EPA Releases Climate & Sustainability Plans

EPA Releases Climate Plans on Fifth Anniversary of President Obama's Sustainability Initiative/Plan Builds Capacity to Protect Human Health and the Environment in a Changing Climate - These Sustainability Plans and Climate Change Adaptation Plans coincide with the fifth anniversary of President Obama's 2009 Executive Order on Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance, which set aggressive energy, climate and environmental targets for agencies, and detail how EPA's actions have already contributed to reducing the Federal Government's greenhouse gas emissions by more than 17 percent since 2008 – the equivalent of permanently taking 1.8 million cars off the road.

• EPA Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans
• 2014 Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan

EPA revamps High Priority Violator policy, ends 'watch list'

EPA revamps High Priority Violator policy, ends 'watch list' - EPA has eliminated the complicated matrix by which it evaluates facilities that commit high priority violations (HPVs) of polluted air, water and soil.

• EPA Office of Civil Enforcement's Air Enforcement Division, Aug. 25 memo

EPA Provides Additional Clean Power Plan Information & Comment

EPA Provides Additional Information on Clean Power Plan & requests public comment on additional information and proposes carbon goals for areas in Indian Country and U.S. Territories - EPA is making additional information and ideas on its proposed Clean Power Plan rule available for public comment in a notice of data availability (NODA) and is following through on its commitment made in June to propose goals to reduce carbon pollution in areas of Indian Country and U.S. Territories where fossil-fuel power plants are located -- nearly 1.5 million public comments the agency has received so far; comments due  on Dec. 1 & Dec. 19, 2014.

• Clean Power Plan Supplemental Proposal
• Notice of Data Availability for the proposed Clean Power Plan

Environmental Assessment Certificate issued for TransCanada's Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project

Environmental Assessment Certificate issued for TransCanada's Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project - TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TransCanada) announced Oct. 24, that the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has issued an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project (Coastal GasLink) -- The proposed project involves the construction and operation of an approximately 670-kilometre (415-mile), 1,219-mm (48-inch) diameter natural gas pipeline from the Groundbirch area near Dawson Creek, B.C. to the proposed LNG Canada liquefied natural gas export facility near Kitimat, B.C.

• Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project Information & Documents
• TransCanada's $4b pipeline gets B.C. environmental assessment certificate - The next steps for the proposed project include detailed engineering and construction planning, as well as ongoing consultation with Aboriginal groups and the public; pending the receipt of all required regulatory approvals and a positive final investment decision from LNG Canada, the start of pipeline construction is anticipated in 2016, with an in-service date by the end of the decade.

Encouraging Ending to Bonn Talks as World Readies for Lima UN Climate Conference

Encouraging Ending to Bonn Talks as World Readies for Lima UN Climate Conference -  The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) says: A positive stage has been set for the UN climate convention conference in Lima [COP20/CMP10] following a week of governmental negotiations in Bonn that have evolved a range of issues needed to deliver a draft climate agreement in the Peruvian capital in December -- the draft is meant to form the basis for a new universal climate agreement scheduled to be inked in Paris, France next year and due to come into effect in 2020.

European Commission Approves ambitious proposals to cut GHG at least 40%

European Commission Approves ambitious proposals to cut GHG at least 40% - No player in the world is as ambitious as the European Union when it comes to cutting greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions. Indeed, the proof that it is ambitious is that we are now going from a goal of 20% cut by 2020 compared to 1990 to 40% by 2030, so, doubling the effort.

• EU 2030 framework for climate and energy policies - Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40%; Increasing the share of renewable energy to at least 27%; Increasing energy efficiency by at least 27%; & Reform of the EU emissions trading system

Coalition of Farmers and Environmental Groups to Challenge EPA Over Herbicide Approval

Coalition of Farmers and Environmental Groups to Challenge EPA Over Herbicide Approval - A coalition of farmers and environmental groups filed a lawsuit to sue the U.S. EPA on behalf of six Midwest states where a toxic herbicide cocktail called Dow's Enlist Duo, a blend of glyphosate and 2,4-D, was approved on October 15 for use on genetically engineered (GE) crops.

Geochemical Tracers Can ID Fracking Flowback Fluids

Geochemical Tracers Can ID Fracking Flowback Fluids - The National Science Foundation reports scientists have developed tracers that can identify hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids that have been spilled or released into the environment, and they have been field-tested at a spill site in West Virginia and downstream from an oil and gas brine wastewater treatment plant in Pennsylvania.

• New tracers can identify frack fluids in the environment

US, EU want UN to stress low cost of climate change fight; draft document

US, EU want UN to stress low cost of climate change fight; draft document - (Reuters) - The United States and European Union want the U.N. to stress the low cost of fighting climate change in a draft handbook on the issue that it is compiling, a leaked document showed on Tuesday.

EPA's Rules on Ozone-Depleting Chemicals Miss the Mark on Health and Climate Protection

EPA's Rules on Ozone-Depleting Chemicals Miss the Mark on Health and Climate Protection - (October 17, 2014) – David Doniger, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate and Clean Air Program, made this comment on a final rule issued by EPA limiting the use of HCFC-22, used in air conditioners and refrigeration. It is the most powerful ozone-depleting chemical still in widespread use and traps nearly 2,000 times more heat than carbon dioxide.

• Final Rule: Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Adjustments to the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC Production, Import and Export, 2015-2019 - EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, signed the final rule on 10/16/14, and EPA is submitting it for publication in the Federal Register.

IPCC releases full Working Group II report

IPCC releases full Working Group II report - Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the full version (1820-pages) of its contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability on October 15 – 32-page summary also available

• IPCC corrects claim suggesting climate change would be good for the economy

EPA Approves Dow's Enlist Duo, Herbicide Containing 2, 4-D and Glyphosate

EPA Announces Final Decision to Register Enlist Duo, Herbicide Containing 2, 4-D and Glyphosate/Risk assessment ensures protection of human health, including infants, children - EPA announced it is registering in six states the highly controversial herbicide, Enlist Duo with first-time ever restrictions to manage the problem of resistant weeds.

• NRDC Sues EPA to Block New Pesticide That Threatens Monarch Butterflies, Human Health - The Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit in the D.C. Circuit court immediately after EPA approved the use of "Enlist Duo" -- a combination of two herbicides: glyphosate (initially marketed as Roundup) and 2,4-D, an older, toxic herbicide.
• Earthjustice Statement On Dow's Enlist Duo Approval - "This heedless action merely perpetuates the endless cycle of more genetically engineered crops leading to more pesticide use, leading to more of the same.  We are examining all legal options."
• EPA Ignores Public Outcry, Approves Dangerous Weed Killer - The Environmental Working Group is "deeply disappointed" that [EPA] has decided to approve a toxic weed killer. . . despite overwhelming opposition from the scientific and public health community

Revealed: the companies doing the most to combat climate change

Revealed: the companies doing the most to combat climate change - 187 businesses from around the world, including BMW AG, Centrica, Samsung Electronics and Unilever, demonstrate a superior approach to climate change mitigation. [from the Carbon Disclosure Project]

• The A List: The CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014 - The research is published and has been created at the request of 767 investors who represent more than a third of the world's invested capital.

The Pentagon's "2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap"

The Pentagon's "2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap" - The Department of Defense (DoD) released its 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, which focuses on various actions and planning the DoD is taking to increase its resilience to the impacts of climate change [the report is dated June 2014, but released 10/13/14.

• Pentagon unveils plan for military's response to climate change

Secretary of State John Kerry On Clean Energy & Climate Change

Secretary of State John Kerry Remarks With U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond - "Together, both of our countries recognize that never before has a threat like climate change found in its solution such a level of opportunity – the opportunity to unleash the clean-energy economy that will get us out of this mess but also take us forward towards a safer, more sustainable future."

Building community resilience by strengthening America's natural resources and supporting green infrastructure

FACT SHEET: Building community resilience by strengthening America's natural resources and supporting green infrastructure - The Administration is announcing new executive actions and a series of private and public sector commitments that will improve the management of our natural resources in the context of a changing climate and support investment in green infrastructure.

Keystone Be Darned: Canada Finds Oil Route Around Obama

Keystone Be Darned: Canada Finds Oil Route Around Obama - Energy East, an improbable pipeline that its backers say has a high probability of being built would cost C$12 billion ($10.7 billion) and could be up and running by 2018. Its 4,600-kilometer (2,858-mile) path, taking advantage of a vast length of existing and underused natural gas pipeline, would wend through six provinces and four time zones ending in Saint John, New Brunswick

Additional Opportunity to Provide Input on Critical Clean Water Proposal

Additional Opportunity to Provide Input on Critical Clean Water Proposal - U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers extended for a second time, until November 14, the public comment period on the proposed Clean Water Protection rule -- i.e. Definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS)

• Documents Related to the Proposed Definition of "Waters of the United States" Under the Clean Water Act
• EPA "Waters of the U.S." website

U.S. Supreme Court denies industry challenge to ground-level ozone health standard

U.S. Supreme Court denies industry challenge to ground-level ozone health standard - The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear legal challenges to the national, health-based air quality standard for ground-level ozone (Docket No. 13-1235, Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) v. EPA, Et Al.) [See page 9]

• Access complete background in the case
• Environmental Defense Fund release on the denial

Environmental Information Specialists -- WIMS Daily Environmental HotSheet -- eNewsUSA blog -- EcoBizPort.com

 

US nears solution for safe disposal of Ebola medical waste

US nears solution for safe disposal of Ebola medical waste - The United States is days away from settling the critical question of how hospitals should handle and dispose of medical waste from Ebola patients

• PHMSA Provides Guidance for Transporting Ebola Contaminated Items - An infectious substance must conform to all applicable HMR requirements when offered for transportation or transported by air, highway, rail, or water
• CDC Guidelines for Ebola related issues

Administration Launches Climate Action Champions Competition

Obama Administration Announces Climate Action Champions Competition to Recognize Climate Leaders Across the United States - New Competition will Showcase Local and Tribal Governments Taking Action to Cut Carbon Pollution and Build Resilience to the Impacts of Climate Change -- The application for the Competition will be open until October 27

• Recognizing American Communities as Climate Action Champions - From more frequent and extreme storms to higher average temperatures and rising seas, Americans are experiencing first-hand what climate change will mean for their communities and their children. [Blog post by John Podesta Counselor to the President].

Power Plant Standards Could Save Thousands of U.S. Lives Every Year

Power Plant Standards Could Save Thousands of U.S. Lives Every Year - New study from Harvard, Syracuse, and Boston University scientists links strong carbon standards to substantial reductions in air pollution and widespread health benefits -- the study, "Health Co-benefits of Carbon Standards for Existing Power Plants"

• Links to more information and details on the study