Friday, March 07, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 3/7/14

<> Last Day to Comment on Keystone XL Final Environmental Impact Statement - Today, is the final day to submit public comments on the Presidential approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Closing at Midnight, the 30-day comment period followed the U.S. State Department's release of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

<> D.C. Council Resolution To Prohibit Fracking – Unanimous Sense of the Council of the District of Columbia that the United States Forest Service should prohibit horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the George Washington National Forest to protect regional water quality and supply. . .

<> Three lessons from climate leaders - Charting a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can be a challenge. Changing the perceptions and habits of employees, customers, and stockholders isn't easy. But if done effectively, it can bring award-winning results. Fifteen organizations and two. . .

<> NRC Seeks Public Comment on Draft Strategic Plan - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comments on its draft Strategic Plan, covering Fiscal Year 2014-2018. The draft provides a blueprint for the agency to plan, implement and monitor work needed to achieve the NRC's mission for the next four years.

<> NRDC Report: U.S. Nuclear Safety Regulators Ignore Severe Accident Hydrogen Explosion Risks Despite Fukushima Tragedy - (March 7, 2014)—Three years after hydrogen explosions wreaked havoc in the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is still not adequately protecting American nuclear reactors from the risk of similar hydrogen blasts in a severe accident, according to a new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

<> EPA and CEC Partners announce winners of the NAPECA grant program - $1.2 million in community grants awarded to environmental projects across North America - Montreal – U.S. EPA, Environment Canada, and the Mexico Ministry for Environment and Natural Resources, awarded $1.2 million in grants under the Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) North American Partnership for Environmental Community Action (NAPECA) program. These grants will support communities in addressing a wide range of. . . 

<> NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nations Nuclear Plants - annual assessment letters to the nation's 100 operating commercial nuclear power plants regarding their performance in 2013. As of the end of December, 89 plants were in the two highest performance categories.

<> Who's talking about the $100B manufacturing investment milestone - The American Chemistry Council recently announced that potential new U.S. chemical industry investment spurred by shale gas has surpassed $100 billion. The nearly 150 projects that have been reported – restarts, expansions, and brand new facilities – could create an estimated $81 billion per year in new chemical industry output and 637,000 permanent jobs by 2023.

<> ARTBA Hails Industry Victory As EPA Withdraws "One-Size-Fits-All" Approach on Stormwater Regulations - Originally, EPA had wanted to include a single, uniform standard for runoff on all construction sites. . .

  • (From Yesterday's HotSheet) - WATER – Final Rule. U.S. EPA. Effluent Limitations, Guidelines and Standards: Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and Development Point Source Category PDF | Text |

<> NEB Approves Line 9B Reversal and Line 9 Expansion with Conditions - Canada's pipeline regulator, the National Energy Board (NEB), has approved the flow reversal and expansion of Enbridge's Line 9B between Westover, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. NEB previously approved the project to reverse Line 9A between Sarnia, Ontario and Westover

<> 91 Illinois Communities Powered by 100% Green Electricity - March 7: NORMAL, Ill. – Ninety-one communities in Illinois have achieved 100 percent renewable electricity for their residents, says a new report released today by the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, LEAN Energy US, the Illinois Solar Energy Association, and George Washington University. . .

<> U.S. and Mexico to Send Water into Colorado River Delta - Description:The U.S. and Mexican sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission today announced plans for a pilot environmental "pulse flow" of water into the long-depleted delta of the Colorado River.

<> The elephant, the blind, and the intersectoral intercomparison of climate impacts - When decision makers discuss anthropogenic climate change, they often ignore the mighty elephant in the room, namely the question of what global warming really means on the ground -- PNAS paper.

<> Fuel economy hit record-high last month - For the fifth straight month, gas mileage of new vehicles sold in the U.S. topped 25 mpg and was at a record-high 25.2 mpg in ...

<> NASA Radar Demonstrates Ability to Foresee Sinkholes - New analyses of NASA airborne radar data collected in 2012 reveal the radar detected indications of a huge sinkhole before it collapsed and forced evacuations near Bayou Corne, La.

<> How Can Communities Leverage a Better Energy Future? – Episode 17 of Local Energy Rules - How can a community take control of its energy future from a 100-year monopoly electric utility?  Citizens of Boulder, CO, are testing answers to that question, trying to discover how a single city can do more for its economy and the environment with more power over its energy system. At the core of their efforts is a grassroots campaign to form a city-owned utility, an effort that faced an. . .

<> Judge Orders Duke Energy to Immediately Eliminate Sources of Coal Ash Groundwater Pollution - A North Carolina judge ruled Thursday that Duke Energy must take immediate action to eliminate the source of groundwater pollution at the company's coal ash dumps that are scattered across the state. The ruling, made by Wake County Judge Paul Ridgeway, stems from legal action taken by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in 2012,