 2013 and she was confirmed by the full Senate on June 25, by a vote of 97 to 1 (Bernie Sanders-I-Vt opposing)

Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, civic leader, and philanthropist who is the founder, chairman and CEO of PSP Capital Partners and Pritzker Realty Group..  She's also co-founder and chairman of Artemis Real Estate Partners.  She is a member of the Pritzker family.

In 2011 the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest showed her as the 263rd richest person in the U.S., estimated net worth of US $1.8511 billion, and the world's 651st richest person.

Born in 1959, the daughter of Sue (Sandel) and Donald N. Pritzker (1932–1972), co-founder of Hyatt hotels. She earned an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College in 1981 and both a J.D. and an M.B.A. from Stanford University in 1984. She has two brothers: Anthony Pritzker and Jay Robert Pritzker. She is married to Bryan Traubert, president of the Chicago Park District board.  (Wiki, Biography)

SCOTUS Reviewing Cross State Air Pollution Rule

U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court decision that nullified Environmental Protection Agency rules aimed at cutting soot- and smog-forming power plant emissions that cross state lines.

The EPA, when finalizing the rule in the summer of 2011, said substantially cutting sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions would bring public health benefits that far outstrip the projected costs. The agency estimated that the rule, when phased in, would prevent up to 34,000 premature deaths; 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks and 19,000 cases of acute bronchitis annually. The rules would force emissions cuts in more than two dozen states in the eastern half of the country.

EPA

In a 2-1 August 2012 decision,  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the Cross State Air Pollution Rule, ruling that the regulation exceeded the EPA’s powers under the Clean Air Act to force pollution cuts in upwind states.

The appellate decision was a victory for industry groups, some states and GOP lawmakers, who alleged the rule would create economic burdens and force the closure of substantial numbers of coal-fired power plants.

Specifically, the appellate judges said the rule allows the EPA to “impose massive emissions reduction requirements on upwind states without regard to the limits imposed by the statutory text.”

The Supreme Court’s agreement to examine the rule, depending on the outcome, could breathe new life into the regulation. (The Hill, 6/24/2013)

The President's Climate Action Plan

President Obama is putting forward a broad-based plan to cut the carbon pollution that causes climate change and affects public health.

Cutting carbon pollution will help spark business innovation to modernize our power plants, resulting in cleaner forms of American-made energy that will create good jobs and cut our dependence on foreign oil.

The plan, which consists of a wide variety of executive actions, has three key pillars:

1) Cut Carbon Pollution in America
2) Prepare the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change
3) Lead International Efforts to Combat Global Climate Change and Prepare for its Impacts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Cut Carbon Pollution in America:  

I. Deploying Clean Energy  Cutting Carbon Pollution from Power Plants Promoting American Leadership in Renewable Energy    

• Accelerating Clean Energy Permitting
• Expanding and Modernizing the Electric Grid

Unlocking Long-Term Investment in Clean Energy Innovation

• Spurring Investment in Advanced Fossil Energy Projects
• Instituting a Federal Quadrennial Energy Review

II. Building a 21st Century Transportation Sector

• Increasing Fuel Economy Standards
• Developing and Deploying Advanced Transportation Technologies

III. Cutting Energy Waste In Homes, Businesses and Factories

• Establishing A New Goal For Energy Efficiency Standards
• Reducing Barriers To Investment In Energy Efficiency
• Expanding The President's Better Buildings Challenge

IV. Reducing Other Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Curbing Emissions of Hydrofluorocarbons

Reducing Methane Emissions

• Developing and Interagency Methane Strategy
• Pursuing A Collaborative Approach To Reducing Emissions

Preserving the Role of Forests in Mitigating Climate Change

V. Leading at the Federal Level

Leading in Clean Energy

Federal Government Leadership in Energy Efficiency

2) Prepare the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change:

I. Building Stronger and Safer Communities and Infrastructure

Directing Agencies To Support Climate-Resilient Investment

Establishing a State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness

Supporting Communities as they Prepare for Climate Impacts

Boosting the Resilience of Buildings and Infrastructure

Rebuilding and Learning from Hurricane Sandy

II.  Protecting Our Economy and Natural Resources

Identifying Vulnerabilities of Key Sectors of Climate Change

Promoting Resilience in the Health Sector

Promoting Insurance Leadership for Climate Safety

Conserving Land and Water Resources

Maintaining Agricultural Sustainability

Managing Drought

Reducing Wildfire Risk

Preparing For Future Floods

III. Using Sound Science to Manage Climate Impacts

Developing Actionable Climate Science

Assessing Climate Change Impacts in the United States

Launching a Climate Data Initiative

Providing a Toolkit for Climate Resilience

3) Lead International Efforts to Combat Global Climate Change and Prepare for its Impacts:

I. Working with other Countries To Take Action to Address Climate Change

Enhancing Multilateral Engagement with Major Economies

Expanding Bilateral With Major Emerging Economies

Combatting Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation

Expanding Clean Energy Use and Cut Energy Waste

Negotiating Global Free Trade in Environmental Goods and Services

Phasing Out Subsidies that Encourage Wasteful Consumption of Fossil Fuels

Leading Global Sector Public Financing Towards Cleaner Energy

Strengthening Global Resilience to Climate Change

Mobilizing Climate Finance

II. Leading Efforts to Adress Climate Change Through International Negotiations

(The White House)

Utilities Fight 3rd Party Solar Ownership Deals But Not Solar

Disputes over the use of small-scale solar power are flaring across the nation, with utilities squaring off against solar-energy marketers over rules for the growing technology.  Utilities have sought to cut what they claim are unfairly high payments they are required to make to owners of homes or larger buildings with solar systems.

 

At issue is whether solar-system marketers can sell electricity in territories where local utilities have exclusive rights to customers. Such an arrangement isn't allowed or is under dispute in many states, limiting solar firms to sales of panels to homeowners and businesses.

Utilities are proponents of renewable energy if they own the energy assets and the electrons flow through their grid and they can bill you.

In March, an Iowa District Court judge said Eagle Point, an 18-employee company, could sign power-purchase contracts in the Dubuque territory of Alliant Energy Corp., one of the state's largest utilities. Under the disputed deal, Eagle Point would own solar panels on the roof of a Dubuque municipal building and sell power to the city at a rate similar to Alliant's.

 

The disputed Dubuque deal employed a "third party" ownership arrangement, in which a rooftop solar system is owned by someone other than the property owner. Solar deals using that structure are growing in popularity—for both residential and commercial properties—because they allow building landlords or homeowners to tap into solar power without a significant upfront investment.

Alliant says the ruling contradicts Iowa's policy of not allowing competition for electricity service. Eagle Point is selling energy to one of Alliant Energy Corp's customers. (WSJ, 6/23/2013)

Maryland Drinking Water Pipe Problems

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, serving Maryland close to Washington, DC, has 350 miles of concrete mains that have been prone to exploding without warning.  The particularly large mains are designed to carry high volumes of pressurized water. Utilities around the world have struggled with this type of pipe since the 1980s, when they began bursting decades before their 100-year life expectancy was up.

Many of the WSSC's large concrete mains were installed during the 1970s, when industry standards in place at the time permitted design and manufacturing changes that were later found to make the pipes significantly more prone to breaking. The WSSC also has significant amounts of pipe from a defunct New Jersey company blamed for making some of the most vulnerable mains during the 1970s and 1980s.

The pipes span up to eight feet in diameter, big enough to hold a minivan. Because they carry so much pressurized water, they can blow like a bomb, leaving 50-foot craters in roads and hurling rocks and other debris like shrapnel. 

The 350 miles of large concrete pipe — technically called prestressed concrete cylinder pipe — form the backbone of the 5,600-mile water distribution system for 1.8 million people in Montgomery’s and Prince George’s counties. The large transmission mains carry water from the treatment plants to the smaller pipes that reach into neighborhoods.

According to WSSC officials, replacing all of them would cost a prohibitive $2.9 billion. Doing so also wouldn’t be cost-effective because inspections have shown that only 1.5 percent of concrete pipe sections need to be repaired or replaced.  According to a recent Environmental Protection Agency estimate, the nation’s water distribution systems will require $384 billion over the next 20 years to keep drinking water safe.

The WSSC, on the other hand, must move water across 1,000 square miles. Most of the utility’s water comes from the Potomac River, on the western border of its service area. The rest comes from the Patuxent River, at its eastern edge.

Moving 170 million gallons of water daily around the Capital Beltway, up toward the Frederick and Howard county lines, and down into southern Prince George’s with enough pressure to run showers and flush toilets required hundreds of miles of large pipe. 

The District has 37 miles of concrete pipe. The city’s older water system was mostly built out by the time concrete pipes became widely used.

The WSSC now has 77 miles of concrete pipe monitored by the acoustic equipment — the most of any U.S. water utility, according to Pure Technologies, the Columbia-based firm that patented the technology. The system provides alerts of a wire break almost daily. 

The WSSC is about to begin using robots to inspect 68 miles of smaller concrete mains. Those pipes also will have acoustic equipment installed for monitoring.  (Wash Post, 6/23/2013)

Nuclear Debate Between Robert Kennedy & Robert Stone

After a Jacob Burns Film Center screening of "Pandora's Promise," a new documentary defending nuclear energy, the director, Robert Stone, engaged in a debate with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the environmental activist and lawyer and solar-energy investor.

Film site: http://pandoraspromise.com

Plans for Decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Units 2 and 3

On June 7, 2013, Southern California Edison (SCE) announced plans to permanently retire Units 2 and 3 at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).  One June 12, the licensee submitted a Certification of Permanent Cessation of Power Operations to the NRC, certifying that SCE has permanently ceased power operations of SONGS Units 2 and 3.  With this announcement, the NRC staff is refocusing efforts on establishing an inspection and oversight program that is appropriate for the licensee’s proposed decommissioning activities.

As one of the conditions for an operating license, the NRC requires the licensee to decommission the nuclear plant after it ceases operations.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has strict rules governing nuclear power plant decommissioning, involving cleanup of radioactively contaminated plant systems and structures, and the removal of the radioactive fuel.  These requirements protect workers and the public during the entire decommissioning process and the public after the license is terminated.

For more information, see the following topics:

• Current Activities and Next Steps
• SONGS Units 2 and 3 Planned Decommissioning
• Background Information
• Confirmatory Action Letter
• License Amendment Request (04/05/2013)
• Summary of Event and Plant Conditions
• Augmented Inspection Team
• Enhanced Oversight
• Unit 2 Steam Generators
• Unit 3 Steam Generators
• Steam Generator Tube Wear Data
• SONGS Unit 3 Failed In-situ Pressure Tests

Related Information

• San Onofre (NRC Blog)
• SONGS Units 2 and 3 Planned Decommissioning
• SONGS Steam Generator Tube Degradation
• Decommissioning FAQs
• Decommissioning Fact Sheet

(NRC)

Congress Should Approve Yucca Mountain AGAIN

According to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), House Republicans will unveil legislation that affirms Yucca Mountain as the nation's sole repository for spent nuclear fuel.  The Center supports the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) staunchly opposes the Yucca project, and a bipartisan group in his chamber is crafting a bill that would allow the storage of nuclear waste at other sites. Reid was a major force behind, and backed, President Obama’s 2010 decision to pull the plug on federal reviews of the Yucca site. President Obama's decision violated a 1982 federal law that says only Yucca could store nuclear waste, and has been the subject of a court fight.

A Senate Democratic leadership aide said Reid is pleased with the Senate progress on its bill, but noted any legislation can’t be a backdoor avenue for restarting Yucca.

 

Norris McDonald at Yucca Mountain

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), is one of the four lawmakers working on the Senate bill, which would enable the transfer of spent fuel currently housed at commercial reactors to intermediate storage facilities, so long as the federal government is actively looking for a permanent repository.  The Center opposes this alternative.  It is an unnecessary diversion from a permanent solution to the management of our nation's nuclear waste.

Representative John Shimkus (R-Ill.), the chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that oversees nuclear waste issues believes a bill could prod a federal court to decide whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must complete its review of the Energy Department’s application to use Yucca as a permanent waste site.

Yucca Mountain

Petitioners want the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to force the NRC to complete its review. They say halting the process — former NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said the agency ran out of money — ran afoul of the 1982 federal nuclear waste law.  The Center did not think very highly of Jaczko or his tenure as NRC Chairman.

The federal court issued a stay last August to see whether Congress would send a signal — say, by giving the NRC more funding — before making a final decision. But Congress did not provide additional funding for NRC, leaving the federal case in a holding pattern.

A legislative push — such as one to authorize more funding for Yucca — might be the type of action the court needs to see to make a ruling.  (The Hill, 6/19/2013)

Killing Filibuster Is Worth Approving Yucca Mountain

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

The filisbuster has been abused for many years now.  Even routine legislation needs 60 votes to pass now instead of a simple majority of 51 votes.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has threatened to use the so-called 'nuclear option' to 'blow up' filibustering. Reid is under pressure to use the parliamentary maneuver known as the "nuclear option" to end filibusters on judicial and administration nominees, though some in his conference worry the rules change would be used to hurt Democrats if they are in the minority again.

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) recently said he’s sure Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is bluffing about ending the filibuster.  Alexander said that’s because doing so would let Republicans play their trump card against Reid: Yucca Mountain.

I think it would be worth it.  The Senate would work in a reasonable fashion again and we would finally get the best place to permanently store our nuclear waste.  A win-win in my opinion.  But I am not the Senate Majority Leader with the repository in my back yard. Obviously, I support Yucca Mountain as the permanent repository for storing the nation's nuclear waste.

Norris McDonald at Yucca Mountain in 2005

Reid opposes completing the nuclear waste site the government began building at Yucca Mountain. And Republicans would be able to use a simple majority vote to push ahead with the project once they held the Senate majority if Reid waters down the minority's ability to filibuster while Democrats are in charge, Alexander suggested.

Reid, like most Nevada lawmakers, has a long history of resisting the Yucca project. He put it into action in 2009 by backing President Obama's decision to pull the plug on federal reviews for using the site as the nation’s repository for spent nuclear fuel.



Yucca Mountain

Republicans have said the move was illegal, noting that a 1982 federal law names Yucca as the nation’s sole nuclear waste dump. They say depositing the spent fuel elsewhere would violate that law.

Alexander is one of four senators working on a bipartisan bill that would permit storing waste in places other than Yucca, though Senate Republicans have not fully embraced that idea.  House Republicans, on the other hand, have insisted on using the Yucca site. They have given little impression they intend to budge. That would prove a major hitch for the Senate effort, but it’s unlikely that Reid would let that get to the floor. (The Hill, 6/18/2013)

Southwest Education Center - Tinley Park, Illinois

Careful calibration between the vertical spacing and the depth of the mullions
  creates a perfect daylighting ratio and a self-shading aperture.
 The result is a significant construction cost savings and reduced energy
 use during daytime operation. (IMAGE COURTESY OF LEGAT ARCHITECTS)

(Environmental Design + Construction, 5/13/2013)

Rushern Baker Proposes Stormwater Runoff Fee To Help Pay Bay Cleanup Costs

Prince George’s County homeowners could pay up to $62 annually for a new fee to help fund a program to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.  The fee, subject to approval by the County Council, would appear along with other utility fees on residents’ property tax bills. It was proposed Tuesday by County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) and would take effect later this year if approved by the council. Proposed fee would cost Prince George’s County homeowners up to $60 annually.

Businesses also are subject to a fee, which would be based on the amount of blacktop and other impervious surfaces on their properties. A nine-store strip shopping center would pay about $12,000 annually under Baker’s plan.

  The county must enact some type of fee by July 1, to help pay for a program to minimize stormwater runoff, a major pollutant of the Bay. The program was mandated by the federal and state governments after a successful lawsuit by environmental groups. Several counties near the Bay, as well as Baltimore, are required to enact similar programs, and most already have.

Prince George’s officials have estimated that they need about $1.2 billion in revenue in the next

decade to pay for their program, which would help finance stormwater management systems on county government and school system property.

Under the Prince George’s proposal, homeowners and businesses could lower their stormwater fees by better managing runoff from their properties. They may install rain gardens, green roofs, rain barrels and other systems to help cleanse runoff before it flows into waterways that empty into the Bay.

Prince George’s property taxes are capped by law. However, utility fees, such as the stormwater fee, are not subject to the cap. (Wash Post, 6/18/2013)

Administrative Law Judge Rules Against Undergrounding High-Voltage Lines In Chino Hills

AAEA Supports ALJ Decision & Opposes Underground Lines In Chino Hills

An administrative law judge has ruled against undergrounding high-voltage powerlines through a portion of Chino Hills citing the state's ratepayers should not have to pay the cost of the project. A proposed decision by Administrative Law Judge Jean Vieth has denied the city's request to place the lines below ground, saying while undergrounding is feasible and could be completed on a timely basis "the cost is prohibitive and should not be borne by ratepayers at large for the benefit of a few."

However, an alternative proposed decision by state Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey sided with Chino Hills to underground a portion of the project and orders Southern California Edison to construct an single circuit line underground.

Every proceeding is assigned a ALJ and a commissioner. Both decisions were issued Tuesday.

The process continues and the full commission will consider the oral arguments in the case on June 26. 

The earliest the ALJ's decision or Peevey's viewpoint are expected to be up for discussion or vote by the PUC is on July 11.

For five years Chino Hills has insisted Edison's 5-mile right-of-way is too narrow for the 198-foot high-voltage towers, and that they cause hazards and potentially unknown health issues.
City officials and a residents group - Hope for the Hills - have been advocating the lines to be built underground, while Edison officials have said undergrounding would be expensive and makes the system less reliable.

The Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project was approved in 2009 by the PUC, but it has been on hold since 2011 as the final outcome is debated by the commission.

The 225-mile Tehachapi project costs $2.1 billion, and when complete is expected to bring wind-produced electricity from Kern County to the Los Angeles Basin. Estimates for undergrounding through Chino Hills would be an additional $268 million to $296 million, according to the ALJ's documentation.

The strip of land being considered for undergrounding through the city is about 3.5 miles long and begins west at the end of Eucalyptus Avenue and goes between Pipeline Avenue and the 71 Freeway and then into Chino and Ontario.

Six years ago in May residents first approached the City Council asking them to help fight Edison's proposed route.

 

EPA Gives $3 Million in Workforce & Job Training Grants

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the selection of 16 grantees for a total award of $3.2 million through the agency's Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) Program. The grants support local work to recruit, train, and place unemployed individuals in jobs that address environmental challenges in their communities. By providing Americans in economically disadvantaged communities with environmental job training, EWDJT grants promote environmental justice by equipping trainees with environmental health and safety certifications while creating a locally skilled workforce that advances local economies. Rather than filling jobs with contractors from distant cities, EWDJT grants provide employment opportunities for local residents to participate in the revitalization of their communities.

The EWDJT Program is unique because graduates are provided with a wide range of skills and certifications that improve their ability to secure not only short-term work, but full-time careers in the environmental field. The program also underscores President Obama’s call to strengthen job training across the United States. Program graduates  acquire training and certifications in a variety of areas, such as: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hazardous waste operations (HAZWOPER), CPR and first-aid, confined space entry, chemical  lead and asbestos abatement, landfill management, wastewater treatment facility operations and stormwater management, brownfields assessment and cleanup, Superfund site-specific cleanup, leaking underground storage tank removal, electronics recycling, emergency response and disaster site worker certification, clean energy and solar installation, weatherization, native plant revegetation and landscaping, oil spill cleanup, heavy machinery operations and hazardous waste transport (HAZMAT), and uranium mine-tailings cleanup and mine-scarred land remediation. 

As of May 2013, more than 11,000 Americans have completed training through the support of the EWDJT Program, of which, more than 8,000 have obtained employment in the environmental field. Individuals who have completed the training include unemployed, low-income and minority residents of all age groups, as well as veterans, single mothers, ex-offenders, dislocated workers who have lost their jobs as a result of manufacturing plant closures, and other individuals with significant barriers to employment.

The 16 grantees for Fiscal Year 2013 are:

Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, Connecticut – Plans to train 42 students, and place 40 graduates in environmental jobs.

Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board, Massachusetts – Plans to train 45 students, and place 31 graduates in environmental jobs.

The Fortune Society, Inc., New York – Plans to train 45 students and place 33 graduates in environmental jobs.

Pathways-VA, Inc., Virginia – Plans to train 40 students and place 32 graduates in environmental jobs.

Florida State College at Jacksonville, Fla. – Plans to train 60 students and place 45 graduates in environmental jobs.

OAI, Inc., Illinois – Plans to train 45 students and place 40 graduates in environmental jobs.

EmployIndy, Indiana – Plans to train 48 students and place at least 36 graduates in environmental jobs.

Mott Community College, Michigan – Plans to train 51 students and place 36 graduates in environmental jobs.

Southern University at Shreveport, La. – Plans to train 60 students and place 55 graduates in environmental jobs.

Rose State College, Oklahoma – Plans to train 95 students and place 70 graduates in environmental jobs.

St. Louis Community College, Missouri - Plans to train 81 students and place 55 graduates in environmental jobs.

Northern Arizona University, Arizona – Plans to train 36 students and place 35 graduates in environmental jobs.

City of Oxnard, California - Plans to train 55 students and place 45 graduates in environmental jobs.

City of Richmond, California – Plans to train 60 students and place 45 graduates in environmental jobs.

Zender Environmental Health and Research Group, Alaska – Plans to train 32 students and place 28 graduates in environmental jobs.

City of Tacoma, Washington - Plans to train 54 students and place 39 graduates in environmental jobs.

More information on EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants Program