[WIMS] Environmental HotSheet 4/13/15

 

National / International News

<> Renewable Fuels Volume Standards Timeline Announced - A proposed consent decree in litigation brought against EPA by, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), would establish a schedule for issuing Renewable Fuel Standards for 2014 and 2015 The Proposed Consent Decree - EPA intends to issue a Federal Register Notice allowing the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed consent decree.

<> NTSB Recommendations For Rail Tank Cars With Flammable Liquids  - The National Transportation Safety Board today issued four urgent recommendations calling for more robust and fire-resistant rail cars to be produced to safely carry flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol.

<> Coal-Tar-Sealant Runoff Causes Toxicity and DNA Damage - Runoff from pavement with coal-tar-based sealant is toxic to aquatic life, damages DNA, and impairs DNA repair, according to two studies by the U.S. Geological Survey published in the journals Environmental Science and Technology and Science of the Total Environment.

<> A Trip to Yucca Mountain - A bipartisan congressional delegation, led by Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL), on Thursday [last week] traveled to the desert of Nevada to visit the Yucca Mountain nuclear storage site -- nearly $15 billion has been spent toward development of the nuclear waste repository and nearly a billion more is spent each year as the Yucca project remains stalled.  Background, hearings & information on Yucca Mtn. since 2011

<> Mercury threat to Arctic wildlife - Alarm bells are ringing for Arctic wildlife with the discovery that mercury levels in the feathers of ivory gulls have increased almost 50-fold over 130-year period

<> Climate Change May Pose Substantial Future Risk to Sagebrush Habitat in Southwestern Wyoming - Climate change may pose a substantial future risk for sagebrush habitat in southwestern Wyoming, and thus adversely affect the regional summer habitat and nesting areas of sage-grouse, according to a new study by the United States Geological Survey.

U.S. Appeals Court Environmental Decisions

<> Coalition for Responsible Regulation, et al., v. EPA - 4/10/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit, Case No. 09-1322. Order issued that this court's judgment filed June 26, 2012, be amended in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision. See UARG v. EPA, 134 S. Ct. at 2449 (affirming in part and reversing in part). Appeals Court Upholds EPA Authority to Require Carbon Pollution Limits at Power Plants, Factories and Other Large Industrial Facilities Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. U.S. EPA – Original 6/26/12 decision & 12/20/12 denial for en banc rehearing. Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 134 S. Ct. 2427 (2014)

<> Hawkes Co., Inc.  v.  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - 4/10/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Case No. 13-3067. The Corps' issuance of an Approved Jurisdiction Determination that plaintiffs' property constitutes "waters of the United States" within the meaning of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, thereby requiring plaintiffs to obtain a permit to discharge dredged or filled materials into the "navigable waters, was a final agency action for purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, and the district court erred in dismissing the case for lack of a final agency action.

Federal Register Highlights  The following is an alert of Environmental Federal Register announcements that may be of interest.  (Click here to access today's complete Federal Register index with links to complete announcements).

<> Nothing We're Tracking Today (click for the complete Energy & EPA announcements)

Michigan News

<> Rover Pipeline suing Washtenaw County landowners for surveying rights - Rover Pipeline LLC, the company behind a planned natural gas pipeline that could run through Washtenaw County has sued several landowners to gain access to their property for surveys.

<> Snyder wants power grid that connects Michigan peninsulas -

<> Fracking opponents try again on ban ballot initiative - A grassroots organization, the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan, is starting its second effort to get the issue before voters -- in 2012 and 2013, members tried to collect the 250,000 signatures needed to put a ban on the ballot, but came up far short — getting about 70,000 -- the group will need to collect 252,523 valid signatures by June 1, 2016, Committee to Ban Fracking

<> Improvements scheduled to expand North Western State Trail – MDNR announced that the Alanson-to-Mackinaw City segment of the North Western State Trail will be improved and under construction this summer.

Michigan Legislative Tracking  Newly introduced bills and bills that are moving, if any, are listed below. Click on the bill number for complete status, full text, & analyses. Uppercase is Senate action; lowercase is House action. Otherwise, for a complete list of environmental legislation this session (click here).

[WIMS] Environmental HotSheet 4/10/15

 

National / International News

<> Upton, Shimkus, and Pallone Support Bipartisan Effort to Improve Chemical Safety - Building on work begun last Congress to reform chemical management, bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders unveiled a discussion draft of the TSCA Modernization Act. The Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, chaired by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), will hold a legislative hearing on the draft legislation Tuesday. Discussion draft of the TSCA Modernization Act H.R. ____, the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 hearing website - Hearing Notice, Discussion Draft, & press release

<> EPA's Update to its Policy on Supplemental Environmental Projects - Barnes & Thornburg LLP has issued an Environmental Law Alert on U.S. EPA's SEP Policy Update which consolidate all existing EPA guidance on the use of SEPs and provides pragmatic guidance on several detailed policy points. 2015 Update to the 1998 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Supplemental Environmental Projects Policy

<> New Tools and Approaches Are Reshaping Environmental Compliance - The latest Next Generation Compliance strategies and solutions -- a blog post from Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles who heads EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

<> Energy Department to Fund R&D to Advance Low-Impact Hydropower Technologies - $7 million funding opportunity for the research and development of innovative technologies for low-impact hydropower systems -- funding to advance hydropower drivetrains, which transfer rotational energy from turbines to generators, and structural foundations that will minimize environmental impacts and reduce the lifetime costs associated with operating and maintaining new hydropower projects.

<> U.S. Department of Energy Awards $200 Million for Next- Generation Supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory - A $200 million investment to deliver a next-generation supercomputer, known as Aurora which will advance low-carbon energy technologies and our fundamental understanding of the universe, while maintaining United States' global leadership in high performance computing -- one step closer to exascale computing (a billion billion calculations per second)

<> Winter Severity and Frost Depth in a Warming Climate - Scientists calculate and evaluate a new version of NOAA's air-freezing index that can be used to estimate maximum soil frost depth.

<> 100 Mayors adopt Seoul Declaration for sustainable cities - 100 mayors from around the world were onstage at International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) World Congress 2015 to adopt the Seoul Declaration -- a collaborative document that sets out a path to urban sustainability. The Seoul Declaration

<> Lowe's Agrees to Phase Out Bee-Toxic Neonicotinoid Insecticides - April 9, 2015 (Washington, DC)—After months of pressure from the public, Lowe's Home Improvement has announced it will begin taking steps to protect bees and similarly affected pollinators from toxic insecticides. . .

<> America's Increasing Reliance on Natural Gas: Benefits and Risks of a Methane Economy - A methane economy – in which natural gas provides the leading share of primary energy consumption – is now a possible scenario for U.S. energy development according to a report released by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI)

<> API: Offshore oil & gas operations are safer than ever - In a press conference call Jack Gerard, API President and CEO said, "In the five years since the tragic events at the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, America's oil and natural gas industry and our regulators have kept our commitment to make offshore operations safer than ever before."

Federal Register Highlights  The following is an alert of Environmental Federal Register announcements that may be of interest.  (Click here to access today's complete Federal Register index with links to complete announcements).

<> Nothing We're Tracking Today (click for the complete Energy & EPA announcements)

Great Lakes News

<> EDITORIAL: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative needs full funding - More work remains to be done; from cleaning up the nutrient runoff blamed for harmful algae growth to defending the lakes against invasive species such as Asian carp.

<> COMMENTARY: Effort to restore the Great Lakes paying off - Congress has now provided almost $2 billion for restoration activities through the GLRI. This impressive investment reflects the fact that Great Lakes restoration is a bipartisan priority for our region's congressional delegation.

<> Five Historic Lighthouses to Receive Nearly $120,000 in MI State Preservation Grants - Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse, Crisp Point Lighthouse, Mission Point Lighthouse, Sand Point Lighthouse and South Haven Pier Light to undergo preservation and rehabilitation projects.

Michigan News

<> Recycling Market Development: Creating a Supply Chain for Michigan Manufacturers - An article from MDEQ indicates that every day, Michiganders throw valuable commodities like paper, metal and plastic in the garbage for a one-way trip to a landfill -- in fact, Michiganders dispose more than $435 million dollars of recyclable paper, metal, glass and plastic every year.

<> Huron County Commissioners pass wind energy moratorium - The Huron County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 for a zoning ordinance amendment that halts any new wind energy development for 90 days or until the ordinance is updated with changes recommended by the Wind Energy Zoning Committee.

<> Seven communities awarded state grants to create or maintain water fluoridation programs - Grants were awarded by the Michigan Department of Community Health's Oral Health Program. This is the sixth year grants have been awarded, with funds coming from a donation from the Delta Dental Foundation.

<> Michigan congressman fights Canadian nuclear waste project near Lake Huron - As big decisions approach for Canadian authorities reviewing a proposal from Ontario Power Generation to build an underground nuclear waste facility less than a mile from Lake Huron in Kincardine, Ontario, environmental activists in the U.S. and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint Twp.), are preparing to renew efforts to oppose the project.

<> Transportation advocates in Grand Rapids rally for long term federal funding bill - Officials in Grand Rapids joined a nationwide effort today to rally support for long term federal funding for transportation infrastructure.Current funding for things like new busses expires at the end of May.

<> Sierra Student Coalition Moves Michigan State University Beyond Coal - Students from the Sierra Student Coalition Beyond Coal campaign worked for five years collecting petitions, holding marches, and meeting with the Administration to protect public health and the climate and move the campus off of coal

Michigan Legislative Tracking  Newly introduced bills and bills that are moving, if any, are listed below. Click on the bill number for complete status, full text, & analyses. Uppercase is Senate action; lowercase is House action. Otherwise, for a complete list of environmental legislation this session (click here).

[WIMS] Environmental HotSheet 4/9/15

 

National / International News

<> EPA sends controversial water pollution rule to White House - U.S. EPA on Monday sent to the White House its controversial regulation to redefine the extent of its authority over water pollution control. EPA Clean Water Rule: WOTUS Field Hearing #2: Impacts of the Proposed Waters of the United States Rule on State and Local Governments and Stakeholders Field Hearing #1: Impacts of the Proposed Waters of the United States Rule on State and Local Governments and Stakeholders

<> Nation's first federal combined solar power purchase - U.S. EPA, U.S. Forest Service, Department of Energy and General Services Administration announced the first ever federal partnership to purchase solar power -- the President's order last month requires federal agencies to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent and increase their renewable energy use to at least 30 percent over the next 10 years.

<> Neonicotinoids Adversely Affect Biodiversity, According to New Report - A new report released April 8, by the European Academies Science Advisory Council on neonicotinoid insecticides finds that "[T]here is more and more evidence that widespread use of neonicotinoids has severe effects on a range of organisms that provide ecosystem services like pollination and natural pest control, as well as on biodiversity." The report, Ecosystem Services, agriculture and neonicotinoids

<> E-Manifest: Partnering to Build a 21st Century Solution for Hazardous Waste Tracking - E-Manifest will save industry an estimated $75 million per year, improve inspection and enforcement by EPA and the states, and improve public safety by providing timely and better quality information on hazardous waste transport to emergency responders.

<> EPA seeks to ban fracking wastewater from going to public treatment plants - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to ban publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities from taking untreated waste fluids from the unconventional oil and gas industry in a move that would guarantee the end of a disposal practice that the industry and states have already abandoned. EPA Proposed Rule: Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category - Comments on this proposed rule must be received on or before  June 8, 2015.

<> Increased levels of radon in Pennsylvania homes correspond to onset of fracking - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers say that levels of radon in Pennsylvania homes - where 42 percent of readings surpass what the U.S. government considers safe - have been on the rise since 2004, around the time that the fracking industry began drilling natural gas wells in the state. "Predictors of Indoor Radon Concentrations in Pennsylvania 1989-2013"

<> Why fracking is splitting environmental groups apart - Green-minded supporters of fracking will usually agree that there are problems with the practice — like water pollution — but they'd prefer to focus on patching those problems rather than banning it altogether. Bloomberg criticizes New York fracking ban - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticized the state's ban on hydraulic fracturing, describing the move as "misguided" and instead touting the benefits of natural gas.

<> March 2015 U.S. Climate Report - During March, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 45.4°F, 3.9°F above the 20th century average —the 12th warmest March on record and warmest since 2012.

<> What Scientists Are Currently Telling Us About Dolphins and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill - Several studies on bottlenose dolphins conducted since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill present a picture of chronic poor health, failed pregnancies, and increased mortality in the aftermath and footprint of the spill.

<> USDA Awards Funds to Expand and Accelerate Wood Energy and Wood Product Markets in 23 States - The award of over $9 million to expand and accelerate wood energy and other wood product markets is combined with $22 million in investments from partners, resulting in a total investment of $31 million in 23 states -- AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, IL, LA, MA, MI, MN, MT, NC, NE, NV, OR, PA, SC, SD, UT, VA, VT, WA, & WI

<> Los Angeles Releases Sustainability Plan, Sets Example for Cities across the US - Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) applauds the City of Los Angeles and Mayor Garcetti on the release of one of the most ambitious sustainability plans of any major city. LA Sustainability Plan

U.S. Appeals Court Environmental Decisions

<> Gulf Restoration Network, et al v. Gina McCarthy (USEPA) - 4/7/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, Case No.13-31214. In the case a group of environmental organizations petitioned the EPA to "use its powers [pursuant to section 1313(c)(4)(B)] to control nitrogen and phosphorous pollution" within the Mississippi River Basin and the Northern Gulf of Mexico.      The Appeals Court ruled that it had jurisdiction and that U.S. EPA was not required to make a "necessity determination."

Federal Register Highlights  The following is an alert of Environmental Federal Register announcements that may be of interest.  (Click here to access today's complete Federal Register index with links to complete announcements).

<> AGRICULTURE, WATER - Final Rule. USDA - Changes to Existing Conservation Program Regulations

(click for the complete Energy & EPA announcements)

Great Lakes News

<> Opinion: Protect Our Sacred Water - Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians Tribal Councilor Derek Bailey discusses perspectives of Indigenous People who are now becoming more vocal and active in the preservation of our waters.

<> U-M researchers track the toxicity of Lake Erie cyanobacterial blooms - University of Michigan marine microbiologist and oceanographer Gregory Dick is leader of a multidisciplinary project that applies state-of-the-art genomics and environmental chemistry techniques to the Lake Erie problem.

Michigan News

<> Enviros Pressure Schuette On Straits Pipeline Decision - The Michigan Petroleum Pipeline Task Force (MPPTF) will decide this spring what to do about Line 5 -- Sierra Club is partnering with allies at Food & Water Watch, Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation and Michigan Land Use Institute to make it clear to Attorney General Schuette that the "ONLY option is shutting Line 5 down." Michigan Petroleum Pipeline Task Force – Complete background and presentations to the Task Force

<> 2015 Michigan Eat Safe Fish Guides help residents plan meals, learn more about local fish - The Toxicology and Response Section at MDCH tests only the portions of fish that people eat – typically the fillets – and uses results from the laboratory to determine what is safe for people to consume over the long-term. 2015 Eat Safe Fish Guide

<> Have a question about a DEQ program? Call the Environmental Assistance Center - Based on EAC phone statistics, most callers speak to an operator within 16 seconds, if not immediately -- an average 1,250 calls per month

<> MSU to stop burning coal at campus power plant - In a move that will reduce emissions at its T.B. Simon Power Plant as well as significantly advance its Energy Transition Plan, Michigan State University (MSU) is taking steps to stop burning coal by the end of 2016, with a majority of coal purchasing and burning ending in 2015.

<> DNR says fish kills may be common during spring thaw - MDNR says, "Winterkill is the most common type of fish kill. Given the conditions this winter with thick ice and deep snow cover, it will be particularly common in shallow lakes and streams and ponds -- kills are localized and typically do not affect the overall health of the fish populations or fishing quality."

<> Energy optimization and efficiency are vital to more secure, reliable energy future for Michigan – A discussion with Stanley "Skip" Pruss, co-founder of the clean energy technology consultancy, 5 Lakes Energy, and previously the director of the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and Michigan's chief energy officer.

<> Plan B or no Plan B, here's what happens if road proposal fails - The governor is telling voters there's no alternative to Proposal 1 -- lawmakers counter that there's always a Plan B, but fear it might be worse.

<> Volunteers needed to help guard Michigan's sturgeon - The Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow in Cheboygan County is seeking volunteers to join in its effort, in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, to help protect lake sturgeon from illegal harvest during the annual spawning run.

Michigan Legislative Tracking  Newly introduced bills and bills that are moving, if any, are listed below. Click on the bill number for complete status, full text, & analyses. Uppercase is Senate action; lowercase is House action. Otherwise, for a complete list of environmental legislation this session (click here).