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To

From

Sent

Subject

Mccarthy, Gina[McCarthy. [email protected]]

[email protected]

Tue 3/18/2014 9:54:00 PM

Don't give

in

to

Big

Ethanol: lower ethanol mandates

Derek Kilmer

332 E 5th

St

Port Angeles, WA 98362-3207

March 18, 2014

The Honorable Gina McCarthy

Dear Administrator, EPA McCarthy:

I am writing to express my concerns about the negative impact the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has

had

on

our environment and economy and to support your proposal to lower the required volumes and

associated percentage standards under the RFS for the 2014 compliance year. I also support a more

significant waiver to further reduce our reliance on food for fuel, prevent further environmental damage

and to ensure I can still buy ethanol free gasoline if I want to

If the RFS remains intact our environment will continue to suffer. Independent scientific studies from the

University o Colorado, Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute o Technology show the RFS

can greatly harm our environment by expanding already unprecedented land-use for biofuels crops,

mandating extensive water usage in the biofuel refinement process and increasing emissions by

accommodating the land needed to produce biofuel feedstock. These independent studies have actually

been confirmed by EPA and the National Academy o Sciences own analysis.

Beyond the environmental damage, studies have also shown that higher blend-ethanol fuels (like E15)

can be damaging to most automobiles

on

the road as well as all forms

o

small engines and motors like

motorcycles, boats and chainsaws. This

is

dangerous to drivers and consumers across the country, and

it's time their safety comes first.

In

addition, because higher ethanol fuel blends (like E15 and E85) have

less energy content than regular gasoline, they deliver lower fuel economy. This means drivers will have

to fill up their tanks more often, spending more o their money on gas to power their cars. If the mandate

is

not curtailed, consumers may have no choice but to use fuel with higher concentrations o ethanol.

The dramatically increasing ethanol production mandated

in

the RFS has not only affected costs for meat

and poultry producers, food companies, grocery shoppers, federal food programs and a host

o

small

businesses, but it has also severely impacted the world's corn supply. In 2011, the United States--the

world's largest food exporter--converted 40 percent

o

its corn crop into fuel to satisfy RFS mandates.

This practice

o

converting our food into fuel has had a drastic impact

on

global hunger and grocery store

prices.

I hope you will do what

is

right for our environment and our nation, and significantly lower the required

volumes and associated percentage standards under the RFS for the 2014 compliance year, by at least

the amount o your proposal and more

i

possible.

Sincerely

Derek Kilmer



To:

From

Sent:

Subject:

Allen, Kara[[email protected]]

Allen, Kara

Fri 6/27/2014 2:16:35 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 6.27.14

Sustainable Energy Environment Coalition

Top news stories:

On

the

one-year anniversary

of

launching his climate action plan, President Barack Obama derided

congressional opponents

of cutting

greenhouse gas emissions.

n

most communities across

the

U.S.,

Obama said, it's pretty rare

that

you

encounter

people who say

that

carbon

pollution

is not a

problem.

Except, he said, in Congress.

The new Pew Political

Typology report

shows huge majorities of all four Democratic-leaning

groups

support the development of wind, solar and hydrogen alternatives to oil, coal and natural gas.

The families

of

a dozen

of

the

19

elite

Arizona

firefighters

killed last year in

the

nation's

worst wildfire

in

eight decades have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit claiming the state was negligent in its efforts

to

battle

the

massive blaze.

Producers, refiners and pipeline companies are questioning exactly

how

much the Obama

administration has relaxed its position on crude exports after the Commerce Department said June

24

it

had categorized some lightly processed oil as exportable. The

U.S.

has prohibited mos t crude exports for

four decades.

The

2 14

World

Cup in Brazil has been

notable

for more than

hard-fought

matches and stoppage

time

goals; it's also

the first time

official water breaks have been called

due to

excessive heat and

humidity.

And

as

climate change drives

up

not

only

average

temperatures but extreme

heat and

humidity,

experts

say outdoor events like the World Cup could pose a danger

to

the health

of

athletes.

Energy news:



A new advertising campaign from a liberal

group

argues that violence in Iraq and the resulting effects on

the

oil market expand

the

need

for the

government to increase

the

amount

of

renewable fuels mixed

with

gasoline.

Gasoline's price will increase up to 9 percent, and diesel fuel will rise by up to 14 percent by 2017

because of the Renewable Fuel Standard RFS) if Congress does not repeal it,

the

Congressional Budget

Office CBO) said Thursday.

The

Department

of Energy (DOE) touted the carbon-capture technology it is funding Thursday, saying a

project at

a hydrogen

production

facility in Port

Arthur,

Texas, has now captured more than 1 million

tons

of carbon dioxide.

A California wind farm will become

the first

in

the nation to

avoid prosecution if eagles are

injured

or die

when they run into

the giant

turning blades,

the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday.

Sen. Lisa

Murkowski

(R-Alaska) continued to press for the

administration

to lift a decades-old ban on

crude oil exports Thursday, one day after a Commerce Department ruling allowed two companies to

export a form of

ultralight

crude.

Saying it's a side

of the

story

he

won't hear

from

California billionaires, Senate

Minority

Leader Mitch

McConnel l (R-Ky.) is inviting President Obama to visit with coal families to see

the

impact of his climate

rule up close.

The United States is still growing older,

but

the trend is reversing in the Great Plains, thanks to a liberal

application

of

oil. The aging baby boom

generation

helped inch up

the

median age in

the

United States

last year from 37.5 years to 37.6 years, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau.

Norfolk

Southern Corp. NSC +0.32% has become the first big American

freight

railroad to require its

customers to give the railroad legal

protection

against damages from fires, explosions or the release of

hazardous materials carried in tank cars

that don't

meet

the

rail industry's

latest

standards.

A federal appeals court yesterday

for the

second

t ime

rejected

the

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission's

attempt

to divvy up the cost

of

high-voltage power lines in

the

Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.

Pennsylvania

environmental

regulators are wading through more

than

25,000 public comments on a

proposed overhaul of the state's oil and gas regulations.



The sun is shining on

the

solar industry in Texas. Or

at

least that's the message from the

newly formed

Texas Solar Power Association, which made its

formal

debut this week. Charlie Hemmeline,

the

association's executive director, said solar energy is poised

to

build on recent momentum in the state.

A state-owned gas pipeline exploded and burst into flames Friday, killing at least 14 people, destroying

homes and forcing the evacuation of neighboring villages in the southern Indian state of Andhra

Pradesh, authorities said.

The

Department of

Energy

&

Climate Change's contracts with five offshore

wind

farms,

two

coal-to

biomass plants and a biomass heat and

power

plant may be needlessly generous

to

developers,

according

to

a

report today from

the NAO, which scrutinizes

state

spending on behalf of Parliament.

Analysts say

the

Chinese Machinery Engineering Corporation's (CMEC) struggle

to

repatriate roughly

1,300 employees highlights China's growing need

to

shift investment and energy deals away from

politically volatile

countries. In

the

past,

national

enterprises in

the

developing

world

have served

as

a

major source of income

for

the People's Republic. But after the

tumult

of the Arab Spring, the costs

have sometimes outweighed the benefits.

German lawmakers should back

the government's

revised EEG clean-energy law when they vote on

the

bill in parliament

today

because

current

subsidies are excessive, according

to

Economy

Minister

Sigmar Gabriel.

Germany is headed for its biggest electricity glut since 2011 as new coal-fired plants start and

generation

of

wind

and solar energy increases,

weighing

on

power

prices

that

have already

dropped

for

three years.

Climate news

We're not going

to

be able

to

burn it all. With those 10 words, Barack Obama

uttered

one of the most

stunning, far-reaching statements ever made by a

U S

president. He also completely contradicted his

own

energy policy. Yet no one seemed

to

notice.

Natural gas fields globally may be leaking enough methane, a potent greenhouse gas,

to

make the

fuel

as polluting as coal for the climate

over

the next few decades, according to a pair of studies published

last week.

Several western lawmakers remain optimistic they can change the way the federal government pays for

fighting wildfires even as the number of legislative days left before the midterm elections dwindles. I'm

pulling out all the stops on it. We've spent a decent chunk of time on

it

this past week, Sen.

Ron



Wyden, D-Ore., said Tuesday.

NASA has released

some

encouraging images showing a marked decline in air pollution over

much

of

the

eastern

U.S., including Washington,

D.C.

and

the

1-95 corridor since 2005. The images show

the

change

in concentration of nitrogen dioxide, a

pollutant

linked to adverse effects

on

the

respiratory

system.

There's

a

strong

chance an l Nino weather event will reappear before the end of the

year and shake up

climate patterns worldwide, the U.N. weather agency said Thursday. The El Nino, a flow of unusually

warm

surface

waters from the Pacific Ocean toward

and

along the western

coast

of

South

America,

changes

rain

and

temperature patterns around

the

world

and

usually raises global temperatures.

Here

are

five charts and maps from

the

technical report

that

didn't quite grab headlines, but certainly

spotlight the myriad ways climate change will be a drag

on

the

nation's economy. Each

one

of them

examines

the

impacts of climate change under a high emissions scenario.

At the first of three public hearings

on

the proposed

changes

Wednesday night, representatives of some

of the state's leading

environmental groups

said the new rules - the first

changes

to coastal

development policy since the

devastating October 2012

storm - miss a golden opportunity

to

better

protect the coast.

Deep in coal country, the candidates waging

one

of

the

nation's most closely watched House races

are

competing to show who is

the

most outraged by President Barack Obama's environmental policies.

The Senate is engaged in a fruitless battle over a pair of ill-fated energy bills. Again. Senate Minority

Leader Mitch McConnell R-Ky.) is calling

on

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to hold a vote

on

a bill

that would force approval of the controversial Keystone

XL

pipeline.

Canada should establish a price for

carbon

emissions to show it's

addressing

climate change

and to

give

President

Barack

Obama

political cover

to

approve TransCanada Corp. (TRP)'s 5.4 billion project,

Trudeau,

leader

of

Canada's

Liberal Party said

yesterday

in an interview in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

He

said he was agnostic

about

how the price should be set.

o it

turns

out, hope

is

important. Did we know

that

already? We

sort of

knew

that

already. But -

according to a new study put

together

by Yale's Climate Change Communication Project - hope is

particularly critical as a motivator in the very doom-heavy world of climate change activism.

In

Colorado, home to some of the most

destructive

floods

and

wildfires of recent years, Republican

climate change

deniers

had a big night at the polls as GOP primary

voters selected nominees

for

governor,

the U.S.

House,

and

a

host

of other offices.



Europe could coax utilities

to

shift from burning coal

to

cleaner natural gas by quadrupling the price

that

financial markets place on carbon

dioxide

emissions, the head of Spain's biggest

power

generator said.

It starts with Al Gore. When it comes time to teach his high school sophomores about global warming,

Wyoming science teacher Jim Stith shows An Inconvenient Truth. The green documentary delivers an

unambiguous

message: Human activity is driving dangerous

climate

change.

A

dramatic night

of

storms

in Toronto on

Wednesday

flooded

subway

stations, turned a

major freeway

into a river and knocked

out power to thousands of

people. On Wednesday,

Environment

Canada issued

a special

weather

warning for heavy rain in

Toronto Wednesday

evening. Some parts

of

the city received

nearly three inches of rain in just three hours.

Norway s

commitment

of

1 billion in 2010

is

just the

beginning

of

what

is

needed in Indonesia, ranked

as the world s third-largest emitter because of its shrinking forests, said Heru Prasetyo, head of the

agency for Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation, known as REDD .

Environment Health news:

You probably

don t

want

to dip your

toes in these dirty waters. According

to the 24th

annual report

released by the Natural Resources Defense Council,

one

in 10 U.S. beaches are dangerously polluted -

so

polluted, in fact,

that

they have been deemed unsafe for swimmers.

Levels of particulate matter spike at night inside homes

near

gas wells in Southwest Pennsylvania, the

director of an environmental health monitoring project said Wednesday.

The UN responded

after

a coalition of activist groups submitted a

report

to

its Human Rights Office of

the

High Commissioner last week,

detailing

water

shutoffs

and

extreme

consequences

for

families in

the

city who can t

afford to

pay

their

bills and have had

to

go

without water.

The final plan and accompanying

environmental

impact

statement

for

the

627 million,

44-project

Phase Ill BP oil spill early restoration plan

were

made available

to the

public on federal and state

websites

Wednesday

(June 25).

A plan by Gov.

Andrew

M. Cuomo and the agency building a new Tappan Zee Bridge to borrow a half

billion dollars provided under the federal Clean

Water

Act has come under fire from nine environmental

and transportation groups that argue the money would be

improperly

spent on basic construction, not

enhancing water quality.



The by-catch problem in the U S isn't just hurting

our

oceans,

but our

pockets too, according to a

new

report

by Oceana. The environmental group

estimates

the U S fishing indust ry loses

at

least 1 billion

annually from the staggering amount of seafood that is unintentionally caught (and then discarded) by

fishermen.

On a beautiful

summer afternoon

recently, a handful

of people

across America decided

it was

high

time

to

make

their

feelings known

about

the

Obama administration s most

significant

response yet to

climate

change

-

the

EPA's Clean Power Plan. Here is

what they wrote.

Among more

than

2,500 doctors consulted for the survey, nearly all of them

reported

counseling

patients on factors such as diet, exercise and cigarette smoking. However, only about 20

percent

said

they

addressed environmental exposures. They pegged

their

hesitation to a

number

of factors, from the

fear of

overwhelming

patients

with anxiety-inducing worries

to

limited

appointment time

to

a lack

of

environmental health education.

Residents worried

about

the

spate of earthquakes

that have plagued

parts of

Oklahoma likely

got

little

satisfaction Thursday night

at

a

town

hall on

the

subject, as

experts

said

there is

no way

to

know

their

cause.

Scientists say the aquarium fishery off the

Big

Island

is among

the

best managed

in the world,

but

it has

nevertheless

become

the focus of a fight over whether it's ever

appropriate

to remove fish from reefs

for

people

to

look

at

and

enjoy.

The

memorandum

will

spur the

creation, within

the

next

180

days,

of

a National Pollinator Health

Strategy

that will

lay

out

ways for

the

U S

to better study and better

tackle

the problems

facing

pollinators,

both

wild

and managed.

While

the

plight

of bees

has

gotten deserved attention of

late,

many

species

of

pollinators face

the same threats: habitat

destruction, climate-induced

changes in

flowering

and weather patterns, and in some

cases, pesticides.



To:

From

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Mon 6/16/2014 1 56:10 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 6.16.14


Top news stories:

The arcane but powerful Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will once again spark political

conflagration this

week as the

Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Committee

casts its

vote

on

Norman Bay, President Obama s second contentious pick in recent

months to

lead

the

agency.

Four in 10 new oil and gas wells near national forests and fragile watersheds or otherwise identified

as

higher pollution risks escape

federal

inspection, unchecked by an agency struggling to keep pace with

America s

drilling boom

according

to

an Associated Press

review

that shows wide state-by-state

disparit ies in safety checks.

The Shirley Fire, which broke

out

late Friday and has

so

far burned through

about 2 000

acres

of

land,

was only

about

10 percent contained

as of

Sunday. The fire is burning in and around Sequoia National

Forest, which is

home to

34 groves

of giant

sequoias.

The

Interior

Department on Friday announced the first step in planning new offshore oil and gas

auctions. The lease sales

would

be for oil and gas exploration in

U S

waters from 2017-2022.

U.N. climate negotiations made

tentative

progress on Saturday towards a text for a 2015 deal

to

bind all

nations

to

cut


Coal

dominated

world energy markets last year by supplying

the

biggest share

of

demand since

1970

making

it the

fastest growing fossil fuel, according

to

an annual review by

BP Pie

The

2014 Word

Cup kicked off in Brazil this week and while there has been ample criticism over the



massive cost

of

hosting the event, estimated

to

reach

as

much

as

11.5 billion, a

bright spot

in the

construction is the integration of renewable energy.

Energy news

Petroleum

companies

will

get a

breather

from latest round

of

renewable fuel standard,

as the

Environmental Protection Agency EPA)

is

once again delaying the deadline

for

compliance with

the

2013 standards.

Brent crude

was projected by

Wall

Street analysts

to

average as

much

as 116 a barrel by the end of the

year. Now, with violence escalating in Iraq, how far the price will rise has

become

anyone's guess.

Ukraine said Russia

cut

natural gas supplies after demanding fuel payments be made in advance, the

first time

shipments have been

affected

in this year's crisis in relations between

the

two countries.

The impending promotion

to

House majority leader

for

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican

with a moderate reputation on

energy

policy who represents one of the windiest

districts

in the country

would at first seem like

good

news for clean energy supporters hoping

to extend

a key renewable

electricity tax break at the end of this year.

In

an

apparent

attempt

to

ease

health

and safety concerns

over

CSX

Corp.'s plan

to

reconstruct

a

freight

train

tunnel in Southeast D.C., the

U.S. Department

of Transportation on Friday said the company would

offer

money to the

residents

most

harmed

by

the project.

The moves by New Hampshire and Minnesota reflect a desire for

more

control over in-sta te hazards,

as

well

as

mounting frustration over gaps in

federal law

involving oil pipelines and oil trains, superficial

federal reviews and the secrecy surrounding spill response plans submitted

to

U.S. regulators.

A DeSmogBlog review of OIRA meeting logs

confirms

that in

recent

weeks, OIRA has held at least

ten

meetings

with

officials from

both

industries on oil-by-rail regulations. On

the

flip side,

it

held

no

meetings

with

public

interest

groups.

The average coal plant in the United States is 42 years old, but the oldest - and least efficient - date

from the 1940s and early 1950s. Many of them also lack the most modern pollution controls and

contribute

to

poor air quality.



Renewable energy developers and wind industry groups yesterday voiced

their

support

for

a proposed

$2 billion, 700-mile transmission line project in a series

of

letters to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Scientists in

the U S

claim

they

have developed a simple, one-step process

that

turns plant tissue into

biofuel. A genetically-engineered bacterium can convert switchgrass into ethanol directly,

without

any

expensive pre-treatment with enzymes to break down the cellulose fibers into something suitable for

fermentation

Climate news

President Obama

took

aim Saturday at

the

trend

of

Republicans citing their absence

of

scientific

credentials

as

a reason

to

avoid questions about global

warming.

Obama even

compared them

unfavorably to the

many

other

Republicans

who reject the

overwhelming

verdict of

scientists

that

human-induced climate

change is real.

Australia's chief trade-deals negotiator has labeled

the

bid by President Barack Obama

to cut U S

power

plant emissions

as

lacking substance. There's

no

action associated

with it,

Trade Minister Andrew

Robb said in a Sky News interview from Houston, Texas, where he was accompanying Australian Prime

Minister Tony Abbott.

According to scientists at Arizona State University,

the

air conditioning system is now having a

measurable effect. During

the

days, the systems emit waste heat, but because

the

days are

hot

anyway,

the difference is negligible.

At

night, heat from air conditioning systems now raises some urban

temperatures

by

more than

1°C

(about

2°F),

they report

in

the

Journal

of

Geophysical Research

Atmospheres.

President Barack Oba ma's

new

pollution

limits for power

plants have set

off

an avalanche

of

information

about

what the

rules will cost,

how

they will

affect

your health and

how

far they will go toward curbing

climate change. There's just one problem:

Almost

none

of it

is based in reality.

Billions of dollars in revenues from California's carbon cap-and-trade auctions

will

help fund

development of the state's high-speed rail line and pay

for

public transit, affordable housing and

communities located near jobs and transportation

under

a deal struck yesterday.

The

billionaire

Koch brothers and

their

political

network

are planning

to

spend

almost

$300 million

during the

2014 election cycle, some

of which

will go

toward

a

renewed effort to

combat

unprecedented

carbon regulations unveiled by

the

Obama administration last month.

While many US lawmakers are pulling

out their

hair

over the

White House's newly proposed

limits

on



state

carbon emissions, the Brazilian state

of

Acre

sees

a

green

opportunity.


Scientists have found evidence

of

a huge

underground

reservoir containing up to

three times

as much

water

as on the entirety of

the earth's

surface and theorized

to

be the source for all the world's oceans.

Pew asked

whether respondents

would

rather

live in an area

where the

houses are larger and

farther

apart,

but

schools,

stores

and restaurants

are

several miles away, versus

one where the

houses are

smaller and closer to each other, but schools, stores and restaurants

are

within walking distance.

For

the better part of two decades, BASF

Plant Science, Dow AgroSciences,

Du

Pont Pioneer,

and

Syngenta

have

been

drenching

their test crops near the small town of

Waimea on

the southwest coast

of

Kauai with

some of the most dangerous

synthetic pesticides

in

use

in

agriculture today,

at

an intensity

that

far surpasses

the norm at most other

American farms, an analysis

of government

pesticide

databases

shows.

President

Obama was honored

by Native American tribal singers

and dancers

on Friday

afternoon, but

on his first presidential visit

to

Indian country he also

heard

from activists

who want

him to reject

the

Keystone pipeline project

that

could pass nearby.

The report, published by the National Wildlife Federation and Natural Resources Council of Maine,

outlines

the

risks Canadian

tar

sands development poses

to

migratory birds. More

than

292

species

of

protected

birds rely on

the

boreal forest for breeding habitat, including

the endangered

whooping

crane, and at least 130 of those

are

threatened by tar sands development.

The flat, glistening, white expanse of the

Greenland

Ice

Sheet,

stretching

out

across

hundreds of

thousands of square miles, appears placid, unchanging boring even. But this

tranquil surface

belies

the

turmoil taking place below,

at the base of the

ice

sheet.

Satao was an

elephant

famous for having tusks so long that

they

nearly reached the ground, and so

distinct,

that

he

could

be

easily identified from

the

air as

he roamed

Kenya's

vast

Tsavo East National

Park. Now, Satao

is dead,

slain by ivory

poachers who

used poison arrows

to

bring

the great elephant

down.

More

than

20,000

elephants were

poached last year in Africa

where

large seizures

of

smuggled ivory

eclipsed

those

in Asia for

the

first time, international wildlife regulators said Friday.



The

country's

Rural

Development Ministry

on Friday announced a

new afforestation

plan

to plant

2

billion trees along the nation's highways in an

effort

to tackle youth unemployment. The country's Road

Transpor t, Highways, Shipping and Rural

Development

Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari said in a

meeting

in

New

Delhi

that the

new

initiative

would also help preserve

the

environment.

Five years ago, this reserve was a cattle farm. Its ponds were clogged with animal waste. Its oak trees

were

squat from years of pruning. But signs of change are easy to notice, from the waist-high bushes

sprouting everywhere to the

abundant

frogs in the pond, which are

so

loud at

times

that conversation is

virtually

impossible.

It s often difficult to visualize how our daily consumption habits play out on a grander scale,

how

every

water bottle we discard contributes to a growing, worldwide problem. A group

of

activists

known

s

Luzinterruptus is providing one memorable visual in the form

of

a Labyrinth of Plastic Waste.



To:

From

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Fri 10/18/2013 1 57:24 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 10.18.13

Sustainable Energy Environment

Coalition

Top news stories:

Vice President Biden and other Obama administration officials welcomed back federal workers Thursday

as

the partial government shutdown ended. Bringing muffins, Biden posted up at the headquarters of

the Environmental Protection Agency.

Becoming more efficient with the energy we have is the best global source of

power

and fuel, the

International Energy Agency said in a

report

issued

Wednesday

morning.

A new global treaty could

eliminate

within three decades

the

commercial use

of mercury

in everything

from batteries, paints and skin-lightening creams

to

utility plants and small-scale gold mining,

the

head

of the U.N. s environment agency said Thursday.

The oil and gas lobby is

threatening

to

sue the Obama administration if environmental regulators do not

release a biofuel regulation by the end of November. The American Petroleum Institute API) on

Thursday sent a letter notifying the Environmental Protection Agency

that

it should prepare for a lawsuit

if

the

final 2014

renewable fuel

standard

is

not

released on

time.

Energy news:

Although oil and gas drilling on public lands continued during the shutdown, the Interior Department s

Bureau of Land Management stopped approving permits for new oil and gas wells when funding lapsed



Oct.

1 Now that

the

government is

back

to work,

an estimated 3,000 permit applications are

pending

review, a backlog

that generated

criticism from

both

sides during the shutdown.

Nearly 30 percent of natural gas drilled in North Dakota is intentionally burned off, or flared, resulting in

an approximately 1 bi llion loss, and releasing greenhouse gases equivalent

to

nearly one million new

cars on the road. Now, some North Dakota landowners are fighting back.

California

today

became the first state in the

country

to

require utilities

to invest in energy storage, a

move

that

policymakers say

will

pave

the way for

increasing

amounts of renewable energy

and

greenhouse gas reductions.

It takes about a month for oil

to

arrive from the Middle East

to

a refinery

here

on the edge of the

San

Francisco Bay. On a clear day, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance from the refinery's

pier, but you

will

probably notice first and foremost the massive

tankers

docked and

unloading

oil into a

web

of

pipes.

Transporting

oil is safer via a

pipeline

than by trucks

or

trains, posing a significantly

lower

risk

to

workers, according

to

a

new

study

from

Canada's Fraser

Institute.

The

report

comes at a time when the

White House

is

said

to

be

weighing

whether

to

approve a cross-border permit

for

TransCanda Corp.

s

Keystone

XL

pipeline.

A federal judge could soon decide the fate of Minnesota s six-year-old

renewable

energy law, which

North Dakota officials say is an unconstitutional overreach.

These events were a microcosm of the changes affecting all places where

renewable

sources of energy

are

becoming

more

important-Europe

as a

whole

and

Germany

in particular. To environmentalists

these changes are a

story of

triumph. Renewable, low-carbon energy accounts

for

an ever-greater share

of production.

It

is

helping push wholesale

electricity

prices

down,

and could

one

day lead

to

big

reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.

It may be

the U.S. energy

industry's oddest couple:

Lee

Raymond, who was famously

tightfisted as

chief

executive of Exxon

Mobil

Corp. now has a seat

at

the table in a venture headed by Aubrey Mcclendon,

whose aggressive spending hastened his exit

as

chairman

at

Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Climate news

Major

supermarkets chains in the US including

Walmart

and Whole Foods continue

to

use

hydroflourocarbons, gaseous compounds used in refrigerants and a major source

of

greenhouse gas



emissions

more powerful than

carbon dioxide, according to a survey by

the Environmental

Investigation

Agency.

The Supreme Court is getting involved in climate policy again, this time on the question of how the

federal

government

can regulate greenhouse gas emissions. But what does this mean for the President s

climate agenda?

Disasters like

drought

can be the most important driver of poverty in many parts of the world, according

to

a

new

report. The report, published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), found that in

drought-prone

developing

countries, a

drought

was the most important factor in keeping the area s

residents poor, surpassing ill health

s

cause

for

impoverishment.

Former Vice President Al Gore sees parallels between the last two and a

half

weeks of budget chaos on

Capitol Hill and

the

climate

crisis:

Many

will

deny there's

a

problem

--

until they

are

ultimately

compelled

to

take action by forces beyond their control.

Nearly 100 wildfires raged across Australia s most

populous

state on Friday, killing

one

person,

destroying dozens

of

houses and forcing hundreds of evacuations

s the

nation's annual fire season got

off

to

n unusually early start.

The U.K.

is warming

faster

than

the global average, adding urgency

to

its

efforts to

slash greenhouse

gases. The average annual temperature in

the

U.K. rose

at

a rate of 0.18 degree Celsius (0.32 degree

Fahrenheit)

per

decade

from

1950

through

2012, according

to

a

paper

e-mailed

today

by

the

London

School of Economics. That s 11/2 times the global average rate of increase of 0.12 degree per decade.

Environment Health news

National

monuments

and parks may be back in business

for

now, but severe

budget

cuts are causing a

slow-motion shutdown,

according

to

a conservation group. Acting president

of the

National Parks

Conservation Association (NPCA) Theresa Pierno

thanked

Congress on Thursday for reaching a budget

resolution that ended the

government

shutdown but said

it

isn t enough.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer on Thursday called

for

a

hearing

to

review the role of the Clean Air Act in reducing toxic pollution.

Thousands of

young

environmentalists from around the country are heading

to

Pittsburgh, planning to

strengthen the green

movement

by involving

more people

of

different

races and backgrounds.



Texas Governor Rick Perry asked residents

to

pray for rain in 2011 during the worst drought in

state

history. Now he wants voters

to

approve spending 2 billion on

top

of a record

borrowing to

boost

water supplies.

The Wyoming Supreme Court is scheduled to

hear oral

arguments Nov. 20 over whether the public has

the right

to

obtain lists of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing

or if

those ingredients are corporate

trade

secrets that may be shielded.

New

rules

will boost

costs

to

transport crude

by

rail in

North

America

as

trains are forecast

to

carry

as

much as

2 million barrels a day, about equal

to what

flows daily from Norway.

Microsoft, the Walt Disney Company, Google and BMW are the companies with the best corporate

social responsibility reputation, according

to

a study by corporate reputation management consultancy

Reputation

Institute.

When

Cory Booker's name

is mentioned

in

the

same sentence

with green,

it's usually in reference

to

the money he attracts. Still, in his six years as mayor of Newark, N.J. he's been no slacker on the

environmental

front.

Oil companies in North Dakota disposed

of more

than a million tons

of

drilling waste last year, 15

times

the amount in 2006, according

to

Steven

J.

Tillotson, the assistant

director

of the Division of

Waste

Management for the state's Health Department. Seven drilling waste landfills operate in the state, with

16

more under construction

or

seeking

state

approval.

Police in the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick arrested about

40 people

on Thursday

after

efforts

to

dismantle a

highway

barricade

turned

violent and

protesters

against shale gas exploration set

several police vehicles on fire.



To:

From

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Thur 8/1/2013 2:33:22 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 8.1.13


Coalition

Top news stories:

n recent years, SEEC Member U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva has seen his district in southern Arizona ravaged by

wildfires, heat and drought. Dozens lost their lives and thousands were forced

to

evacuate their homes.

Agricultural production has slowed and water supplies are shrinking. Which is why Grijalva, a six-term

Democrat, set out

to

make climate change a

top

priority.

The White House threatened Wednesday

to veto

legislation

requiring

congressional approval

of the

most

expensive regulations issued by federal agencies, saying

the

measure would

undermine

basic

government functions. The House

is

expected

to

vote

as

soon

as

Friday

to

approve the Regulations From

the

Executive in Need

of

Scrutiny

REINS)

Act, which

would

require both chambers

of

Congress

to

sign

off

on regulations carrying an annual price tag

of

100 million or more.

U.S. EPA

would

be barred from using the Obama administration s new social cost of carbon estimate in

rulemakings

under

an amendment approved yesterday by the House Appropriations Committee. The

panel voted 28 20

to

add the

amendment

by Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) to its fiscal 2 14 bill to fund

EPA,

the Interior

Department

and

the

Forest Service. The

vote

was

one

of

several

the committee took

before halting yesterday afternoon, rejecting along party lines efforts by Democrats to cut the bill's 31

policy riders and

to

increase

funding for

a

variety of

programs.

There was no shortage of material for

the

pre-recess meeting

with the

president. For instance,

according

to

Durbin, Sen. Mary

L.

Landrieu, D-La., raised

the

subject

of the

approval process

of the

Keystone XL pipeline, which she supports (though many Senate Democrats do not). Obama apparently

didn t commit one way or the other.



The U S

wind

energy industry s growth engine badly sputtered and then stalled in the first

half

of 2013,

with only 1.6 megawatts of new wind power coming online between January and June, according

to

data released yesterday by the American Wind Energy Association.

Energy news

After

months of frustrating

delays, a chemical

company

announced Wednesday

that it

had produced

commercial quantities

of

ethanol from wood waste and other

nonfood

vegetative

matter,

a long-sought

goal

that,

if

it

can be expanded economically, has major implications for providing vehicle fuel and

limiting


Deepwater Wind LLC won

the

first auction for offshore wind-energy

development

in U S federal waters,

agreeing

to

pay 3.8 million to lease two blocks off Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The closely held

company, which is backed by the hedge fund

D E

Shaw & Co., plans

to

put 200 turbines in the water

with total capacity of 1,000

megawatts,

according to a

statement

yesterday. Construction could begin in

2017, and

power

production in 2018, the Providence, Rhode Island-based company said.

The House voted 400-20 Wednesday

to

hit Iran with the toughest sanctions yet over its nuclear

program, in a forceful rejection of arguments

that

Congress should refrain from new penalties pending

international

negotiations with the new Iranian government.

The Senate

Environment

and Public

Works Committee will hold

a hearing on

the

Renewable Fuel

Standard this fall, Bettina Poirier, a Democratic committee aide, told The Hill on Wednesday. The

announcement

raises

the

specter

that

changes

to

the

nearly decade-old biofuel-blending

mandate

could

be in the offing.

A Senate Finance

subcommittee

yesterday began its

work

to

overhaul an array

of tax

incentives

benefiting energy companies with a broad

overview of what

benefits exist today and

continued

partisan

disagreement over how

to

account for the

tax

breaks enjoyed by various industries.

House Republicans

aren t

giving

up on

Yucca

Mountain

as

a

long-term

nuclear-waste storage site,

despite a bipartisan Senate plan

to

explore alternatives and establish a new nuclear-waste agency.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz signaled his support for the Senate plan in a Tuesday hearing, but faced a

less receptive audience Wednesday in the lower chamber.

Despite widespread

support from Democrats, Republicans,

environmentalists,

and industry groups, an

energy-efficiency bill

won t get

a

floor debate

until

at

least September, despite repeated assurances by

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

that the

chamber would consider

it

before

the

August recess.



The future of net metering in Arizona is under attack, with the state's largest electric utility Arizona

Public Service APS) proposing changes

that

undermine cost benefits for residential solar installations.

The University of the Virgin Islands has signed a power-purchasing agreement with an Illinois-based

energy company to create solar energy systems on the school's two campuses.

Climate news

House Republicans have

teed

up a floor

vote

designed

to

rebuke longshot carbon tax proposals and

politically

tether

President Obama

to them

in the process, despite the White House vow never

to

propose an emissions tax. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) is offering an anti-carbon tax amendment

to

legislation on the floor this week

that

requires congressional approval of major federal regulations.

Shareholders and large pension funds are getting skittish

about

how climate change could

threaten

the

companies

they've

invested in. That's according

to

The Daily Climate, which picked up on a

new

data

release by Ceres - a U.S. organization dedicated

to

more sustainable business practices -

that

documents

corporate

shareholder meetings

throughout the

United States.

The state will launch a broad review

of

the planned Cherry Point

project that

will include a look

at

greenhouse-gas emissions from burning the fuel,

while

the U.S.

Army

Corps of Engineers and Whatcom

County will conduct

more

limited

reviews.

Interior

Secretary Sally Jewell today challenged her employees to take

an

active role in the

moral

imperative

to

address climate change. I hope

there

are no climate change deniers in the Department

of Interior, she said.

The city

of

Boulder is set

to adopt

a goal

of cutting

its greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Meeting that

new goal, which is expected

to

be adopted by

the

City Council next year, will require an

unprecedented

level

of

action, a city staff memo said.


The oil that exploded in the Lac-Megantic disaster

will

be covered by insurance, but the

company

that

owns

the

crude said many other questions

about

who

must

pay

for the

catastrophe still need

to

be

worked out.



Lawmakers in the Senate are staking out claims on a bipartisan bill

to

reform

the nation's decades-old

toxic chemical law. Support has built in recent weeks for legislation crafted by the late Sen. Frank

Lautenberg (D-N.J.)

that

would update chemical safety measures that are considered

woefully

out of

date.

Probes of incidents such as fires and explosions at plants and refineries by

federal

officials take too long,

putting

the

U.S.

Chemical Safety Board's mission

to

prevent accidents

at

risk, a

U.S.

government

watchdog said.

The House Natural Resources Committee voted

mostly

along

party

lines Wednesday for

GOP

legislation

that would block

Interior

Department

efforts

to

expand regulation of oil-and-gas fracking on public

lands. The 23-15 vote is

the

latest sign of GOP opposition

to

regulations

that

many Republicans and

industry groups call unneeded and burdensome.

The House Science Committee will mark up legislation Thursday that forces the Environmental

Protection Agency to alter its ongoing

study

of the effects of oil-and-gas fracking on

drinking water

resources. Chairman Lamar Smith's (R-Texas) bill would require the major, years-long study

to

include

objective estimates of the probability, uncertainty and consequence of each identified impact, taking

into account

the risk management practices of states and industry.

Environmental Protection Agency deputy administrator Bob Perciasepe is no sore loser,

as

we

wrote

Tuesday,

about getting

aced-out by assistant

administrator

Gina McCarthy

for the top

job. After all, he's

sticking

around

in

the

No.2 slot -

much

to

McCarthy's relief.

Three nominees

to

fill vacancies at

U.S.

EPA cleared the Senate Environment and Public Works

Committee by voice vote Tuesday evening, although the nominee

to

head

EPA s

water office could see

trouble

ahead. Ken Kopocis, who was nominated

to

be assistant

administrator

for the Office of

Water

in

June 2011, had seven Republicans vote against his nomination

after he

faced

tough

questions during a

confirmation hearing last week.

That coal is

the

subject

of

a lawsuit filed Wednesday by a coalition

of

environmental groups against

the

Export-Import Bank of

the

United States. The groups are challenging

the

federal agency's financing

of

fossil fuel exports from ports in Baltimore and Hampton Roads.

A slim

majority

of Californians surveyed in a

new

poll oppose the increased use of fracking in the state,

and even those who favor the controversial oil production technique want stricter regulations on it.



Chevron has agreed

to

pay 384,000 in penalties

for pollution violations at

its Salt Lake City refinery.

Under a

settlement

announced Wednesday by the U.S.

Environmental

Protection Agency, the company

will

pay 284,000 in fines and buy four new compressed-natural-gas school buses for the Jordan School

District that will cost about 25,000 each.

Environmental

groups are suing

over

New York's

recent

deregulation of dairy farms, warning that the

move

will

inevitably soil New York's water sources and

hurt the environment.

New York dairy

farmers

are

enjoying

a boom thanks to the growing popularity of Greek

yogurt.

Government

regula tors in Canada are investigating a series of mysterious oil spills around

tar

sands

operations in Alberta. Thick oil is gurgling

up unexpectedly

from the ground instead

of flowing

through

the wells

that

were built

to

collect it.

China

won t

let

earthquakes

hinder

its

quest

for

energy. Companies such

as

Royal Dutch Shell

Pie ROSA)

and China National Petroleum Corp. are starting

to

drill for gas and oil in shale rock in Sichuan, the

nation s most seismically active province, a process geologists say raises the risk of triggering quakes.



To:

From:

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Wed 5/7/2014 2:03:47 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 5.7.14


Top news stories:

SEEC Vice Chair

Rep. Jared

Polis

(D., Colo.), one

of

the richest members

of

Congress, is bankrolling

efforts

to

get an initiative on this year's ballot in Colorado

that

would l imit-and potentially ban

fracking in the state. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, who is running for re-election, is in a

political bind

as

he faces pressure from his GOP challenger Rep. Cory Gardner

to

oppose any ballot

initiative and also from Mr. Polis-along with grassroots environmentalists-to support an

initiative.

The

White

House upped the ante

today

on its

bet

that

Americans

will

care

more about

climate change if

they understand its costs for their

own

communities, throwing resources and presidential

star power

behind

the release of a new scientific

report

on the regional effects of warming.

Senators advanced a bill Tuesday

that would

promote energy

efficient

practices in buildings and

manufacturing,

though

its passage hinges on key amendment votes. The Senate agreed 79-20

to

limit

debate on proceeding

to the

measure ( S 2262

.

Sixty votes were required, and the chamber has up

to

30 hours for debate before voting on the motion

to

proceed unless there is a time agreement.

Continued fighting in the Senate over amendments to a bipartisan energy efficiency bill prompted

Majority Leader Harry Reid

to

compare his Republican colleagues

to

greased pigs on Tuesday,

after

a

lengthy explanation of what exactly those are.

A U.S. appeals

court

on Tuesday

threw out

an oil

industry

challenge

to the

Obama administration's 2013

biofuel mandate, ruling

that

the government has wide latitude

to

decide whether

to

modify

renewable fuel use targets, and by how much.

White House counselor John Podesta said congressional

attempts

to

trump EPA's climate rules will fail.



They'll find

various ways,

particularly

in

the

House,

to

try

to stop us from

using

the authority we

have

under

the

Clean Air Act, Podesta said at Monday's White House press briefing

Energy news

Stanford University announced Tuesday

that it

would divest its $18.7 billion

endowment of

stock in coal

mining

companies,

becoming the first

major

university

to lend support

to

a nationwide campaign to

purge endowments and pension funds

of

fossil fuel investments.

President Obama's pick to lead

the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Norman Bay, appears to

have garnered some heavy-hitting support on a Senate panel criti cal to his confirmation this month.

Canadian Natural Resources

Minister

Greg Rickford

met with

U.S.

Energy Secretary Ernest

Moniz

Monday

to

urge approval

of the

Keystone

XL pipeline

and recognize

the countries'

energy ties.

In

addition to

funding CCS

research, Rockefeller's legislation would expand tax credits

for

companies

that

use

CCS, fund

loan guarantees

for

constructing

CCS

facilities and

fund

retrofits

of

existing

CCS

facilities.

First Solar Inc.

FSLR), the

largest

U.S.

solar manufacturer, reported net income that was more than

double

estimates, largely the result

of

revenue from a 139-megawatt power plant in California.

Recently,

that

law has been

put to the test.

A $100

million

wind energy development in Maine proposed

by

the

Boston-based

company

First Wind faces likely rejection by a state agency due

to

its effect on

the

surrounding

area's scenic character.

Iowa's push

for

renewable energy has sparked a $10 billion investment in wind energy capacity, a new

report shows. But

what

about solar? Jonathan Weisgall, Berkshire Hathaway Energy's vice president

of

legislative and regulatory affairs, said Iowa and

other

Midwestern states are unlikely to see large utilities

invest in solar energy

without

setting standards

that

require it.

Climate news

Republican leaders in

the

Senate portrayed President Barack Obama's push to highlight

the

devastating

impacts

of

climate change this

week

as a distraction from issues that are more important to them, and,

they argued, to Americans.



The

newly

released National Climate Assessment spans 30 chapters with thousands of references on

how climate

change is impacting

the

U.S. The report

took

more than 300 scientists and 4 years

to

prepare, including addressing more than 4,000

comments

from

the

public. The message

of the

report is

that

climate change is already happening across the country.

Three cabinet-level officials are assuring Republican senators

that

the Obama

administration

has no

plans to regulate

methane

emissions from the agricultural sector or livestock.

Supporters and opponents saw the Obama

administration's

full embrace of the National Climate

Assessment yesterday

as

laying

the

groundwork

for wide-ranging new

efforts

to curb

emissions blamed

for global warming.

The long political battle over

the

Keystone

XL

pipeline could reach a pivotal

moment this

week if enough

Democratic senators join Republicans to support a bill

that

would approve

the

project, all but

guaranteeing

a

veto

showdown with the White

House.

Grosvenor's researchers concluded that U.S. cities rank well when it comes to overall resilience- but

it

isn't

because they aren't vulnerable to shocks like climate change, natural disasters, failing

infrastructure and

community

strife

that

results

from

inequality.

The Chinese leadership has called

for the

accelerated development

of these

coal-to- gas plants, and

more are under

construction

in areas distant

from

major urban centers. But embracing

this technology

to

fight air pollution involves a serious environmental t rade off. The plants

that produce this

gas spew

far more

carbon emissions

than

those

that

burn

coal

to

generate

electricity.

Have you seen a 5-inch hailstone? asks John Allen. Seeing a stone like that is pretty amazing. Seeing it

fall? Pretty amazing. Being in Oklahoma,

when there's

a Porsche dealersh ip outside the gas station

you're hiding (in), and hearing the hailstones hit Porsches? Kinda fun.


A

unit run

by President Barack Obama's

political staff

inside

the Environmental Protection

Agency

operates illegally

as

a

rogue

law enforcement agency

that

has blocked independent investigations by

the EPA s

inspector general

for

years, a

top

investigator told Congress.

The Pebble Mine, potentially the largest mine

of

its kind in

the

world,

has been dealt a series

of

financial, political and regulatory setbacks, most recently via an

EPA

move

in February that could halt

the

project's permitting process.



City leaders in

celebrity-filled

Beverly Hills voted on Tuesday

to

ban fracking, becoming the first

municipality in California

to

prohibit the controversial technique

for

extracting natural gas and oil from

underground rock deposits.

The state Senate on

Monday

endorsed a bipartisan compromise on how

to

handle the possibility of

waste coming

to

Connecticut from hydraulic fracturing operations in other states.

Duke Energy's recorded a loss

for the first

quarter

Wednesday as the

company

took

a nearly 1.4 billion

charge

for

the

Midwestern

power

plant fleet it will

soon sell.

Researchers from the

University

of Georgia, Florida State University, and University of North Carolina

spent March 30 through April 22 in the Gulf of Mexico, looking at whether the 2010 Deepwater Horizon

oil spill was still impacting the ecology around the well. Andreas Teske, marine sciences professor at the

University

of

North

Carolina,

told

ThinkProgress

that the

research

team found

small invertebrates,

including crabs and shrimp, were beginning

to

recolonize the region around the well.

Greenpeace US announced new leadership on Tuesday, tapping filmmaker

author

and environmental

activist Annie Leonard

to

serve

as

its next executive director.



To

Cc:

From

Sent

Subject

Hengst Benjamin[Hengst. [email protected]]; Mackay Cheryl[Mackay. [email protected]]

Repko Mary Frances[[email protected]]

Teitz Alexandra

Wed 7/23/2014 8:07:39 PM

Fw Draft changes to HR 875

From Lieberman Ben

Sent

Wednesday July 23 2014 09:31 AM

To

Teitz Alexandra

Subject Draft changes to HR 875

Here is our draft changes to HR

8

5

as

o

now. The first eliminates the section that would have

revoked the EIS waiver. The second requires NAS to also looks at other renewable fuel

pathways. And the third sets the overall renewable fuel volumes for 2014 and 2015 at the level

proposed by EPA for 2014

Ben Lieberman

Majority Counsel

Committee on Energy and Commerce

U.S. House

o

Representatives

202) 225-8267



Delete Sec. 2(b)

Add Sec. (2)( c )(2)(C) increase the timely availability

of

new pathways to produce renewable

fuels, including non-ethanol renewable fuels that can obviate the need for using mid-level

ethanol blends.

Add new Sec. 3 INTERIM RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD

(a) For calendar years 2014 and 2015, and any subsequent years prior to submission

of

the

report, Section

2

l(o)(2)(B)(i)

of

the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(2)(B)(i)) is

amended by striking the applicable renewable fuel volumes in subclause (1) and

inserting in lieu

thereof 5

.21.

(b) The Environmental Protection Agency shall use the renewable fuel volume established

by this Act in determining the applicable volume percentage standards for calendar years

2014 and 2015 and subsequent years

if

necessary.



To:

From

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Tue 4/15/2014 1 53:56 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 4.15.14


Coalition

Top news stories:

Environmental Protection Agency EPA) chief Gina McCarthy is traveling

to

Taiwan and Vietnam this

week

for

events related

to

environmental education and international cooperation on environmental

issues.

China said on Tuesday it had lodged a

protest

with the United States over a visit by Washington s

environmental protection chief to

self-ruled Taiwan

this

week.

Natural gas drilling

at

some sites in

southwestern

Pennsylvania released 100

to

1,000

times

the amount

of methane as

the Environmental Protection Agency EPA) has estimated

for

such operations, according

to

a new study.

The League of Conservation Voters and the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund announced

Monday that they are joining forces on a

multimillion-dollar

electoral effort. The goal of the initiative,

which they re calling LeadingGreen, is

to

drive 5 million in direct campaign contributions

to

pro

environment

candidates in 2014.

A survey released Tuesday --

the

first comprehensive one

of

its kind - says

that

only 10 killers of 908

environmental

activists slain around

the

world over the past decade have been convicted. The report

by

the

London-based Global Witness, a

group that

seeks

to

shed light on

the

links between

environmental

exploitation and human rights abuses, says murders of those

protecting

land rights and

the

environment

have soared dramatically. It noted

that

its toll

of

victims in 35 countries

is

probably

far

higher since field

investigations in a number of African and Asian nations are difficult or impossible.



Signs have been detected

that

a periodic

warming

of the tropical Pacific known

as El

Nino is imminent,

presaging changes

to

global weather patterns in the

months

ahead, the

World

Meteorological

Organization said.

Energy news

Wind

farms are more

popular

in Britain than hydraulic fracturing, a new

study

shows. According

to the

You Gov poll, 62

percent of

respondents said

they would rather

live

next

to

a

wind farm than

a fracking

site. Nineteen percent said they would

prefer

an oil or gas well near their home, according

to the

poll.

There is an old

joke

in the energy business

that

advanced biofuels are

the

fuel of the future, and always

will be. A Spanish company, Abengoa Bioenergy, has bet $500 million on robbing

that joke of

its punch

line. In the middle

of

a cornfield here

it

is building a 38-acre Erector set of electrical cable and pipe

that

will

soon begin producing cellulosic ethanol, which it calls a low-polluting alternative

to

petroleum

products.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released

Monday

said when the Environmental

Protection Agency's EPA)

is

late in issuing its annual Renewable Fuel Standards

RFS) it

increases costs

for

refiners.

Some prototypes look like parachutes. Others, like one developed by

the

Google-owned startup Makani

Power, look more like gliders. Another, called a

buoyant

airborne

turbine,

or

the

BAT, resembles a

blimp,

but

it's hollow,

with

a spinning

turbine

suspended in its

center.While renewable

energy

developers dream of harnessing the stronger,

more

consistent breezes that blow thousands of feet

above our heads, it's hard

to

say when airborne wind energy technology will become commercially

viable.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) released a new

minute-long

ad

that

touts

her work

defending Louisiana's oil

industry

using

her

own words. The ad shows news clips playing in Louisiana homes

of

Landrieu talking

about her

record on oil and gas and hammering the Obama administration, and calls

her

chairmanship

of

the Energy

Committee the most

powerful position in the Senate for Louisiana.

Energy giant ConocoPhillips Co. has received approval from the

Department of

Energy

to

resume

exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Kenai, Alaska, facility, and plans

to

start exporting this

spring.

It turns

out

this

would

also be much easier

for

utilities

to

manage.

If

grids

were

in chunks of 500-700

connections,

they

would be big enough

to

stabilize local

fluctuations

in power generation,

but

small

enough

to

avoid large-scale failures, according

to

research by

the

American

Institute of

Physics.



Governments are funding research

to

find cost effective and efficient ways

to

recycle rare earth metals

from used products. For instance, the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Innovation Hub is looking for

ways

to

secure the supply of five rare earth metals identified by the government

as

critical, reported

Ensia.

Prime

Minister

Shinzo Abe is pushing Japan s coal industry

to

expand sales at home and abroad,

undermining hopes

among environmentalists

that

he'd

use the Fukushima nuclear accident to switch

the nation to renewables.

The story of German power giant RWE AG (RWE) exemplifies the crisis facing the nation's utility industry -

and those of many count ries across Europe -- as nuclear power plants get shuttered in the wake of the

Fukushima disaster, renewables steal away revenue, and consumers and companies complain

about

rising power costs

that

are three times higher

than

in the U.S.

Climate news

March

2014 was the

fourth-warmest

March on record globally, according to

recently

released NASA

data, making

it

the 349th month -

more than

29 years - in which global temperatures were above the

historic average.

The United States needs

to

enact a major climate change law, such

as

a tax on carbon pollution, by the

end

of

this

decade

to

stave

off

the

most

catastrophic impacts

of

global

warming,

according

to

the

authors of a

report

released this week by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change.

An evangelical Christian, married

to

a pastor, living in conservative West Texas, and widely regarded as a

top-notch climate

scientist, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a rare breed

on paper

- in person, she s even rarer.

Deftly moving between topics like science, religion, and gender with equal parts insight and levity,

Hayhoe is an unassuming force

of

nature.

Rep. Ted Yoho

R-FL)

readily

admits

he s

not

smart enough

to

determine

the

roots

of

climate

change.

He is, however, able

to

rule

out

one possible cause: humans.

Corn is the most common grain in the U.S., with its production historically concentrated in a Midwestern

region stretching

from

the Ohio River valley to Nebraska and trailing off in northern

Minnesota.

It had

been ungrowable in the

fertile

farmland

of

Canada s breadbasket.

That is

changing

as

a

warming

climate, along with

the

development of faster-maturing seed varieties, turns the table on food

cultivation.

The Corn Belt is being pushed north

of

what was imaginable a generation ago.



Last night's episode of Fox's Cosmos series didn't seem political or

controversial, at

least on

the

surface.

Rather, it introduced us

to

the world on

the

molecular

and

atomic scale,

at

one point venturing inside of

a dewdrop (packed with ext remely cool tiny organisms like tardigrades) and, later, inside of a plant cell.

It

was

kind of reminiscent of what you learned in

your

ninth

grade bio class - albeit much less sleep

inducing.

Canada's

energy industry has

officially

surpassed transportation as

the

largest producer

of

climate

change

causing greenhouse

gases,

in

no

small

part because of

large increases in tar

sands

extraction,

according

to a

government report

quietly released Friday.


A federal

appeals

court on M onday struck

down

a

top

component of

the

Dodd-Frank Act

requiring

companies

to

disclose

whether

their

products

contain minerals from the war-torn Democratic Republic

of Congo DRC).

Throughout

the last two centuries, cities

across

the globe -

as

you

might

view

them from space

- have

expanded

in a relatively uniform way: first incrementally, then

at

a breakneck

speed.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) weighed in Monday against a Nevada rancher who

is

battling the federal government.

Well, it's

not

over,

Reid

told

KRNV,

a Reno, Nev.-based television

station. We can't have an American people that

violate

the law

and

then

just walk away from it. So it's

not

over.

The Central Valley was once

one

of North

America's

most productive wildlife habitats, a 450-mile-long

expanse marbled with meandering streams

and

lush wetlands that provided an ideal stop for migratory

shorebirds on their annual journeys from South America

and

Mexico

to

the Arctic

and

back.

To the

untrained

eye, Manatee Springs

is

an idyllic refuge in Central Florida: The cool water

is

so clear in

parts

that the

sand

glistens like polished

aluminum.

A

vast series

of underwater

caves

beckons

thousands of divers. Deer wander by

as

do

manatees,

turtles, owls. Eagles

soar overhead.

Palm oil

production in

Southeast Asia,

the

largest

growing

region, is

at

increasing risk from

the

probable

onset

of an

El

Nino later this

year

after

estates

were already hurt by dryness

in the

first quarter. Prices

advanced.



The group

that

conducts Japan s whaling says it expects

to

resume scientific whaling n the ntarctic

after this year s hunt was cancelled following an order by an international court.



To:

From:

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Fri 4/11/2014 2:08:21 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 4.11.14


Coalition

Top news stories:

The United States has made major advances toward creating new sources

of

renewable, clean and

domestic energy in the last decade. Federal, state and local governments are committed

to

working with

private businesses, unlocking America s entrepreneurial spirit so

that

we might solve the challenge of

creating whole new energy industries

where

none existed before.

Have you ever envisioned an alternate reality in which the

majority

of House Republicans not only

accepted the

reality

of

man-made climate

change

but

also saw it as an urgent

national

priority?

Now

you can, thanks

to this

mashup

from SEEC

Member

Rep Jared

Huffman (D-Calif.).

SEEC

Member

Rep

Peter Welch (D-Vt.) urged his colleagues

to

remove a corn-based

ethanol mandate

from

the

Renewable Fuel Standard

RFS),

saying the mandate hurts a diverse range

of

people and

businesses including farmers, small engine users and restaurants.

The House Appropriations Committee plans

to

mark up the Commerce-Justice-Science measure after

the two-week

recess, pressing its aggressive schedule

on

spending bills,

while

Senate

Appropriations

will

move

to

take up its first bill, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, later in May.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on Thursday said the Obama administration's all

of

the above energy

strategy is working, but

that

more funding is needed. Moniz's testimony before

the

House Science,

Space and Technology

Committee

drew fire from

the

panel s Republicans, who indicated they are

dubious

of the

administration's claims

that it

remains committed

to

fossil fuel development.



The

wind

industry

didn t

just see

the

number

of new

turbines

it

brought on ine fall

off

a cliff last year,

it

also shed more than a third of its

workforce as project

developers, manufacturers, utilities and other

companies struggled

to

rebound

following

the brief expiration of a prized tax incentive, the American

Wind Energy Association said today in its annual report.

Climate change is causing an increase in many types of extreme weather. Heat waves are

hotter,

heavy

rain events are heavier, and winter

storms

have increased in

both

frequency and

intensity.

To date,

these kinds

of

severe weather are among

the

leading causes

of

large-scale power outages in

the

United

States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned leaders in Europe on Thursday

that

Russia could cut supplies

of

natural gas

to

Ukraine if its unpaid bill isn t addressed, potentially disrupting deliveries

to the

rest of

the

Continent.

Energy news

Once a booming industry, U S

wind power

saw its growth plummet 92 last year as it wrestled with tax

uncertainties and cheap natural gas. The

industry

is still

growing

but not nearly

as

fast, says a report

Thursday by

the

American Wind Energy Association. It added a record 13,131 megawatts

of

power in

2012 but

that

fell

to

only 1,087

MW

last year - the lowest level since 2004.

The

strategy

emphasizes siting and design features in

development

to

mitigate

the

impacts

to

federal

lands, while seeking

to

protect or restore resources

that

must be harmed. It comes as energy

development is increasing rapidly on federal property, and the Obama administration is under constant

pressure to allow more.

The

report from

the Energy Department s Office of

Inspector

General found at least

one document

created by

the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on power grid weaknesses, and information

related

to

an attack on a California utility substation last year, should have remained classified.

Spain

overtook

Norway

last

month

to

become

the

region's biggest

exporter

of

liquefied natural

gas. The

southern European nation has never produced any

of the

fuel.

Solar power could soon be used directly in the manufacturing of new solar cells, making production of a

key chemical require zero energy. The study, published in the journal Royal Society of Chemistry

Advances, found

that

the sun could be used to create copper indium diselenide ink, a

promising

solar

material. Its efficiency at converting solar energy is high, around 20 percent, and should be capable of

improving

even more.



Grain producers, manufacturers and coal shippers told federal regulators Thursday

that

rail service has

deteriorated drastically in the nation s

midsection

in recent months, leaving crops in piles on the ground

and fuel stocks low at electric power plants as resources go undelivered.

Houston and the rest of the U.S. Gulf Coast have more crude oil than the region can handle. Stockpiles in

the region centered on Houston and

stretching

to

New Mexico in the west and Alabama in the east rose

to

202 million barrels in the week ended April 4, the most on record, Energy Information Administration

data released yesterday show.

On Wednesday, Swiss pilots

Bertrand

Piccard and Andre Borschberg unveiled a plane

that

is set

to

become

the first

to

fly around the world using only solar and

battery

power. The

team

hopes

to

make

the

trip

with its Solar Impulse 2 plane for five consecutive days in March 2015, using only electricity

generated

from the sun hitting the photovoltaic panel across its wing.

Tesla Motors Inc. TSLA), the electric-car maker, plans

to

start selling its luxury sedans in China this

month

and said the company s co-founder, billionaire Elon Musk, will be

there

to kick off the effort.

Japan s

cabinet approved

the first

national

energy strategy since the Fukushima nuclear accident more

than

three

years ago, designating nuclear as an

important

source of

electricity

for the resource-poor

nation.

The government and the people also turned

to

another option, energy efficiency and conservation. A

campaign called

1

setsuden (power saving) was established

to

generate support. It worked, and by

allowing

dressed-down

outfits

and rotating

air-conditioning

schedules, the country averted blackouts.

Climate news

With winds gusting

up to

160-180 mph, Cyclone lta is barreling toward

the northern

coast

of

Queensland, Australia,

where

its

violent

winds and high

storm

surge could cause considerable damage.

lta

unexpectedly intensified

rapidly

on

Thursday and its

winds would

make

it

a Category 4

hurricane

in

the Atlantic Ocean.

It is already taking shape as the 21st century urban nightmare: a big storm hits a

city

like Shanghai,

Mumbai,

Miami or

New York, knocking out

power

supply and

waste

treatment plants, washing out

entire

neighbourhoods and

marooning the

survivors in a

toxic

and

foul-smelling

swamp.



The U.S.

Environmental Protection

Agency's plan

to

focus on cracking

down

on

just the

largest

polluters

will deliver lasting

returns to the

American public, its top enforcement official said on Thursday.

The student-led

effort

to pull Harvard's $32. 7 bill ion university endowment

out of

the fossil fuel

campaign just gained

the

support

of

the school's faculty. In

an

open letter to the Ivy League school's

president and trustees, signed by 93 staff members, they called

the

university

out for

supporting

greenhouse gas-reducing programs on campus while maintaining investments

that

promote

their

increase locally and

worldwide.

Come grilling season, expect

your

sirloin steak

to come with

a hearty side

of

sticker shock. Beef prices

have reached

all-time

highs in

the

U.S. and aren't expected to come down any

t ime

soon.

One

of

Congress' most vocal climate advocates today appealed

to

like-minded

corporations

to balance

the

influence and capital

that anti-regulatory

companies have spent fanning

the

flames

of

climate

skepticism.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing, called to examine physical

threats

to the electric grid

and recently leaked classified information on the

vulnerability

of several substations, strayed to talk of

the Environmental Protection

Agency's carbon emissions

limits

on coal-fired power plants.

White

House press secretary Jay Carney attempted to sideline any noise

that

President Obama would

establish a hard deadline

for

his decision on

the

Keystone

XL

pipeline Thursday.


The report, published Wednesday by the Center

for

American Progress and Oxfam America, looked at

three

coastal

restoration

projects on

different

coasts in

the U.S.

and found

that, for

every $1 invested in

coastal

restoration

projects, $15 in

net economic

benefits was created.

A strong earthquake struck

off

the western coast

of

Papua New Guinea on Friday, the USGS reported.

The

7.3-magnitude

temblor hit about

32 miles

west

of

Panguna.

Dressed in a pale

blue snow jacket

and

purple

beanie, Sally Jewell listened

intently as the

scientists

described

the

years

of

research dedicated

to the

park's glaciers. The secretary

of the

Interior eyed a

graph

charting

changes in

the

Nisqually's elevation and noted

the drop-off between

2002 and 2011. Yes

the

scientists

confirmed,

that's one sign

of how climate

change is

impacting the

glaciers.



Whether

or not

fracking causes groundwater

pollution,

people

fear the

risk enough

that

property values

have dropped

for

homes

with

drinking-water wells near shale-gas pads, according to new research.

West Virginia s eight black lung community clinics are facing big funding cuts

that

may affect

the

medical

care and benefits received by some 8,500 coal miners suffering from the deadly disease.

A report just made public by the

U S

Fish and

Wildlife

Service documents a disturbing amount of bird

injuries

at

three large California desert solar power plants, and says

that

there are

no

easy fixes to the

issue.

Bats in Wisconsin and Michigan have been infected

with

a disease

that

has killed millions

of the

mosquito-eating

mammals elsewhere in

the

U S and could have a detrimental impact on

farming

and

forestry, wildlife officials said on Thursday.

Residents in the western Chinese

city

of

Lanzhou rushed to buy bottled water on Friday after

authorities

said the city s drinking water contained levels of benzene, a cancer-inducing chemical, standing at 20

times

above national safety levels.

Here s some much-needed good news

for

our shark friends: The Hong Kong

chapter of the

World Wide

Fund

for Nature

(WWF) announced

this

week

that the

volume

of

shark fins

exported

to Hong Kong fell

by about 35

percent between

2012 and 2013.

While

the

government and mines would

foot

part

of the

bill,

the

cost would mostly fall on consumers,

said Marius Keet, acting chief director of

the

department s office in Gauteng province, which includes

Johannesburg, the country s biggest city.

As political unrest continues to threaten the peace in Ukraine, thousands of animals

at

one of the

country s zoos are at the

brink

of starvation, an

international

conservation

group

announced this week.



To:

From:

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Thur

4/10/2014 2:01 :32 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 4.10.14


Coalition

Top news stories:

Two California Democrats introduced a bill

that

would provide a bond program

that

would sell bonds

to

pay for clean energy tax incentives.

SEEC

Member Rep

Zoe Lofgren

and

SEEC Vice

Chair

Rep

Doris

Matsui are calling the proposed bonds victory bonds, after war debt that the Treasury Department

sold

to

fund World Wars I and

II

In

1999 I participated in

my first

beach cleanup with I Love A Clean

San

Diego and

the San

Diego

Surfrider Foundation. The

San

Diego region in

many

ways is defined by our relationship with the ocean.

The Obama administration released a comprehensive strategy document Wednesday aimed

at

reducing

wildfires, which it says are being exacerbated by climate change. The strategy recommends preventive

measures like controlled burns, municipal and state zoning

to

reduce the effects of sprawl and

incorporating watersheds into local management plans.

Senior Environmental Protection Agency officials consulted with at least 210 separate groups

representing a broad range

of

interests in

the

Washington area and held

more than

100 meetings and

events

with additional organizations across regional offices as the agency

prepared

its carbon pollution

regulation

for

existing power plants.

A House

subcommittee

passed a bill proposed by Rep. Cory Gardner R-Colo.) on Wednesday aimed

at



expediting liquefied natural gas expor ts

to U.S.

allies. Gardner proposed the bill in

light of the

crisis in

Ukraine, which has highlighted the dependence

of

Eastern Europe on Russia

for

natural gas supplies.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted Wednesday

to

restrict the

Environmental Protection Agency's

EPA)

authority

to

block permits

to

dump dredge or fill material into

waterways. The measure would prohibit EPA from revoking a dredge or fill permit after the Army Corps

of Engineers grants the permit.

EPA

would still be able

to

veto the permit while the Army Corps is

considering it.

The

concentration of

carbon dioxide,

the

greenhouse gas

that

drives climate change,

hit

402 parts

per

million this

week

- the highest level recorded in

at

least 800,000 years.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration proposed 9. 78 million in civil penalties

against pipel ine operators for alleged violations of federal law in 2013, the agency announced this week.

Energy news

Sixty-five percent of

people

in the

United

States support the renewable

fuel

standard RFS)

that

mandates

production

and blending

of

a certain amount

of

fuel from renewable sources, according

to

a

survey commissioned by

the

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

The Federal Railroad Administration FRA) will propose a new rule requiring all trains carrying oil

to

be

crewed

by

at

least

two

people,

the

agency announced Wednesday. The

FRA

also said

it

planned

to

propose a rule on train securement and that the agency wanted a rulemaking on the movement of

hazardous materials in general.

One of the answers

to

that is likely

to

be energy storage, which means using batteries or other

technology

such

as

flywheels

to

capture

renewable energy and

allow it

to

flow

into

the

power grid

as

needed.

Researchers

at the

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) developed technology

to

extract carbon dioxide

from

seawater

while simultaneously producing

hydrogen, and

then

converted

the

gasses

into

hydrocarbon liquid fuel.

The developer of a proposed 25 megawatt wind farm off the coast of New Jersey yesterday appealed a

state agency's decision

to

reject the project. Cape May, N.J.-based Fishermen's Energy asked

the

state's

Board of Public

Utilities

to

revisit what

would

be the

first

wind project

built

in state waters, about 3

miles

from Atlantic

City.



Federal regu lators have issued four permits

for

oil and gas wastewater disposal wells in Pennsylvania in

the

past six

months,

and

those

are unlikely to be the last. Industry groups and researchers are renewing

their

efforts to find sites in the state where the salt- and metals-laden waste fluids produced from ever

more shale gas wells can be entombed deep underground.

Legislation

intended

to quickly add muscle into Massachusetts' greenhouse gas emissions reduction

program is drawing

fire

from both power producers and clean energy advocates because

it

would lock

the

state

into

long-term hydropower contracts

with

Canadian

utilities

and hinder

the

state's homegrown

clean energy sector.

Mike Bloomberg,

the United

Nations special

envoy

on cities and climate, said U.S. tariffs on solar cells

are helping a

handful of manufacturers

more than

the

American public. The protectionist policies were

sought

mainly

by a small number

of

U.S. solar companies

that

are struggling to compete against Chinese

rivals, Bloomberg said.

India is slowly building upon its installed solar power capacity, thanks to

the

comprehensive and

ambitious National Solar Mission, state solar policies, and relatively increased enforcement of the

Renewable Purchase Obligation.

Climate news

Can

science tell us

how

much ethical responsibility different countries bear

for combating

climate

change? It's going

to

try.

According

to

a

draft

of

a

forthcoming Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate

Change IPCC) report, ethics takes a front-and-center role in a forum traditionally reserved for exploring

scienti fic consensus.

A

group

of Senate Democrats is urging President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline

by

the end

of next month, saying the process has already taken much longer than anyone can reasonably

justify.

The

letter,

spearheaded by Sen.

Mary

Landrieu (D-La.), who faces a tough reelection bid

this

year,

requests

that

Obama set a hard deadline

for

Secretary

of

State John Kerry to make his

national interest

determination.

President Obama's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency's clean air office

will

be

getting at

least one no

vote

from a lawmaker who on

Monday

said he

can't support

someone who

accepts that climate change can aggravate

extreme

weather events.

Scheduled for release on Sunday in Berlin, Germany, the

new Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate



Change IPCC) report

will point

to

many

possible ways-from burying greenhouse

gases to

going nuclear

to encouraging biofuel production-to save humanity from

the

ravages of climate change.

The drought

that

is withering vegetable and fruit crops in California may push up food prices more

than

the dry spell that ravaged the Corn Belt in 2012, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

For the first

time,

San Diego County officials are including effects of climate

change in

their update of

the local Hazard Mitigation Plan. The region's 18 city governments, county

and

several fire

protection

and

water districts are joining to update the plan - with the public's

input

via this online survey.

The director and

some

cast members of "Sharknado 2: The Second One"

appeared

on stage in a

Pasadena hotel

on

Tuesday to preview the upcoming airborne shark sequel and

touched

on

a very

serious topic: climate change.

With the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel

on

Climate Change

preparing

to release its long

awaited

report assessing options for fighting global warming, a fossil fuel industry-funded

research

group

made the

case

on April 9 that the phenomenon is actually beneficial to the planet.

In February 2013, the

journal

Frontiers

in

Psychology published a

peer-reviewed

paper which

found that

people who reject

climate science are more likely

to

believe

in

conspiracy

theories.

Predictably

enough,

those people didn't like it.

Vast

stretches of

the

Somerset

Levels, an

expanse of

coastal plains

and wetlands

in

southwest

England,

have

spent

much

of

the winter underwater. At

the

peak of the crisis,

some

11,500 hectares (28,420

acres) was submerged as violent storms brought "biblical"

deluges

week after week, for months on end.

The Norwegian government, seeking

to

sustain

oil

revenues that

have

fueled the

country's

prosperity,

has floated plans

to

let drillers push closer than ever

to

the ice cap -- only

to

run into the strongest

opposition yet. The uproar

frames

a larger

and

increasingly contentious fight

over

whether the Arctic

Ocean's

mostly untouched oil

and

gas

reserves

can

be

safely or economically exploited.

The U.K. government said it's forming a "lab" to study ways to boost funding for climate-protection

projects, part of a United Nations-led effort to channel 100 billion a year into the industry by 2020.

Summer is just around the corner and, after a winter like this

one,

it's high time to start making those

vacation plans. Of course, our buoyant spirits were somewhat dampened by the

latest

U.N. climate

report.

Spoiler alert, it wasn't real good, well, unless you're into horrific

droughts,

monster

storms,

heat

waves, mass extinctions, failing crops, dogs

and cats

living together,

mass

hysteria,

in

which case,

jackpot




In

a

letter

to

Obama on Wednesday, all

eight

Republicans

on

the

Senate

Environment

and Public

Works

Committee said the agency's proposed rule would

hurt

economic recovery and represents an overreach

of authority.

China plans to ban imports of coal with high-ash and high-sulfur

content

as the nation seeks

to

l imit the

dirtiest fuels

to

fight pollution. The

world s

largest coal consumer

will

encourage imports of higher

quality supplies, according

to

Ren Lixin, the head of the coal division at the National Energy

Administration.

A bill

that

would

place a

moratorium

on

the

use

of

hydraulic

fracturing,

or

fracking, in oil

drilling

in

California was approved

by

a state Senate panel on Tuesday.

The South Portland Planning Board on Tuesday endorsed a 180-day extension of the moratorium on

tar

sands developments, which is set

to

expire May 5.

Those cutbacks - continuing a trend, the Center for Public Integrity found,

that

began in 2006 and

accelerated last year - mean

the

EPA will

conduct

thousands fewer inspections and evaluations each

year, and initiate and conclude thousands

fewer

judicial and administrative enforcement cases.

About the only thing former President Ronald Reagan

doesn t

have named after

him is

a

mountain, not

one recognized

by

the federal government anyway.

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA)

is hosting the Advancing Sustainable Ports

summit

to

mark the kickoff of a

new EPA

initiative to recognize ports

that

take action

to

improve

environmental

performance. EPA

will

also award $4.2

million

in

grant funding for

clean diesel projects at

six U.S. ports.

We

already know

that poverty

and climate change are inextricably linked, and

that

poor communities

often

bare

the

brunt

of

the other negative impacts

of

fossil fuel extraction. We,

as

environmentalists,

can t afford

to

ignore the issue of poverty, and we shouldn t assume that the policies we advocate for

are

automatically

benign in terms

of their

human-scale impact.

Walmart

has recognized that 91 percent of its shoppers would be interested in purchasing organic



groceries

if

they

were more

affordable, and on Thursday

the

company

announced that

it s going

to

finally give customers

what they want

-- a line of organic foods that costs

the same

as non-organic.

We recently found

out

that K-Cups,

those

single-serve thingers you use in your office s Keurig

coffeemaker

create

so much trash

that

debris from the ones sold just in the last year would circle the

planet almost 11 times.

The

oil

industry has

set

its sights

on

this swath

of the state

with a

proposed

drill site

just

1,000

feet

from

the u

rans house. That would

mean

noise,

dust

and dozens

of

trucks passing each day. But

the u

rans

are most concerned about their

drinking water which

they

fear could

be

poisoned by toxic

waste

from

the well.

Beijing artist Liang Kegang

returned

from a business trip in

southern

France with wel l-rested lungs and a

small item

of

protest against his

home

city s choking pollution: a glass jar of clean, Provence air.

A

popular

tourist town

in

western Puerto Rico has become the island s first municipality to

ban

plastic

bags. Rincon Mayor Carlos Lopez tells

reporters that

plastic bags have

been

affecting marine life

at

a

nearby

reserve.

He

urged

other

municipalities

to

follow his lead.



To: Bond, Brian[[email protected]]; Rupp, Mark[[email protected]]; Vaught,

Laura[[email protected]]; Ganesan, Arvin[[email protected]]; Gilinsky,

Ellen[[email protected]]; Stoner, Nancy[[email protected]]

Cc: Purchia, Liz[[email protected]]; Reynolds, Thomas[[email protected]]

From: Bittleman, Sarah (Wyden)

Sent: Wed 3/26/2014 2:17:45 PM

Subject: FW EPA s McCarthy to catch heat on waters rule

From: POLITICO Pro [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 9:07 PM

To: Bittleman, Sarah (Wyden)

Subject: EPA s McCarthy to catch heat on waters rule

EPA s McCarthy to catch heat on waters rule

By Jenny Hopkinson

3/25/14 9:03 PM EDT

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy should brace for tough questions about her agency's new

Waters

o

the United States rule when she appears before the Senate Environment and Public

Works Committee on Wednesday morning.

The 371-page released jointly by the EPA and U.S. Army Corps o Engineers on

Tuesday, seeks to clarify which waterways are subject to Clean Water Act discharge permitting

requirements but promises to not affect long-standing exemptions in the CW A for farming,

silviculture, ranching and other activities.

Regardless, some lawmakers, who McCarthy will face, are taking a dim view o the proposal.

They say it could significantly harm agriculture and other industries.

The rule is a massive expansion

o

power over the nation's water resources, said Sen. Jim

Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member o the EPW committee, which s scheduled to talk about the

EPA's budget Wednesday. The Clean Water Act is written to include only navigable waters,

but with this new rule, the agencies are giving themselves the authority to regulate everything

from the nation's largest rivers to small irrigation ditches found on family farms in Oklahoma.

Should the rule become final, we should not underestimate the devastating impacts it could

have on agriculture and industry, Inhofe added.

Likewise, despite the EPA' s assurances that it left farmers largely alone, some segments

o

the



agriculture industry are equally concerned.

This is a step too far, even by an agency and an administration notorious for overregulation,''

said Bob McCan, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, in a statement issued

today. This proposal by EPA and the Corps would require cattlemen like me to obtain costly

and burdensome permits to take care

of

everyday chores like moving cattle across a wet pasture

or cleaning out a dugout. This proposed regulation and the burdensome federal permitting

scheme will only hinder producers' ability to undertake necessary tasks and, in tum, result in an

exodus of ranchers from the field.

The American Farm Bureau, meanwhile, is taking a wait-and-see approach.

We will be looking it over,'' said Paul Schlegel, director of environment and energy policy for

the American Farm Bureau Federation. I know they are indicating to people that they have

worked out certain exemptions for agriculture,'' but it is too soon to say whether they will be

genuinely effective.

We are going to pay very close attention to what they've done.

Determining which bodies of water are subject to discharge permit requirements is an issue that

has long been mired in controversy due to 200 I and 2006 Supreme Court decisions that poked

holes in existing Reagan- and Bush-era policies. The just-proposed rule, McCarthy said in a

statement, is an effort to provide clarity to farmers, state regulators and other industries.

It calls for CW A permitting rules to apply to seasonal streams and wetlands near rivers and

streams. It also seeks to create a system that would allow officials to determine, on a case-by

case basis, whether upstream waters need to be regulated for their potential downstream effects.

Let me put a finer point on this: f you're a pond or wetland, it's not enough to show that the

connection simply exists,'' McCarthy said. You have to show that the pond or wetland, either

alone or in combination with similarly situated waters in the region, significantly affects the

alteration

of

physical, biological or chemical integrity

of

other jurisdictional waters that the

Clean Water Act was intended to protect. That's the direction established by the Supreme

Court.

What the proposal does not do, McCarthy asserted, is expand the Clean Water Act or take away

long-held exemptions for farmers.

The rule has been

of

concern to the agricultural industry because

of

the potential for it to expand

CW A jurisdiction to such water bodies as farm ditches and ponds, and extend permitting

requirements to, among other things, farmyard runoff and pesticide drift.

The EPA has long tried to working with farmers and the Agriculture

Department to craft a measure that would not be overly burdensome. To detail some of those

protections for farmers, the EPA and the Corps included, along with its proposed rule, an

= = ~ = = - - ~ = = - - - - = ~ = - t h a t ,

among other clarifications, states:



Any normal farming activity that does not result in a point source discharge

of

pollutants into

waters

of

the U.S. still does not require a permit. The proposed rule preserves existing Clean

Water Act exemptions and exclusions for agricultural activities.

The proposal also exempts certain conservation activities from permitting requirements and has

the backing

of

the USDA.

USDA encouraged EPA and the U.S. Army Corps

of

Engineers to support that good work

through the Waters

of

the U.S. proposed rule by preserving existing exemptions and exclusions

for agricultural activities and establishing new exemptions from permitting or notification for

more than 50 conservation practices, including fencing, habitat restoration and stream crossing,''

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. The proposed rule will not regulate

groundwater, tile drainage systems, nor will it increase regulation over ditches. It is important to

note that this is a proposed rule. USDA encourages stakeholders to provide feedback.

The EPA and the Corps will take comment during a 90-day period following the publication

of

the rule in the Federal Register.

The detailed protections in the proposal are sitting well with the National Farmers Union, which

in a statement today lauded the EPA for clarifying long-standing policy and preserving existing

provisions for farmers.

Today's ag-friendly announcement clearly indicates that NFU and other agricultural

stakeholders made their voices heard, and EPA took notice,'' said Chandler Goule, senior vice

president

of

programs for NFU.

I

encourage EPA to continue to rebuild trust with the

agricultural community by withdrawing its proposal to reduce the Renewable Fuel Standard

targets.

Environmental groups are also backing the proposal, though they plan to raise issues with

provisions for the case-by-case determination

of

whether the rule applies to certain water bodies.

I

hope

it's

strengthened;

s

a rulemaking I think there is enough evidence out there to expand

the rule to such water bodies, said Chris Espinosa, legislative representative on water issues for

Earthjustice.

What's more, the protections for agriculture come with little surprise, said Jon Devine, a senior

attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The rule never threatened agriculture,'' Devine said. Many

of

the exemptions that agricultural

discharges have are in the Clean Water Act themselves so EPA and the Corps cannot change

those, and the ones that are regulations, EPA and the Corps have reaffirmed what is already in

regulation.

The proposed rule also seeks to codify certain protections for agriculture that until now have just

been administration policy, Devine said, including exempting stockponds and crop irrigation



from CWA jurisdiction.

Those are things that none

of

us ever really thought were 'Waters

of

the U.S.,' but this is going

to make sure it's the law

of

the land,'' Devine added. I f anything, the agencies are bending over

backward to ensure that agriculture can continue to operate s it has for many years before the

Supreme Court got involved and without the rash

of

regulations that people thought there might

be.

However, those arguments are unlikely to help McCarthy when she defends her budget and her

agency to GOP members

of

the committee. The committee has long been opposed to what they

see as the EPA s overly burdensome regulations on industry and agriculture, and this rule seems

to be no different.

The 'Waters

of

the U.S.' rule may be one

of

the most significant private-property grabs in U.S.

history,'' said Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), ranking member

of

the committee. Today's rnle also

shows EPA picking and choosing the science they use. Peer review of the agency's connectivity

report is far from complete, and yet they want to take another step toward outright permitting

authority over virtually any wet area in the country, while at the same time providing a new tool

for environmental groups to sue private property owners.

To view online:

You ve received this POLITICO Pro content because your customized settings include:

Keyword Alert: Vilsack. To change your alert settings, please go to



To:

From

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Fri 3/21/2014 2:07:37

PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 3.21.14


Coalition

2

Top news stories:

The White House plans

to

press ahead with more executive actions

to

curb greenhouse gas emissions in

the coming weeks, including a government-wide strategy aimed at cutting methane emissions,

according

to

top Obama advisers.

The EU s 28 chiefs plan to ask the European Commission, the bloc s executive arm, to

outline

within

three

months ways to diversify energy sources away from Russia, which is the main

supplier

of gas and

oil to Europe. The crisis in Ukraine, a

transit country

for Russian

energy

consumed by the EU is set to

dominate a two-day

meeting of prime

ministers and presidents in the European Council.

Under pressure from shareholders, Exxon Mobil

the

energy

giant that

built a fortune in fossil fuels, has

agreed

to

show how

it

plans

to

cope

with

the risks posed

to

its holdings by

potential

limits on


The fiscal 2 15 proposal would provide 24.3 million

to

help states prepare for the climate rule -

offering

19.8

million

in Clean

Air

Act grants

for writing implementation

plans and

4.5

million

for

greenhouse gas permitting including the collection of emissions data.

Energy news:

API has counted 205 representatives who have either signed letters

or

co-sponsored legislation

to



reduce

the amount

of

renewable

fuels that refiners must blend

or

repeal the mandate

altogether,

said

Bob Greco,

downstream

group director at API.

You might expect the biggest lease owner in Canada's oil sands, or tar sands,

to

be one of the

international oil giants, like Exxon Mobil or Royal Dutch Shell. But

that

isn't the case. The biggest lease

holder in the

northern Alberta

oil sands is a subsidiary of Koch Industries, the privately-owned

cornerstone of the

fortune

of conservative Koch brothers Charles and David.

Sen.

Mary

Landrieu (D-La.), the chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee,

will

lead a

hearing next week

about

the

implications

of exporting

natural

gas for jobs and international relations.

Federal judges wrestled today with a series of complex challenges

to

a major Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission order aimed

at

increasing regional coordination in transmission grid planning.

If

a wind

turbine

pops up in

your

backyard - even if you live in a booming urban area - it won't affect

the value of your home

that

much, a

new report

has found.

There was an era when putting solar panels on your

roof

was a time- and money-sucking hassle on par

with remodeling

your

kitchen.

But

the cost of going solar has been dropping fast. The latest signal of the

industry's move into the mainstream came last week, when Oakland-based SolarCity announced

it

would

begin

to

sell solar systems out

of

Best Buy, alongside big-screen TVs and digital cameras.

British scientists

at

the National Physical Laboratory this week created organic photovoltaics, which not

only sound delicious but perform better in diffuse light. According

to

PSFK, they're 13 percent efficient

when it's overcast, compared to 10 percent when it's sunny.

The cost of ultra efficient LED lamps will

more than

halve by the end of the decade, and their efficiency

almost

double,

the US Department of Energy said on Wednesday.

To help wave and

tidal

energy take off,

the Department of

Energy (DOE) is turning

to

computer coders

for help. Unlike

hydropower,

there are hundreds

of

potentially viable technologies in this emerging

industry - that captures energy from waves, tides and currents in rivers and oceans - which have

to

be

evaluated on their technical and economic viability.

In

its final strategy, the California Public Utilities Commission

CPUC)

sticks to preferred resources

to

provide

much

of the electricity to the Los Angeles/

San

Diego area: energy efficiency technologies such

as demand response, upgrades to the grid, energy storage and renewable energy.



Gov. Paul LePage used a meeting

of

clean-tech business leaders on Thursday to attack Maine's green

energy policies

that

he said bear responsibility

for the

loss

of

manufacturing jobs in

the

state.

To power his plans

for

Japan's economic revival, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could soon return his nation

to nuclear power

for the first time

since

the

Fukushima accident three years ago. But before he can, he

will need the consent of the remote towns like this one that host Japan's idled nuclear plants.

Climate news

The group,

the

Natural Resources Defense Council,

which

has had a strong voice in efforts

to

shape

President Obama's climate change agenda, sent

the

Environmental Protection Agency a proposal

that it

contends will lead to cuts

of 470 million to

700 million tons

of

carbon pollution

per

year in 2020,

the

equivalent of

emissions

from

95

million to

130 million automobiles.

Spring is finally - finally - here. That word is music to the ears of those in the eastern United States

who are ready to thaw out from the frigid winter. But

that thaw

could bring

flooding

to parts of the

Midwest and the northern Plains, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

said in its

official spring outlook, released Thursday.

While most scientists believe

the burning of

fossil fuels is

to

blame

for

climate change,

the U S

Department

of

Energy's

top

coal official suggested March 19

that

a new era

of

fossil energy

abundance could actually help the world combat the

problem.

Australia's environment minister announced Tuesday

that

farmers could

start

applying for payments for

soil carbon storage in July. The government considers the replenishment of carbon in soil to be one of

the

cheapest and best ways

of

reducing

the country's

greenhouse gas emissions -

although

federal

scientists

recently

concluded

that it

could

only provide low

levels

of

greenhouse gas abatement.

The state's new

draft

Hazard Mitigation Plan,

which the New

Jersey Office

of

Emergency Management

released on

March

11, includes a section on

climate

change impacts. It notes

that the

state has seen an

increase in average annual temperatures

of

1.2 degrees Fahrenheit (above

the

baseline average

between 1970

and 2000), and anticipates

that

the

average annual

temperature

in

the

state

will

increase

of

3 to 5 degrees above that baseline by 2050.

Climate change may be stunting fish growth, a new study has said. Fish sizes in the

North

Sea have

shrunk dramatically, and scientists believe warmer ocean temperatures and less oxygenated water

could be the causes.



For the

rare person who

already lives car-free in a city such as San Francisco, a

cab

ride

or

car

rental

might actually

increase their carbon footprint.

But the

vast

majority of American

households do own

cars. For

any

city

as

a whole,

more

car-sharing

and cab apps

will actually

mean

less driving

and lower

carbon

emissions.

Americans for

Prosperity - the group backed by David H. and Charles G. Koch that has been pouring

millions of dollars into

competitive

Senate races to the rising alarm of

Democrats

- was also among the

politically active

groups

on

the ground

in this month s special House election on Florida's Gulf Coast.


BP Pie

(BP/)'s bids for its first

new U.S. offshore leases

in two

years aren t expected to add any

barrels

of

production

until

the

middle of

the

next

decade.

Environmental regulators in North Carolina have cited

the country s

largest

energy company

for

dumping

millions

of

gallons of wastewater from coal ash

ponds

into a public

waterway.

The

company

could face 2. 75 million in fines if

the

allegations are confirmed.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. APC) officials urged BP Pie (BP/)

to

drill deeper into the Gulf of Mexico well

that caused the worst

offshore

oil spill

in

U.S. history

even

after BP warned that doing so would be

unsafe.

Of

the 48 poorest countries, eight were among

the

top

10

in

assistance

received

over the

last six years,

which isn t

enough,

said Barbara Frost, chief executive officer

of the

London-based organization. About

768

million

people

worldwide don t have

safe

water

to

drink

and

2.5 billion

of

Earth s 7 billion lack

proper sanitation.

The

head of

a

federal agency that investigates health problems

linked

to toxic-waste sites has

stepped

down after a clash with former Marines who believe their families were harmed by

poisoned

drinking

water

at Camp Lejeune.

After

countless

marches,

arrests,

Congressional votes,

and

editorials,

the

five-and-a-half year battle

over

the

controversial Keystone X pipeline

is

nearing its

end. If

a recent ruling in Nebraska doesn t delay

the

decision further, America could find out as

soon

as this spring whether

or

not the pipeline, which has

become a focal

point

in America's

environmental movement,

will

be

built.

According

to

a new

Oceana

report, United States fisheries discard

about

17 percent to 22 percent of



everything

they catch every year.

That

amounts to a whopping 2 billion pounds

of

annual by-catch -

injured

and dead fish and other

marine

animals unintentionally caught by fishermen and then

thrown

overboard. This includes endangered creatures like whales and sharks

as well as

commercially viable

fish

that may

have been too young or too damaged to bring to port.

Earlier this week with the city shrouded in unusually

toxic

smog Paris tried a tactic

unheard-of

in U S

cities

to

at least

temporarily

clear

the

air.

It

announced plans

to

ban

tens of thousands of

cars

from

city

streets -

the

even-numbered license plates on

Monday

the odds on Tuesday.

A former Environmental Protection Agency official who pleaded guilty last year to bilking

the

agency led

efforts to write major air quality regulations according to a report released Thursday by Senate

Republicans.

A Colorado proposal to commission a

new

study

about

the health effects of drilling on the Front Range

sparked

strong

emotions

Thursday in its

first

legislative hearing.



To:

From:

Sent:

Subject:

Vaught, Laura[[email protected]]

Marohl, Chris

Tue 7/1/2014 8:15:34

P

Rep. Cramer RFS Letter to Admin. McCarthy

Laura, please see attached letter sent to Administrator McCarthy today from

Congressman Cramer. Thanks. Chris

hris

Marohl

Legislative Director

ongressman Kevin ramer

ND)

1032 Longworth HOB

202-226-6182 Direct)

202-225-2611 Office)



1,2014

Gina

Administrator

U

Environmental Protection

NW

E

n November and

December of I

sent you two emails u' u ' - '1'. my concerns with the EPA's n r t ~ n i l < c · n volume

v ~ ,

.. , , ~ · ·

for the

Renewable

Fuel

Standard As you seven months past

EPA's

date

I

would like to remind you of

my

concerns.

government

remain in close communication with the

and

sectors benefit

when

all involved articulate their

when communication

breaks

t is

essential

government ,.._,...,l[ ,...,

Our

renewable fuel

1-.mJ' - ' ' - 'o

in an efficient and time-effective manner

fate

a

number

of variables

when

how

much

to

ag<:1R.u:,

shouldn't

be

one

of

them.

the EPA has exhibited a the Renewable Fuel Standard

process. As

you

the finalization of the Renewable

Volume

rule

November 30th of the year. Las t year the EPA failed to finalize the RVO until

months

after the

date. This year has

not been

much better.

The announcement

of further the 2014 RVO past the

announced 20th date is yet

another

of

on

the part of the EPA. Our deserve

to know the details of rules in

a

reasonable amount of time

before

to

meet

rather than after the

year s over.

Thank you for your attention to this message.

Don't

hesitate to call

on me if I

can be of assistance.

Kevin Cramer

Member of - - - l l ~ ~ n : : »



To:

Interested

Parties

Date: March 26, 2014

Re: Stakeholder Statements - Waters of the US

Industry/Agriculture/Developers/Business

National

Farmers

Union I

Chandler

Goule, National Farmers Union

NFU) senior

vice president of

programs

NFU has long advocated for increased certainty surrounding Clean Water Act requirements for

family

farmers and ranchers in the wake of complicating Supreme Court decisions. Today 's draft rule clarifies

Clean Water Act jurisdiction, maintains existing agricultural exemptions and adds new exemptions, and

encourages enrollment in U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs. In addition, farmers

and ranchers who are voluntarily enacting certain conservation practices on their farms

will

be exempt

from Clean Water Act Section 404

permitting

requirements. Today's ag-friendly announcement clearly

indicates that NFU and other

agricultural

stakeholders made their voices heard, and

EPA

took notice. I

encourage

EPA

to continue to

rebuild

trust with the agricultural

community

by

withdrawing

its proposal

to

reduce

the

Renewable Fuel Standard

targets.

3/25/2014]

North Carolina Wildlife Federation I Tim Gestwicki

CEO

This is a huge step

forward

for protecting

our

waters and

wildlife.

We simply

cannot protect our

rivers,

lakes, and bays

without protecting the

many small streams and wetlands

that

feed into them. The

proposal clarifies which waters are-and which are not-protected by the Clean Water Act. It

will

protect many streams and wetlands

that

are

currently

in legal limbo. The rule also specifically excludes

many man-made ditches, ponds, and irrigation systems and honors the law's current exemptions

for

normal farming, ranching, and forestry practices. From mountain trout anglers,

to

piedmont bass

enthusiasts and duck hunters in eastern

NC

this is a critical step towards protecting our sporting

heritage and

our

outdoor future.

3/24/2014]

Center for

Rural Affairs

I John Crabtree CEO

Rural America - and the

family

farmers, ranchers and small towns therein - are the

tip of the

spear in

protecting the quality of the

water

of the

United

States, said John Crabtree of the Center for Rural

Affairs. The proposed rule is a commonsense effort to clear

the

regulatory waters,

protect

the quality

of

the nation's surface waters, and provide an environment in which economically vital activities such

as

hunting, fishing and birding

as

well

as

farming and ranching can both thrive and contribute

to

a better

quality

of

life and safer drinking water for those

of us that

live here, and also

for

our neighbors

downstream. [Press Release, 3/24/2014]

American Sustainable Business Council

ASBC)

I

Richard

Eidlin,

Co-founder

and

Policy Director

In a statement, ASBC said it supports the proposed rule because it

will

give the business

community

more confidence

that

streams and rivers

will

be

protected,

and

provide

a consistent

regulatory

system

based on sound science. The following

may

be attributed to Richard Eidlin, Co-founder and Policy

Director

for ASBC: American business has always depended on the availability of clean

water

for its

success, and EPA's

regulation

in this area historically has been a prime example of the vital

partnership

between

business and

government.

Whether a company

is

a

food

producer, a high

tech manufacturer of

silicon wafers, outdoor recreation guide or a beer manufacturer, businesses rely on clean water

to

produce high

quality

and safe products. Ever since the passage

of

the Clean Water Act in 1972,

the EPA

has been charged with ensuring

that

our water supply remains safe. Today, we applaud

the EPA

for



taking

steps to clarify that small streams,

wetlands

and

other

tributaries are protected by the Act.

Degradation and loss of wetlands or small streams can increase the risk of floods there by threatening

businesses. Moreover, dirty, polluted water creates unnecessary and sometimes

very difficult

economic

challenges for communities and businesses alike. Today's action by the

EPA

is good for the

environment

and

good

for business. 3/25/2014]

Rocky

Mountain Farmers Union I Kent Peppler

President

There is no

disagreement among

America's ranchers and farmers that clean

water

is critical to

our

ability

to

produce

food and fiber for the nation. Members of the Rocky

Mountain

Farmers Union want to

promote

stewardship of land and water resources and

deliver

safe, healthy food

to

consumers.

However,

we

need to avoid unduly burdening America's small producers

with

unnecessary regulation

and oversight. For that reason, we appreciate and support your efforts to ensure the proposed Clean

Waters

of

the

U.S. ruling clearly excludes

many

upland ditches, ponds, and

irrigation

systems,

effectively

preserving existing farming and forestry exemptions. This balanced approach provides greater long-term

certainty for landowners, and

will

continue

to

protect streams, wetlands and other sources of our water

supplies. Thank you for continuing

to

work with

farmers

and ranchers

to

conserve our way of life.

[Letter, 3/26/2014]

Land

Stewards

The undersigned

Western

ranchers and farmers are

writing

in regards to

the

Environmental

Protection

Agency's

recent

decision clarifying Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) provisions of the Clean

Water

Act. We

believe that a clearer definition of WOTUS was long overdue, and we appreciate your leadership in

crafting

guidance that

works

for agriculture, industry, local communities and the environment. Thank

you for striking a common-sense balance in

the

proposed rule by clarifying the definition for WOTUS

and

maintaining

critical exclusions for agriculture. As ranchers and farmers, we are not

only

tasked with

providing America's food,

fiber

and fuel, but

to

do

so

in a forward-thinking, sustainable

manner. We

believe

that

farmers and ranchers are America's original conservationists, focused not only on producing

our livelihoods from the land year in and year out, but in doing

so

in a manner

that

also ensures our

natural

resources

will

be

there

in

the future.

- John Kretsinger, KW Farms; John Rueb, Forever Yong

Farms; Bill Eikenberry, Eikenberry Ranch;

Rich

Kaup, Lonesome Creek Ranch; Connie Harvey, Harvey

Ranch; Jim McManus, Walking J Farm; Tim Kinney, Red Mountain; Wes

Mcstay,

Mcstay Ranch; and

Marcia Litsinger, Churchill Butte Organics. [Joint Letter,

3/26/2014]

KW Farms I John Kretsinger

I was

happy

to

see the EPA and USDA finally clarify the

'Waters

of the U.S.' provision.

Although

the

livelihoods of every farmer and rancher

depend

on clean, abundant

water

supplies,

we

can't operate

under regulations that

aren't

clear,

or

that are

overly

burdensome. The government

got

it

right this

time. 3/26/2014]

Forever

Yong Farms I John Rueb

As a

farmer

in the arid West, it was

good

to see the EPA s long-overdue clarification. A vast majority of

our streams and rivers in Arizona are seasonal and rain-dependent, and it's important

that

these water

resources aren't ignored. This new ruling balances overdue water protections and with protection.

L : L . t : : ~ ~ ~ ,

3/26/2014]

Troublesome

reek

Ranch I Rich Kaup

Our

ranch is actually at the

headwaters

of a creek, so

we

see

firsthand

how

what

happens here affects

all others downstream. I'm glad

to

see this clarification by

the EPA

take basic water dynamics and



Eikenberry

Ranch I Bill

Eikenberry

Ranchers and farmers are inherently

connected to

land and water, counting on reliable water

resources daily for our livelihoods. Therefore we appreciate more than most balanced water policy that

both protects our water and also makes it possible

to

farm. I believe the

EPA s

new ruling represents

common-sense balance between the

two.

3/26/2014]

New Belgium

Brewing

Company Fort

Collins CO

I Andrew Lemley Government

Relations

Director

On

behalf of the employee owners at New Belgium Brewing and our Alternatively

Empowered

culture,

we offer a toast

to

40 great years

of the

Clean Water Act and

to the EPA

and Obama Administration's

leadership

to

make sure our water -- and our beer -- continues

to

be

of

the highest quality. We are

thrilled

for these

incremental

protections announced

today

that will help improve whole system

watershed health.

Cornucopia

Charleston WV

I

Nancy Ward

CEO

As a small business owner who personally experienced the negative

economic

impact of a recent

chemical spill in

West

Virginia's Elk River, I

know how

crucial

it

is

for

strengthening

EPA

regulations

to

protect our waterways.

King Arthur Flour Company Norwich VT I Suzanne McDowell VP of Human Resources

Water

is

quite literally

the main ingredient for the

foods we

eat, and it is also central

to

the daily

operations

of

our

business. Clean and protected water thus couldn't be more important to King

Arthur

Flour and

our commitment

to healthy foods and a healthy planet.

Chefs

for the Marcellus

I

Hilary Baum Director

Protection of small streams and wetlands

is

critical

for

maintaining the health of our food supply,

communities, and businesses dependent on clean water. Used for livestock and crop irrigation

upstream, and in

food production,

breweries,

home

kitchens and restaurants

further

down,

the

incalculable

economic

and social value of unpolluted water requires

more than

adequate safeguards and

protections

for

a strong economy.

Environmental/Conservation Organizations/Hook Bullet

Hispanic

Access

Foundation

I

Maite Arce President

Water

is the

lifeblood

of

our environment and

as demands

grow we need

to

be vigilant in protecting

against

pollution

and keeping our ecosystems intact. Our river systems are an integral

part of

our

Hispanic heritage and

way of

life. It's our moral obligation

to

conserve the landscape, rivers,

wildlife

and

natural historical places for future generations. This rule change

will

strengthen the

protection of

our

nation's streams and wetlands, which in

turn supports tourism

and agricultural industries. Families,

anglers, hunters, recreationist and even businesses depending upon reliable water supplies will benefit

from this proposal. Clean water is essential for everyone, but Hispanics face disproportionate health

hazards largely due to

poor

environmental health. Greater protections for our nation's water systems

will help address some of the larger health issues

that

affect our community

as

a whole.

_ _ = ~ = = =

3/25/2014]

Natural

Resources Defense Council I

Peter

Lehner

Executive Director

This

is good

news for boaters, anglers, swimmers and families who

rely

on clean drinking water.

EPA



took an important step

to

finally

rescue these

waters from legal limbo. Even though

these

are common

sense protections, the polluters are sure

to

attack them. People who care about clean water need to

make their voices heard in the comment period. 3/25/2014]

NRDC Biogs by

Ducks

Unlimited

I

Dale Hall

CEO

The release

of

the draft rule gets us one step closer to

better

defining Clean Water Act regulations in

regard to wetlands, said Ducks Unlimited

CEO

Dale

Hall.

We are also pleased with the

open

process

EPA has adopted, which invites

the

public, Congress

and

all interested parties

to participate in the

discussion. EPA's

draft

science report last

year

showed

many categories

of

wetlands,

including prairie

potholes,

may

be geographically isolated but are still connected to,

and

have a significant

impact

on,

downstream

waters. 3/25/2014]

Trout Unlimited I Chris Wood

President and

CEO

Today's proposal speaks to the heart of the Clean Water

Act-making

rivers more fishable and

swimmable, said Chris Wood,

president

and CEO of Trout Unlimited. The waters affected by today's

proposal provide vital spawning and rearing

habitat

for

trout

and salmon. Simply stated, the proposal

will

make

fishing

better,

and

anglers should

support

it. Restoring

protections

to these waters ensures

healthy habitat for fish and a bright future for anglers. 3/25/2014]

Environment America I Margie Alt Executive Director

Whether we look back

to the

recent spill in West Virginia

that

left

300,000

people without drinking

water

or ahead

to the

dead zones that will blight Lake Erie

and the Chesapeake

Bay this summer, it's

obvious

that

our waterways are not as clean or safe as we need

them to

be - for our drinking water, for

recreation, or for

the

health of our ecosystems

and

wildlife, said Margie Alt, execut ive director

of

Environment America. Today's action by

the

EPA will help ensure that all our waterways

get the

protection they need so we can enjoy

them

for years to come. When finalized, this rule will be the

biggest step forward for clean water in more than a

decade,

said Alt. Thank you, Administrator

McCarthy

and

all

the

staff

at

the

EPA

for fighting

to

protect

clean

water. We

look forward

to

working

with you

to

get

the

job done. 3/25/2014]

American

Rivers I Bob Irvin President of American Rivers

What happens

in

small

streams and

wetlands upstream affects

the health of

our rivers

and the

communities that depend upon them

downstream, said Bob Irvin,

President of

American Rivers. The

proposed rule

released

today by

the

Environmental Protection Agency relies on sound science

to

clarify

the scope of protections

under

the

Clean Water Act for

these

critical upstream waters that contribute

to

our drinking

water

supplies

and

protect us from flooding. This

is

an important

step

forward

to better

protect and restore our nation's rivers. While

these

clarifications are an important step forward,

American Rivers will continue to urge

the

Administration to go further to restore historical protections

under the Clean Water Act through the public comment process 3/25/2014]

Clean Water

Action I Bob Wendelgass

Clean Water Action President and

CEO

These small streams are critical

to

the health of drinking water sources for nearly one third of all

Americans said Bob Wende lgass, Clean

Water

Action

President and CEO

The rule proposed

today is

clear, concise,

and

well supported by both

the

law

and

science. It's long overdue - Congress protected

these

vital

resources

when

the landmark

Clean

Water

Act

passed

in

1972 and these protections were

wrongly revoked 12

years

ago. This proposal, when finalized, will go a long way toward restoring

protections and

reflecting

the way

that

water

works in

the

real world.



League of Conservation Voters I President Gene Karpinski

CEO

This is an important

step

forward for restoring the true scope of the Clean

Water

Act and protecting

our nation's waterways. This rule will

protect

vital

streams

and wetlands that provide drinking water for

over 117 million Americans, filter pollution, and reduce the impacts of flooding and erosion. This comes

on the heels of President Oba ma's designation

of

the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands as a National

Monument and

the

continued implementation

of

his Climate Action Plan,

and further

demonstrates

his

strong commitment to protecting our environment and our

health. [Press Release,3/25/2014]

Theodore

Roosevelt

Conservation

Partnership I

Whit

Fosburgh TRCP President

and

CEO

Several leading

sportsmen's

organizations -

the

- " - ' = = " ' - ' - ' - ' - ' . - ' - " ~ - ' h ~ = : : : o . . : _ = = = = , = -=:: : : : .L

the release of the proposed rule, saying that it would better

protect

important habitats for fish and

wildlife. We

are

pleased the administration has taken this crucial step to provide clarity and certainty

to landowners, conservationists and businesses regarding waters of the United States, said

TRCP

President

and

CEO

Whit Fosburgh. Long

overdue,

this action

restores some

-

but not

all

- Clean

Water

Act protections to these critical resources, conserving healthy habitat, upholding water quality and

supporting the sporting traditions that tens of millions of Americans enjoy. 3/25/2014]

American

Fly

Fishing

Trade

Association I Ben Bulis President

The economic benefits

to the

United

States

from

these wetlands and streams are

staggering. For

example, direct spending on hunting and fishing

totals

$86 billion each year

in

the United States, which

ripples

through the

economy,

generating

200 billion

in total

economic activity annually . [Press

Release,

3/25/2014]

Wildlife Management Institute I Steve Williams President

In a

measured response

to the

Supreme

Court's decisions,

the

proposed

rule will provide

the

clear

direction necessary to conserve the nation's wetlands and streams. In addition, it provides practical and

necessary exclusions for farming and forestry activities. The rule recognizes the essential value of clean

water

for

our nation's

citizens

and our

fish

and

wildlife resources. [Press Release,

3/25/2014]

TRCP I Jimmy Hague

Center for Water

Resources

Director

All sides

of

this

debate and the Supreme

Court have said a rulemaking

is

necessary

to

give regulators

and

the regulated

community certainty

as well as fulfill

the

Clean

Water

Act's goal

of

ensuring fishable

and

swimmable waters. Now

that

the

proposed

rule

is

public,

we

can finally have this discussion based

on fact and go

about

the process

of

restor ing Clean

Water

Act protections to

waters

upon which

America's

hunters

and anglers rely. [Press Release,

3/25/2014]

Berkley Conservation Institute

I

Jim

Martin Conservation Director

We

are

glad to have the Clean

Water

Act protections for

our

lakes, rivers and

streams

clarified to

end

the confusion. It simply makes no sense for the taxpayers to pay millions to clean up

waters

that were

polluted, flooded

and damaged when it

makes the

most sense to protect them in

the first place. [Press

Release,

3/25/2014]

Izaak Walton

League

of

America I Scott Kovarovics Executive

Director

The Corps

and

EPA

are

proposing balanced, science-based policy

to restore

essential

protections

for



streams, wetlands,

and other waters, said

Scott

Kovarovics, Izaak

Walton

League Executive Director.

The proposal will better protect streams that provide drinking water

to

117 million

people

and help

conserve

streams

and

wetlands

that

are

vital to a vibrant outdoor recreation economy. - - - ~ : : ; _ ; , _ ; = = = ,

3/25/2014]

The

proposed

rule takes a moderate

approach

- based on the best available peer-reviewed scientific

evidence - that falls within the limits

of

the Supreme Court decisions.

It

preserves the existing

exemptions for farming, forestry, mining and other land use activities, such as the exemption in the

existing regulation for many

wetlands converted

to cropland prior to 1985, as well as exemptions

written

into the Clean

Water

Act itself that

cannot be

changed by administrative action. [TRCP Press

Release,

3/25/2014]

Clean Water Action

I

Minnesota enter For Environmental Advocacy

I

Minnesota

Conservation

Federation I Minnesota Trout Unlimited I Izaak Walton League I Minnesota Environmental

Partnership

State conservation

groups

strongly support a new federal rule, announced today by the Obama

Administration, which aims to

better

protect U S waters from pollution and destruction, including those

in

Minnesota . This rule will

benefit

millions

of people

across

the

country

and

in

Minnesota,

said Darrell

Gerber, Program Coordinator, Clean Water Action. The rule removes confusion

over

which streams and

wetlands

are covered by the Clean Water Act due to polluter friendly

court

decisions and subsequent

Bush administration policies. It's good for

our

environment, economy, and quality

of

life. [Press

Release,

3/25/2014]

National Wildlife Federation

I

Larry

Schweiger

President

and

CEO

This is a huge

step

forward for

protecting

America's

waters

and wildlife. You

cannot tear

out a tree's

fine roots and expect it to survive. The streams and wetlands protected by this rule supply drinking

water to more than one-third of all Americans. Our rivers, lakes, and bays will be cleaner and healthier

once this rule becomes the law of the land. This proposal clarifies which waters

are-and

which are not

protected

by

the

Clean

Water

Act.

It will

protect streams

and

wetlands

that

are

currently

in

legal limbo.

The rule also specifically excludes many man-made ditches, ponds, and irrigation systems and honors

the law's current exemptions for normal farming, ranching, and forestry practices. Our only

disappointment

is that the proposal

stops

short of restoring full protections for many

wetlands

important

for wildlife, such as prairie potholes, Carolina bays, vernal pools, and playa lakes.

We

look

forward to making the legal and scientific case for protecting these

waters

during the comment period

to come.

3/25/2014]

National Wildlife Federation I

Joshua Saks

Legislative Director

Since 2006, what is and isn't covered by the Clean Water Act has been under dispute. Our sportsmen

have been waiting for new regulations for years. Now

the

EPA and Army Corps

will

be able

to

help

preserve wildlife and fishing habitats which have

been endangered. 3/25/2014]

Outdoor Alliance member American Whitewater

I

National Stewardship Director Kevin Colburn

American

Whitewater's

National Stewardship Director Kevin Colburn explained that one

of

the

most

important aspects of

the

proposed rule is that it confirms that

the

Clean Water Act applies

to

headwater

streams and related wetlands. The recreational, ecological, and economic benefits

of

clarifying Clean

Water Act protection for headwater streams are

enormous,

said Colburn. The

new

rule will protect

the quality of water

in our

taps, flowing

through our communities,

and

under our boats.

The nation's



headwater rivers and streams are particularly important in providing clean cold drinking water for

millions

of Americans. These same streams offer world-class recreation opportunities that improve the

quality of life and economic viability for countless

communities.

Kayakers and rafters spend more time

in

direct

contact with

headwater

streams than just

about

anyone, which makes water quality very

important

to

paddlers, Colburn explained. This initiative promises

to

protect the safety of our rivers for

paddling, fishing,

swimming,

and even

just

dipping your toes in.

l ~ ~ ~ ~

3/25/2014]

Earthjustice I Chris

Espinosa

Clean

Water Legislative and

Policy Advocate

The Waters of the

U S

rule

will

restore Clean Water Act coverage

to

many of our

nation's

water bodies,

ensuring

that

families, anglers, and recreationalists who value and rely upon safe and clean water can

know

that

their waters are protected. The rule will also provide certainty

to

small businesses, ranchers,

and farmers who, like all of us, rely on clean

water

supplies to

thrive

in their enterprises. The draft rule is

a positive step

forward

in making sure that clean water is able

to

be enjoyed by all for many

generations

to

come.

3/25/2014]

Earthjustice I Trip Van Noppen President

We applaud

the EPA

for proposing a rule

that

would

reinstate

clean water protections for streams and

wetlands

that

supply

the

drinking water of 117 million Americans. Unfortunately, for

the

last decade

while

these protections have lapsed, we have seen the consequences of

not

protecting our waters.

Today,

more than

55 percent of our rivers and streams are in 'poor' condition, considered unfit for

drinking,

swimming,

or fishing.

As

the West Virginia chemical spill shows, the cost of

not

having clean

water is

too

great a price

to

pay. The EPA's new Clean Water Act rule

finally

restores protections

so that

we

can begin the hard work of cleaning

up

our waters for

our

children to swim in, fish in, and

drink

from. No doubt, polluters will rail and lobby against this rule and any other clean water safeguards that

keep them from dumping their toxic

waste

in

our

communities and waters,

or

that

hold

them

accountable for their pollution. We cannot back

down

on protecting the waters that eventually flow

through

our faucets.

Our

children,

our

health, and

our

very drinking

water

are at stake. We urge the

Obama

administration

to

resist

the

polluter

lobbies and

quickly move forward

in

protecting

our

waterways and our families. 3/25/2014 -

Today's long-overdue EPA rule

finally

clears up all the confusion left by these two court rulings, and

it

restores protections

that

were

stripped

away by

the

Bush policies. It is based on over 1,000

independent

peer-reviewed scientific studies that show what is commonly known: Our waters are connected.

Polluters and their

friends

in Congress will cry

that

this amounts

to

government overreach --

that

the

EPA

wants to regulate the puddles at the end of our driveways. But this isn't

about

puddles; it's

about

protecting the critical sources of

our

drinking water. It's about ensuring that our children can swim in

our

rivers and fish in our creeks. And it's about saving the wetlands

that

serve as a sponge, a

pollutant

filter, and natural flood protection for our communities downstream. We cannot back

down

on

protecting the

waters

that eventually flow

through our

faucets. Our children, our health, and our very

drinking water are at stake. We urge the Obama administration

to

resist the

polluter

lobbies and

quickly

move

forward

in

protecting

our waterways and our families. 3/25/2014]

Choose Clean Water Coalition I ill Witkowski Director of the Choose Clean Water Coalition

With this rule, everyone-including those wishing

to

develop in and around these waters-will have a

much

clearer picture of what they can and can't do under the law, says Jill Witkowski,

director

of the

Choose Clean Water Coalition. With recent events in several states,

it

is

very

clear

that

we

must

do a

better job of protecting our drinking water sources. This rule is a crucial piece of the puzzle.



Warren Singer

I

Louisiana National Wildlife Federation

The

intent of

the

proposed

Rule

is

to

protect the nation s headwaters,

which will

be

a

tremendous

gain

for

our

nation

in

whole, and Louisiana

in

particular as

we are the

drain for this huge mid-continent

bathtub that

carries

1/3 of

the

nation s

runoff

to

the

sea.

BlueGreen Alliance I Executive

Director

David Foster

The Clean

Water

Act

is

a quintessential environmental law

that will

be

made

even

better

by proposed

protections for

one of

our most precious natural resources. Closing

the

gaps

in these

protections will

safeguard hundreds of

thousands

of miles of

streams

and millions of acres of wetlands

that are

vital

to

the

overall health of America's waterways.

We re

glad

to see that

millions

of

environmental,

community, public health, labor, and business voices

to

protect clean

water

have been heard. It's never

been more important

to

employ

common-sense

tools like this so

that

we

can

protect

public health

and

the

environment and strengthen the

economy.

We

look forward

to

working

together

to

see

this

important rule through

to

finalization. 3/25/2014]

Jessica Eckdish

I

Sierra

Club

..

The Sierra Club applauds

the Obama

administration for this effort

to

restore

a

common-sense

approach

to

protecting

our

nation's lakes, rivers, and streams. Clean

water is

an undeniable necessity for

the

enjoyment of

these

resources - not

to

mention

the

health of

our

families,

our

environment, and

our

economy. As

the

Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have recognized

with this rule, ensuring

the

protection of

water

bodies upstream

is

vital

to

keeping pollution out of

our

waters downstream .. 3/25/2014]

Bull Moose Sportsmen s Alliance I

Gaspar

Perricone, Director

The recent action will provide protection for the waters

that

wildlife depend on and

that

sportsmen

enjoy, said Gaspar Perricone, Director

of the

Bull

Moose

Sportsmen s

Alliance. We

are

pleased

that

the

draft

rule provides a

framework to start

restoring critical

water sources and

quality

and

in

a

manner

that protects

agricultural practices and private lands.

3/26/2014]

Bass

Anglers

Sportsman Society I Jimmy Hague,

Director of the enter for Water

Resources

Mr. Kopocis's

most important

message

to summit

participants? The draft rule

won t

be

perfect

when it

is

released for public input. Bass fishermen -

and sportsmen of

all str ipes -

will

have valuable advice for

how

to

improve

the

rule, and

the EPA will want to hear it

- and needs

to hear

it This

is

a once-in-a

generation chance

to

restore Clean

Water

Act protections

to waters sportsmen

care

about the

most.

As

such,

the

TRCP

will

be facilitating

sportsmen comments

on

the

rule

after it is

released. - - - ~ ; ; _ ; , _ ; _ ~ = : : : . ,

3/26/2014]

Dr.

Dorothy

Boorse I Professor

of

Biology

at

Gordon College

There

is

no disagreement among America's rancher s and farmers

that

clean

water is

critical

to

our

ability

to

produce food and fiber for

the

nation. Members of

the

Rocky Mountain Farmers Union

want to

promote stewardship of

land

and

water

resources

and

deliver safe, healthy food

to

consumers.

However,

we need to

avoid unduly burdening America's small

producers

with unnecessary regulation

and oversight. For

that

reason,

we appreciate

and

support

your efforts

to

ensure

the

proposed

Clean

Waters of the U.S.

ruling clearly excludes many upland ditches, ponds, and irrigation systems, effectively



preserving existing farming and forestry exemptions. This balanced approach provides greater long-term

certainty

for landowners, and will

continue to

protect streams, wetlands and other sources

of

our water

supplies.

Faith-Based Community

Evangelical Environmental Network I Rev. Mitch Hescox President CEO

We are

thankful

that have worked together

to

propose a

new

rule that clarifies the protection needed

to

ensure

pure

water, defend our children's health, and

codify exemptions

that

have long applied

to

farmers. There are simply

too many

stories like a crude oil

spill in Texas

that

fouled drinking

water,

5000 gallons

of

oil spilled into a stream in Denver, or livestock

waste in Georgia

polluting

a local lake. Each

of

the above and

many

more

were

never enforced because

of

confusion created. [Press Release, 3/25/2014]

Government

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer D-CA Chair of Senate Environment and

Public

Works

I am so pleased

that

the EPA and Army Corps are taking important steps to provide certainty and clarity

to

ensure that our wetlands and streams are protected.

Communities

and businesses

depend

on a safe

water supply, and the proposed rule will provide the consistency and predictability that is needed to

safeguard

the nation's water

resources.

3/25/2014]

U.S.

Senator

Sheldon

Whitehouse

D-RI

We all have a stake in ensuring

that

our nation's waters remain clean and safe. What happens

upstream affects drinking water supplies and coastal waters, like Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. The

Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 with broad bipartisan support; however, Supreme Court decisions

have resulted in

conflicting determinations about what waters

are covered by

the

Act. The proposed

rule announced today

will

reduce the case-by-case application of the Clean Water Act that costs

regulators and industry time and money. I support the EPA's effort

to

reduce the frustration that has

resulted from unclear jurisdiction of the CWA and applaud them for working with

both

the

U S

Army

Corps and

U S

Department of Agriculture to craft this rule.

3/25/2014]

Twitter

EPA s proposal would

protect

drinking water of

7

million Americans, but conservatives have

other priorities in m i n d = - ' ~ = ~ ~ ' ' - ' - ~ =

EP

has a new proposal

that

will protect drinking water--so conservative media have to fear



New rule proposed clarifying Clean Water

Act

could particularly shield

water

sources in the

Like clean

water?

Good

news

- the Obama Admin is acting to

restore

Clean Water Act Protections

to

streams

w e t l a n d s ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Patricia Linna

t = ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ - = ~ 28 Protected Under Clean Water Act: Send a message of thanks to the

Boxer applauds

EP

Army Corps' proposal for p r o t e c t i n g = = - ' - ' ~ = - '

~ ~ ~ U - 1 - - ± J J ~ ~ L l .

William G Malley

t ~ ~ ~ ~ J - . J

EPA/Corps NPRM would exclude two types of roadside ditches from Corps jurisdiction; see pp.

60 63 here: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - J . , , , . ~ = - " ' ~ _ , ; .

Gina Mc arthy l ' ~ ~ ~ , ,

Our proposed rule clarifies the protect ions for clean

water

and will help

keep our

communities

safe and e a l t h y . ~ ~ = ~

John odesta

t = ~ ~ = ~ , , , _



EPA/ Army Corps clarification

~ ~ ~ ~ p r o t e c t i o n s are earning plaudits f

= - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ' = - " ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ' ~ ~ ~ = , c r a f t brewers

more

+Army Corps will

lower

costs for businesses

and

Grateful for leadership

Additional Amplification

March

25

2014

Contact: Katie McKalip 406-240-9262

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - '

Jimmy Hague 202-639-8727 ext. 15 l l i g Y ~ m J ~ ~

Clean Water Rule

Proposed rule restores Clean Water ct protections

for

waters valuable fish and wildlife

habitat

WASHINGTON

- Today,

the U S

Army Corps of Engineers

and

Environmental Protection Agency

jointly released a

proposed

rule that would clearly define which

streams and

wetlands are

protected by the Clean Water Act

This action would begin restoring longstanding protections to many of

the

nation s wetlands,

streams and lakes, conserving critical fish and wildlife habitat and providing flood control, drinking

water

and

a host of other benefits.

Together

with

administra tive guidance issued in

2 3

and 2008,

two

Supreme Court decisions in

the 2 s

removed Clean Water Act protections for at least 20 million acres of wetlands,

particularly prairie potholes

and other

seasonal

wetlands

essential to waterfowl populations

throughout the country. Intermittent streams

that

provide critical habitat for fish, especially trout,



and

feed

the

public drinking water systems for

more than 117

million Americans also

were put

at

increased risk of pollution

and

destruction.

Hear from a range of experts how today's

announcement

will

address

these problems

and protect

our

nation's waters and wetlands.

Who:

John Crabtree

Media Director, ~ ~ ~ - ' - ~ ~ ~ ~

Rev. Mitch Hescox

President

and C E O ~ = ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ = ~ ~

Charlie Johnson Organic Farmer, The Johnson Farm

Bryan Simpson PR Director, ~ = ~ = ~ ~ ~ ~ = ~ = 4 -

Chris Wood

President and

E O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Moderator: Whit Fosburgh

President

and

C E O , - = = = ~ ~ ~ ~ = - ~ = - - ' = ~ - = ~ ~ = = ~

When: Tuesday, March 25,

at

12:45 p.m. EDT/11:45 a.m. CDT/10:45 a.m. MDT/9:45 a.m. PDT

To join call 800 311 9403

and

enter access code 175716.

Inspired

by

the legacy

of

Theodore Roosevelt the TR P is a coalition

of

organizations

nd

grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions

of

hunting

nd

fishing.

f

for any

reason

you would like to stop receiving materials from

the

TRCP, simply reply to this

message with

REMOVE

in the

subject

line.

R DIO

and

Secy' Tom Vilsack)

· J

- -

- - - - - - -

r

- -

r

- - -

o

with the nation's

streams and

wetlands.

J



resemble the dr ft proposal th t was leaked earlier



To

From

Sent

Subject

Laura

Vaught Laura[[email protected]]

Mahoney Christina

Thur 6/12/2014 8:44:34 P

Cleaver RFS question - and thanks

My boss mentioned that he was able to chat with Administrator McCarthy this morning about the

2014 RFS timing and final numbers. I just wanted to say thanks for following up for us on the

issue. We had heard the target date was end

o

June and that the numbers may be close to the

original proposal.

Regards

Christina

Office

o

U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver

2335 Rayburn HOB Washington D.C. 20515

Ph: 202-225-4535 Fx: 202-225-4403

On.



To

From

Sent

Subject

Vaught Laura[[email protected]]

Repko Mary Frances

Tue 7/22/2014 6:49:08 PM

FW: RFS

From Hassenboehler Tom

Sent Tuesday July 22 2014 2:19 PM

To Repko Mary Frances

Subject RE RFS

Delete Sec. 2(b)

Add Sec. (2)( c )(2)(C) increase the timely availability

o

new pathways to produce renewable

fuels, including non-ethanol renewable fuels that can obviate the need for using mid-level

ethanol blends.

Add new Sec. 3 INTERIM RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD

(a) For calendar years 2014 and 2015, and any subsequent years prior to submission

o

the

report, Section 2 l(o)(2)(B)(i)

o

the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by

striking the applicable renewable fuel volumes in subclause (1) and inserting in lieu thereof

15 .21.



b) The Environmental Protection Agency shall use the renewable fuel volume established by

this Act in determining the applicable volume percentage standards for calendar years 2014 and

2015 and subsequent years

i

necessary.

SECTION

1

DEFINITIONS.

In

this Act:

(1) Administrator.--The term Administrator means the

Administrator

o

the Environmental Protection Agency.

(2) Mid-level ethanol blend.--The term mid- level ethanol

blend means an ethanol-gasoline blend containing greater than

10 and up to and including 20 percent ethanol by volume that is

intended to be used in any conventional gasoline-powered motor

vehicle or nonroad vehicle or engine.

SEC.

2

EVALUATION.

(a)

In

General.--The Administrator, acting through the Assistant

Administrator o the Office o Research and Development at the

Environmental Protection Agency, shall--

(1) not later than 45 days after the date

o

enactment

o

this Act, enter into an agreement with the National Academy

o

Sciences to provide, within 18 months after the date o

enactment

o

this Act, a comprehensive assessment

o

the

scientific and technical research

on

the implications

o

the



use o mid-level ethanol blends, comparing mid-level ethanol

blends to gasoline blends containing 10 percent or zero percent

ethanol; and

2) not later than 30 days after receiving the results o

the assessment under paragraph

1 ),

submit a report to the

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology o the House o

Representatives and the Committee

on

Environment and Public

Works o the Senate on the findings o the assessment, together

with the agreement or disagreement

o

the Administrator with

each o its findings.

b) Waivers.--Prior to the submission

o

the report under

subsection a) 2), any waiver granted under section 211 f) 4) o the

Clean Air Act 42 U.S.C. 7545 f) 4)) before the date

o

enactment

o

this Act that allows the introduction into commerce o mid-level

ethanol blends for use in motor vehicles shall have no force or effect.

The Administrator shall grant no new waivers under such section

211 f) 4) until after the submission o the report described under

subsection a) 2).

c) Contents.--The assessment performed under subsection a) 1)

shall include the following:

1) An evaluation o the short-term and long-term

environmental, safety, durability, and performance effects

o

the introduction o mid-level ethanol blends on onroad,

nonroad, and marine engines, onroad and nonroad vehicles, and

related equipment. Such evaluation shall consider the impacts



o qualifying mid-level ethanol blends or blends with higher

ethanol concentrations

as

a certification fuel. Such evaluation

shall include a review o all available scientific evidence,

including all relevant government and industry data and

testing, including that relied upon by the Administrator and

published at 75 Fed. Reg. 68094 et seq. November

4,

2010), 76

Fed. Reg. 4662 et seq. January 26, 2011 , and 76 Fed. Reg.

44406 et seq. July 25,

2011 ,

and identify gaps in

understanding and research needs related to--

A) tailpipe emissions;

B) evaporative emissions;

C) engine and fuel system durability;

D) onboard diagnostics;

E) emissions inventory and other modeling effects;

F) materials compatibility;

G) operability and drivability;

H)

fuel efficiency;

I) fuel economy;

J) consumer education and satisfaction;

K) cost-effectiveness for the consumer;

L) catalyst durability; and

M) durability

o

storage tanks, piping, and

dispensers for retail.

2) An identification o areas

o

research, development,

and testing necessary to--

A) ensure that existing motor fuel infrastructure



is not adversely impacted by mid-level ethanol blends,

including an examination o potential impacts o mid

level ethanol blends

on

metal, plastic, rubber, or any

other materials used in pipes or storage tanks; and

B) reduce the risk

o

misfueling by users at

various points in the distribution and supply chain,

including at bulk storage, retail storage, and

distribution configurations by--

i) assessing the best methods and

practices to prevent misfueling;

ii) examining misfueling mitigation

strategies for blender pumps, including

volumetric purchase requirements and labeling

requirements;

iii) assessing the adequacy

o

and ability

for misfueling mitigation plans approved by the

Environmental Protection Agency; and

iv) examining the technical standards and

recommendations o the National Institute o

Standards and Technology, the American National

Standards Institute, and the International

Organization for Standardization regarding fuel

pump labeling.

SEC.

3

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.



n

order to carry out this Act, the Administrator shall utilize up

to 900,000 from the funds made available for science and technology,

including research and development activities, at the Environmental

Protection Agency.



To

From

Sent

Subject

Distefano, Nichole[[email protected]]; Vaught, Laura[[email protected]]

Anderson, Amanda

D

Wed 7/2/2014 3:39:37

PM

Fw:

Peterson +51 )_Renewable Fuel Standard

From Harris, Jacqueline

Sent

Tuesday, July 01, 2014 07:33

PM

To Singletary, Barvetta; Anderson, Amanda

D

Subject Peterson +51 )_Renewable Fuel Standard

Team

Please note the attached correspondence from Peterson and 5 colleagues. Please let me know

where you would like the letter tasked.

Thanks

Jacqueline



To

From

Sent

Subject

Vaught, Laura[[email protected]]

Long, Jeff Blumenthal)

Tue 3/25/2014 6:04:20 P

FW: Biodiesel One Ltd - Agentinian biodiesel

From BioDiesel One, Ltd Radune [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent Tuesday, March 25, 2014 10:46 AM

To Long, Jeff Blumenthal)

Subject Biodiesel One Ltd - Agentinian biodiesel

i

eff

Sorry we couldn t get together last week. Perhaps hope we can get together in Southington at the end

of

April



Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that the EPA is considering another bone head move to kill the

domestic biodiesel industry.

Argentina submitted an application in 2011 seeking approval for a streamlined RFS pathway that would allow

Argentinian biodiesel to meet the definition o renewable biomass under the RFS wit out having to map and track

the feedstock as is typically required. The proposed survey plan would seek

to

establish that the feedstock

(soybean oil) comes from land that was in agricultural production on or before Dec. 19, 2007 - thus qualifying for

RIN-generation under the RFS.

The domestic biodiesel industry s concerned that approval o the application could lead to a flood o Argentinian

biodiesel into the U.S. market. Particularly in the context o a weak RFS volume proposal, such a development

could create significant harm for domestic producers.

Is there any way Senator Bluementhal can help persuade the EPA to treat foreign producers the same way they treat

domestic producers?

t seems lately, every bill, law,

or

mandate ends up being interpreted, by Federal Agencies,

to

the benefit o foreign

producers and big oil and to the detriment o domestic producers. What gives?

Regards

Karl Radune

President

Biodiesel One Ltd.

Southington, CT 06489



EPA Regulations:

Too Much Too Little or

n

Track?

James

E

McCarthy

Specialist in Environmental Policy

Claudia Copeland

Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy

December

12 2013

Congressional

Research

Service

7 5700

www crs gov

R41561



ummary

Since Barack Obama was sworn in as President in 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) has proposed and promulgated numerous regulations implementing the pollution control

statutes enacted by Congress. Critics have reacted strongly. Many, both within Congress and

outside

o

it, have accused the agency

o

reaching beyond the authority given it by Congress and

ignoring or underestimating the costs and economic impacts

o

proposed and promulgated rules.

The House has conducted vigorous oversight

o

the agency in the l

l ih

and l 3th Congresses, and

has approved several bills that would overturn specific regulations or limit the agency s authority.

Particular attention has been paid to the Clean Air Act; congressional scrutiny has focused as well

on other environmental statutes and regulations implemented by EPA.

Environmental groups and other supporters o the agency disagree that EPAhas overreached.

Many

o

them believe that the agency is, in fact, moving in the right direction, including taking

action on significant issues that had been long delayed or ignored in the past. In several cases,

environmental advocates would like the regulatory actions to be stronger.

EPA states that critics focus on the cost

o

controls obscures the benefits o new regulations,

which, it estimates, far exceed the costs. t maintains that pollution control is an important source

o

economic activity, exports, and American jobs, as well. Further, the agency and its supporters

say that EPA is carrying out the mandates detailed by Congress in the federal environmental

statutes.

This report provides background information on EPA regulatory activity during the Obama

Administration to help address these issues. t examines major or controversial regulatory actions

taken by or under development at EPA since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory

action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion

o

the rule (including identification

o

related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA sestimates

o

costs and

benefits, where available. The report includes tables that show which rules remain under

development, and an appendix that describes major or controversial rules that are now final.

The report also discusses factors that affect the timeframe in which regulations take effect,

including statutory and judicial deadlines, public comment periods, judicial review, and

permitting procedures, the net results o which are that existing facilities are likely to have several

years before being required to comply with most

o

the regulatory actions under discussion.

Unable to account for such factors, which will vary from case to case, timelines that show dates

for proposal and promulgation o EPA regulations effectively underestimate the complexities o

the regulatory process and overstate the near-term impact o many o the regulatory actions.



Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................... .................. 1

Is EPA on Target or Overreaching? Conflicting Views ............................................................. 1

What This Report Does ........................................................................................................... 3

A Few Caveats Regarding Timing ............................................................................................ 4

Congressional Activity .............................................................................................................. 6

Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 7

Organization o the Report ...................................................................................................... 8

Clean Air Act and Climate Change ................................................................................................ 8

Clean Water Act ........................................................................................................................... 12

Toxic Substances Control Act TSCA) ........................................................................................ 16

Solid Waste/Underground Storage Tanks RCRA) ....................................................................... 17

ables

Table 1 Major EPARules and Modifications Expected to Be Proposed or Promulgated,

December 2013-June 2014 ......................................................................................................... 5

Table 2 Major Rules and Modifications Under Development at EPA .......................................... 19

ppendixes

Appendix. Major or Controversial Rules Promulgated Since 2009 .............................................. 23

Contacts

Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................... 38

Key Policy and Legal Staff .......................................................................................................... 3 8



Introduction

Is EPA on Target or Overreaching Conflicting iews

Since Barack Obama was sworn in as President

of

the United States in 2009, the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed and promulgated numerous regulations under the

11

pollution control statutes Congress has directed it to implement.

1

Most

of

these statutes have not

been amended for more than a decade, yet the agency is still addressing for the first time

numerous directives given it by Congress, while also addressing newly emerging pollution

problems and issues. The statutes also mandate that EPA conduct periodic reviews

of

many

of

the

standards it issues, and the agency is doing these reviews, as well.

Although supporters would say that EPA

is

just doing its job, the agency's regulatory actions over

the last four-plus years have drawn attention for several reasons. In some cases, such as regulation

of

greenhouse gas emissions, they represent a new departure. Based on a 2007 Supreme Court

ruling that greenhouse gas emissions are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act's definition

of

that

term,

2

the agency has undertaken numerous regulatory actions setting emission standards or

laying the framework for a future regulatory structure. In other cases, the agency

is

revisiting

emissions, effluent, and waste management regulatory decisions made during earlier

Administrations and proposing more stringent standards to address pollution that persists as long

as 40 years after Congress directed the agency to take action. These actions are being driven by

statutory requirements to reexamine regulations, by legal challenges and court decisions, or

because of changing technologies or new scientific information.

EPA'sactions, both individually and in sum, have generated controversy. The Wall Street Journal

calling the scale of EPA regulatory actions unprecedented, stated that the agency has turned a

regulatory firehose on U.S. business

3

and, regarding proposed regulatory actions affecting

electric generating units, it said the EPA' sregulatory cascade

is

a clear and present danger to the

reliability and stability

of

the U.S. power system and grid.''4 The American Enterprise Institute

stated that EPA is engaged in a series

of

rule-making proceedings

of

extraordinary scope and

ambition.

5

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce described EPA'sactions as a series of one-sided,

politically-charged regulations that are intended to take the place of legislation that cannot

achieve a consensus in the Congress.

6

Affected parties, such as the National Petrochemical

Refiners Association, have labeled the agency's actions overreaching government regulation

and a clear distortion

of

current environmental law,

7

while the National Mining Association

1

For a summary

of

each

of

the

11

statutes and their principal requirements, see CRS Report RL30798,

Environmental

Laws: Summaries o Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency

coordinated by David

M.

Bearden.

2

See CRS Report R40984,

Legal Consequences

o

EPA

s

Endangerment Findingfor New Motor Vehicle Greenhouse

Gas Emissions

by Robert Meltz.

3

The Wall Street Journal

The EPA Permitorium, editorial, November 22, 2010.

4

The Wall Street Journal

An EPA Moratorium, editorial, August 29, 2011.

5

AEI, The EPA's Ambitious Regulatory Agenda, Conference, November 8 2010, at http://www.aei.org/event/

100334#doc.

6

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Regulatory Areas, Energy, and the Environment,

http://www.uschamber.com/regulations/ areas.



said, even at a time

of

great economic stress, EPA is poised to enact a series

of

back-door

mandates that threaten to cost millions

of

Americanjobs, and increase the cost

of

their electricity

while

they're

at it.

8

Both Democra ts and Republicans in Congress have expressed concerns, through bipartisan letters

commenting on proposed regulations and through introduced legislation that would delay, limit,

or

prevent certain

EPA

actions.

9

Senior Republicans in the House and Senate committed to

vigorous oversight of the

agency's

actions during the l l i Congress,

1

with some threatening to

withhold funding

if

the agency continued on its present course.

11

Vigorous oversight is continuing

in the l 13

1

h Congress-earlier this year, a senior Senate Republican referred to a frightening

flood of new EPArules.

12

EPAhas not been silent as the agency's actions have come under attack. In a November 2010

letter to the ranking Members of the Energy

and

Commerce Committee

and

its Subcommittee on

Oversight and Investigations, then-EPA Administra tor Lisa Jackson stated:

The pace ofEPA's Clean Air Act regulatory work under this administration is actually not

faster than

the

pace under either of

the two

previous administrations. In

fact

EPA has

finalized or proposed fewer Clean Air Act rules (87) over the past

21

months than in

the

first

two years

of

either President George

W.

Bush's administration (146) or President Clinton's

administration (115).

13

In congressional testimony and other fora, Adminis trator Jackson sought to rebut critics'

challenges to

EPA'

sactions and initiatives.

It's time for a real conversation about protecting our health and

the

environment while

growing our economy. EPA' s

40

years of environmental and health protection demonstrate

our nation's ability to create jobs while we clear our air, water and land ... . Telling

the

truth

(

..

continued)

NPRA, NPRA Says Court Decision on GHGs Bad for Consumers, December 10, 2010, at http://www.npra.org/

newsRoom/?fa=viewCmsltem&title=Latest%20News&articlelD=5980.

8

National Mining Association, EPA s Regulatory Train W reek, 2011, http://www.nma.org/pdf/fact_ sheets/

epa_tw.pdf.

9

For a discussion of some of these congressional actions, see CRS Report R41212, EPA Regulation o Greenhouse

Gases: Congressional Responses and Options, by James E. McCarthy; CRS Report R41698, H.R. 1 Full-Year FY201 l

Continuing Resolution: Overview o Environmental Protection Agency EPA) Provisions,

by Robert Esworthy; and

CRS Report R41979,

Environmental Protection Agency EPA) FY2012 Appropriations: Overview o Provisions in H.R.

2584 s Reported,

by Robert Esworthy.

1

See, for example, Letter

of

Hon. Fred Upton, Chairman-elect, House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Hon.

James lnhofe, ranking Member, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, to EPA Administrator Lisa

Jackson, December

9

2010, at http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=

d596d5fb-593c-4c99-b0cl-4laab15887b0. See also

A

Coming Assault on the E.P .A.,

New York Times,

editorial,

December 24, 2010.

See letter

of

Hon. Jerry Lewis

to

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, November 29, 2010, p. 2, at http://op.bna.com/

env.nsf/id/jstn-8bnt7t/.

12

See Oil Industry, GOP Criticize EPA's New Gasoline Rules,

Washington Post,

March 30, 2013, p.

3.

13

Letter

of

Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator,

to

Hon. Joe Barton and Hon. Michael C. Burgess, November 8, 2010,

p. 1. According

to

the letter, All three counts include all Clean Air Act rules that amend the Code

of

Federal

Regulations and that require the EPA Administrator's signature. Administrator Jackson's letter was written in

response

to

an October

14

letter from Reps. Barton and Burgess in which they expressed concern regarding the

cumulative impacts

of

new regulations being proposed under the Clean Air Act.



about our economy and our environment is about respecting the priorities of the American

people. More than 70 percent of Americans want EPA to continue to do its job effectively.

Those same Americans want to see a robust economic recovery. We have the capacity to do

both things if we

don t

let distractions keep us from the real work of creating jobs.

4

Environmental groups generally believe that the agency is moving in the right direction, but in

several cases they would like the regulatory actions

to

be stronger.

15

Many also fear that decisions

to delay the issuance or implementation of several standards are bad omens. Commenting on

EPA'sDecember 2010 request to delay the issuance

of

standards for boilers, for example, Clean

Air Watch stated, "there

is

an unfortunate appearance here that political pressure from Congress

is

affecting the situation. That EPA

is

running scared. "

6

These concerns were renewed following

the President's September 2011 decision to withdraw revised air quality standards for ozone that

EPA had spent two years developing (see "Ozone Ambient Air Quality Standards" section, below)

and the agency's delay in implementation of air quality standards for cement kilns and other

industries.

t is not this report's purpose to render a verdict on whether EPA is overreaching, running scared,

or following the directions and using the authorities given it by Congress. Statements

characterizing EPA'sactions, such as those cited above, depend on judgments as to whether the

agency has correctly determined the level of stringency needed to address an environmental

problem, and whether the agency's actions are just ified by the legislative mandates that Congress

has imposed and statutory authorities that Congress has provided. Congress and the courts may

render these judgments.

What This eport oes

This report provides a factual basis for discussion of these issues, which must ultimately be

evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The report identifies and briefly characterizes major regulatory

actions

17

promulgated, proposed, or under development by EPA since January 2009. The report

uses data from EPA'sSemiannual Regulatory Agendas

18

and the list

of

economically significant

reviews completed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

19

to compile a list of

regulatory actions proposed, promulgated, or under development by the agency. The list includes

4

Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator, "Telling the Truth about the Environment and Our Economy," September 2

2011, http://blog.epa.gov/administrator.

5

See, for example, comments of Clean Air Task Force, Earth ustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the

Sierra Club on the proposed emission standards for boilers, as cited in CRS Report R41459, EPA s Boiler MACT:

Controlling Emissions ofHazardous

ir

Pollutants

by James

E.

McCarthy, p.

15.

6

Clean Air Watch, "EPA Seeks Big Delay in Final Toxic Rule for Boilers," December 7 2010, at

http://blogforcleanair

b

logspot.eom/2010/ 12/ epa-seeks-big-delay-in-final-toxic-rule .html.

7

This report uses the terms "regulatory action," "regulation," "rule," "standard," and "guidelines" for the actions it

describes. There are slight differences among these terms, which are explained,

if

necessary to understand how the

regulatory action will be implemented. n general, "regulatory action"

is

the broadest

of

the terms and includes each

of

the others.

8

U.S. EPA,

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Spring 2013

July 3 2013, at

http://www.regulations.gov# documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OA-2013-0514-0001.

9

OMB, Office

of

Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Historical Reports at http://www.reginfo.gov/publie/

do/eoHistReviewSearch.



all EPA rules considered economically significant by OMB since January 2009,

20

as well as

some others that were not so designated but have been widely discussed.

Each entry in this report (1) gives the name or, where appropriate, the common name o the

regulatory action (e.g., the Tailoring Rule, or the Endangerment Finding ); (2) explains what

the action does; (3) states the current status

o

the rule or action (e.g., proposed September 20,

2013 ; (4) explains the significance o the action, providing information on estimated costs and

benefits, where available; ( 5) discusses the time line for implementation, and whether there is a

non-discretionary congressional deadline or a court order or remand driving its development; and

(6) identifies a CRS analyst who would be the contact for further information. To simplify

presentation, in some cases, we have summarized several separate, but related, regulations under

one heading.

This is not a complete list o the regulations that EPA has proposed or promulgated during the

Obama Administration. Rather, it is an attempt to identify the most significant and most

controversial. A complete list would be substantially longer.

21

Few Caveats Regarding

iming

Not all o the rules discussed here are Obama Administration initiatives. Many began

development under the Bush Administration (or earlier, in some cases), including several that

were promulgated under that Administration and subsequently were vacated or remanded to EPA

by the courts. Within the Clean Air Act group, for example, most o the major rules, including the

agency's boiler rules and two

o

the major rules affecting electric power plants (the Cross-State

Air Pollution Rule and the MACT rule) fit that description. Similarly, EP A'sregulation o power

plant cooling water intake structures is governed by a 1995 consent decree and rules issued and

proposed in several phases beginning in 2001. Other EPA actions, such as reconsideration o the

ozone air quality standard, have actually delayed for several years implementation o Bush

Administration rules that strengthened existing standards. All o these are described in detail

below.

Several other generalizations are worth underlining:

• Many proposed and pre-proposal rules linger for years without being

promulgated; thus, many o the EPA actions described here may not take effect

for some time.

22

For those rules not yet promulgated, we have focused on rules

that have statutory or court-ordered deadlines and/or that have already been the

subject o significant discussion.

20

OIRA (the regulatory affairs sta ff within OMB) considers a rule

to

be economically significant

i it

is

likely

to

have an annual effect on the economy o $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a

sector o the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health o r safety, or State, local, or tribal

governments or

communities. OMB,

FAQs/Resources

at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/jsp/Utilitics/faq.jsp.

2

For example, according to OMB, OIRA completed action on 47 proposed and final EPA rules in 2012 and 78

proposed and final rules in 2011; 8 and 15

o

these, respectively were determined to be economically significant. Sec

footnote 19.

22

They may also be substantially altered before they become final and take effect, as a result

o

the proposal and public

comment process, and/or judicial review.



f here are no known deadlines, we have attempted to provide EPA'sestimate

of

the schedule for promulgation. In some cases, EPA has not estimated a proposal

or promulgation date. In those instances, we have either provided dates reported

in press accounts or we have discussed the general outlook for promulgation.

Experience suggests that proposal or promulgation may take longer than

estimated in cases that do not have a court-ordered deadline.

• Although they are the most likely deadlines to be met, even court-ordered dates

for proposal or promulgation may change. t is not uncommon for EPA to request

extensions of time, often due to the need to analyze extensive comments or re

evaluate technical information.

• Promulgation

of

standards is not the end

of

the road. Virtually all major EPA

regulatory actions are subjected to court challenge, frequently delaying

implementation for years. As noted earlier, many of the regulatory actions

described here are the result of courts remanding and/or vacating rules

promulgated by previous administrations. EPA has also, in several cases,

reconsidered rules after promulgation, changing what were announced as final

standards, and, in some cases, granting additional time for compliance.

• In many cases, EPA rules must be adopted by states to which the program has

been delegated before actual implementation occurs (e.g., establishing air quality

plans or issuing permits). Moreover, many states require that the legislature

review new regulations before the new rules would take effect.

• Standards for stationary sources under the air, water, and solid waste laws are

generally implemented through permits, which would be individually issued by

state permitting authorities after the standards take effect. When finalized, a

permit would generally include a compliance schedule, typically giving the

permittee several years for installation

of

required control equipment. Existing

sources generally will have several years following promulgation and effective

dates

of

standards, therefore, to comply with any standards.

In short, the road to EPA regulation

is

rarely a straight path. There are numerous possible causes

of delay. t would be unusual

ifthe

regulatory actions described here were all implemented on the

anticipated schedule, and even if they were, existing facilities would often have several years

before being required to comply. That said,

able

identifies rules that are likely to be proposed

or promulgated by June 2014. Note that expected dates are tentative.

Table I Major EPA Rules and Modifications Expected to Be Proposed or

Promulgated December 20 13-June 20

4

Item Number in

This

Report

Name

of

Rule Type

of

Rule

Expected ate

9. Revised Cooling

Water

Final January 14 2014

Intake

7. Brick and Clay MACT roposed February 6, 2014

4. Tier 3 Auto/Light Truck Final Februa ry 2014

Emission and Gasoline

Standards



Item Number n

This

Report

10.

I

15.

Name

of

Rule

Revised Steam Electric

Effluent Limitations

Guidelines

Carbon Pollution

Guidelines for Greenhouse

Gas

Emissions from

Existing Power Plants

Revised Underground

Storage Tank Regulations

Source Compiled by

CRS.

Congressional Activity

Type

of

Rule Expected

ate

Final May

14

2014

Proposed

June 2014

Final

Spring 2014

In the th Congress, a number of EPA sregulatory actions were the subject of legislative

proposals, including stand-alone bills that would have delayed or prohibited EPA actions,

resolutions

of

disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, and potential riders on EP

A s

appropriation. None

of

these measures passed.

In the

2

h Congress, criticism

of

EPA actions increased, and several bills to prevent or delay

EPA action passed the House but were not considered in the Senate. Bills are also being

considered in the l 3th Congress. Some proposals have been broad in nature, targeting all

regulatory agencies or a lengthy list of specific regulations, while others focus more narrowly on

individual rules or actions.

The situation has been particularly contentious for regulatory actions involving greenhouse gases.

Although former Administrator Jackson and President Obama repeatedly expressed their

preference for Congress to take the lead in designing a GHG regulatory system, EPAmaintains

that, in the absence

of

congressional action, it must proceed

to

regulate GHG emissions using

existing authority: a 2007 Supreme Court decision

Massachusetts

v

EPA)

compelled EPA to

consider whether GHGs are air pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, and if it so

determined, to embark on a regulatory course that

is

prescribed by the Clean Air Act. Having

made an affirmative decision on the endangerment question, EPA has proceeded on that

regulatory course and

is

defending its actions in court.

Opponents

of

this effort in Congress, who maintain that the agency

is

exceeding its authority,

have considered various approaches to altering the agency s course, including riders on

appropriations bills, stand-alone legislation, resolutions

of

disapproval under the Congressional

Review Act, and amendments to the Clean Air Act. Several

of

these bills passed the House in the

2 h Congress, but died in the Senate. (Earlier versions of this report described specific bills.

Staff interested in these bills may wish to contact the report s authors for additional information.)

In addition to measures that targeted greenhouse gas regulations, bills passed by the House in the

2 h Congress addressed other EPA regulatory actions affecting electric power plants, industrial

boilers and incinerators, coal combustion waste, cement kilns, and rural dust. None of these

passed the Senate.



Beyond the criticism of specific regulations, there have also been calls for broad regulatory

reforms in the 1

lth

and

113

h

Congress to

reinforce the role of economic considerations in

agency decision-making, to increase Congress 's role in approving or disapproving regulatory

decisions, or to require analysis

of

the cumulative impacts

of

multiple EPA regulations. One such

broad bill is H.R. 367, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act,

which in general provides that major rules

of

the executive branch shall have no force or effect

unless a joint resolution of approval is enacted into law.

23

The bill has passed the House in both

the 11th and

113

h Congresses. Other bills passed by the House in the 112th Congress proposed a

number

of

broad regulatory reforms, including requiring agencies to adopt the least costly rule

that meets relevant statutory objectives unless the benefits justify additional costs; providing for

judicial review of certain requirements and determinations for which judicial review

is

not

currently available; altering judicial deference to agency interpretations of rules; enhancing

regulatory review authority of the Small Business Administration; and/or placing moratoria on the

issuance

of

new regulations.

onclusions

This report has been updated frequently since the first version was released early in 2011. Many

of the issues that were raised then regarding specific regulations have now been

resolved at

least to the extent that proposed rules have been finalized. Still, the broader question

of

whether

the Obama Administrat ion'sEPAis overreaching in its regulatory efforts has not gone away.

Critics both in Congress and outside

of

it regularly accuse the agency

of

overkill. In April 2013,

in a case involving four ofEPA'sgreenhouse gas regulatory actions, for example, a dozen states

led by Texas asked the Supreme Court to rein in a usurpatious agency and remind the President

and his subordinates that they cannot rule by executive decree.

24

What is different three years after our first report is that there is now a more detailed record of

EPA actions to be evaluated. Reviewing that record, we

find

• Many

of

the proposals that were controversial when our first report was released

are now final.

• In general, the proposed versions of these rules served as high water marks :

none of the final rules is more stringent than what was proposed and the final

versions of many of the most controversial rules were made less stringent.

• In revising proposed rules, EPA often relied on data submitted by industry and

other stakeholders, acknowledging that it had inadequate or incomplete data

when it proposed the rules.

• In several instances, the regulated community was given more time to comply

than originally expected.

23

For information, see CRS Report R41651,

REINS Act: Number and Types o Major Rules in Recent Years,

by

Maeve

P.

Carey and Curtis W. Copeland.

24

Petition for certiorari filed by State

of

Texas et al. at

2

granted, 2013 WL 1743433 (Oct. 15 2013), from Coalition

for Responsible Regulation v. EPA, 682 F.3d 102 (D.C. Cir. 2012). Five other petitions for certiorari from the same

decision were also granted; the combined cases will be known in the Supreme Court as Utility Air Regulatory Group v.

EPA (No. 12-1146). Oral argument is scheduled for February 24, 2014.



• Regardless

of

modifications in the final rules, many

of

the regulations have been

challenged in court by a variety of

groups some

seeking more stringent rules,

others less stringent.

• Although many of these challenges remain to be heard by the courts, thus far the

courts have upheld EPA decisions on the final regulations in most cases.

• The pace of new regulation has slowed considerably since 2011. In part, this may

be because a backlog of rules that were remanded to the agency during the Bush

Administration has been largely addressed; other rules were delayed until after

the 2012 election, perhaps due to political considerations.

• A number of EPA proposals remain under development, with planned or court

ordered promulgation dates on the horizon; many of these remain controversial.

Organization o the Report

Because so many of the rules that we listed in the first version of this report have now been

promulgated, we have reorganized this update to separate these largely resolved issues from

proposals that remain under consideration. In order

to

focus attention on the rules that remain to

be finalized, we have removed rules that are already final from the body

of

the report and placed

them in an Appendix What remains in the text are the rules that are most likely to be the subject

of debate in the remainder of President Obama' s term. These rules are organized under four

headings: Clean Air Act and Climate Change; Clean Water Act; Toxic Substances Control Act;

and Solid Waste (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act). Following the text, information

concerning the rules that remain under development is summarized in Table 2

Clean Air Act and Climate Change

1

Carbon Pollution Standards for New and Existing Power Plants EPAhas stated for some

time that it would undertake a review of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to

consider greenhouse gas emission standards for electric generating units at the same time as it

developed mercury and air toxics (MATS or MACT) standards for power plants. Electric

generating units are the largest U.S. source

of

both greenhouse gas and mercury emissions,

accounting for about one-third of all GHG emissions in addition to about half of U.S. mercury

emissions. In a settlement agreement with

11

states and other parties, EPA agreed to propose the

NSPS for power plants by July 26, 2011, and take final action on the proposal by May 26, 2012.

This schedule encountered delays: proposed standards were not proposed until April 13, 2012.

25

EPA faced a statutory deadline of one year after the date of proposal (i.e., April 13, 2013) for

promulgation of final standards, which it did not meet. The agency received more than

2

7 million

comments on the proposed rule the most it has received on any rule in its 40-year history.

On June 25, 2013, the President directed EPA to re-propose the rule by September 20, 2013. EPA

released a modified proposal on September 20. This re-proposal had not yet appeared in the

ederal Register as of mid-November; thus, a formal period for public comment had not begun.

The President also directed the agency to propose guidelines for emissions from existing

25

The standards appeared in the ederal Register on April 13, 2012. The standards and supporting materials are

available at http://www.epa.gov/carbonpollutionstandard/actions.html.



generating units by June 1 2014, finalize them by June 1 2015, and require the states to submit

implementation plans by June 30, 2016.

EPA set the GHG emission standards as proposed in 2012 and as modified in 2013 at levels

achievable by most natural-gas-fired units without added pollution controls or by coal-fired units

using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to capture about 40%

of

their uncontrolled

emissions. Although the components

of

CCS technology have been demonstrated, no existing

power plant combines them all in an operating unit, and the electric power industry has generally

concluded that a CCS requirement would effectively prohibit the construction of new coal-fired

plants, other than those already permitted. EPA maintains otherwise, but it also says that, because

of

low natural gas prices and abundant existing generation capacity, it believes no new coal-fired

units subject to the proposed standards will be constructed between now and 2020. For additional

information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

2.

Expanded Renewable Fuel Standard RFS2). On March 26, 2010, EPA promulgated new

rules for the renewable fuel standard (RFS) that was expanded by the Energy Independence and

Security Act of 2007 (EISA, P.L. 110-140).

26

For 2014, EISA is scheduled to require the use of

18.15 billion gallons

of

ethanol and other biofuels in transportation fuel. Within that mandate, the

statute requires the use of 3. 75 billion gallons

of

advanced biofuels (fuels other than com starch

ethanol), including 1.7 5 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels. Because

of

concerns that gasoline

and diesel fuel suppliers would be unable to meet the 2014 standards,

27

in November 2013 EPA

proposed lowering the advanced biofuel and overall RFS mandates. On November 29, 2013, EPA

proposed an overall RFS of 15 .21 billion gallons and an advanced biofuel mandate

of

2.2 billion

gallons, below both the actual 2013 level and the 2014 level scheduled in EISA.

Further, because few commercial-scale cellulosic biofuel refineries have begun operation, EPA

has proposed reducing the mandated 2014 level for these fuels from 1.7 5 billion gallons to 17

million ethanol-equivalent gallons.

28

Similar shortfalls have occurred since 2010 when EISA first required the inclusion of cellulosic

biofuels in the RFS, prompting EPA to revise downward the cellulosic mandate each year.

However, through 2012 no commercial-scale cellulosic biofuel plants had begun operation, and

only about 20,000 gallons of cellulosic biofuel had been registered under the RFS, as opposed to

the 10.45 million ethanol-equivalent gallons (8.65 actual gallons) required by EPA. Because of

this shortfall in production capacity, in January 2013 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.

Circuit vacated the 2012 cellulosic mandate.

29

In response, in February EPArevised the 2012

cellulosic standard to zero. As part of the 2014 rulemaking, EPA also proposed rescinding the

2011 cellulosic mandate.

Because

of

the (vacated) requirement to use fuels that are not available in the market ( phantom

fuels ), EPA sprocess for determining annual cellulosic volumes has become controversial.

Legislation introduced in the House and Senate, H.R. 550 and S. 251, would amend the Clean Air

26

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Regulation

of

Fuels and Fuel Additives: Changes

to

Renewable Fuel

Standard Program; Final Rule,

75

Federal Register 14670-14904, March 26, 2010.

27

See section on Ethanol Blend Wall/EIS Waiver

in

the

Appendix

to this report.

28

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2014 Standards for the Renewable Fuel Standard Program; Proposed Rule,

78 ederal Register 71732-71784, November 29, 2013.

29

API v. EPA, 706 F.3d 474 (D.C. Cir. 2013).



Act to set cellulosic fuel requirements based on the prior years' average monthly production as

opposed to the current statutory requirement for EPA to project production capacity for the year.

Various other bills to amend the RPS, including legislation to eliminate portions of the RPS,

lower the annual mandated levels,

or

eliminate the program entirely. For additional information,

contact Brent Yacobucci (7-9662, [email protected]).

3. Tier 3 Emissions Standards for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks and Gasoline

Standards In February 2011, EPAbegan to scope out new emissions standards for conventional

pollutants (i.e., non-greenhouse gases) from passenger cars and light trucks. In a May 2010

memorandum from the White House to the EPAand NHTSA Administrators, President Obama

had directed EPA to review the adequacy of the current

Tier

2 emissions standards for these

vehicles, which EPA finalized in February 2000, and were phased in between MY2004 and

MY2009.

30

EPAproposed Tier 3 standards April 13, 2013. As with the Tier 2 standards, the

proposed Tier 3 standards include changes to both vehicle emission limits and fuel formulation

rules, lowering allowable sulfur content to facilitate the use of new technology. The proposal

would lower allowable sulfur from 30 parts per million to a maximum

of

10, and would require

reductions in vehicle emissions of 70%-80%. In letters to the

EPA

Administrator, several senators

have asked

EPA

to delay its rulemaking over concerns that the new fuel standards would raise the

price

of

gasoline,

31

but EPAmaintains that the rule as proposed would add less than a penny a

gallon to the price

of

gasoline, while reducing emissions by the equivalent ofremoving 33 million

cars from the road. EPAhad hoped to promulgate final standards before the end of2013, with an

effective date of 2017. The agency recently stated that the rule will not be issued before February

2014, but it expects to keep in place a compliance deadline of 2017. For additional information,

contact Brent Yacobucci (7-9662, [email protected]) or Rick Lattanzio (7-17 54,

[email protected]).

4. Ozone Ambient Air Quality Standards

On

January 19, 2010,

EPA

proposed a revision of the

National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone.

32

At the President's request, on

September 2, 2011, this proposal was withdrawn, leaving EPA to implement previously

promulgated ozone standards.

NAAQS are the cornerstone

of

the Clean Air Act, in effect defining what EPA considers to be

clean air. They do not directly limit emissions, but they set in motion a process under which

nonatta inment areas are identified and states and

EPA

develop plans and regulations to reduce

pollution in those areas. Nonattainment designations may also trigger statutory requirements,

including that new major sources offset certain emissions by reducing emissions from existing

sources. Currently, there are NAAQS for six pollutants (ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide,

carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead). The Clean Air Act requires that these standards be

reviewed every five years, and all of the standards have been under court-ordered deadlines for

review. EPA last completed a review

of

the ozone NAAQS in 2008, and made the standard more

stringent; but the Obama Administration's EPA suspended implementation

of

the 2008 standard in

2009 in order to consider further strengthening it.

°

or more information on the Tier 2 standards, see CRS Report RS20247,

EPA's Tier 2 Emission Standards or New

Motor Vehicles: A Fact Sheet,

by David

M

Bearden.

3

Jeremy

P

Jaeobs, Bipartisan Senate Group Seeks Delay

in

EPA Tailpipe Rules,

E E News PM,

January 12, 2012.

Also, Four Demoeratie Senators Urge EPA to Issue Advanee Notiee on Proposed Rule for Tier 3,

Daily Environment

Report,

Mareh 22, 2013.

32

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone; Proposed Rule, 75

Federal Register 2938, January 19, 2010.



The reconsidered ozone NAAQS that was proposed in January 2010 was among the most

controversial standards under consideration at EPA, because

of

its wide reach and potential cost.

In the 2010 proposal, EPA identified at least 515 counties that would violate the NAAQS if the

most recent three years of data available at the time of proposal were used to determine

attainment (compared to

85

counties that violated the standard in effect at that time). The agency

estimated that the costs

of

implementing the reconsidered ozone NAAQS, as proposed, would

range from $19 billion to $25 billion annually in 2020, with benefits

of

roughly the same amount.

EPA completed its reconsideration

of

the ozone NAAQS and sent a final decision

to

the Office

of

Management and Budget for interagency review in July 2011. On September 2, 2011, the White

House announced that the President had requested that EPA Administrator Jackson withdraw the

draft ozone standards, since work was already underway to update a review of the science that

would result in the reconsideration

of

the ozone standard in 2013.

33

EPA had said it would

propose any changes resulting from this review by the end

of

2013, with promulgation late in

2014. That schedule appears to have slipped by at least six months and more likely a year. For

additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

5.

Oil and Natural Gas Air Pollution Standards

In February 2010, EPA signed a consent

agreement under which it was to promulgate revisions of the New Source Performance Standards

and Hazardous Air Pollutant standards for oil and gas production by November 30, 2011. The

agency promulgated these rules on August 16, 2012.

34

Under the CAA, EPA is required to review

New Source Performance Standards every eight years; the revisions update NSPS rules for VOCs

and S

2

that were promulgated in 1985. Similarly, EPA had a statutory obligation to review

hazardous air pollutant standards for oil and natural gas production, which were issued in 1999,

by 2007. Additionally, the 2012 rules are the first regulations to address emissions from natural

gas wells that use hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ). The new standards, which will be fully

implemented by 2015, will require companies to capture natural gas and volatile organic

compounds (VOCs) that escape when hydraulically fractured gas wells are prepared for

production. The rules affect production, processing, transmission, and storage, but not distribution

to customers. EPA estimates that the rules will result in the capture

of

95%

of

the VOCs otherwise

emitted. Although there are costs associated with the use of equipment to capture the emissions,

EPA estimates that the rules will produce a net annual savings

of

11 million to $19 million for

the industry, because the captured gas and condensate can be sold. Some states already require

similar measures, and EPA estimates that about

halfof

fracked natural gas wells already meet the

standards. On August 5, 2013, EPA promulgated updates to the storage tank portions

of

the rules

in response to petitions for reconsideration. The updates would provide additional time for

compliance and an alternative emissions limit.

35

Industry groups have filed lawsuits challenging

both the 2012 standards and the 2013 updates. For additional information, contact Rick Lattanzio

(7-1754, [email protected]).

6.

Brick and Clay MACT EPA promulgated Maximum Achievable Control Technology

(MACT) standards for hazardous air pollutants emitted by manufacturers

of

bricks, structural clay

33

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Statement by the President on the Ozone National Ambient Air

Quality

Standards, September 2, 2011.

34

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oil and Natural Gas Sector: New Source Performance Standards and

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews; Final Rule, 77

ederal Register

49490, August

16, 2012. For information, see http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/actions.html.

35

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Reconsideration

of

Certain Provisions of New

Source Performance Standards, 78 ederal Register 5 8416-58448, September 23, 2013.



products, and clay ceramics in 2003, but the standards were vacated by the D.C. Circuit Court o

Appeals in 2007. The agency has not taken action since that time, and was sued by the Sierra

Club for its failure to act. Under a consent decree, the agency has agreed to sign proposed

standards to replace the vacated rule by February 6 2014, and to sign a final rule for

promulgation by December 18, 2014. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225,

[email protected]).

Clean Water Act

7. Construction Site Effluent Limitations Guidelines. On December

1

2009, EPA promulgated

regulations under the Clean Water Act (CWA), called effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs), to

limit pollution from stormwater runoff at construction sites.

36

The rule, called the Construction

and Development, or C&D, ELG, took effect February 1 2010. OMB determined that it is an

economically significant rule. t requires construction sites that disturb one or more acres o land

to use erosion and sediment control best management practices to ensure that soil disturbed

during construction activity does not pollute nearby waterbodies. For construction sites disturbing

10

acres or more, the rule established, for the first time, enforceable numeric limits on stormwater

runoff pollution. EPA issued the rule in response

to

a 2004 lawsuit filed by an environmental

group; in 2006, a federal court ordered EPA to issue a final rule by December

1

2009. The rule

affects about 82,000 firms nationwide involved in residential, commercial, highway, street, and

bridge construction. EPA has issued effluent guidelines for 56 industries that include many types

o discharges, such as manufacturing and service industries. These guidelines are implemented in

discharge permits issued by states and EPA. Several industry groups challenged the C&D ELG. In

response, EPA examined the data set underlying a portion o the rule and concluded that it

improperly interpreted the data. In August 2010, a federal appeals court granted EPA'srequest for

remand

o

a portion

o

the rule to conduct a rulemaking to correct the numeric effluent limitation.

In November 2010, EPA promulgated a direct final rule to stay the effectiveness o the numeric

turbidity limit in the 2009 rule; other portions o the rule remain in effect.

37

To resolve industry

challenges to the 2009 rule, on April

1

2013, EPA proposed modifications

o

the 2009 rule,

including withdrawal

o

the numeric turbidity effluent limitations in the 2009 rule, which had

been controversial, and changes specific to the non-numeric portions

o

the rule. f more data on

numeric discharge standards for construction sites become available, EPA could initiate a new

rulemaking in the future.

38

For additional information, contact Claudia Copeland (7-7227,

[email protected]).

8. Post-Construction Stormwater Rule.EPA is exploring regulatory options to strengthen the

existing regulatory program for managing stormwater, which is a significant source o water

quality impairments nationwide. Under the current program, large cities and most industry

sources are subject to CWA rules issued in 1990; smaller cities, other industrial sources, and

construction sites are covered by rules issued in 1999. EPA is considering options to strengthen

stormwater regulations, including establishing post-construction requirements for stormwater

36

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Agency, Effluent Limitation Guidelines for the Construction and Development Point

Source Category, 74

ederal Register

62996-63058, December

1

2009.

37

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Direct Final Rule Staying Numeric Limitation for the Construction and

Development Point Source Category, 75

ederal Register

68215-68217, November 5, 2010.

38

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and

Development Point Source Category, 78 ederal Register 19434-19442, April 1 2013.



discharges from new development and redevelopment, which currently are not regulated. The rule

is expected to focus on stormwater discharges from developed or post-construction sites such as

subdivisions, roadways, industrial facilities and commercial buildings, or shopping centers. Under

a consent agreement with environmental groups, EPA was expected to propose a rule by June 10

2013, and to issue a final rule by December 10, 2014. However, EPAmissed the June 10 deadline,

and a new date for proposal

of

the rule has not been announced.

39

For additional information,

contact Claudia Copeland (7-7227, [email protected]).

9. Revised Cooling Water Intake Rule EPA has proposed a CW A rule to protect fish from

entrainment by cooling water intake structures at existing power plants and certain other

industrial facilities. The proposed rule will revise EPA regulations issued in 2004 that were

challenged in federal court by electric utility companies and others and were remanded to EPA by

court order in 2007 and rules issued in 2006 that also apply to new offshore oil and gas facilities

and existing manufacturing facilities, which EPAasked a court to remand to the agency for

modification.

40

The proposal also responds to a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which said that,

in developing the revised cooling water intake structure rule, EPA can consider the costs and

benefits of protecting fish and other aquatic organisms.

4

The rule combines cooling water intake

rules that apply to approximately

1

150 existing electric generating and manufacturing plants. On

December 3 2010, a federal court issued an order endorsing terms of a settlement agreement

between EPA and environmental groups, establishing deadlines for the agency to propose and

finalize a revised cooling water intake rule. EPA proposed the rule on March 28, 2011. Even

before release, the proposed rule was highly controversial. Many in industry feared, while

environmental groups hoped, that EPA would require installation of technology that most

effectively minimizes impacts

of

cooling water intake structures, but also

is

the most costly

option. The EPA proposal declined to mandate such technology universally and instead favors a

less costly, more flexible regulatory option. In addition, in June 2012, EPA announced that it

is

considering options for revising portions of the proposed rule.

42

In November 2013, EPAand the

environmental litigants agreed to extend the deadline for issuing a final rule until January

14

2014,

in

part to provide time for the agency to consult with federal wildlife agencies under

provisions

of

the Endangered Species Act. For additional information, contact Claudia Copeland


10. Revised Steam Electric Effluent Limitations Guidelines Under authority of CW A Section

304, EPA establishes national technology-based regulations, called effluent limitations guidelines

(ELGs), to reduce pollutant discharges from industries directly to waters of the United States and

indirectly to municipal wastewater treatment plants based on Best Available Technology. These

requirements are incorporated into discharge permits issued by EPA and states. The current steam

electric power plant rules

43

apply to about 1,200 nuclear- and fossil-fueled steam electric power

plants nationwide, 500 of which are coal-fired. In a 2009 study, EPA found that these regulations,

39

For additional information, see CRS Report 97-290,

Stormwater Permits: Status o EPA s Regulatory Program

by

Claudia Copeland

40

40CFR§125 90

and

40CFR§125 130

4

Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper Inc., 129 S. Ct. 1498 (2009).

4

The rule was published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2011. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National

Pollutant Discharge Elimination

S y s t e m ~ o o l i n g

Water Intake Structures at Existing Facilities and Phase 1

Facilities,

76 Federal Register

22174-22228, April 20, 2011. For information, sec CRS Report R41786,

Cooling

Water Intake Structures: Summary o EPA

s

Proposed Rule by Claudia Copeland.

43

40 CFR §423.10.



which were promulgated in 1982, do not adequately address the pollutants being discharged and

have not kept pace with changes that have occurred in the electric power industry over the last

three decades. Pollutants

of

concern include metals (e.g., mercury, arsenic, and selenium),

nutrients, and total dissolved solids. On April 19, EPA proposed a revised power plant ELG, under

a schedule in a consent decree with environmental litigants.

44

A final rule is due by May 14, 2014.

The proposed rule presents four preferred alternatives for strengthening controls on wastewater

discharges from steam electric power plants that would cut annual pollutant discharges by up to

2.6 billion pounds and cut water use by 50 billion to

103

billion gallons per year. The four options

are based on varying levels of treatment for seven different waste streams generated by the plants

and differ in the stringency

of

the treatment controls to be imposed. The rulemaking addresses

wastewater discharges from coal ash storage ponds and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) air

pollution controls, as well as other power plant waste streams.

45

The estimated annual compliance

cost of the rule would be between $168 million and $948 million. For additional information,


11.

Waters o the United States Rule making. From the earliest days, Congress has grappled

with where to set the line between federal and state authority over the nation's waterways.

Typically, this debate occurred in the context

of

federal legislation restricting uses

of

waterways

that could impair navigation and commerce. The phrase Congress often used to specify

waterways over which the federal government had authority was navigable waters

of

the United

States. However, in the legislation that became the CWAof 1972, Congress felt that the term

was too constricted to define the reach of a law whose purpose was not maintaining navigability,

as in the past, but rather preventing pollution. Accordingly, in the CWA Congress retained the

traditional term navigable waters, but defined it broadly to mean waters

of

the United States.

That phrase is important in the context of Section 404

of

the law, a permit program jointly

administered by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers that regulates discharges of dredged and

fill material to U.S. waters, including wetlands. The same phrase also defines the geographic

extent of the other parts of the CW A, including state-established water quality standards, the

discharge permit program in Section 402, oil spill liability, and enforcement. Consequently, how

broadly or narrowly waters

of

the United States is defined has been a central question

of

CWA

law and policy for nearly 40 years.

Controversies increased following two Supreme Court rulings, one in 2001 and one in 2006, on

how waters of the United States are defined for purposes of the 404/wetlands permit program.

Those two rulings left many uncertainties about their interpretation, uncertainties that first the

Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration have attempted to clarify through a

series of interpretive guidance documents. In April 2011, EPA and the Army Corps jointly

proposed new guidance in an effort to clarify the geographic reach

of

federal regulation, in light

of the law, the Court's rulings, and science. Under the proposed guidance, federal protection of

water quality would apply to more waters than currently are considered jurisdictional a

conclusion that pleased some and alarmed others. Final revised guidance was sent to OMB in

February 2012, but it was not released. In September 2013, EPA and the Army Corps withdrew

44

The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register nearly two months later. U.S. Environmental Proteetion

Ageney, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Eleetrie Power Generating Point Souree

Category; Proposed Rule, 78

Federal Register

34432-34543, June 7 2013. For information, see CRS Report R43 l 69,

Regulation o Power Plant Wastewater Discharges: Summary o EPA s Proposed Rule

by Claudia Copeland.

45

Separately, EPA also is eonsidering regulation

of

eoal ash disposal sites under Resouree Conservation and Reeovery

Aet, as diseussed in this report under Coal Combustion Waste.



the guidance document from OMB review and instead submitted a draft rule that would clarify

which waters are subject to CWA jurisdiction, consistent with the Supreme Court's rulings and

current scientific information. t is not known when the draft rule will be proposed.

46

For

additional information, contact Claudia Copeland (7-7227, [email protected]).

12

Mountaintop Mining in Appalachia EPAand other federal agencies (the Office

o

Surface

Mining and Reclamation, in the Department

o

the Interior; and the U.S. Army Corps

o

Engineers) are developing a series

o

actions and regulatory proposals to reduce the harmful

environmental and health impacts

o

surface coal mining, including mountaintop removal mining,

in Appalachia. The actions, announced in a June 2009 interagency Memorandum o

Understanding, are intended to improve regulation and strengthen environmental reviews

o

permit requirements under the CWA and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

(SMCRA). Viewed broadly, the Administration's combined actions on mountaintop mining

displease both industry and environmental advocates. The additional scrutiny

o

permits and more

stringent requirements have angered the coal industry and many o its supporters. At the same

time, while environmental groups support EPA'ssteps to restrict the practice, many favor tougher

requirements or even total rejection

o

mountaintop mining in Appalachia. Many

o

the actions

have been highly controversial in Congress.

EPA is a key participant in several

o

the actions. In 2009 EPA and the Corps began conducting

detailed evaluations

o

79 pending CWA permit applications for surface mining activities in order

to limit environmental impacts o the proposed activities under a process called Enhanced

Coordination Procedures (ECP). Coal industry groups and coal state officials contended that the

ECP process resulted in costly delay in issuance o permits. They challenged the process in

federal court, and in October 2011, the court struck down the ECP as an unlawful transfer

o

legal

authority from the Corps to EPA. The agencies are continuing to review permit applications for

surface coal mining projects in Appalachia under existing rules, but not the vacated ECP. In July

2012, the same federal court invalidated a 2011 EPA guidance document intended to help assess a

mine' s water quality impacts, ruling that EPA had overstepped its statutory authority. The

government has appealed both

o

these rulings.

In June 2010, the Army Corps suspended the use o a particular CW A general permit for surface

coal mining activities in Appalachia. In February 2012, the Corps reissued all

o

its CWA general

permits, including one (nationwide permit 21) to replace the suspended permit with a permit

containing more stringent CWA rules applicable to these coal mining operations.

47

In November 2009, the Department

o

the Interior's Office

o

Surface Mining (OSM) issued an

Advance Notice

o

Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) describing options to revise a SMCRA rule

that affects surface coal mining operations, called the stream buffer zone rule, which was

promulgated in December 2008.

48

The Obama Administration identified the 2008 rule, which

exempts so-called valley fills and other mining waste disposal activities from requirements to

protect a 100-foot buffer zone around streams, for revision as part

o

the series

o

actions

46

For additional information, see CRS Report RL33263, The Wetlands Coverage of he Clean Water

Act

CWA):

Rapanos and Beyond, by Robert Meltz and Claudia Copeland.

47

For information see CRS Report 97-223, The Army Corps a/Engineers Nationwide Permits Program: Issues and

Regulatory Developments, by Claudia Copeland.

48

U.S. Department o the Interior, Office o Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Stream Buffer Zone and

Related Rules; Advance notice

o

proposed rulemaking; notice

o

intent to prepare a supplemental environmental

impact statement (SEIS),

74

Federal Register 62664-62668, November 30, 2009.



concerning surface coal mining in Appalachia. Since then, OSM officials have been working on

developing a new rule and an accompanying draft environmental impact statement (EIS), which

are expected to be proposed in 2014. The revised stream buffer rule, when promulgated, is

expected to apply nationwide, not just in Appalachia. Potential changes to the 2008 rule have

drawn controversy and criticism. In the Congress, the House passed H.R. 3409,

to

prevent

the Secretary

of

the Interior from proposing or issuing regulations under SMCRA prior to

December 31, 2013, that would designate areas as "unsuitable" for surface coal mining, adversely

affect coal mine employment, or reduce the size of the coal market. Similar legislation has been

introduced in the 113

Congress (H.R. 1829/S. 861). For additional information, contact Claudia

Copeland (7-7227, [email protected]).

Toxic Substances Control Act TSCA)

13.

Lead: Renovation, Repair, and Painting in Certain Public and Commercial Buildings

Rule. EPA has revised a 2008 final rule implementing Section 402( c )(3)

of

the Toxic Substances

Control Act (TSCA; enacted as the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992).

The rule aims to reduce human health hazards associated with exposure to lead-based paint.

t

established requirements for training and certifying workers and firms that remodel, repair, or

paint homes or child-occupied public or commercial buildings likely to contain lead-based paint

(generally built before 1978).

49

Shortly after promulgation

of

the 2008 version

of

the rule, several

petitions were filed challenging it. The U.S. Court

of

Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

consolidated the petitions and, in August 2009, EPA signed a settlement agreement with the

petitioners. The agreement set legal deadlines for a number ofEPArulemaking actions; two rules

have been promulgated (see the Appendix), and a third is under development.

In May 2010, EPA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for a third rule

responding to the settlement agreement. t addresses renovations in public and commercial

buildings that are not child-occupied.

50

On Dec. 31, 2012, EPA published a notice in the ederal

Register

stating:

EPA is in the process of determining whether these activities [renovation, repair, and

painting of public and commercial buildings] create lead-based paint hazards, and, for those

that do, developing certification, training, and work practice requirements as directed by the

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This document opens a comment period to allow for

additional data and other info1mation

to

be submitted by the public and interested

stakeholders. This document also provides advance notice

of

EP A's plan

to

hold a public

meeting on June 26, 2013.

5

The comment period for this phase

of

rulemaking was scheduled to end April

1

2013, but was

extended to July 12, 2013.

52

In the 113

Congress, H.R. 2093/S. 484 would amend provisions

of

49

For a complete history

of

this rule, see EP

A s

website "Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program Rules" at

http://www2.epa.gov/lead/lead-renovation-repair-and-painting-program-rules.

50

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program for Public and

Commercial Buildings; Proposed Rule," 75

ederal Register

24848-24862, May 6, 2010.

5

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Meetings: Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program for Public and

Commercial Buildings," 77

ederal Register

76996, Dec. 31, 2012.

52

EPA, Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program for Public and Commercial Buildings,

http://www.regulations.gov/# documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0173-0162.



TSCA to prohibit EPA from expanding its renovation requirements to public and commercial

buildings. For additional information, contact Jerry Yen(7-9I I3,[email protected]).

olid Waste/Underground Storage Tanks RCRA)

I4.

Coal Combustion Waste.

In 2008, coal-fired power plants accounted for almost

half

of U.S.

electric power, resulting in approximately I36 million tons of coal combustion waste (CCW). On

December 22, 2008, national attention was turned to risks associated with managing CCW when

a breach in a surface impoundment pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston, TN, plant

released I. I billion gallons

of

coal ash slurry, covering hundreds

of

acres and damaging or

destroying homes and property. In addition to the risk of a sudden, catastrophic release such as

that at Kingston, EPA has determined that CCW disposal in unlined landfills and surface

impoundments presents substantial risks to human health and the environment from releases of

toxic constituents (particularly arsenic and selenium) into surface and groundwater. To establish

national standards intended to address risks associated with potential CCW mismanagement, on

June 2I, 20IO, EPA proposed two regulatory options to manage the waste.

53

The first option

would draw on EPA'sexisting authority

to

identify a waste as hazardous and regulate it under the

waste management standards established under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act (RCRA). The second option would establish regulations applicable to CCW

disposal units under RCRA's Subtitle D solid waste management requirements. Under Subtitle D,

EPA does not have the authority to implement or enforce its proposed requirements. Instead, EPA

would rely on states or citizen suits to enforce new standards. In its Regulatory Impact Analysis,

EPA estimated the average annualized regulatory costs to be approximately$ I

.5

billion a year

under the Subtitle C option or $587 million a year under the Subtitle D option, but there could be

additional costs or benefits depending on how the rule affects the recycling

of

coal ash.

EPA has not projected a date to promulgate a final rule. However, on April 5 20I2, a coalition of

environmental groups filed suit to compel EPA to finalize its proposed rulemaking.

54

For

additional information, contact Linda Luther (7-6852, [email protected]).

I5. Underground Storage Tanks. In November 20I 1 EPA proposed revisions to the agency's

I 988 Underground Storage Tank (UST) technical regulations, financial responsibility

requirements, and state program approval regulations promulgated under Subtitle I

of

the Solid

Waste Disposal Act (SWDA).

55

The proposed revisions address changes made in the Energy

Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58)

56

and also update UST leak prevention and detection

technologies and requirements.

7

The revisions are intended to improve leak prevention and

53

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; ldentifieation and Listing

of Speeial Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Eleetrie Utilities, 7 5 ederal Register 3 512 7-3 5 264,

June 21, 2010.

54

Appalaehian Voiees et al. v. Lisa

P.

Jaekson, Case No. 1:12-ev-00523 (D.D.C.), April 5, 2012.

55

Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Revising Underground Storage Tank Regulations-Revisions to Existing

Requirements for Seeondary Containment and Operator

Training,

76 ederal Register

71708, November

18

2011.

The Solid Waste Disposal Aet (SWDA) is eommonly referred

to

as the Resouree Conversation and Reeovery Aet.

56

P.L. 109-58, Title XV, Subtitle

B

eomprises the Underground Storage Tank Complianee Aet (USTCA) whieh

broadly amended the UST leak prevention and provisions of SWDA Subtitle I ( 42 U .S.C. §699 l-699lm .

57

Teehnieal regulations are loeated at 40 C.F

R.

§280. EPA also proposes to revise state program approval

requirements in 40 C.F.R.

§281

to ineorporate ehanges to the teehnieal regulations.



detection of releases from US Ts, which EPA and states report as a leading source of groundwater

contamination. Proposed revisions to UST technical regulations include (1 secondary

containment requirements for new and replaced tanks and piping, (2) training requirements for

UST owners and operators, (3) new operation and maintenance requirements, (4) new release

prevention and detection technologies, and (5) updated codes of practice.

The Environmental Protection Act

of

2005 (EP Act) amended the SWDA to require states that

receive federal funding under Subtitle I to meet certain requirements (such as operator training

and secondary containment requirements). The proposed rule would expand on EP Act and further

apply these requirements in Indian country and in states that

do

not receive Subtitle I funds. EPA s

stated goal

is

to make UST requirements similar in all states and in Indian Country. Additionally,

the proposed rule would expand the scope

of

certain requirements beyond those established in

law. For example, EPAct requires states receiving Subtitle I money to require secondary

containment for new or replaced tanks if they are installed within 1,000 feet of a community

water system or drinking water well. EPA proposes to require secondary containment for new or

replaced tanks in all locations.

Among the updates to the 1988 UST rules, the proposal would modify the requirement that UST

systems must be compatible with stored substances, by adding options for owners and operators

to demonstrate that UST systems are compatible with fuel containing more than 10 ethanol

(ElO) or 20 biodiesel (B20).

58

The public comment period for the proposal closed on April 16,

2012. EPA plans to issue a final rule

in

the spring of2014. For additional information, contact

Mary Tiemann (7-5937, [email protected]).

58

A comparison

of

the key differences between the 1988 rule and the proposed rule is available at http://www.epa.gov/

oust/fedlaws/Crosswalk.pdf.



In

able 2

below, we identify major or controversial rules still under development at EPA that

were discussed in the previous section. The table includes rules not yet proposed, rules that have

been proposed but not yet promulgated, and in several cases rules already promulgated but now

being reconsidered by the agency. The Appendix to this report, describing economically

significant or controversial rules already promulgated by the agency, follows the table. While

these promulgated rules are generally thought to be in final form, many are still being challenged

by various stakeholders

in

court.

Table 2. Major Rules and Modifications Under

Development at

EPA

Court or

Item

Statutory

Legislative

No

Authority Rule

Status

Requirement? Affected Entities

I Clean Air

Act

Carbon Pollution EPA re proposed EPA was sued by Primarily coal-fired

Standards for standards Sept. 20, numerous parties electric generating

New and Existing 20 I3. The Clean Air for its failure

to

units, which generate

Power

Plants

Act

requires issue

NSPS

for

more

than one-third of

promulgation

one

GHG emissions

the nation's electricity.

year after proposal. from power

On June 25, 2013, plants State

o

the President New

ork

v EPA).

directed EPA

to

Section I I I (b) of

propose emission the Clean Air Act

guidelines for requires NSPS for

existing power a category of

plants

by

June 2014

sources

if it

and finalize them

by

causes, r

June 2015.

contributes

significantly

to

air

pollution which

may reasonably be

anticipated to

endanger public

health or

welfare. EPA has

already concluded

that GHGs are

such air pollution.

Electric generating

units

account for

one-third of all

U.S.

GHG

emissions.

2.

Clean Air Act Expanded Standards

for

use of Decisions

Petroleum refiners,

Renewable Fuel cellulosic biofuels in

required

under biofuel producers.

Standard

RFS2)

20 I 3 (revising

the

Energy

downward the Independence and

amount

that

would Security

Act

of

otherwise be 2007.

required by statute)

were proposed

February 7, 20 I

3,

and

the

2012

requirement

was

revised to zero.



Court or

Item

Statutory Legislative

No

Authority Rule

Status

Requirement Affected Entities

3. Clean Air Act Tier 3 Motor EPA

proposed

None New car and light

Vehicle Emission standards May 2

I

truck manufacturers;

and Fuel 20

I 3.

Promulgation petrol eum refiners.

Standards is

expected

by

February 2014.

4. Clean Air Act National Ambient Proposed January Clean Air Act Recent

ozone

levels in

Air Quality

19 20 IO withdrawn

required review the vast majority of

the

Standard for September

2

20 I I . of

the

2008 675 counties with

Ozone EPA is near standards

by

monitors would have

completion of its March 2013. violated the proposed

next review, with 20

I

0 standard;

proposal of any implementation of

the

changes

in the proposed

standard

standards

expected

could have led

to

in

2014, and

widespread new

promulgation

in

emission

controls at

a

2015. projected

cost

of 19

billion

to

25 billion

annually in 2020, with

comparable levels of

benefits, according to

EPA.

5. Clean Air Act Oil and Natural Promulgated August EPA acted under

About I 1,000 new

Gas Air Pollution 16 2012. Updated a consent natural

gas

wells will be

Standards requirements for agreement signed affected annually. The

storage tanks were in February 20

I

0 standards are the first

proposed April 12

to

revise existing national air emission

2013. NSPS and standards for

hazardous air hydraulically fractured

pollutant rules. wells.

6. Clean Air Act Brick and Clay EPA has agreed to D.C. Circuit Brick and clay product

Product

MACT sign

proposed

Court

of Appeals manufacturers.

standards by vacated and

February 6 2014,

remanded

and final standards standards for this

by

December 18

category of

2014.

sources in

2007.

EPA reached

a

consent

agreement

in

November 2012

on a schedule for

replacement

standards.

7.

Clean

Water

Act Construction

Site Rule was Federal

court

Affects about 82,000

Effluent promulgated

ordered

EPA to firms involved in

Limitations

December I 2009.

issue the final rule

residential, commercial,

Guidelines A portion of

the

by December I highways, street, and

rule was stayed for 2009. bridge construction.

reconsideration.

EPA

proposed

amendments

to

the

2009 rule in April

2013.



Court or

Item

Statutory Legislative

No

Authority Rule

Status

Requirement Affected Entities

8. Clean Water Act

Post-

EPA

was expected

May

20 I0 consent Unknown

at

this time.

Construction

to

propose

a rule in

decree, as

Stormwater

Rule June 2013 and issue amended.

a final rule in

December 2014.

The agency missed

the date

for

proposal; a new date

has not been

announced.

9.

Clean Water

Act

Revised Cooling EPA proposed EPA rules issued Proposal applies to

Water Intake regulations March in 2004 were approximately I 150

Rule

28, 20 I I Final rule

remanded

by

existing power plants

is due by

January 14 order of a federal and certain other

2014. court. manufacturing facilities.

10. Clean Water

Act

Revised Steam EPA proposed a rule Consent decree. Proposal applies to

Electric Effluent on April

19

2013. existing and new steam

Limitations Final rule

is

due

by

electric power plants.

Guidelines

May

22, 2014.

I I Clean Water

Act

'Waters of the

Draft rule developed None Potentially affects a

United States

by

EPA and Army wide range of entities

Rulemaking

Corps

was sent

to

and activities subject

to

OMB

on

September

CWA

requirements,

17 2013.

including permits.

12.

Clean

Water

Act Mountaintop Various short-term None Surface coal mining

and Surface Miningin and long-term

operations

in

the

Mining Control Appalachia actions are Appalachian region.

and

Reclamation underway by

EPA

Act and

other

agencies

to

strengthen

environmental

reviews and revise

regulations.

13. Toxic Substances

Lead Renovation,

An advanced notice August 2009 Workers and firms

Control Act Repair, and of proposed settlement

that remodel, repair,

Painting rulemaking for

work

agreement

set

or

paint homes and

in certain public and numerous some commercial

commercial buildings deadlines for buildings.

is being revised as revisions of a

announced Dec. 31,

2008 lead rule.

2012,and is

expected

to be

finalized in 2015.

14. Resource Coal Combustion Proposed June 21, None Coal-fired electric

Conservation Waste 2010. power plants.

and Recovery

Act (RCRA)



Item

No

15

Statutory

Authority

Resource

Conservation

and Recovery

ct

RCRA)

Rule

Underground

Storage Tanks

Source: Compiled by CRS.

Status

Proposed

November 18, 20 I I.

Court or

Legislative

Requirement

Proposal

addresses

provisions

of

the

Energy Policy Act

of 2005

P.L.

I 09-

58).

Affected Entities

States and owners and

operators of

underground storage

tanks containing either

petroleum or

hazardous chemicals.



Appendix. Major or Controversial Rules

Promulgated Since 2009

Climate Change

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. On October 30, 2009, in response to a congressional mandate

in EPA'sFY2008 appropriation (P.L. 110-161 ), EPA promulgated the Greenhouse Gas Reporting

Rule.

59

The rule required 31 categories

of

sources to report their emissions

of

greenhouse gases to

EPA annually, beginning in 2011,

if

the sources emit 25,000 tons or more

of

carbon dioxide or the

equivalent amount of five other greenhouse gases (GHGs).

60

(Eleven other categories of sources

have since been added to the rule.) By itself, the rule imposes little cost ($867 per facility,

according to EP A'sestimate) because it only requires reporting; but the sources who are required

to report are expected to be the focus of EPA efforts as the agency develops regulations to control

emissions

of

GHGs. The original reporting deadline was March 31, 2011. As that date

approached, EPA extended the deadline to September 30, 2011. The first data submitted under the

rule were released January 11, 2012. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225,

[email protected]).

Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding. On December 15, 2009, EPA issued findings that six

greenhouse gases cause or contribute to air pollution that endangers public health and welfare.

6

The action was taken in response to an April 2007 Supreme Court decision Massachusetts v

EPA that required the agency to decide the issue or to conclude that climate change science is so

uncertain as to preclude making such findings. These findings do not themselves impose any

requirements on industry or other entities. However, the action was a prerequisite to finalizing

EPA'sgreenhouse gas emission standards for cars and light duty trucks, which were jointly

promulgated by EPA with fuel economy standards from the Department ofTransportation, on

May 7 2010. These, in turn, triggered permit requirements for stationary sources ofGHGs,

beginning January 2, 2011. On December

10

2010, the U.S. Court

of

Appeals for the D.C.

Circuit denied industry and state motions to stay the endangerment finding and related

regulations, and on June 26, 2012, the court upheld the regulations. The court's decision applied

to 84 cases filed by a variety

of

industry groups and states Coalition for Responsible Regulation

v EPA . For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]) or

Rob Meltz (7-7891, [email protected]).

Light Duty Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards Model Years2012-2016. On

May

7

2010, EP

Aand

the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

promulgated integrated GHG emission standards and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)

standards for new cars and light trucks, a category that includes SUV s and minivans, as well as

59

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Mandatory Reporting

of

Greenhouse Gases; Final Rule,

74

Federal

Register 56260, Oetober 30, 2009.

60

GHG emissions eonsist of earbon dioxide C0

2

,

methane, nitrous oxide (N

2

0),

sulfur hexafluoride (SF

6

,

and two

eategories

of

gase s-hydrofluo roearbons (HF Cs) and perfluoroearbons (PF Cs). Sinee eaeh

of

these substanees has a

different global warming potential, the emissions

of

eaeh are eonverted to the equivalent amount

of C0

2

emissions,

based on how potent the substanee

is

as eompared to

C0

2

giving rise to the term COrequivalen t.

6

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases

Under Seetion 202(a) of the Clean Air Aet, 74 Federal Register 66496, Deeember 15 2009.



pickup trucks.

62

NHTSA is required by the Energy Independence and Security Act

of

2007

(EISA, P.L. 110-140) to promulgate CAFE standards so that by 2020, new cars and light trucks

reach a combined average fuel economy of35 miles per gallon (mpg). EPA simultaneously issued

vehicle greenhouse gas standards in response to directives from the Supreme Court in

Massachusetts v EPA The EPAregulations require a reduction in emissions

to

an estimated

combined emission level

of

250 grams

of

C

2

per mile by model year 2016, about a

21

%

reduction in emissions when fully implemented. The Administration estimates that complying

with the regulations will add $1, 100 to the cost of an average vehicle, although this additional

purchase cost is expected to be paid back through lifetime fuel savings. The new standards are

being phased in beginning with the 2012 model year. EPA estimates that the additional lifetime

cost

of

2012-2016 model year vehicles under the regulations will be about $52 billion; benefits

are expected to be approximately $240 billion. This rule was also upheld by the D.C. Circuit in

the June 26, 2012 Coalition for Responsible Regulation decision. For additional information,

contact Brent Yacobucci (7-9662, [email protected]).

Light Duty Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards Model Years 2017-2025.

Using the same authority described in Item 3 above, EPAand NHTSA promulgated joint

GHG/fuel economy rules for 2017-2025 model year vehicles, on October 15, 2012.

63

Under these

standards, GHG emissions from new cars and light trucks will be reduced about 50% by 2025

compared to 2010 levels, to an expected fleet average of 163 grams per mile; average fuel

economy will rise to nearly 50 miles per gallon. The agencies estimated that the new technology

to comply with the standards will cost roughly $1,800 per vehicle in 2025, although lifetime fuel

savings would total roughly $5,700 to $7,400. For additional information, contact Brent

Yacobucci (7-9662, [email protected]).

Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule. On June 3, 2010, EPA promulgated a rule that defines which

stationary sources will be required to obtain Clean Air Act permits for GHG emissions and how

the requirements will be phased in.

64

The threshold set by the rule (annual emissions

of

75,000-

100,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents) will limit which facilities will be required to obtain

permits: from 2011through2016, the nation's largest GHG emitters, including power plants,

refineries, cement production facilities, and about two dozen other categories of sources (an

estimated 17,000 facilities annually) will be the only sources required to obtain permits.

Of

these,

most will face only an administrative requirement to provide an estimate of their GHG emissions,

but EPA estimated that 1,600 new or modified facilities will need to address whether they have

the best available control technology for limiting emissions.

65

Smaller businesses, almost all

farms, and large residential structures (about 6 million sources in all these categories), which

62

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, U.S. Department of Transportation, Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas

Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards; Final Rule, 75 Federal Register 25324-25728,

May

7

2010. Information on benefits and costs are summarized in an April 2010 EPA Fact Sheet, at

http://www.epa.gov/oms/climate/regulations/420fl 0014.pdf.

63

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Transportation, 201 7 and Later Model Year Light-Duty

Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards; Final Rule,

77 Federal Register

62624, October

15

2012. A link to the rule and other information, including a Fact Sheet, is available at

http://www.epa.gov/ otaq/ climate/regs-light-duty htm#new1.

64

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Prevention

of

Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas

Tailoring Rule; Final Rule, 75

Federal Register

31514, June 3 2010.

65

EPA reported, however, that in the first

11

months of the program, only 68 permit applications were received. See

U.S. EPA, Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule Step 3 GHG Plantwide

Applicability Limitations and GHG Synthetic Minor Limitations, Proposed Rule, 77 Federal Register 14233, March 8,

2012.



would otherwise be required to obtain permits once GHGs became regulated pollutants under the

act, are excluded by the rule 's threshold limits and thus are shielded from permitting requirements

by this rule. This rule was also challenged in Coalition or Responsible Regulation The D.C.

Circuit dismissed the challenge June 26, 2012. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy


PSD and Title V Permit Requirements for GHG Emissions. Beginning on January 2, 2011,

new and modified major stationary sources that emit more than 75,000 tons per year of Or

equivalent greenhouse gases were required to obtain Prevention o Significant Deterioration

(PSD) permits addressing their GHG emissions. These permits, which are mandated under

Section 165

o

the Clean Air Act, require the applicants to install the Best Available Control

Technology (BACT) in order to construct or operate new and modified major sources

o

emissions. State permitting authorities determine what technologies qualify as BACT on a case

by-case basis, using generic guidance issued by EPA on November 10, 2010.

66

The PSD/BACT

requirement initially applied only to facilities such as power plants large enough to already be

required to obtain PSD permits as a result o their emissions o other pollutants such as sulfur

dioxide or nitrogen oxides. What was new starting January 2, 2011, was the addition

o

GHGs to

the list

o

pollutants that must be addressed by BACT. On July

1

2011, Step 2

o

the

requirements took effect: under Step 2, all new and modified sources emitting more than the

threshold amounts o GHGs are required to obtain permits, whether or not they would be required

to do so because o emissions o other pollutants.

Existing sources that are already required to obtain operating permits under Title V o the act will

also have to provide information on their GHG emissions. EPA notes that the Title V requirement

will generally be satisfied by referencing information already provided to EPA under the GHG

reporting rule (Item

1

above). Title V permits do not impose emission control requirements

themselves; they simply summarize emission control requirements mandated by other sections o

the Clean Air Act. Thus, the only change to Title V permits will be the addition o GHGs to the

list o pollutants that the facilities are allowed to emit. For additional information on PSD and

Title V permits for GHG emissions, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

Medium and Heavy Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Rule.

On September 15, 2011, EPA and

the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) promulgated integrated GHG

emission standards and fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

67

EPA's

endangerment finding (Item 2, above) specifically referenced medium- and heavy-duty trucks as

among the sources that contribute to the GHG emissions for which it found endangerment. In

addition, NHTSA was required by Section 102 o the Energy Independence and Security Act o

2007 (EISA, P.L. 110-140) to promulgate fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty

trucks, reflecting the maximum feasible improvement in fuel efficiency. The standards will be

phased in between 2014 and 2018. When fully implemented, they will require an average per

vehicle reduction in GHG emissions o 17% for diesel trucks and 12% for gasoline-powered

trucks. The expected cost increase for the 2014-2018 vehicles affected by the rule is $8.1 billion.

EPA projects benefits

o

$57 billion over the trucks' lifetimes, including $50 billion in fuel

66

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Agency, Office o Air Quality Planning and Standards, PSD and Title V Permitting

Guidance for Greenhouse Gases, November 2010 (subsequently revised, March 2011), at http://www.epa.gov/nsr/

ghgdocs/ghgpermittingguidance.pdf.

67

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department

o

Transportation, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards

and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles; Final Rules, 76 Federal Register

57106, September 15, 2011.



savings. In the President's June 25, 2013, Climate Action Plan, he committed to a second round

of

fuel efficiency and GHG emission standards for post-2018 heavy duty vehicles. For additional

information, contact Brent Yacobucci (7-9662, [email protected]

.

NSPS for Petroleum Refineries. On December 23, 2010, EPA announced that it was settling a

lawsuit filed by

11

states, two municipalities, and three environmental groups over its 2008

decision not to establish New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for GHG emissions from

petroleum refineries. According to the agency, refineries are the second-largest direct stationary

source

ofGHGs

in the United States and there are cost-effective strategies for reducing these

emissions. Under the settlement, the agency agreed to propose NSPS for new refinery facilities

and emissions guidelines for existing facilities by December 10, 2011, and to make a final

decision on the proposed actions by November 10, 2012. As of this writing (July 2013), the

standards have not been proposed. Action on the standards was not mentioned in the President's

June 2013 Climate Action Plan. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225,

[email protected]).

mbient Air Quality Standards

Particulate Matter (including Farm Dust ) NAAQS. EPA considers particulate matter (PM)

to be among the most serious air pollutants, responsible for tens

of

thousands

of

premature deaths

annually. The current NAAQS sets standards for both fine particulates (PM

25

and larger,

coarse particles (PM

10

. The PM

2

.

5

standards affect far more people and far more counties than

the standard for PM

10

, and both sets of standards have affected mostly industrial, urban areas.

EPA completed a review of the PM NAAQS in 2006. The agency is required by the Clean Air Act

to review NAAQS at five-year intervals, so another review was due in 2011. As the review

process was getting underway, in February 2009, the D.C. Circuit Court ofAppeals remanded the

2006 standard for PM

2

.

5

to EPA, saying that the standard was contrary to law and unsupported by

adequately reasoned decisionmaking.

68

As a result, EPA combined the statutory five-year review

of

the standard and its response to the D.C. Circuit decision, completing a review

of

the PM

standard that served both purposes in January 2013.

69

The review left the standard for coarse

particles unchanged, as well as the standard for 24-hour exposures to PM

25

.

But it lowered the

standard for annual exposures

to

PM

5

, as suggested by the agency's outside scientific advisers,

from

15

micrograms per cubic meter to 12.

Although this appears to be a significant strengthening of a standard that potentially affects a

wide array

of

mobile and stationary sources, EPA projects the incremental cost

of

the revision at a

relatively modest $53 million to $350 million annually. The cost

of

compliance with the PM

NAAQS is moderated by the fact that other EPA standards (for various emission sources) are

reducing exposures to

PM2.

5

even without a strengthening of the ambient standard. Annual

benefits of the more stringent NAAQS were estimated to range from $4.0 billion to $9. l billion.

In the l

2th

Congress, attention to PM issues focused on the larger, coarse particles, PM

10

, even

though EPA did not propose to change them. Members of the House and Senators discussed the

68

American Farm Bureau Fed'n v. EPA, 559 F.3d 512 (D.C. Cir. 2009).

69

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter; Final

Rule, 78 ederal Register 3086, January 15, 2013. A link to the standards and other supporting materials ean be found

at http://www.epa.gov/pm/aetions.html.



need to prevent a supposed EPA plan to use the revision of the PM

10

standard to impose controls

on farm dust. The House passed legislation to prevent EPA from tightening standards for PM

10

for one year and to permanently limit EPA'sauthority to regulate dust in rural areas. EPA stated

early in the PM review process that it did not intend to change the PM

10

standard, and the final

revision made no change. For additional information, contact Rob Esworthy (7-7236,

[email protected]).

Sulfur Dioxide NAAQS. Three other NAAQS reviews (for sulfur dioxide,

70

nitrogen dioxide,

71

and carbon monoxide) were completed in 2010 and 2011. Of these, only the sulfur dioxide S0

2

)

NAAQS is considered an economically significant rule.

72

EPA estimated the cost of the more

stringent

S0

2

NAAQS at $1.5 billion annually, with benefits 9-24 times that amount. For


Electric Generating nits

Cross-State Air Pollution Clean Air Transport) Rule. EPA'smajor clean air initiative under

the Bush Administration, the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), was remanded to the agency by

the D.C. Circuit Court ofAppeals in 2008. EPA promulgated a replacement, the Cross-State Air

Pollution Rule, August 8, 2011.

73

The original rule, designed to control emissions of air pollution

that causes air quality problems in downwind states, established cap-and-trade programs for

sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired electric power plants in 28 eastern

states, at an estimated annual cost of

3

.6 billion in 2015. The replacement rule also applies to 28

states; it allows unlimited intrastate allowance trading, but limits interstate trading in response to

the D.C. Circuit decision; its annual compliance cost was estimated at $800 million annually in

2014, on top

of

$1.6 billion already being spent to comply with CAIR. EPA estimates the benefits

of the rule at $120 billion to $280 billion annually, chiefly the avoidance of 13,000 to 34,000

annual premature deaths. Numerous parties petitioned the D.C. Circuit for review of the Cross

State rule, and the court stayed its implementation pending the completion of the court's

proceedings. On August 21, 2012, the court vacated the standards and remanded them to EPA. In

June 2013, the Supreme Court agreed to review the D.C. Circuit decision. Because

of

the earlier

CAIR requirements, which remain in effect pending their replacement and, more recently,

because power companies have replaced substantial amounts of coal-fired generation with

cheaper (and cleaner) natural-gas-fired units, electric generators had already achieved more than

two-thirds

of

the pollution reductions necessary to comply with the 2014 standards by 2012. For


70

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide; Final

Rule, 75 ederal Register 35520, June 22, 2010.

7

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Nitrogen Dioxide;

Final Rule, 75 ederal Register 6473, February 9, 2010.

7

The ageney eoneluded that the nitrogen dioxide NAAQS, even though it was strengthened, would have no eosts or

benefits, sinee the ageney projeeted no areas to be nonattainment for the revised standard. The ageney deeided not to

ehange the earbon monoxide NAAQS, so there were no eosts or benefits assoeiated with that review, either.

73

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Federal Implementation Plans: Interstate Transport

of

Fine Partieulate

Matter and Ozone and Correetion

of

SIP Approvals,

76

ederal Register 48208, August 8, 2011. Explanatory material

ean be found at http://www.epa.gov/erossstaterule/aetions.html. The rule was generally referred

to

as the Clean Air

Transport Rule prior to being finalized.



Mercury and Air Toxics Standards MACT for Electric Generating Units ( Utility

MACT ). In 2005, EPA promulgated regulations establishing a cap-and-trade system to limit

emissions ofmercury from coal-fired power plants. The rules were challenged, and the D.C.

Circuit Court of Appeals vacated them in 2008. Rather than appeal the ruling to the Supreme

Court, EP Aagreed to propose and promulgate Maximum Achievable Control Technology

(MACT) standards by the end

of

2011. EPA states that the standards for existing units,

promulgated February 16, 2012,

74

can be met by 56%

of

coal- and oil-fired electric generating

units using pollution control equipment already installed; the other 44% would be required to

install technology that will reduce uncontrolled mercury and acid gas emissions by about 90%, at

an annual cost

of

$9.6 billion. Standards for new facilities are more stringent, and many

(including the industry that manufactures pollution control and monitoring equipment), doubted

whether compliance with the mercury portion

of

these standards could be measured. In response

to industry petitions, EPA reconsidered the mercury limit for new facilities, and announced

changes to the standards for new facilities on March 29, 2013.

EPA estimates that the annual benefits

of

the Utility MACT, including the avoidance

of

up to

11,000 premature deaths annually, will be between $37 billion and $90 billion. Existing power

plants will have until 2015, with a possible one-year extension, to meet the standards. About 20

states have already established mercury emission control standards for coal-fired power plants,

and other major sources have been controlled for as long

as 5

years, reducing their emissions as

much as 95%. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225,

[email protected]).

Boilers and Incinerators

MACT and Area Source Standards for Boilers. EPA proposed Maximum Achievable Control

Technology standards to control emissions

of

toxic air pollutants from commercial and industrial

boilers in June 2010. A final rule was issued February 21, 2011, under a court order by the

Federal District Court for the District ofColumbia.

75

Because

of

voluminous comments and new

information received from industry during a public comment period, EP

had

asked the court to

extend the deadline for promulgating final standards to April 2012. Having been denied that

extension, the agency initiated a reconsideration after it released the final rule, and it promulgated

changes to the rule on January 31, 2013.

76

In addition to adjusting the rule's emission standards,

the January 2013 rule reset the clock for compliance, effectively giving industry almost two

additional years to install control equipment.

Boilers are used throughout industry and in many commercial and institutional facilities. The

D.C. Circuit vacated

EPA'sprevious MACT rule for this category in 2007, saying EPAhad

74

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Agency, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal and

Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards

of

Performance for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Electric Utility,

Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units,

77

ederal Register 9304, February 16, 2012.

75

The final rule appeared in the ederal Register March 21, 2011. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers

and Process Heaters; Final Rule, 76

ederal Register

15608, March 21, 2011.

76

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area

Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers; Final Rule; Notice

of

Final Action on Reconsideration, 78

ederal Register 7138, January 31, 2013.



wrongly excluded many industrial boilers from the definition

of

solid waste incinerators, which

have more stringent emissions requirements under the Clean Air Act. The vacated rule had

estimated annual costs of $83 7 million, with a benefit-cost ratio of about 20 to 1. The January

2013 rule will set more stringent standards. t will affect about 14,000 boilers, according to the

agency, with annual costs estimated at $1.2 billion and benefits

of

$25 billion to $67 billion

annually, including the avoidance

of3 100

to 7,900 premature deaths.

EPA also promulgated what are called area source standards for smaller boilers at the same time

as the MACT.

77

The area source standards would affect 183,000 boilers, most

of

which would

only be required to perform a tune-up every two to five years to comply with the regulations. EPA

estimated the net cost of the area source rule to be $490 million annually, with partial benefits

ranging from $210 million to $520 million annually. For additional information, contact Jim

McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incinerator CISWI) Standards. A third regulation

promulgated and reconsidered at the same time as the boiler MACT and area source boiler rules

sets standards for emissions from commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators.

78

These

standards are related to the D.C. Circuit's remand

of

the boiler rules in 2007; they also faced a

judicial deadline of February 21, 2011, and after being promulgated, were also reconsidered in

early 2013. As reconsidered, the rules would expand the number of existing facilities subject to

the more stringent CISWI standards from 20 to 106, with annual costs of $271 million, according

to EPA, and benefits

of

3 80 million-$1 billion annually. For additional information, contact Jim

McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

Other Clean Air Act Rules

Ethanol Blend Wall Waiver. Section 21 l(f) of the Clean Air Act effectively limits the amount of

oxygen in gasoline unless EPA issues a waiver. Since ethanol contains oxygen, an increase in the

ethanol content

of

gasoline offered for sale can only occur if EPA issues such a waiver. EPA may

issue a waiver

if

the agency determines that the fuel or fuel additive will not cause or contribute

to the failure

of

any emission control device or system used by vehicle manufacturers to achieve

compliance with emission standards under the act.

On March 6, 2009, Growth Energy (on behalf

of

52 U.S. ethanol producers) applied to EPAfor a

waiver from the then-current regulation limiting the ethanol content in gasoline to a maximum of

10% (ElO). The application requested an increase in the maximum concentration to 15% (E15). A

complete waiver would allow the use

of

significantly more ethanol in gasoline than has been

permitted under the Clean Air Act. Limiting ethanol content to 10% leads to an upper bound

of

roughly

15

billion gallons

of

ethanol in all U.S. gasoline. This blend wall could limit the fuel

industry's ability to meet the Energy Independence and Security Act 's future requirements to use

increasing amounts ofrenewable fuels (including ethanol) in transportation.

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area

Sourees: Industrial, Commereial, and Institutional Boilers; Final Rule,

76

ederal Register 15554, Mareh 21, 2011.

Final aetion on reeonsideration appeared in the February I, 2013,

ederal Register

(78 FR 7488).

78

The 2011 standards were: U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Standards of Performanee for New Stationary

Sourees and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sourees: Commereial and Industrial Solid Waste Ineineration Units;

Final Rule, 76 ederal Register 15704, Mareh 21, 2011. The notiee of final aetion on reeonsideration is at 78 ederal

Register 9112, February 7, 2013.



On November 4, 2010, EPAgranted a partial waiver allowing the use

ofE15

in Model Year(MY)

2007 vehicles and newer.

79

The agency delayed a decision on MY2001-2006 vehicles until the

Department of Energy completed testing of those vehicles. On January 21, 2011, EPAannounced

that the waiver would be expanded to include MY2001-2006 vehicles.

80

EPA determined that data

were insufficient

to

address concerns that had been raised over emissions from MY2000 and

older vehicles, as well as heavy-duty vehicles, motorcycles and nonroad applications, and thus a

waiver for these vehicles/engines was denied.

EPA has noted that granting the waiver eliminates only one impediment to the use ofE15 other

factors, including retail and blending infrastructure, state and local laws and regulations, and

manufacturers' warranties, would still need to be addressed. Because of concerns over potential

damage by E

15

to equipment not designed for its use, this partial waiver has been challenged in

court by a group

of

vehicle and engine manufacturers, although that case was dismissed because

none

of

the petitioners had been injured in fact

81

On June 23, 2011, EPA issued final rules,

including new labeling requirements, to prevent the accidental use ofE15 in vehicles and engines

not approved for its use.

Because

of

various factors, expansion

ofE15

supply has been slow. As

of

late March 2013, only

13

stations in three states (Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska) had begun selling EIS for use in

conventional vehicles. Further, only three automakers have affirmed that El5 may be used in their

vehicles without voiding warranties.

82

In the first quarter of 2013, prices for RFS blending credits (Renewable Identification Numbers,

or RINs) increased dramatically (from roughly $0.08 per gallon in early January to over $1.00 per

gallon in mid-March). The causes

of

this increase are unclear, but may be driven in part by

concerns from fuel suppliers that the industry is approaching the blend wall and that RINs may be

in short supply. After the mid-March high, RIN prices dropped somewhat, to roughly $0. 70 per

gallon in early April. For additional information, contact Brent Yacobucci (7-9662,

[email protected]).

Portland Cement Manufacturing On September 9 2010, EPA promulgated New Source

Performance Standards (NSPS) for conventional pollutants from new cement kilns and Maximum

Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for hazardous air pollutants from both

existing and new cement kilns.

83

When fully implemented in late 2013, the standards would have

required a 92% reduction in emissions of both particulate matter and mercury and a 97%

79

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Partial Grant and Partial Denial of Clean Air Aet Waiver Applieation

Submitted by Growth Energy to Inerease the Allowable Ethanol Content of Gasoline to IS Pereent; Deeision of the

Administrator; Notiee, S Federal Register 68094-681SO,November4, 2010.

80

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Partial Grant of Clean Air Aet Waiver Applieation Submitted by Growth

Energy to Inerease the Allowable Ethanol Content of Gasoline to IS Pereent; Deeision of the Administrator, 76

Federal Register

4662, January 26, 2011.

8

Groeery Mfrs. Ass'n v. EPA, 693 F.3d 169 (D.C. Cir. 2012).

82

For example, General Motors has approved the use

of

E 1

S

in its model year (MY) 2012 and later vehieles, while

Ford has approved EIS for MY2013 and later vehieles. Porsehe approves the use

of

EIS in MY2001 and later ears.

Robert L. Darbelnet, President and CEO, Ameriean Automobile Assoeiation, Suspend Sale

of El S

Gasoline,

The

Hill Deeember 13, 2012.

83

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, National Emission Standards for Hazardous

Air

Pollutants from the

Portland Cement Manufaeturing Industry and Standards

of

Performanee for Portland Cement Plants; Final Rule, S

Federal Register S4970, September 9, 2010.



reduction in emissions o acid gases, according to EPA, as well as controlling other pollutants.

EPA had previously issued emission standards for this industry in 1999, but the standards were

challenged in court and remanded to the agency by the D.C. Circuit Court

o

Appeals. The new

rules reflect EPA'sreconsideration

o

the standards.

The agency estimated that it would cost the industry $350 million annually to comply with the

2010 standards, but that benefits (including the avoidance

o

960 to 2,500 premature deaths in

people with heart disease) would be worth $6. 7 billion to $18 bill ion annually. The trade

association representing the industry said the standards would cause some facilities to close. On

December

9

2011, the D.C. Circuit Court o Appeals remanded the 2010 standards to EPA for the

agency to reconsider emission standards for kilns that use solid waste as fuel. The court did not

stay implementation

o

the 2010 standards, but EPA, in proposing changes to the particulate

portion o the standards on June 25, 2012, announced its intention to give the industry an

additional two years to comply, with a third year available i needed. The changes are estimated

to reduce industry costs by $52 million annually, compared to the 2010 rule. EPA finalized these

changes, February

12

2013.

84

Further regulation

o

this industry, which

is

the third highest stationary U.S. source

o

carbon

dioxide emissions, has been under consideration: when EPA promulgated the rule in September

2010, it stated in the rule's preamble to the rule that it is working towards a proposal for GHG

standards for these plants.

85

t

is uncertain when such a rule might be proposed: action on these

standards was not mentioned in the President's June 2013 Climate Action Plan. For additional

information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

Stationary Internal Combustion Engines

EPA set standards for both compression-ignition

86

(generally diesel) and spark ignition (generally gasoline) stationary engines

87

in 2010. The agency

subsequently amended the rules on January 30, 2013.

88

The regulations would affect stationary

engines, such as emergency power generators used by hospitals and other sources and electric

power generators used for compressors and pumps by a wide array

o

industrial, agricultural, and

oil and gas industry sources. The rules are referred to as the RICE (Reciprocating Internal

Combustion Engine) rules. They apply to engines that meet specific siting, age, and size criteria

(generally engines o 500 horsepower or less). EPA estimates that more than 1.2 million engines

will be affected by the regulations. Depending on the type

o

engine, owners will have to install

pollution control equipment or follow certain work practice standards, such as burning low sulfur

fuel or performing oil changes and inspections. EPA estimated that the health benefits o the two

rules will be between $1.45 billion and $3.5 billion annually in 2013. Annualized costs for the

rules were estimated to be $626 million in 2013. EPA states that the 2013 amendments will

reduce the annualized costs by $139 million (to $487 million). The amendments were issued in

response to a suit by the Engine Manufacturers Association. The most controversial

o

the

amendments allows backup generators to operate for up to 100 hours per year during emergency

or peak power use periods without being subject to emission limits, although they will need

to

use

84

78

ederal Register 10006, February

12

2013.

85

Ibid., p. 54997.

8

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Reeiproeating

Internal Combustion Engines; Final Rule,

75

ederal Register 9648, Mareh 3 2010.

87

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for

Reeiproeating Internal Combustion Engines; Final Rule, 75 ederal Register 51570, August 20, 2010.

88

78 ederal Register 6674, January 30, 2013.



low sulfur fuel beginning in 2015. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225,

[email protected]).

Ocean Going Ships. EPA took two steps to control emissions from ocean-going ships in 2009

and 2010. t promulgated emission standards for new marine engines

89

and it proposed the

establishment

of

Emission Control Areas (ECAs) extending 200 nautical miles

off

most U.S.

shores.

90

In the ECAs, which received final approval in March 2010, both U.S. and foreign ships

were required to use low sulfur fuel, beginning in 2012. In both cases, the actions reflect

international standards that the United States and other maritime nations have agreed to under the

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). EPA estimated

the cost

of

these two initiatives at over 3 billion annually by 2030, mostly attributable to the

cleaner fuel requirement. The agency also estimated that monetized benefits

of

the requirements

will exceed costs by more than 30

to

l The ECAs and the new standards were supported by both

industry and environmental groups, and have been extended to cover the U.S. Caribbean,

beginning in 2014. In July 2012, however, controversy arose over the requirement that ships in

Alaskan waters use low sulfur fuel, with the state ofAlaska filing suit to block implementation of

the fuel requirement. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225,

[email protected]).

Flares and Process Heaters t Petroleum Refineries. On September 12, 2012, EPA

promulgated amendments to New Source Performance Standards for flares and process heaters at

petroleum refineries.

91

The amendments are the result of the agency's reconsideration of

standards it promulgated on June 24, 2008. The agency estimates that the reconsidered rules will

have capital costs of $460 million, but will result in savings to the industry of $79 million per

year, while resulting in monetized benefits

of

$240 million to $580 million annually, principally

from the avoided health impacts caused by reduced emissions

of

sulfur dioxide and nitrogen

oxides. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

Mercury Cell Chlor Alkali MACT Standards. In December 2003, EPA promulgated MACT

standards for emissions ofhazardous air pollutants from plants that manufacture chlorine using

the mercury cell chlor-alkali process. This is an old technology that has been phased out by 95%

of the chlorine industry. At the time of the rule's promulgation, there were 12 plants still using the

technology; but as

of

late 2012, there were only four, two

of

which were expected to close by

early 2013.

EPA was asked to reconsider the 2003 standards by the Natural Resources Defense Council

(NRDC), and it agreed to do so. NRDC argues that EPA should have required the remaining

chlor-alkali plants to switch to newer technology that does not use mercury. After developing new

data on the costs of converting plants to non-mercury technology, EPA proposed revised

standards on June 11, 2008. The revised standards would not have required the technology

switch, but would have required more stringent work practice requirements.

89

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Control of Emissions from New Marine Compression-Ignition Engines at

or Above 30 Liters per Cylinder; Final Rule, 75 Federal Register 22896, April 30, 2010.

90

International Maritime Organization, Marine Environmental Protection Committee, Proposal to Designate an

Emission Control Area for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter, Submitted by the United States

and Canada, April 2, 2009, at http://www.epa.gov/oms/regs/nonroad/marine/ci/mepc-59-eca-proposal.pdf.

91

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Standards

of

Performance for Petroleum Refineries; Performance Standards

for Petroleum Refineries for Which Construction, Reconstruction, or Modification Began After May 14, 2007, 77

Federal Register 56422, September 12, 2012.



As a result of comments on the June 2008 proposal, the agency proposed a supplement to that

proposal on March 14, 2011.

92

The 2011 supplement contains two options: the first would require

the elimination

of

mercury emissions, effectively requiring conversion to non-mercury-cell

technology. The second option would require a strengthening

of

work practices (as proposed in

2008) to reduce (but not eliminate) emissions. EPA estimated the annual compliance costs of

Option 1 at $13 million, with benefits ranging from 21 million to $43 million, but it conceded

that there is still uncertainty regarding numerous facets

of

the cost analysis, and it requested

further comments. Option 2 was estimated to have annual costs of$25,000, with no monetized

benefits. For additional information, contact Jim McCarthy (7-7225, [email protected]).

Clean Water Act

Pesticide Application General Permit EPA has developed a Clean Water Act (CWA) general

permit to control pesticides that are applied to waters of the United States, such as aerial

application

of

insecticide to control mosquitoes. The general permit was issued on October 31,

2011, in response to a 2009 federal court decision that invalidated a 2006 EPA rule, which had

codified the agency's long-standing view that pesticide applications that comply with federal

pesticides law do not require CW A permits.

93

The estimated universe of affected activities is

approximately 5.6 million applications annually, which are performed by 365,000 applicators, in

four use patterns: mosquito and other flying insect pest control, aquatic weed and algae control,

aquatic nuisance animal control, and forest canopy pest control. The permit requires all operators

covered by the permit to minimize pesticide discharges to waters by practices such as using the

lowest amount of pesticide product that is optimal for controlling the target pest. t also requires

operators to prepare plans to document their pest management practices. Under OMB's criteria,

the permit is not a significant rule, but is economically significant.

9

Meanwhile, in the 113

1

h

Congress, legislation intended to overturn the court's 2009 ruling by exempting aerial pesticide

application activities from clean water permit requirements has been introduced (H.R. 935,

S.

175, and S. 802). The text ofH.R. 935 also was included as a provision

of2013

farm bill

legislation approved by the House Agriculture Committee (H.R. 2642) on July 11, 2013. The

Senate-passed farm bill (S. 954) in the l

l3

1

h

Congress contains no similar provision.

95

For

additional information, contact Claudia Copeland (7-7227, [email protected]).

Florida Nutrient Water Quality Standards The CWAdirects states to adopt water quality

standards for their waters and authorizes EPA to promulgate new or revised standards if a state's

actions fail to meet CWA requirements. Water quality standards consist of designated uses,

9

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Mereury

Emissions from Mereury Cell Chlor-Alkali Plants; Supplemental Proposed Rule, 76 Federal Register 13852, Mareh

14,2011.

93

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Final National Pollutant Diseharge Elimination System (NPDES) General

Permit for Point Souree Diseharges from the Applieation of Pestieides; Notiee of final permit, 76 Federal Register

68750-68756, November7, 2011.

94

Signifieant rules are a broader OMB eategory that ineludes not only the eeonomieally signifieant (i.e., primarily

those with an annual effeet on the eeonomy

of 100 million or more), but also rules that ereate a serious ineonsisteney

or otherwise interfere with an aetion taken or planned by another ageney ; materially alter the budgetary impaet

of

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations ofreeip ients thereof '; or raise novel

legal or poliey issues arising out oflegal mandates, the President's priorities, o r the prineiples set forth

in

Exeeutive

Order 12866.

95

For additional information, see CRS Report RL32884, Pesticide Use and Water Quality: Are the Laws

Complementary or in Conflict? by Claudia Copeland.



criteria to protect the designated uses, and an antidegradation statement. They serve as the

framework for pollution control measures specified for individual sources. Because of severe

water quality impairment

of

Florida waters by nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from diverse

sources including agriculture and livestock, municipal and industrial wastewater discharges, and

urban stormwater runoff, EPA determined in 2009 that Florida's existing

n rr tive

water quality

standards for nutrients must be revised in the form

of

numeric

criteria that will enable Florida to

better control nutrient pollution. In 2009 EPA entered into a consent decree with environmental

litigants requiring the agency to promulgate numeric nutrient water quality standards for Florida.

To meet the legal deadline, EPA promulgated the first phase

of

these standards, called the inland

waters rule, on December

5

2010. Water quality standards do not have the force

ofl w

until the

state translates them into permit limits or otherwise imposes pollution control requirements on

dischargers. The rule would not establish any requirements directly applicable to regulated

entities or other sources of nutrient pollution.

The 2010 rule has not gone into effect, because, in response to criticism of the standards, EPA

delayed the effective date of the rule

to

allow local governments, businesses, and the state of

Florida time to review the standards and develop implementation strategies. While few dispute

the need to reduce nutrients in Florida's waters, EPA's2010 rule has been controversial, involving

disputes about the data underlying the proposal, potential costs

of

complying with numeric

standards when they are incorporated by the state into discharge permit limitations, and disputes

over administrative flexibility. EPA has said all along that it prefers that Florida implement its

own numeric nutrient water quality criteria, and in June 2012 the state submitted revised

standards with numeric nutrient criteria. In response, EPA indicated to the state that the agency

likely would approve the standards, at which time the agency would initiate administrative action

to repeal the 2010 federal rule. EPA'sdeadline for issuing the second phase

of

standards, for

estuaries, coastal waters, and flowing waters in the South Florida Region, also was extended

several times to allow the state to develop its own standards.

In March 2013, EPAand the state reached agreement in principle on steps that will put the state in

charge

of

determining numeric limits on nutrient pollution in Florida waterways. Groundwork for

the agreement was laid in November 2012 when EPA approved the state's June 2012 submission

for lakes, rivers, streams, and some estuaries. Florida agreed to move forward with rulemaking

and legislation to complete the job of setting numeric nutrient criteria for Florida waterways. In

response to the sta te's actions, EPA approved the state's implementation plan for controlling

nutrient pollution in Florida waters and agency petitioned the federal court in Florida to allow it

to approve the state's water quality standards, although they lack numeric criteria. f he court

agrees to amend the consent decree, EPA obligations to directly oversee the state's nutrient

regulations would end, including issuing numeric nutrient standards under the second phase

of

rulemaking.

96

Environmental groups have criticized EP A'sapproval of the standards that Florida

has adopted, saying that EPA' sactions are inconsistent with its 2009 determination that numeric

criteria are necessary to protect Florida's waters. For additional information, contact Claudia

Copeland (7-7227, [email protected]).

Chesapeake Bay TMDL Pursuant to a court-ordered schedule, EPAhas developed a plan, called

a Total Maximum Daily Limit (TMDL), to restore nutrient-impaired waters

of

the Chesapeake

Bay. The TMDL

is

required because jurisdictions

in

the Chesapeake Bay watershed have failed to

meet deadlines to attain water quality goals for the Bay, thus triggering Clean Water Act

96

For additional information, see http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/florida_index.cfm.



requirements that the federal government must develop a plan to do so. The TMDL

is

not a

regulation. A TMDL represents the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water may

receive and still meet its water quality standards.

97

Individual actions needed to meet the overall

pollutant limits specified in the TMDL, such as discharge permit limits or other controls, are to be

developed by the Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions in Watershed Implementation Plans. The

Chesapeake Bay TMDL

is

the largest ever developed by EPA or any state, since

it

will apply to

all impaired waters of the 64,000 square miles of the six states in the Bay watershed. On

December 29, 2010, EPA issued the TMDL.

98

Pursuant to the schedule of steps in the TMDL,

jurisdictions are now developing specific plans called Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs

,

which outline the types

of

controls and best management practices that will be used to reduce

pollution in the Bay. EPA approved the first phase WIPs in December 2010, and also has

reviewed the jurisdictions' Phase II WIPs, which provide greater detail about pollutant reductions

planned through the year 2017. The TMDL has been controversial with agricultural and other

groups that are concerned about the likely mandatory nature of many ofEPA'sand states'

upcoming actions. In

September 2013, a federal court upheld the TMDL, in a lawsuit filed by the

American Farm Bureau Federation that had challenged EPA'sauthori ty to set pollution limits in

the multistate plan. For additional information, contact Claudia Copeland (7-7227,

[email protected]).

Airport Deicing Effluent Limitations Guidelines and New Source Performance Standards.

In April 2012, EPA promulgated regulations under the CWA to limit water pollution from aircraft

and airport runway deicing operations.

99

The rule is intended to limit runoffof deicing fluid,

because it contains urea and other contaminants that contribute to low oxygen levels in streams,

which can cause fish kills, algal blooms, and contamination

of

surface water or groundwater. The

rule, which had been under development for several years and was proposed in 2009,

is

part

of

ongoing EPA activities under the CWA to regulate wastewater discharges from categories

of

industries through new and revised effluent limitations guidelines. EPA estimated that the final

rule will reduce the volume

of

deicing-related pollutants by 16.4 million pounds at a cost of 3.5

million annually. Those estimates are substantially less than the 44.6 million pounds

of

pollutants

estimated in the proposed rule, which was projected to cost the industry $91.3 million annually.

EPA estimates that the final rule will apply to 198 existing airports. For additional information,


Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Requirements including deadline

extension for farms and exemption for milk storage. To prevent the discharge of oil from

onshore and offshore facilities, EPA issued CW A regulations for spill prevention control and

countermeasure (SPCC) plans in 1973.

100

SPCC plans apply to owners or operators

of

certain

non-transportation-related facilities. In general, SPCC plans focus on oil spill prevention,

requiring, for example, secondary containment (e.g., dikes or berms) for oil-storage equipment.

97

For additional information, see CRS Report R42752, Clean Water ct and Pollutant Total Maximum Daily Loads

TMDLs), by Claudia Copeland.

98

Notice of the TMDL appeared in the

Federal Register

January 5, 2011. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Clean Water Act Section 303(d): Notice for the Establishment of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the

Chesapeake Bay, 76 Federal Register 549-550, January 5, 2011.

99

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and New Source Performance Standards

for the Airport Deicing Category; Final rule, 77 Federal Register 29168-29205, May 16, 2012.

100

38 Federal Register 34164, December 11, 1973.



Following the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the agency proposed substantial changes

and clarifications that were not made final until July 2002.

101

However, EPA has both extended

the 2002 rule's compliance date (on multiple occasions) and made further amendments to the

2002 rule. On one occasion, amendments offered by the Bush Administration'sEPAin 2008 were

eliminated by the Obama Administration's EPA the following year.

102

For most types

of

facilities subject to SPCC requirements, the deadline for complying with the

changes made in 2002 was November 10, 2011.

103

However, in a November 2011 rulemaking,

EPA extended the compliance date for farms to May 10, 2013.

104

Pursuant to the CWA definition

of

oil, the SPCC requirements apply to petroleum-based and non

petroleum-based oil.

105

In a 1975

ederal Register

notice, EPA clarified that its 1973 SPCC

regulations apply

to

oils from animal and vegetable sources.

106

EPA subsequently stated that

milk typically contains a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil and is thus

potentially subject to SPCC provisions.

107

However, in January 2009, EPA proposed a conditional

exemption from SPCC requirements for milk storage units.

108

EPA issued a final rule April 18,

2011, exempting all milk and milk product containers and associated piping from the SPCC

requirements. EPA'srationale for the exemption is that these units are subject to industry

standards for sanitation and may be regulated by other agencies, including the U.S. Department

of

Agriculture.

109

In addition, the final rule states that exempted milk storage units are not included

in a facility's overall oil storage volume, a primary factor for SPCC applicability. For additional

information, contact Jonathan Ramseur (7-7919, [email protected]).

Toxic Substances Control Act

Lead: Renovation Repair and Painting Program Rules. EPA has revised a 2008 final rule

implementing Section 402(c)(3)

of

the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA; enacted as the

Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act

of

1992.) The rule aims to reduce human

health hazards associated with exposure

to

lead-based paint. t established requirements for

training and certifying workers and firms that remodel, repair, or paint homes or child-occupied

public or commercial buildings likely to contain lead-based paint (generally built before 1978).

110

Shortly after promulgation

of

the 2008 version

of

the rule, several petitions were filed challenging

it. The U.S. Court

of

Appeals for the District

of

Columbia Circuit consolidated the petitions and,

1 1

67

ederal Register

47041, July 17 2002.

1 2

A November 13 2009 rule (74 ederal Register 58784) eliminated specific exclusions/exemptions made by a

December 5, 2008 rulcmaking (73

ederal Register

74236).

1 3

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oil Pollution Prevention; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure

Ruic Compliance Date Amendment, 75 ederal Register 63093, October 14 2010.

1 4

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oil Pollution Prevention: Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure

Rule-Compliance Date Amendment for Farms, 76 ederal Register 72120, November 22, 2011.

1 5

Sec CWA Section

31

l(a) (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)).

1 6

40

ederal Register

28849, July 9 1975.

1 7

74

ederal Register

2461, January 15 2009.

1 8

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oil Pollution Prevention: Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure

Ruic Requirements-Amendments, 74

ederal Register

2461, January 15 2009.

1 9

76

ederal Register

21652, April 18 2011.

11

For a complete history

of

this rule, see EPA s website Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program Rules at

http://www2.epa.gov/lcad/lcad-renovation-repair-and-painting-program-rulcs.



in August 2009, EPA signed a settlement agreement with the petitioners. The agreement set legal

deadlines for a number

of

EPA rulemaking actions; two rules have been promulgated; one rule

remains under development (see previous discussion of Toxic Substances Control

Act

(TSCA)").

Amendments to the rule promulgated May 6, 2010, eliminated an opt-out provision that would

have exempted a renovation firm from training and

work

practice requirements

if

certification

were obtained from the property owner that no child under age 6

or

pregnant

woman

resides in a

facility and no children spend significant amounts

of

time there. The amendment also revised

recordkeeping and disclosure provisions. In 2010, Congress included a provision in

P L

111-212,

a supplemental appropriations act, which prohibited the use

of

"funds made available by this Act

to levy fines

or

to hold any person liable for

work

performed under the rule. However, P L 111-

212 provided no funds to

EPA

for those purposes, so the provision had no effect

on EPA'suse

of

existing funds that had been appropriated in

P L

111-88 to enforce the rule.

2

In June 2010, on its

own initiative, EPA published a memorandum informing enforcement division directors in the

regional offices that the Agency would not enforce certain requirements for certification

of

firms

or for individual training until after October 1 2010. However, individual renovators must have

been enrol led in required training classes before that date and all

must

have completed required

training prior to December 31, 2010, according to the memorandum. In the 113

Congress,

H R

2093/S. 484 would amend provisions of TSCA to restore the opt-out provision.

A second rule responding to the 2009 settlement agreement was proposed in

May

2010. t

addressed the testing requirements after renovations are complete.

3

That rule was revised and

promulgated July 15, 2011, effective October 4, 2011.

4

EPA decided not to promulgate dust

wipe testing and clearance requirements as proposed. Instead it "promulgated several other

revisions to the rule, including a provision allowing a certified renovator to collect a paint chip

sample and send it to a recognized laboratory for analysis in lieu of using a lead test kit. "

5

In the

113

Congress, H R 2093/S. 484 would amend provisions of

TSCA

to prohibit

EPA

enforcement

of

the renovation rule until the Administrator has identified a test kit for lead in paint samples. For

additional information, contact Jerry

Yen


olid

Waste RCRA)

Identification of Non-Hazardous Materials That Are Solid Wastes When Burned. In

conjunction with emission standards for boilers and solid waste incinerators (see discussion

of

"Boilers and Incinerators" in this Appendix), in February 2011, EPA finalized regulations

intended to clarify when certain materials burned as fuel in a combustion unit would be

considered a "solid waste. "

6

The definition of solid waste plays an important role in

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, "Amendment

to

the Opt-out and Reeordkeeping Provisions

in

the

Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program: Lead; Final Rule,"

75

Federal Register 24802-24819, May 6, 2010.

2

Sven-Erik Kaiser, EPA Congressional Liaison, personal eommunieation, September 14 2011.

3

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, "Clearanee and Clearanee Testing Requirements for the Renovation,

Repair, and Painting Program: Lead; Proposed Rule," 75 Federal Register 25038-25073, May 6, 2010.

4

U.S. Environmental Proteetion Ageney, "Lead: Clearanee and Clearanee Testing Requirements for the Renovation,

Repair, and Painting Program," Final Rule, 76

ederal Register

47918-47946, July 15, 2011.

5

EPA, "Lead; Clearanee and Clearanee Testig Requirements for the Renovation, Repair and Painting Program,"

http://www.regulations.gov/# doeumentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0049-1434.

6

Environmental Proteetion Ageney, Final Rule, "Identifieation

of

Non-Hazardous Seeondary Materials That Are

Solid Waste," 76 ederal Register 15455, Mareh 21, 2011.



implementing the emission standards for both boilers and solid waste incinerators. The 2007 D.C.

Circuit Court of Appeals decision that vacated EPA'sprevious emission standards for boilers also

vacated EPA'sdef inition

of

terms under its CISWI Definitions Rule.

117

The D.C. Circuit

concluded that EPA erred in defining commercial and industrial solid waste to exclude solid

waste that

is

burned at a facility in a combustion unit whose design provides for energy recovery

or which operates with energy recovery. Instead, the D.C. Circuit stated that the Clean Air Act

requires any unit that combusts 'any solid waste material at

all -regardless

of whether the

material is being burned for energy recovery-to be regulated as a 'solid waste incineration

unit. '

118

The 2011 final rule addresses issues brought up by the D.C. Circuit and, in doing so,

significantly narrows the current universe

of

non-hazardous secondary materials that could be

burned in boilers.

119

EPA anticipates that boiler operators that burn materials newly-identified as a

solid waste would switch to a non-waste fuel, rather than being subject to the more stringent

emission standards applicable to solid waste incinerators. The final rule also addresses a host of

concerns raised by various stakeholders during the public comment period for the proposed rule,

including those

of

several Members

of

Congress. In particular, the final rule clarifies that the

definition of solid waste would not affect current used oil recycling regulations (which allows

burning used oil in space heaters, under certain conditions) and explicitly excludes from the

definition

of

solid waste scrap tires used in a combustion unit that are ... managed under the

oversight

of

established tire collection programs. EPA states that this regulatory action would not

directly invoke any costs or benefits. Instead, any costs or benefits would be related to the Boiler

MACT and CISWI Standards (discussed above). On February 7 2013, EPAamended the 2011

rule to clarify specific elements of the regulations. The amendments were jointly promulgated

with EPA'sreconsideration of the CISWI proposed rule (discussed above). For additional

information, contact Linda Luther (7-6852, [email protected]).

Author Contact Information

James E. McCarthy

Specialist in Environmental Policy

[email protected], 7-7225

Key Policy and Legal Staff

CRS analysts, listed below, contributed to this report.

rea

of

Expertise

Name

Regulatory refor m Maeve Carey

Claudia Copeland

Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy

[email protected], 7-7227

hone E mail

7-7775 [email protected]

7

Environmental Protection Agency, Final Rule, Standards

of

Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission

Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units, 70 ederal Register

55568, September 22, 2005.

8

This and related court finding are discussed in the final rule at 76 ederal Register 15461.

9

See EP

A s

web page Identification

of

Non-Hazardous Materials That Are Solid Waste: Final Rulemaking at

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/define/index.htm.



rea

of

Expertise

Name

Phone

E mail

Clean Water ct Claudia Copeland 7-7227 [email protected]

Clean Air Act oil and natural gas Rick Lattanzio 7-1754 rlattanz [email protected]

Solid Waste Linda Luther

7-6852

[email protected]

Clean Air

ct

im McCarthy

7-7225

[email protected]

Environmental law Rob Meltz

7-7891

[email protected]

Oil Spill Prevention Jonathan Ramseur

7-7919

[email protected]

Safe Drinking Water ct and Mary Tiemann 7-5937 [email protected]

underground storage tanks

Clean Air Act mobile sources CAFE

Brent Yacobucci 7-9662 byacobucci@crs . loc.gov

Toxic Substances Control

ct

Jerry Yen

7-9113

[email protected]



Members of Congress - EPA Reaction

Leadershi

6/2/14: Sen. Reid: The EPA's Proposed Plan

s

A Crucial Step Towards Improving The

Efficiency

Of

Our Nations Power Grid, Investing In Clean Energy And Reducing

Pollution.

Nevada Senator Harry Reid released the following statement today after the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the 'Clean Power Plan' to cut carbon

pollution from existing power plants: 'The EP A's proposed plan is a crucial step towards

improving the efficiency

of our nations power grid, investing in clean energy and reducing

pollution. The proposal grants states flexibility while making important progress on avoiding the

terrible costs of carbon pollution on our nation's economy, the health of our citizens, and the

sustainability of our planet. 'Since 2010, Nevada has seen investments of over $5.5 billion in

clean energy generation and infrastructure. These investments have created thousands of jobs

and provided a much needed boost to our state's economy. Clean renewable energy development

and efficiency will lead the way towards a cleaner and more resilient future. Addressing climate

change, cutting pollution, and creating jobs through clean energy is the right thing to do, and we

need a national policy to put our country on the right course to achieve these goals. Our planet,

our children and seniors, and our public health will be greatly strengthened by the EP A's

protections. ' [Sen. Reid, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. McConnell: Today's Announcement Is A Dagger In The Heart

Of

The

American Middle Class, And To Representative Democracy Itself. Today's

announcement is a dagger in the heart of the American middle class, and to representative

Democracy itself. Already reeling from the painful effects

of Obamacare, the American people

are now being told they have to shoulder the burdens of the President's latest 'solution' in the

form

of

higher costs, fewer jobs, and a less reliable energy grid. The fact that the President plans

to do all this through an end-run around Congress only highlights his contempt for the wishes

of

the public and a system of government that was devised precisely to restrain an action like

today's. By imposing these draconian new rules on the nation's coal industry, President Obama

and every other liberal lawmaker in Washington who quietly supports them is also picking

regional favorites, helping their political supporters in states like California and New York while

inflicting acute pain on states like Kentucky. The impact on individuals and families and entire

regions

of the country will be catastrophic, as a proud domestic industry is decimated - and

many of its jobs shipped overseas. Those who

don t

lose jobs to foreign competitors will see

higher utility costs and other living expenses at a moment they can least afford it. In short, the

downstream effects of today's announcement will be staggering for millions. [Sen. McConnell

Press Release, 6/2/14]

• 6/2/14: Sen. McConnell: The Sad Truth Is That The Only Thing America Will

Lead

n If

These Rules Go Into Effect Is The Unilateral Dismantling

Of

Our Own

Economic Supremacy And The Self-Imposed Destruction Of One Of Our Nation's

Main Competitive Advantages In The Global Economy. And That's Why I Will

Offer Legislation This Week To Stop This Assault On Kentucky And The Broader

U.S. Economy

Another tragedy in today's announcement is that for all the pain this

new rule will inflict on ordinary Americans, there

s

no clear benefit. These new rules



will cheer the far-left patrons of Washington liberals, but there is simply no question that

our competitors around the world will eagerly replace whatever industry we lose

s

a

result of

these new rules. The notion that these competitors will follow our lead is pure

and utter fantasy. 'The sad truth is that the only thing America will lead in if these rules

go into effect is the unilateral dismantling

of

our own economic supremacy and the self

imposed destruction

of

one

of

our nation's main competitive advantages in the global

economy. And that's why I will offer legislation this week to stop this assault on

Kentucky and the broader U.S. economy, because the President and his allies should not

be allowed to get away with this. Congress must listen to the families who will be hardest

hit by these rules - even if the President

won't. '

[Sen. McConnell Press Release,

6/2/14]

6/2/14: Speaker Boehner: The President's Plan

s

Nuts, There's Really No More Succinct

Way To Describe It. Americans Are Still Asking 'Where Are The Jobs?' And Here He

s

Proposing Rules To Ship Jobs Overseas For Years To Come.

The president's plan is nuts,

there's really no more succinct way to describe it. Americans are still asking 'where are the

jobs?' and here he is proposing rules to ship jobs overseas for years to come. Americans are

already paying more for everything and here he is condemning them to higher bills and lower

incomes long after he leaves office. In many ways, this national energy tax is actually worse

than the scheme Americans rejected four years ago. While the president may have kept his

promise to make prices 'skyrocket, ' it

doesn't

have to be inevitable. The House has already

passed legislation to prevent these rules from taking effect without the approval of the people's

representatives. The question now is: will Senate Democrats listen to the American people and

stop this disaster or will they back the president all the way? [Speaker Boehner Press Release,

6/2/14: Rep. Cantor: Today, President Obama's EPA Launched Its Latest Assault On

Hard Working Middle Class Families. While The President

s

Taking A Victory Lap, I

Hope He Will Take A Moment And Explain To Middle Class Families In Virginia The

Reality

f

His Proposal: An Increase In Their Home Electricity Bills. Today, President

Obama's EPA launched its latest assault on hard working middle class families. While the

President is taking a victory lap, I hope he will take a moment and explain to middle class

families in Virginia the reality of his proposal: an increase in their home electricity bills. With

too many families already struggling to make ends meet, why is the President celebrating an

energy plan that is

just

going to raise their utility bills?

'The

President also owes an explanation

to the nearly 5,000 Virginians who work in the coal industry. The argument that, many of their

jobs will be destroyed, but hopefully a job will be created somewhere else to comply with this

massive new regulation is of little comfort to these families. It is time the President stops his war

on coal and the families who make their living in the coal industry.

'The

House has already

acted this year to block regulations like the one proposed that would increase electricity prices

and has acted to require agencies like the EPA to take into account the real-world jobs impact

of

their proposed regulations. To date, the Senate has not acted on either measure. I call on Senator



Reid and Virginia's two Senators to immediately take steps to protect Virginia families and pass

these bills. [Sen. Cantor Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Leader Pelosi: Climate Change Is One

f

The Most Pressing Dangers Facing Us

Today. This Accelerating Crisis Threatens Our Coasts, Our Crops And Our Communities

- And Its Damaging And Destabilizing Effects Are Already Being Felt Across Our Nation

And Around The World.

Climate change is one

of

the most pressing dangers facing us today.

This accelerating crisis threatens our coasts, our crops and our communities - and its damaging

and destabilizing effects are already being felt across our nation and around the world. 'The

destructive effect of unrestrained carbon pollution is felt not only in rising temperatures and

increased, more powerful natural disasters, but also in higher asthma rates in our children. We

already restrict mercury and arsenic pollution - it 's time we did the same for toxic carbon

pollution. These new standards will strengthen public health, create new jobs, spur innovation

and lower electricity rates. 'Like the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act,

these actions by the Administration send a resounding message to the world that the United

States is serious about dealing with climate change. The Clean Air Act is an appropriate,

bipartisan approach to protect people from pollution, and today's standards build on a foundation

of

decades

of

bipartisan laws, including the Energy Independence and Security Act

of

2007,

signed by President Bush. We have a moral obligation to act to preserve the beauty ofGod's

creation for future generations. With these flexible plans to cut carbon pollution, our nation is

taking a bold and serious step towards securing a sustainable future for all

of

us. [Leader Pelosi


6/2/14: Rep. Hoyer: Today's Announcement By EPA Administrator Gina Mccarthy f

New Proposed Regulations To Curb Carbon Emissions At Our Nation's Power Plants

s

A

Bold Step At A Time When The World Is Looking To The United States To Take The Lead

Against The Dangerous Effects

f

Climate Change.

Today's announcement by EPA

Administrator Gina McCarthy

of

new proposed regulations to curb carbon emissions at our

nation's power plants is a bold step at a time when the world is looking to the United States to

take the lead against the dangerous effects

of

climate change. With rising temperatures and more

erratic weather patterns, climate change is being measured not only in meteorologists' hard data

but in the daily lives of average Americans, who are experiencing higher rates of asthma, rising

food and energy costs, extreme weather events, and economic uncertainty caused by the potential

for global conflicts over dwindling natural resources. Climate change is real, and we must come

together s a nation to meet this important challenge, not ignore it. 'The EPA' s plan to reduce

power plant carbon emissions, while providing states the flexibility to select the most cost

effective measures, will encourage cleaner, more efficient energy generation over the coming

years, not only yielding benefits to public health but also spurring innovation and new private

sector investment in the manufacturing and use

of

new energy technologies. This plan is

expected to prevent up to 6,600 premature deaths and 150,000 asthma attacks in children by

2030 and in the same period reduce families' electricity bills by approximately 8%. 'With the

Republican-led Congress's lack

of

interest in addressing climate change, the EPA is moving

forward with a common-sense plan that will reduce pollution, slow climate change, improve

public health, and create jobs. I hope Democrats and Republicans will see today's announcement

s a starting point from which we can work together to come up with additional ways to support

the Administration and make our nation more energy efficient and to reduce carbon emissions



more significantly s we move forward. ' [Rep. Hoyer Press Release, 6/2/14]

Senate

6/2/14: Sen. Lamar Alexander: This New

Carbon

Regulation

On

Existing Power Plants

Will Drive Electricity Prices Up

And

Drive Down

Job

Growth

In

Many

Parts

Of

The

Country. This Is

Just

One More Example Of The Federal Government Expanding The Big,

Wet Blanket Of Burdensome Regulations

On

Our Economy That Put People Out Of

Work

And Make I t

Harder

To Find A Job. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today

released the following statement on the administration's announcement to issue a new carbon

regulation on existing power plants: 'This new carbon regulation on existing power plants will

drive electricity prices up and drive down job growth in many parts of the country. This is just

one more example of the federal government expanding the big, wet blanket of burdensome

regulations on our economy that put people out of work and make it harder to find a job. This

regulation also bypasses congressional authority - it' s the job of Congress, not unelected

bureaucrats, to determine whether and how to regulate carbon dioxide.' The EPA' s new

regulation would require utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their existing power

plants by 30 percent, below 2005 levels, by 2030. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce study estimated

that such a change could result in 224,000 fewer U.S. jobs on average every year through 2030,

and force U.S. consumers to pay $289 billion more for electricity through 2030. [Sen. Lamar

Alexander Press Release,

~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Barrasso:

Once

Again,

The

President Has Chosen To Side

With

Extreme

Activists Instead Of Unemployed Americans. He Will Soon Discover

That

Instead Of

Being

Remembered

As

An

Environmental Champion, His Legacy Will Be

One

Of

Economic Failure

..

Rather Than Making

Our

Environment Cleaner, The President's Plan

Weakens

Our

Economy And Puts

America At

A Competitive Disadvantage

To

China And

Russia. Once again, the President has chosen to side with extreme activists instead

of

unemployed Americans. He will soon discover that instead of being remembered

s

an

environmental champion, his legacy will be one of economic failure. 'We need to make energy

s clean s we can, s fast s we can, while also growing our economy. Instead of finding the

right balance between these important goals, the President's extreme plan will shut down coal

plants across America and cause energy bills to skyrocket. The costs are real, the benefits are

theoretical. Rather than making our environment cleaner, the President's plan weakens our

economy and puts America at a competitive disadvantage to China and Russia. 'These

regulations will force many hardworking Americans to lose their jobs. After millions of

Americans have already given up looking for work and are struggling to pay their bills, these

costly regulations are the last thing we need. ' [Sen. John Barrasso Press Release, - ~ ~ -

6/2/14: Sen. Begich: I t Is No Secret

That

I Have Long Been Skeptical Of This

Administration

And

Their Understanding Of Alaska's Unique Needs When I t Comes To

Energy Policy And This Will Be No Different

..

Today's Announcement From The

Administration Is

The

First Step In A Long Process That I Will Be Closely Monitor ing To

Determine Any Impact On Alaska - Especially For Consumers. Alaska Is Ground Zero

For Climate Change

And There Are

Common Sense Approaches To Dealing

With

That

Reality, But We Must Protect Consumers Along The Way.

' It

is no secret that I have long



been skeptical

of

this Administration and their understanding

of

Alaska's unique needs when it

comes to energy policy and this will be no different,' said Begich. 'Today's announcement from

the Administration is the first step in a long process that I will be closely monitoring to

determine any impact on Alaska - especially for consumers. Alaska is ground zero for climate

change and there are common sense approaches to dealing with that reality, but we must protect

consumers along the way ... From the initial review

of

materials released today, this rule exempts

all of rural Alaska, but could impact a handful of Rail belt power plants,' said Begich. 'My office

has already asked the EPA for additional information and I will work closely with both the EPA

and the State of Alaska to ensure that any final rule is flexible and protects Alaska businesses

and families. ' [Sen. Begich Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Bennet: I Support The President's Action To Curb Dangerous Carbon

Pollution, Because Colorado

Is

Already Experiencing The Negative Effects

Of

A Changing

Climate Look Forward To Reviewing The Details Of The Proposal And Working To

Ensure The Final Rule Reflects Colorado's Commitment To Reducing Carbon Emissions

While Generating Strong Economic Growth."

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today

welcomed the Administration's release

of

a draft rule to reduce carbon pollution from power

plants.

I

support the President's action to curb dangerous carbon pollution, because Colorado is

already experiencing the negative effects of a changing climate. The constant threat of wildfire,

prolonged drought that imperils our $40 billion agriculture industry, and our shortened winters

(and ski season) and longer summers all demand action. Fortunately, Colorado is already well

positioned to meet these carbon reduction targets. 'Colorado has not waited for Washington to

act. For years, our state has led the nation by forging commonsense energy solutions that reduce

harmful pollution, including our renewable portfolio standard, the Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act,

and the recent, industry-supported rules regarding fugitive methane. I

m

pleased that the EPA

will allow for an extended comment period on the draft rule. I look forward to reviewing the

details of the proposal and working to ensure the final rule reflects Colorado's commitment to

reducing carbon emissions while generating strong economic growth. ' [Sen. Bennet Press

Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Blumenthal: "The Plan Being Rolled Out Today Is Modeled On The Regional

Greenhouse Gas Initiative That Connecticut Pioneered Under The Leadership

Of

Gina

McCarthy. This Is Our Last Best Chance To Save The Planet, And I Commend The

Administration For Putting Forward This Truly Historic Proposal..."

The plan being

rolled out today is modeled on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that Connecticut

pioneered under the leadership of Gina McCarthy. This is our last best chance to save the planet,

and I commend the Administration for putting forward this truly historic proposal, which will

protect public health by cutting carbon pollution and ensure a cleaner environment for

generations to come. Economic growth and job creation are not in conflict with environmental

sustainability, and this proposal rightly reflects that reality. [Sen. Blumenthal Press Release,

6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Blunt: "There's No Doubt The President's Energy Policies Will Destroy Jobs

And Hurt The Very People Who Can't Afford To Pay More

At

The Pump Or To Heat And

Cool Their Homes ... Will Fight The President And His Administration Every Step Of

The Way To Stop This Unprecedented Power Grab And Protect Missourians, Who Rely



On Coal For

8

Percent

Of

Our State's Energy.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) blasted

President Barack Obama's announcement today regarding his job-destroying Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on coal-fired power plants, which could cost American

businesses more than $50 billion a year. 'There's no doubt the president's energy policies will

destroy jobs and hurt the very people who can t afford to pay more at the pump or to heat and

cool their homes. Yet once again, President Obama and his administration proved they're more

concerned about appealing to the far left of the president's party than helping low and middle

income families who are struggling to find jobs and pay their bills,' said Blunt. I will fight the

president and his administration every step of the way to stop this unprecedented power grab and

protect Missourians, who rely on coal for

80

percent of our state's energy,' Blunt concluded.

[Sen. Roy Blunt Press Release,

6/2/14: Sen. Booker: Today's Announcement Represents A Major Step Forward

In

Our

National Effort To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Fight Climate Change. I

Commend President Obama And EPA Administrator Mccarthy For Presenting The Clean

Power Plan Proposal, And I Look Forward To The Benefits This Plan Will Bring To Those

Who Live And Work

In

New Jersey.

' Today's announcement represents a major step

forward in our national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. I

commend President Obama and EPA Administrator McCarthy for presenting the Clean Power

Plan proposal, and I look forward to the benefits this plan will bring to those who live and work

in New Jersey. We must be aggressive in our pursuit of reducing our carbon footprint -

nothing less than the quality of the air our children will breathe, and the climate in which they

will live, is at stake. This is a common sense proposal that will empower states to do their part

and contribute to the national goal of curbing emissions from power plants. I am also

encouraged by the flexibility the administration's plan provides for each state to decide exactly

how they will achieve our national goal to reduce emissions from power plants by 30 percent by

2030. In light of today's announcement, New Jersey should consider rejoining the successful

Regional Green House Gas Initiative, which would allow us to reduce and offset our carbon

emissions by making investments in clean energy. I am confident that New Jersey will achieve

the goals presented today and remain a national leader in clean energy production. ' [Sen.

Booker Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Boozman: President Obama's Proposed Regulations For Power Plants Will

Hurt Arkansas Families, Farmers And Businesses, Without Providing Any Significant

Benefits. ' President Obama's proposed regulations for power plants will hurt Arkansas

families, farmers and businesses, without providing any significant benefits. Congress rejected

the President's cap-and-trade policy, so now he is bypassing the will of the legislative branch

and imposing a similar plan bit by bit. President Obama says it won t cost much and that if you

like affordable energy, you can keep affordable energy, but like his other promises, we know that

actions speak louder than words. 'The U.S. Chamber of Commerce predicts that the President's

plan will shrink the economy by at least 51 billion and destroy more than 200,000 jobs each

year between now and 2030. This is another example of bureaucrats trying to control climate

from their desks in Washington, with no concern for the pain it will cause. Unfortunately, that

pain falls hardest on low-income families who will be forced to pay more for electricity and

many other essential needs. As usual EPA is sending out misleading information that exaggerates

the benefits and minimizes the costs. 'The President's policy will drive industry overseas,



hurting American workers and creating foreign factories that emit far more than we would.

Instead, we need an all-of-the-above energy mix, including renewables and reliable sources like

coal, nuclear, and natural gas. With better efficiency and new technology, we can reduce

emissions and keep manufacturing

here. '

[Sen. Boozman Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Boxer: The President's Proposal

Is

A Win-Win-Win For The American

People,

As It

Will Protect Our Health, Saving Thousands

Of

Lives, Create Thousands

Of

Jobs, And America Will Finally Lead On A Path To Averting The Most Calamitous

Impacts Of Climate Change ..

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA

,

Chairman

of

the Environment

and Public Works Committee, today thanked President Obama for taking action to reduce carbon

pollution, which 97%

of

scientists agree is leading to dangerous climate change that threatens

our families. Senator Boxer said: 'The President's proposal is a win-win-win for the American

people, as it will protect our health, saving thousands

of

lives, create thousands

of

jobs, and

America will finally lead on a path to averting the most calamitous impacts of climate change -

such as sea level rise, dangerous heat waves, and economic disruption. Thank goodness the

President refuses to be bullied by those who have their heads in the sand, and whose obstruction

is leading us

off

the climate change cliff. The President's proposal is respectful

of

the states'

roles and allows major flexibility, while ensuring that big polluters reduce their dangerous

contributions to climate change.' She added: 'The people of California and the people of

America deserve to be protected and the President should be lauded for moving forward.' [Sen.

Boxer Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Brown:

I

Will Closely Follow This Issue And Work With Industry And

Environmental Leaders To Ensure The Final Rule Improves Air Quality While Promoting

Continued Economic Growth.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who represents

manufacturing-heavy Ohio, stressed that states need flexibility to address carbon emissions and

climate change. 'Proposals to reduce climate change must give states the flexibility to increase

energy efficiency, improve our air quality, and invest in clean energy technology at our power

plants, homes, and businesses,' Brown said in an email from his office.

'Ohio

has already made

strides in reducing carbon pollution thanks to fuel efficient cars, natural gas production,

renewable energy, and highly efficient manufacturing facilities. I will closely follow this issue

and work with industry and environmental leaders to ensure the final rule improves air quality

while promoting continued economic growth. ' [Roll Call,

6/2/14: Sen. Cardin: Strong But Flexible Carbon Pollution Standards For Power Plants

Are Needed And Welcome News For America's Clean Energy Future The Bold Goals

Set

By

The Obama Administration Today Are Achievable And Will Help Grow Our

Economy.

Strong but flexible carbon pollution standards for power plants are needed and

welcome news for America's clean energy future. For years we have had power plant standards

that protect our communities from air pollutants like lead and mercury. We are finally seeing

similar standards for the carbon pollution that is fueling climate change, the biggest threat to life

on Earth as we know it, ' said Senator Cardin, 'Science tells us climate change is real. It is a

threat to our environment but also a public health issue, economic issue and a national security

issue. The good news is that the solutions to each of these challenges are intertwined. The notion

that we must choose between economic growth and environmental protection is just plain

wrong. 'The bold goals set by the Obama Administration today are achievable and will help



grow our economy. Already, the U.S. is creating good-paying domestic clean energy jobs to help

mitigate the causes of climate change, increase energy efficiency, reduce our carbon footprint

and better prepare us for the extreme weather. Where leadership is willing, we are making strides

to green our infrastructure, s well s restore and integrate natural defenses against sea level rise

and extreme weather. The U.S. must continue to lead globally and by example. Pollution, storms

and droughts do not abide by border signs. [Sen. Cardin Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Carper: I Applaud The President For His Leadership For Moving Forward

With This Rule. Through Unprecedented Outreach The EPA Has Collected Broad Input

And Developed A Proposal That Builds On What States Are Already Doing To Reduce

Power Plant Carbon Emissions ... I Am Happy To See That EPA's Rule Recognizes That

What Works For Delaware, May Not Work For Texas Allowing Each State The

Flexibility To Find The Most Cost Effective Ways To Reduce Their Own Emissions.

For

those living in states already seeing the impacts of climate change, today's proposal to regulate

our nation's largest source of carbon pollution has been a long time coming. Delaware, and

other states feeling the impacts

of

climate change, have already taken action to reduce local

power plant carbon emissions. Unfortunately, a few states cannot tackle this issue alone - all

states must do their fair share to make an impact. Today's Clean Power Plan unites our country

in working to take on the largest source

of

carbon emissions together. I applaud the president for

his leadership for moving forward with this rule. Through unprecedented outreach - the EPA has

collected broad input and developed a proposal that builds on what states are already doing to

reduce power plant carbon emissions. I am happy to see that EPA s rule recognizes that what

works for Delaware, may not work for Texas - allowing each state the flexibility to find the most

cost effective ways to reduce their own emissions. After working for more than a decade on

legislative efforts to reduce carbon emissions from power plants, I applaud EPA' s decision to set

carbon targets that are both meaningful and feasible. [Sen. Tom Carper Press Release,

____

6/2/14: Sen. Carper: With Today's Announcement From The EPA

We

Took A

Step Toward Protecting Our Environment And Our Economy. Even Though The

EPA Has Already Reached Out Over 300 Stakeholders Nationwide The Proposal

Will Be Open For 120 Days Of Further Public Comment. I Encourage Everyone

That Is Interested To Read The Rule And Submit Your Comments Before The

Deadline.

Opponents to this rule will argue that we have to choose between having a

cleaner, stronger environment and having a robust, growing economy. I believe this is a

false choice. Not only has EPA crafted a rule that ensures the benefits far outweigh the

costs - we know inaction on climate change only costs us money in the long

nm

The

Government Accountability Office has already listed climate change s one

of

the biggest

fiscal risks facing our country. With today's announcement from the EPA we took a step

toward protecting our environment and our economy. Even though the EPA has already

reached out over 300 stakeholders nat ionwide- the proposal will be open for 120 days of

further public comment. I encourage everyone that is interested to read the rule and

submit your comments before the deadline. [Sen. Tom Carper Press Release,

~ ~ -

6/2/14: Sen. Chambliss: The EPA Has Already Mandated A Litany

Of

Costly Regulations,

And Now The President Is Once Again Punishing Energy Providers With Rules That Will

Result In Lost Jobs, Higher Energy Costs, And A Less Reliable Energy Grid - Burdens



That Will Have An mmediate And Real-World Effect On American Families. Today, U.S.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., made the following statement regarding the Environmental

Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed regulations on existing power plants: 'The EPA has

already mandated a litany of costly regulations, and now the president is once again punishing

energy providers with rules that will result in lost jobs, higher energy costs, and a less reliable

energy

grid-

burdens that will have an immediate and real-world effect on American families.

We must focus on policies that will build our economy, not political statements that hurt middle

class Americans. ' [Sen. Saxby Chambliss Press Release,

~ ~ c _ c

6/2/14: Sen. Coats: Yet Again, President Obama Is Trying To Circumvent Congress To

Implement Policies That The Elected Representatives Of The American People Have

Rejected. The EPA's Proposed Rules Amount To A Backdoor Energy Tax That Will

Damage Indiana's Economy And Hike Electric Bills For All Hoosiers. Senator Dan Coats

(R-Ind.) made the following statement about today's announcement by the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) that it is proposing new rules on fossil fuel power plants: 'Yet again,

President Obama is trying to circumvent Congress to implement policies that the elected

representatives

of

the American people have rejected. The EPA's proposed rules amount to a

backdoor energy tax that will damage Indiana's economy and hike electric bills for all Hoosiers.

To date, the utility industry has spent tens of billions in capital investment for air pollution

controls resulting in significant declines in emissions. Our state is highly reliant on coal power

plants, which provide Hoosiers with good jobs and some of the most affordable, reliable

electricity in the nation. By supporting these regulations, the president is putting our economic

well-being, grid reliability and American jobs at risk. ' [Sen. Dan Coats Press Release,

6/2/14: Sen. Coons: To Mitigate The Impacts

Of

Climate Change, We Have To Reduce

The Level Of Damaging Carbon Emissions We Pump Into The Atmosphere.

f

Enacted,

The EP A's Clean Power Plan Will Ensure America's Power Plants - Our Country's Single

Largest Source

Of

Carbon Pollution - Move To Responsibly Curb Harmful Emissions.

'Carbon pollution is heating our planet at an alarming rate, altering weather patterns and raising

sea levels that could put up to percent of Delaware under water by the end of the century.

These changes have already begun, but we still have an opportunity - and an obligation - to save

our communities from irreversible damage. To mitigate the impacts of climate change, we

have to reduce the level

of damaging carbon emissions we pump into the atmosphere.

f

enacted,

the EPA' s Clean Power Plan will ensure America's power plants - our country's single largest

source of carbon pollution - move to responsibly curb harmful emissions. These guidelines set

strong targets for reducing carbon pollution, while giving states the flexibility they need to

achieve emissions goals in a cost-effective way. This critical effort will protect public health,

strengthen the market for energy efficiency, and spur transition to affordable, homegrown clean

energy. 'Delaware is already implementing similar standards that have brought enormous

benefits to our region over the last five years.

s

part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

- the country's first regional cap and trade system - Delaware and eight other states have cut

regional carbon pollution by nearly a third and raised more than

$700 million for investment in

renewable and energy efficiency projects. This successful initiative can serve

as

a national model

for states across the country. I applaud the EPA for taking strong action today to move our

nation toward a cleaner and more stable future. The world is looking to the United States to lead

the global charge against climate change. These historic guidelines for power plants - together



with fuel economy standards already in place - are a clear demonstration of that leadership, and

now our competitors around the world must follow suit. We cannot and should not be in this

alone.

'We

have a responsibility - to our children and the generations to come - to stand up to

this challenge. Our children don't care about the politics, the pushback, the endless excuses for

inaction and indifference. They will ask us only whether, when we had the opportunity, we did

all we could to protect our planet. ' [Sen. Coons Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Cornyn: Today's Announcement Is Nothing More Than An Energy Tax That

Will Raise The Cost

Of

Electricity For Texans, While Destroying Jobs.

U.S. Senator John

Cornyn (R-TX) issued the following statement today after the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) announced new carbon dioxide emissions regulations on existing power plants: 'Today's

announcement is nothing more than an energy tax that will raise the cost of electricity for

Texans, while destroying jobs.

'By

enacting regulations that a bipartisan majority in Congress

rejected, the President proves this Administration is more concerned with placating liberal

special interest groups than average Americans. 'As Texans see huge increases in health care

premiums due to Obamacare, this is yet another tax they'll face, and it is time for the Obama

Administration to be transparent about the costs

of

his agenda and to get its boot

off

the neck

of

Texas job creators. ' [Sen. Cornyn Press Release,

- ~ - ~ -

6/2/14: Sen. Cruz: The New EPA Rules Announced By The Obama Administration Will

Cripple The Coal Industry And Deprive Americans From Jobs, Whether They Are

Employed

By

Coal Mines Or Related Power Plants, Or Employed In Energy Dependent

Business Such As Manufacturing Or Technology Businesses. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas,

today released the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's recent

proposal to require that by 2030 power-generating facilities reduce their emissions

of

carbon

dioxide by 30 percent.

'The

new EPA rules announced by the Obama Administration will cripple

the coal industry and deprive Americans from jobs, whether they are employed by coal mines or

related power plants, or employed in energy dependent business such

s

manufacturing or

technology businesses,' said Sen. Cruz. 'These rules will not only drive up electric bills, but also

threaten the reliability of the nation's electric grid and make it harder for American manufactures

to compete in the world market. Once again, President Obama is more concerned with the

desires

of

billionaire campaign contributors and placating extremist special interests than helping

American workers and families escape the failed Obama economy. The legislation I introduced

earlier this year, the American Energy Renaissance Act would specifically halt these job-killing

regulations and encourage the creation of good-paying energy

jobs. '

[Sen. Ted Cruz Press

Release,

~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Durbin: Power Plants Are The Largest Single Source

Of

Greenhouse Gas

Emissions, And Any Meaningful Strategy For Addressing Climate Change Must Include A

Reduction In Their Harmful Emissions. The Proposed Rule By The Environmental

Protection Agency Gives States Like Illinois The Authority And Flexibility To Develop A

Strategy To Reduce Harmful Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Encourage Local Stakeholders

To Develop A Plan To Protect Jobs, And Provide The Next Generation A More Livable

World U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today following

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's announcement of a proposed rule to establish

standards for greenhouse gas emissions emitted by existing power plants. Under the proposed



rule, each state's environmental agency - including the Illinois Environmental Protection

Agency - will be called on to develop individual, state-specific implementation plans to ensure

clean air targets are met. 'Power plants are the largest single source

of

greenhouse gas

emissions, and any meaningful strategy for addressing climate change must include a reduction

in their harmful emissions. The proposed rule by the Environmental Protection Agency gives

states like Illinois the authority and flexibility to develop a strategy to reduce harmful

greenhouse gas emissions, encourage local stakeholders to develop a plan to protect jobs, and

provide the next generation a more livable world,' said Durbin... 'Communities across Illinois

are already leading the nation in choosing power that is renewable, affordable, and clean,' said

Durbin.

'I

will continue to support these efforts and other investments in innovative

technologies, such

as

FutureGen 2.0, that create Illinois jobs now and invest in clean energy

sources for the future. ' [Sen. Durbin Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Enzi: It's No Secret

That

President Obama Is

Not

A Fan Of Coal Or

Traditional Forms Of Energy. He's Been Targeting Them With Red Tape And Regulations

His Entire Presidency.

That

May Benefit Some People In Alternative Energy

Who

Have A

Hard Time Producing Ample Low-Cost Energy Without Government Help

And

The

President's Supporters

That

Like

t When He

Goes Around The Representatives

Of

People

Who

May Not Share Their Views,

But

It's Not Going

To

Improve The Environment

Much.

'It's no secret that President Obama is not a fan of coal or traditional forms of energy.

He's been targeting them with red tape and regulations his entire presidency. That may benefit

some people in alternative energy who have a hard time producing ample low-cost energy

without government help and the president's supporters that like it when he goes around the

representatives of people who may not share their views, but i t's not going to improve the

environment much. People will pay more for electricity and the economy will suffer so the

president can increase his popularity with people who already favor his policies. 'When you try

and put coal out of business, you're not just targeting the economy, you're targeting consumers.

They're the ones who are left paying the higher energy bills when all the abundant and

affordable energy is off-limits thanks to misplaced priorities. It's essentially an energy tax. The

last thing we should be doing in this economy when so many Americans are out

of

work is make

the bare essentials more expensive. ' [Sen. Enzi Press Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Feinstein (Provided to White House): The Devastating Effects

Of

Climate

Change

Are

Real And They Are Happening

Today And

The Causes Are Largely The

Result

Of

Human Activity. Simply Put,

We

Are Fundamentally Altering The Earth, And

Without Urgent Action We Face Catastrophe. I Strongly Support The President's Decision

To Confront Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Existing Power Plants. 'The devastating

effects

of

climate change are real and they are happening

today-and

the causes are largely the

result

of

human activity. Simply put, we are fundamentally altering the earth, and without urgent

action we face catastrophe.

'I

strongly support the president's decision to confront greenhouse

gas emissions from existing power plants. These power plants account for nearly 40 percent of

U.S. emissions and need to be regulated. 'The EPA proposal offers an opportunity to address

climate change while at the same time improving our electricity system.

s

states consider how

to meet these goals, I encourage them to look at California's cap-and-trade program. 'We need

every tool at our disposal to solve the problem of climate change, and today's action is a big step

toward reaching that goal. ' [Sen. Feinstein Press Release, 6/2/14]



6/2/14: Sen. Fischer: While These Extreme Regulations Will Have Little Discernible

Impact

On Global Emission Levels, They Will Have An Enormously Negative Impact On

Families Here t Home. A Recent Study Suggests EPA's New Regulations Could Drive Up

Yearly Electric Bills By An Average

Of

$200 Per Family And Almost A Quarter Million

Jobs Could Be Lost Through 2030.

While these extreme regulations will have little

discernible impact on global emission levels, they will have an enormously negative impact on

families here at home. A recent study suggests EPA's new regulations could drive up yearly

electric bills by an average of $200 per family and almost a quarter million jobs could be lost

through 2030. In Nebraska alone, coal-related industries are responsible for almost 23,000 jobs

and generate nearly $4.9 billion in economic output. Because Nebraska is a public power state,

Nebraska taxpayers will be on the hook twice - once for the cost to retrofit our plants and then

again for the increased cost to power our homes and businesses. In reality the price of goods and

services will go up

s

well

s

costs are passed on to consumers. [Sen. Deb Fischer Press

Release,

•

6/2/14: Sen. Fischer: Unfortunately, The President Has Sided With The Interests

Of A Billionaire Environmentalist, Ignoring The Pocketbook Concerns Of Middle

Class Families.

I

have repeatedly called on the president to work with, rather than

around, Congress

to

find solutions that will actually benefit both our environment and our

economy. Achieving the right balance requires input from the American people,

Congress, and stakeholders from both sides. Unfortunately, the president has sided with

the interests of a billionaire environmentalist, ignoring the pocketbook concerns of

middle class families. I will continue my efforts to ensure Nebraskans - the

administration's chosen losers in this battle - have a voice in regulations that hurt our

state's families and jeopardize our access to affordable, reliable electricity. [Sen. Deb

Fischer Press Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Franken: In Minnesota, We've Already Made Great Strides To Roll Back

Carbon Pollution, And We're Leading The Way When t Comes To Homegrown

Renewable Energy. U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Chairman of the Senate Energy

Subcommittee, said that Minnesota is well-positioned

to

continue leading the way in cutting

carbon pollution and spurring job growth in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors.

Earlier today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new proposal to

significantly reduce pollution emitted by existing power plants by the year 2030. 'In

Minnesota, we've already made great strides to roll back carbon pollution, and

we're

leading the

way when it comes to homegrown renewable energy,' said Sen. Franken. 'This proposed rule

will benefit Minnesota and spur economic activity here at home-it 's going to unleash

retrofitting, which

I've

been working on for years now, and it's going to create jobs in renewable

energy. ' [Sen. Franken Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Grassley: The EPA Has An Obligation To Hear From Everyone With An

Interest In This Rule. This Proposal Could Have A Huge Effect On Iowans Since So Much

Of Our Energy Comes From Coal. The Administration Needs To Understand The Full

Impact Of This Regulation. Utility Costs Could Go Up For Customers Around The

Country. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the

Environmental Protection Agency's agreement to hold a 120-day public comment period for the



federal government s proposed regulation

of greenhouse

gases

from

existing

coal-fired power

plants. Grassley was

part of

a

bipartisan group of

47 senators

who

asked

for the

extended

comment

period. The EP has an obligation to hear

from

everyone

with

an

interest

in this

rule. This proposal could have a huge effect on Iowans since so much of our

energy

comes

from

coal. The Administration needs to understand

the

full impact of this regulation.

Utility

costs

could go

up

for

customers around the

country./// [Sen. Chuck Grassley Press

R e l e a s e ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Kay Hagan: I'm Talking To Business Leaders And Energy Experts

In

North

Carolina About

What

This

Proposed

Rule Will Mean For

Our

State And

Our

Economy. I

Want To Make Sure

That

The Proposal Does Enough To Recognize The Progress We've

Made Reducing

Carbon

Emissions And Promoting Renewable Energy. I'm talking to

business leaders and energy experts in North Carolina about what this proposed rule will mean

for our state and our economy. I want to make sure that the proposal does enough to recognize

the progress we've made reducing carbon emissions and promoting renewable energy.

As

a state

legislator I worked with environmentalists as well as Republicans, businesses and utilities to

make North Carolina a national leader in reducing air pollution and promoting renewable energy.

As

I review this rule I will be looking for a balance similar to the one we struck in North

Carolina. North Carolina must not be asked to carry a higher burden simply because we had the

foresight and courage to take action. In the coming weeks I will push for a number of changes to

the rule that are good for North

Carolina. [Sen. Kay Hagan Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Harkin: Today's Announcement Is A

Major

Step Forward And I Applaud

The President

And

The EPA For This Action ... What The Obama Administration Is

Proposing Is Bold Action.

It

Will Take Time To Implement. But I Have No Doubt

That

It

Is In

The

Best

Interest

Of Our Climate

And Our Country's

Future. Today's

announcement is a major step forward and I applaud the President and the EPA for this action.

Climate change is real, as we have seen by increased frequency of severe weather, in extended

draughts and heat waves, in increases in heavy precipitation, and in flooding in Iowa and

throughout the Midwest. Today's proposed rule will deliver a significant reduction in carbon

pollution from our largest single source, and thus it represents a major action to address climate

change. 'The last time major Clean Air Act regulations on air pollution took effect on the power

sector in the 1990's to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide;

we were told that compliance would be an economic disaster. Yet, the regulation had the

opposite effect. Environmental firms and small businesses generated $282 billion in new

revenue and $40 billion in exports and supported

1 6

million new jobs. There was no significant

impact on electricity prices. We are hopeful of the same, positive outcome from today's

announcement. 'We also know that renewables are rapidly expanding

as

effective and

economic power supplies. In Iowa, we get more than 25 percent of our electrical power from

carbon pollution-free wind. Moreover, our power companies have already begun to shut down

some of the older, less efficient coal-burning power plants. 'What the Obama Administration is

proposing

is

bold action. It will take time to implement. But I have no doubt that it is in the best

interest of our climate and our country's future. ' [Sen. Harkin Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Hatch: Make No Mistake -This Proposed Cap-And-Trade Rule Will Kill

Jobs, Increase

Energy

Costs,

And Make

It Even

More

Difficult For

Hardworking

Families

To Make Ends Meet. So

It's

No Surprise That The Proposal Is Opposed By Republicans



And any Democrats Alike. Make no mistake - this proposed cap-and-trade rule will kill

jobs, increase energy costs, and make it even more difficult for hardworking families to make

ends meet. So it's no surprise that the proposal is opposed by Republicans and many Democrats

alike. Despite a sluggish economy with millions of Americans out of work and families

struggling to pay their bills, President Obama and his extreme environmentalist allies continue to

push a national energy tax that even the President has conceded would cause energy costs to

'skyrocket. ' Even though Congress refused to give the Obama administration authority to

pursue this radical policy, the President is once again taking unilateral executive action to

implement this misguided and unpopular approach. Americans deserve an energy policy that

helps grow our economy and create jobs here at home, but whether

it s

standing in the way

of

the

Keystone XL pipeline project or putting forward job-destroying policies like the proposed rule

announced today, the Obama Administration just doesn't seem to get it. This rule is yet another

example that the administration is more focused on catering to its political allies than doing

what's best for hardworking Americans. [Sen. Hatch Press R e l e a s e ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Heitkamp: Let's Be Clear - f We Must Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions,

We

Have To Do

It

In

A

Way

That Makes Sense For Consumers, Workers,

And

Our

Economy. Today, Coal Produces 40 Percent Of The Electricity In The U.S., And Nearly 80

Percent Of The Electricity In North Dakota. I m Still Reviewing This Extensive Rule To

Determine The Impact On The

U.S.

And North Dakota. We Need Policies That Support

Coal - Defending Jobs, Keeping Energy Costs Low, And Maintaining Reliability In Our

Electric Grid-And That Also Help Develop Technology That Is Not Yet Widely Available

To Reduce Emissions. 'Let's be clear-if we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we have

to do it in a way that makes sense for consumers, workers, and our economy. Today, coal

produces 40 percent of the electricity in the U.S., and nearly 80 percent of the electricity in North

Dakota. I m still reviewing this extensive rule to determine the impact on the U.S. and North

Dakota. We need policies that support coal-defendingjobs, keeping energy costs low, and

maintaining reliability in our electric grid - and that also help develop technology that is not yet

widely available to reduce emissions. We need a true all-of-the-above energy strategy - which

the Administration claims to support - and it has to have a place for coal in our energy mix in the

present and future. 'After working in the energy field in North Dakota for more than a decade

before joining the Senate, I fully understand the importance of clean coal technology. And I also

understand that we need real, workable solutions to find a viable path forward for coal. That's

why I introduced legislation in March to incentivize utilities to develop clean coal technology to

reduce the footprint of coal companies while also making sure this reliable and redundant energy

source continues into the future. But this technology

won t

be developed overnight or available

for use tomorrow or even next year. It takes time and significant investment and government buy

in.

We

have to work together and develop achievable rules that reduce emissions, but do not

restrict economic growth or harm the reliability

of

our electrical system. I appreciate that the

Administration heeded my request to extend the comment period for this new rule to 120 days so

everyone impacted by it has time to analyze the rule. And after showing Administrator McCarthy

around North Dakota in February,

I ll

continue to work with her and push for necessary changes

to this rule and others so they work for all states, especially states like North Dakota that rely on

coal-fired power and have already greatly reduced emissions over time. ' [Sen. Heidkamp Press

Release, 6/2/14]



6/2/14: Sen. Heinrich: The EPA Deserves Credit For Showing The Leadership To Actively

Take On Climate Change Rather Than Embracing The Pseudo-Science And Denial That Is

Embraced By Far Too Many In Washington Today. This Nation Has Never Solved A

Single Problem

By

Denying The Facts.

'Climate change is a fact that is a problem in New

Mexico today and not just at some far off date in the future. We're already seeing the effects of

climate change manifest in more extreme drought conditions, larger wildfires, shrinking forests,

and increased flooding when we do receive precipitation. The longer we wait to act, the more

difficult and expensive the solutions will be and the more unpredictable our weather will

become. 'The EPA deserves credit for showing the leadership to actively take on climate

change rather than embracing the pseudo-science and denial that is embraced by far too many in

Washington today. This nation has never solved a single problem by denying the facts. 'Over

the coming days I will be looking closely at the details of this rule to make sure it is flexible,

achievable, and guided by the best available science. But let me be clear, inaction and denial are

not solutions to this very real crisis. The time has come for us to act in the best interest of our

children and all future Americans. They deserve to inherit a safe and healthy environment. '

[Sen. Heinrich Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Hirono: Today's Announcement By The EPA s A Significant, Historic

Development In The Global Fight Against Climate Change

t

Sends A Firm Signal To

The World That The United States Is Serious About Addressing The Growing

Environmental Threat To Our People And Our Livelihoods. 'Today's announcement by

the EPA is a significant, historic development in the global fight against climate change,' said

Hirono. It sends a firm signal to the world that the United States is serious about addressing the

growing environmental threat to our people and our livelihoods. s our nation's only island

state, Hawaii is already feeling the impact, with sea levels rising at a rate of 0.6 inches per

decade and expected to surpass three feet by the end of the century. The rise of sea levels, ocean

temperatures and ocean acidity directly threaten our state's economy and families, prompting

Hawaii to lead the way with laws limiting greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean energy

and energy efficiency. The impacts of climate change also can strain our domestic energy

resources and increase instability in other parts of the world, posing a serious threat to our

national security. I have fought to protect the investments in renewable energy research by the

U.S. military - the nation's largest single energy consumer that faces unique energy challenges

operating in the vast Asia-Pacific region - and will continue to do so moving forward. ' [Sen.

Hirono Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Hoeven: The EPA's New Rules For Existing Power Plants Will Do Little To

Reduce Carbon Emissions, But Will Reduce Jobs, Hinder

Our Economy And Increase The

Cost

Of

Everything, From Food To Heat And Consumer Products For American Families

And Businesses.

'The

EPA's new rules for existing power plants will do little to reduce

carbon emissions, but will reduce jobs, hinder our economy and increase the cost of everything,

from food to heat and consumer products for American families and businesses. In the first

quarter of this year, the U.S. economy shrank by 1 percent and millions of Americans remain

unemployed, yet the administration has decided that this was the right moment to impose an

entirely new regulatory burden on industry, an approach that Congress has already soundly

rejected. 'Nationally, the EPA itself estimates compliance costs for the regulations will range

from $5.4 billion to $7.4 billion annually beginning in 2020, before increasing to $7.3 billion to



$8.8 billion beginning in 2030. These costs will invariably be passed on to consumers and

businesses. 'As a coal producing state, North Dakota will be especially hard hit by these new

rules. Our state's seven coal-fired power plants provide nearly

80

percent of our residential and

commercial energy needs and provide power to surrounding states in our region, as well. The

lignite coal industry in North Dakota employs 4,097 people and their families, and generates

$3.5 billion in annual business activity. An additional 13,347 individuals work to support and

supply the lignite industry with goods and services, for a total employment of 17,444.

'The way to address emissions is not with a set of burdensome regulations that will prevent

investment and shutdown power plants. Instead, we need to encourage and empower private

investment that will develop and deploy new technology to produce more energy with better

environmental stewardship. ' [Sen. Hoeven Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Inhofe: Today's Proposed Rule By The EPA To Cut Greenhouse Gas

Emissions From Existing Power Plants Will Cost Americans A Fortune, To The Tune Of

$51 Billion In Lost Economic Activity And 224,000 Lost Jobs Per Year. While The

President And EPA Will Tout The Plan's Flexibilities,

t

Will Result In Cap-And-Trade

Through Regulation, One

Of

The Largest Tax Hikes That The American People Have

Rejected For Over A Decade. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the

Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today made the following statement after the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the proposal of greenhouse gas regulations

for the nation's existing fleet of electricity generators: 'Today 's proposed rule by the EPA to cut

greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants will cost Americans a fortune, to the tune

of

51

billion in lost economic activity and 224,000 lost jobs per year. While the President and

EPA will tout the plan's flexibilities, it will result in cap-and-trade through regulation, one of the

largest tax hikes that the American people have rejected for over a decade. The rule sets

ambitious targets for C02 reductions that will require the U.S. to rapidly decrease use of our

cheap domestic energy resources, shut down perfectly good power plants, and rely more on

prohibitively expensive renewable energy. Our nation must strike a more reasonable balance

of

our energy resources or face a future like Germany where their reliance on renewables has

resulted in energy prices 300 percent higher than in the United States. ' [Sen. Jim Inhofe Press

Release, ~ ~ ~

• 6/2/14: Sen. Inhofe: This Rule Is All About Pushing A Green Agenda That Has

Been Dreamed Up

By

The Environmentalist Community For Decades. The

President Is Their Man, And The American People Are Their Victims. 'By EPA's

own admission, greenhouse gases 'do not cause direct adverse health effects such as

respiratory or toxic effects,' rendering their claims that this rule is about pollution

reduction nil and void. This rule is all about pushing a green agenda that has been

dreamed up by the environmentalist community for decades. The President is their man,

and the American people are their victims. ' [Sen. Jim Inhofe Press Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Johanns: Finally, One Of President Obama's Plans Will Work As He

Intended Making Electricity Rates 'Necessarily Skyrocket' As He Promised On The

Campaign Trail.

U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R- Neb.) today condemned an EPA global

warming rule targeting power plants, which mandates that existing plants reduce carbon

emissions 30 percent by 2030. Early estimates predict the rule would cost as much

as

$50 billion



and nearly 225,000 jobs annually. Finally,

one

of President Obama s plans

will work

s he

intended-making electricity

rates necessarily skyrocket s he promised on

the

campaign

trail,

Johanns said. 'That's bad news for American families who will face higher utility rates and

lost jobs

as

manufacturers move overseas in search of cheap, reliable electricity. 'This rule by the

EPA targets states like Nebraska where rate payers shoulder all the costs

of

compliance. We can

all agree that clean air is worth fighting for, but the President seems to imagine a bubble over the

U.S., as if pollution from other countries that generate more and regulate less, doesn't reach our

environment. This reckless and ineffective rule will have little or no impact on climate change,

yet take a devastating toll on our economy. ' [Sen. Mike Johanns Press Release,

~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Kaine: Today The EPA

Proposed

Standards

For Carbon

Emissions

For

Existing Power Plants. Reducing This Carbon Pollution Is

In

Our National Interest, But

We Have

An

Obligation

To

Do t

In

A

Way That

Makes Economic Sense. U.S. Senator

Tim Kaine released the following statement today in response to the Environmental Protection

Agency's proposed rule on existing power plants: 'Today the EPA proposed standards for carbon

emissions for existing power plants. Reducing this carbon pollution is in our national interest,

but we have an obligation to do it in a way that makes economic sense.

'I

recently wrote to

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to request that the usual 60-day comment period be doubled

to 120 days to allow maximum opportunity for citizens and stakeholders to analyze the rule and

share concerns and ideas. I

am

gratified that EPA has agreed to this request, and I look forward

to dialogue with Virginia families and businesses about the proposal. 'Recent alarming climate

trends, including the rise in sea levels in Hampton Roads, demonstrate that we must reduce

carbon pollution in energy production. That's why I support research investments in cleaner coal

technologies, a groundbreaking plan to develop wind energy off the Virginia coast, safer

development of natural gas resources and major steps to expand energy conservation and

efficiency. These will be some of the innovative options that could count as emissions reductions

under the EPA plan. 'I've seen how smart environmental rules helped us clean up the James

River in my hometown in ways that improved our economy and quality

of

life. We don't have to

choose between a clean environment and economic growth. We just have to make sure that we

adopt balanced rules that advance environmental goals by spurring economic innovation. ' [Sen.

Kaine, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. King: These Proposed Rules

Are

A Significant Step Forward

In

Protecting

Public Health, Combating Climate Change,

And

Creating Jobs In Clean Energy. 'These

proposed rules are a significant step forward in protecting public health, combating climate

change, and creating jobs in clean energy. This is an important investment in our children's

future which will pay big dividends for years to come. I especially like that the EPA is not

prescribing a one-size-fits-all solution but is leaving to the states and industry to define the

means

of

achieving the goals established in the new rules,' Senator King said. 'Maine has been

on the cutting edge of technologies that generate clean energy and reduce emissions.

s

a

member

of

the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, we know first-hand that carbon reduction

plans can result in cleaner technologies, cleaner air, and meaningful efficiency upgrades for

peoples' homes. I am proud that Maine plays such a significant role in protecting our

environment. ' [Sen. King Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Landrieu: While t Is Important To Reduce

Carbon In

The Atmosphere, This



Should Not Be Achieved By

EP

Regulations. U.S. Senator Mary

L

Landrieu, D-La., chair of

the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, today said Congress not the

EPA should set C02 emission standards. The Senator has time and time again opposed the

EPA acting alone to reduce carbon emissions. 'While it is important to reduce carbon in the

atmosphere, this should not be achieved by EPA regulations. Congress should set the terms,

goals and timeframe. Greater use

of

natural gas and stronger efficiency measures adopted by the

industry have already helped us reduce carbon emissions to their lowest levels in 20 years, and

this should continue. I will work with leaders

of

both parties to build on the progress we have

already made,' Sen. Landrieu said. [Sen. Landrieu Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Leahy: For The Good f Our Generation And Future Generations, The

President Has Shown The Courage And The Foresight To Do What Has Long Been

Overdue .. Today The Environmental Protection Agency Has Announced New, Flexible,

Commonsense Guidelines To Reduce Carbon Pollution From The Power Sector Across

The Country. The era of letting energy companies put profits over people -- harming our

health, endangering our more vulnerable citizens, and scarring the planet -- must finally end. For

the good

of

our generation and future generations, the President has shown the courage and the

foresight to do what has long been overdue. 'Today the Environmental Protection Agency has

announced new, flexible, commonsense guidelines to reduce carbon pollution from the power

sector across the country. They were crafted with feedback from businesses and from state and

local governments. 'This historic step is not based on theory but on sound science and long

experience with the effects of this major, unchecked source of pollution in communities across

the nation. This is tangible progress in turning the comer toward a healthier and more

sustainable clean energy economy.

•

6/2/14: Sen. Leahy: The President

s

Right To Push To Address This Climate

Crisis, Which Will Be Catastrophic For Future Generations f We Do Not Act Now.

The EPA Is Doing Just What Congress And The Supreme Court Has Directed

Under The Clean Air Act: f A Pollutant Endangers Public Health And Welfare, t

Must Be Limited.

The President is right to push to address this climate crisis, which

will be catastrophic for future generations if we do not act now. The EPA is doing just

what Congress and the Supreme Court has directed under the Clean Air Act:

f

a

pollutant endangers public health and welfare, it must be limited.

As

a parent and

grandparent, I believe that we must confront this crisis for the sake of generations to

come. As the people of Vermont saw firsthand when Hurricane Irene tore through our

state, the effects of climate change are already being felt, and the dangers we face are far

too great to risk inaction. [Sen. Leahy Press Release, _____

• 6/2/14: Sen. Leahy: This Is A Meaningful Step That Will Make A Real Difference

In The Lives

f

All Americans Now And In The Future, And I Applaud And

Support The President's Initiative. This plan will also result in a reduction in

particulate matter and ozone emissions, which will prevent thousands of premature

deaths and hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks. I

am

pleased that this plan will

allow flexibility for states and will help

to

create a much-needed surge in renewable

energy and efficiency investments. This means new jobs in manufacturing, building

trades and construction industries across the country. 'The effects of climate change may



be hard

to

measure

with

precision,

but

surely we can all agree

that

taking steps

to

mitigate environmental impacts of harmful pollutants

that

have an adverse impact on

the

health and well-being of children and adults benefits

us

all. This

is

a meaningful step

that

will make a real

difference

in the lives of all Americans now and in the future, and I

applaud and support the President s initiative. ' [Sen. Leahy Press R e l e a s e ~ ~ -

6/2/14: Sen. Manchin:

There

Is No

Doubt

That Seven Billion People Have

Had

An

Impact

On Our World's

Climate; However, The Proposed EPA Rule Does Little To Address The

Global Problem With Global Solutions.

Instead,

Today's Rule Appears To Be More About

Desirability

Rather

Than Reliability Or Feasibility,

With

Little

Regard For

Rising

Consumer Prices, The Effects On Jobs And The Impact On The Reliability Of Our Electric

Grid. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) issued the following statement in response to the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed Existing Source Performance Standards for

carbon dioxide emissions produced by fossil fuel power plants. 'There is no doubt that seven

billion people have had an impact on our world's climate; however, the proposed EPA rule does

little to address the global problem with global solutions. Instead, today's rule appears to be

more about desirability rather than reliability or feasibility, with little regard for rising consumer

prices, the effects on jobs and the impact on the reliability

of

our electric grid. The President's

own Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that coal will continue to provide nearly

a third of our electricity through 2040, but the rule seems to ignore that reality. ' [Sen. Manchin


6/2/14: Sen.

Markey:

This Is

The

Beginning Of

The End

Of

America's

Long,

Dirty

Power

Plant

Era. These New Carbon-Cutting Targets Will Shift The American Clean Energy

Revolution

That

Has Already

Started

Into Overdrive,

Creating Jobs And

Cutting

The

Pollution

That

Threatens Our Health,

Our

Environment,

And

Our Future.

Senator

Edward J Markey (D-Mass.), the co-author of the only comprehensive climate change bill to

pass a chamber

of

Congress, today released the following statement on the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency's release of new rules to cut heat-trapping carbon pollution from America's

existing power plants. Senator Markey chairs the Foreign Relations subcommittee that handles

climate change, leads the U.S. Senate Climate Change Clearinghouse, and is a member

of

the

Environment and Commerce Committees. 'This is the beginning of the end of America's long,

dirty power plant era. These new carbon-cutting targets will shift the American clean energy

revolution that has already started into overdrive, creating jobs and cutting the pollution that

threatens our health, our environment, and our future. Massachusetts is already a leader in

developing and deploying clean energy technology and these new rules will increase the demand

for businesses in our state. 'Coal companies, the Koch brothers, and other allies of polluting

special interests may fight this proposal, but scientific facts, economic opportunity, and history

aren't on their side. I

m

ready to stand up and fight back against these special interests that will

attack this historic move to help protect people and the planet. [Sen. Markey Press Release,

6/2/14]

• 6/2/14: Sen. Markey: I Commend President Obama And Administrator Mccarthy

For Their

Dedication

And

Vision To Put Forward This Historic Proposal.

' When

Waxman-Markey was moving through Congress, I told coal companies that they had a

choice between legislation or regulation. They chose to help kill the climate legislation in



the Senate.

f

hey were concerned about using the law to clean up their act, they should

have engaged in the legislative debate instead of killing the bill. 'Last week, I met with

Pope Francis and Vatican leaders about our moral duty to protect the climate. This is our

chance to engage in a new era of cleaner energy job creation that will benefit all of

creation. I commend President Obama and Administrator McCarthy for their dedication

and vision to put forward this historic proposal. ' [Sen. Markey Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. McCaskill (Provided

to

White House): We've Got Several Months To Study

This Plan, And I'm Glad The EPA Agreed To My Request To Double The Amount

Of

Time For Public Feedback

...

One Thing Is

Clear We

Can't Stand By And Do Nothing

While Air Pollution Increasingly Harms The Health And Livelihoods

Of

Missouri Families

And Businesses.

We've got several months to study this plan, and I'm glad the EPA agreed to

y request to double the amount

of

time for public feedback. I want to hear from stakeholders on

all sides while I take a hard look at what these proposals would mean for our state. Any plan that

earns y support will have to provide flexibility to states like Missouri and protect working and

low-income families from costly increases in their electricity bills. One thing is

clear-we

can't

stand by and do nothing while air pollution increasingly harms the health and livelihoods

of

Missouri families and businesses. [Sen. McCaskill Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Merkley: Acting Now To Cut Down On The Single Biggest Source Of Carbon

Pollution

s

Absolutely The Right Thing To Do, And I'll Keep Pushing For Further

Action.

Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new rules to cut carbon pollution from

power plants: 'Climate change is no longer a distant hypothetical -- it is here now. It is already

waging an assault on Oregon's natural resources, damaging our farming, fishing, and forest

industries. 'Americans don't back down in the face of a challenge. We act. Acting now to cut

down on the single biggest source of carbon pollution is absolutely the right thing to do, and I'll

keep pushing for further action. ' [Sen. Merkley Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Menendez: We Have A Moral Obligation To Do What We Can To Combat

Climate Change And I Applaud Today's Announcement That Our Country Will Take A

Bold, Much-Needed Step In The Right Direction. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

today applauded new environmental standards that will cut carbon emissions from the nation's

power plants by up to 30 percent in 2030. The proposed Clean Air Act rule, announced by the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will require states to create individualized plans to

reduce carbon pollution. 'We have a moral obligation to do what we can to combat climate

change and I applaud today's announcement that our country will take a bold, much-needed step

in the right direction,' said Sen. Menendez. 'The new power plant rules allow for flexibility in

reducing carbon emissions state-by-state and I look forward to living in a cleaner, greener New

Jersey. This Administrative action moves us away from unnecessary partisan bickering and

nonsensical climate denying - and puts us on a path forward that will improve our environment,

public health and our energy future.' 'Now that we have a nationwide rule concerning power

plant climate pollution, I sincerely hope Governor Christie understands the need to rejoin the

Regional Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI). New Jersey has already taken significant steps to

clean up its power generation fleet, so compliance with the rule should not be difficult, but RGGI

membership would make it even easier. ' [Sen. Menendez, 6/2/14]



6/2/14: Sen. Jerry Moran: The Proposed EPA Rule, Crafted Without The Input f

Congress, Amounts To A National Energy Tax That Will Threaten Economic Growth,

Destroy Jobs, And Lead To Higher Energy Costs For Kansas Families And Businesses.

Kansas Would Be Especially Hurt Because More Than 60 Percent

f

Our State's

Electricity Production Comes From Coal. The proposed EPA rule, crafted without the input

of Congress, amounts to a national energy tax that will threaten economic growth, destroy jobs,

and lead to higher energy costs for Kansas families and businesses. Kansas would be especially

hurt because more than 60 percent of our state's electricity production comes from coal. At a

time when our country is making progress in regaining manufacturing jobs from abroad, these

regulations will again send jobs out of the United States. Washington should focus on common

sense policies to make energy cleaner and more affordable rather than more red tape and harmful

regulations. This Administration continues to ignore the impact a rule like this has on average

Americans. [Rep. Moran Press Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Murkowski: Despite Negative Economic Growth Last Quarter, And Despite

Far Better Approaches Pending In Congress To Promote Energy Efficiency And Energy

Innovation, The President Has Decided To Push Ahead And Propose A Sweeping New

Regulation On Our Still-Weak Economy. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today

criticized the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to regulate greenhouse gas

emissions from existing power plants

as

harmful to the U.S. economy. 'Despite negative

economic growth last quarter, and despite far better approaches pending in Congress to promote

energy efficiency and energy innovation, the president has decided to push ahead and propose a

sweeping new regulation on our still-weak economy. 'For years, I have expressed concern that

EPA's unilateral regulations will come at a high cost and harm the affordability and reliability of

our energy supply. Nothing I have seen today, including the general dismissal of concerns about

the rule's costs, has lessened my concerns. 'This draft rule is more than 600 pages long and

paired with nearly

400

pages

of

regulatory analysis. As a result, it 's impossible to immediately

give a full reaction to what EPA has proposed. It will take time to fully review how it would

impact my home state of Alaska - which EPA seems not to have considered

as

it developed the

rule - and the rest of our country. 'As we begin our review, however, I would encourage

stakeholders to remember that this is one of many rules that EPA has issued in recent years. We

still do not have an accurate accounting of the cumulative costs associated with them, but we do

know that EPA has dramatically underestimated plant retirements in the very recent past.

I

am

also convinced that this rule will make it even more important for the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission and the Department

of

Energy to step up and protect the reliability and affordability

of U.S. power supplies. ' [Sen. Murkowski Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Murray: I Applaud President Obama And His Administration For Moving

Forward With A Common-Sense, Flexible Proposal To Limit Dangerous Carbon Pollution

And Fight Back Against The Growing Threat f Climate Change. Today, Monday, June

2nct

2014, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement

as

the

Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal to mandate power plants cut carbon

dioxide emissions 30 percent by

2030 as

part

of

President Obama's Climate Change Action

Plan.

I

applaud President Obama and his administration for moving forward with a common

sense, flexible proposal to limit dangerous carbon pollution and fight back against the growing



threat

of climate change.

Industrial carbon pollution

poses serious health risks

for our

families

pollutes

our

water

and air and it is wrong that

power

plants across the country can release s

much of

this

pollution into

the

air s

they

want. '

[Sen. Patty Murray Press Release, ~ ~ ~

• 6/2/14: Sen. Murray:

My

Home State Of Washington Is A

Leader In Cutting

Its

Share

Of

Harmful

Carbon

Pollution,

And

I

Am

Pleased

The President's Proposal

Recognizes Washington

State's Leadership And

Allows

Us

To Build On That

Progress. 'These common-sense safeguards to limit dangerous carbon pollution from

power plants will help tum the tide on climate change, which is an environmental

challenge that we owe to our children and grandchildren to address responsibly. Climate

change is already raising food prices, harming the health and safety

of

children and

families in communities across the country, and stressing our nation's energy security.

As

Chairman

of

the Senate Budget Committee, I

am

also particularly focused on the

increasing evidence that links climate change to our nation's long-term fiscal challenges.

For these reasons and more, I believe that making polluters clean up the power plants that

are making dangerous climate change worse is simply the right thing to do. 'My home

state

of

Washington is a leader in cutting its share

of

harmful carbon pollution, and I

am

pleased the President's proposal recognizes Washington state's leadership and allows us

to build on that progress. ' [Sen. Patty Murray Press Release, ~ ~ -

6/2/14: Sen. Paul: The Excessive Rule Is An Illegal Use Of Executive Power

And

I Will

Force

A Vote To Repeal

It.

Sen. Rand Paul today issued the following statement regarding

the Environmental Protection Agency's new proposed rule that targets coal-fired power plants:

'This latest assault on our economy by President Obama will destroy jobs here in Kentucky and

across the country, and will hurt middle class families by hiking their utility bills and straining

their budgets,' said Sen. Paul. 'The excessive rule is an illegal use

of

executive power and I will

force a vote to repeal it. ' [Sen. Rand Paul Press Release, ____

6/2/14: Sen.

Pryor:

I Have Serious Concerns That The EPA's Proposal Will Undermine

The

Affordable

And

Reliable Electricity

Arkansans

Currently Enjoy. I Will Continue To

Speak

With

Arkansas Stakeholders To Gauge How This Rule Could Impact Our State's

Economy

And Jobs. I

have serious concerns that the EPA's proposal will undermine the

affordable and reliable electricity Arkansans currently enjoy. I will continue to speak with

Arkansas stakeholders to gauge how this rule could impact our state's economy and jobs. Last

week, I asked the EPA to extend the comment period once this proposal was released. I'm

pleased this request was granted, and I would urge consumers, businesses and utilities

to

make

their concerns heard. [Sen. Pryor Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Reed:

This Proposal

Is A Good Step

Toward

A

Cleaner Energy

Future

And

Reducing Pollution.

It

Sets Achievable Goals

And

Gives States

The

Flexibility To

Pursue

The Most Cost-Effective Means Of Compliance. EPA aims to cut carbon emissions from

existing power plants nationwide by 30 percent below 2005 levels. Other air pollutants that are

harmful to public health would be reduced by more than 5 percent. 'We know that pollution

has real and costly health impacts. This proposal is a good step toward a cleaner energy future

and reducing pollution. It sets achievable goals and gives states the flexibility to pursue the most

cost-effective means of compliance. By recognizing and leveraging existing state and regional



efforts like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, EPA has provided a flexible framework to

reduce greenhouse gas emissions and harness cleaner energy sources while protecting consumers

and ensuring the reliability of our energy system. Reducing pollution and spurring innovation

are critical to addressing climate change, strengthening our economy, and protecting public

health,' said Reed, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and

Related Agencies, which oversees federal funding for the EPA. 'The federal government needs

to be a reliable partner in the fight against climate change, and I am encouraged to see the EPA

use their authority under the Clean Air Act to take action and safeguard public health. This

proposal is likely to encourage other states to follow Rhode Island's lead on climate change and

consider engaging in regional climate

action. ' [Sen. Jack Reed Press Release, 6/2/14]

•

6/2/14: Sen. Reed: I Am Pleased EPA Recognized The Progress Already Being

Made At The State And Regional Levels And Has Drafted A Rule That Gives The

States Flexibility To Build Upon Existing Efforts To Achieve Further Emissions

Reductions. 'I m pleased EPA recognized the progress already being made at the

state and regional levels and has drafted a rule that gives the states flexibility to build

upon existing efforts to achieve further emissions reductions. This proposal gives states a

broad menu of carbon-cutting options, including energy efficiency improvements or

adding clean energy sources, in order to find the most cost-effective measures to curb

pollution and maintain reliability. I will continue to ensure that Rhode Islanders' voices

are heard and clean energy policies result in real energy savings and more jobs for Rhode

Island,' concluded

Reed. [Sen. Jack Reed Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Pat Roberts: The Obama Administration's Latest End Run Around Congress

Has Been Estimated By The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce To Cost 224,000 U.S. Jobs On

Average Every Year Through 2030. These Regulations Would Also Increase Electricity

Costs By $289 Billion And Lower Households' Disposable Income By $586 Billion Through

That Same Period.

Today's announcement

of

more draconian EPA regulations from the

Obama Administration threatens not only our nation's stated goal of energy independence, but

every middle class family struggling to make ends meet. I'll use every legislative tool to fight

this shortsighted proposal, including supporting legislation to prevent the EPA from finalizing

this rule, and limiting funding through the appropriations process. 'The Obama Administration's

latest end run around Congress has been estimated by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to cost

224,000 U.S. jobs on average every year through 2030. These regulations would also increase

electricity costs by $289 billion and lower households' disposable income by $586 billion

through that same period. [Sen. Roberts Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Rockefeller: I Understand The Fears That These Rules Will Eliminate Jobs,

Hurt Our Communities, And Drive Up Costs For Working Families. I Am Keenly Focused

On Policy Issues That Affect West Virginians' Health And Their Livelihoods. However,

Rather Than Let Fear Alone Drive Our Response, We Should Make This An Opportunity

To Build A Stronger Future For Ourselves And, The Costs Of Inaction Are Far Greater

Than The Costs OfAction. ' The EPA announced today a major step in reducing carbon

emissions, and I support its goal

of safeguarding the public's health. Strengthening West

Virginians' health and well being has always been at the heart of my career in public service. 'I

understand the fears that these rules will eliminate jobs, hurt our communities, and drive up costs



for working families. I

m

keenly focused on policy issues that affect West Virginians' health

and their livelihoods. However, rather than let fear alone drive our response, we should make

this an opportunity to build a stronger future for ourselves. West Virginians have never walked

away from a challenge, and I know together we can create a future that protects our health,

creates jobs, and maintains coal s a core part of our energy supply. Already, we've seen

successes with clean coal technology in West Virginia, and countries around the world are

innovating to reduce carbon emissions from coal. We have the brightest minds and the

competitive spirit to solve this challenge - but achieving this goal means finding the political

will to invest real federal dollars in clean coal technology rather than continuing to rely solely on

the private sector. 'The threat that climate change and unhealthy air pose to all

of

our futures

cannot be understated. And, the costs of inaction are far greater than the costs of action. ' [Sen.

Rockefeller Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Rubio: What They Don't Understand, Or Seem To Want To Ignore

Is

That

The Largest Contributors

Of

Carbon To The Atmosphere Today Are Developing

Countries Like China And India Americans Are Going To Pay A Terrible Price For

These Sorts

Of

Unilateral Executive Actions The President Is Taking On Energy.

Conway:'[

.. ] We're going to see new EPA rules today. They want to cut emissions from coal

fired power stations by 30%. We still don't have Keystone. They're out of control

s

well, aren't

they?'

Rubio: 'This is yet another harmful measure being taken - for the purposes

of

setting an

example, is what they're saying-

'We

need to go on the global stage. We have this big

conference in 2015. We want the U.S. to be able to lead by example on all these climate change

measures.' What they don't understand, or seem to want to ignore is that the largest contributors

of

carbon to the atmosphere today are developing countries like China and India. This notion

that, 'Somehow, if we destroy our economy by raising utility prices for Americans, they're going

to follow our example,' is silly. They're going to continue to grow until they feel like they've

grown to a point where they feel like they can even entertain these sorts

of

things. They are far

off from that. Americans are going to pay a terrible price for these sorts of unilateral executive

actions the President is taking on energy. ' [Orlando's NewsRadio 102.5 WFLA Transcript via

Sen. Rubio Press Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Sanders: I Applaud The EPA's Proposal For Common-Sense Standards To

Reduce The Carbon Pollution That Causes Global Warming. Much More Must Be Done

To Avoid A Planetary Crisis, But Reducing Emissions From Dirty Coal-Fired Power Plants

Is

A Good Step.

' I applaud the EPA's proposal for common-sense standards to reduce the

carbon pollution that causes global warming. Much more must be done to avoid a planetary

crisis, but reducing emissions from dirty coal-fired power plants is a good step. Shutting down

old, dirty power plants and replacing them with solar, wind and other renewable and sustainable

sources

of energy will also create hundreds of thousands of jobs and save consumers billions of

dollars,' Sanders said .. . 'Vermont is leading the way,' Sanders said. I congratulate Efficiency

Vermont for being cited

s

a national model and for other efforts underway in Vermont to

address global warming. ' [Sen. Sanders Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Shaheen: The Draft EPA Rules Will Get Midwest Power Plants To Do What

Power Plants In New England Have Already Done And Will Decrease The Air Pollution



That Moves From The

Midwest

To Our States.

Democratic Sen. Jean [sic] Shaheen

of

New

Hampshire, who also has a tough re-election challenge from former Massachusetts Sen. Scott

Brown, took her own regional approach to the matter, saying the EPA rule was needed to

balance regulation

of

power plants. For too long, the Midwest has been allowed to lag behind

New Hampshire and other New England states in addressing carbon pollution,' she said,

referring to acid rain regulations that affected her region. 'The draft EPA rules will get Midwest

power plants to do what power plants in New England have already done and will decrease the

air pollution that moves from the Midwest to our states.' Shaheen added that

we

are already

seeing the impact

of

climate change in New Hampshire, threatening many

of

our traditional

industries and the health of our children,' saying she would 'carefully review the proposed EPA

rules to ensure they protect New Hampshire, but the time for national action is long overdue. '

[ C N N ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Tester: This Responsible Proposal Gives States Flexibility To Balance The

Needs f Today With The Demands f Tomorrow. I Will Make Sure t Works For

Montanans. Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after the EPA

announced its proposal to reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants by

30 percent by 2030: 'Agriculture and outdoor recreation power Montana's economy. From floods

to fires to beetle-killed trees, we know the consequences

of

the changing climate. State-based

solutions that limit the effects of climate change will keep these industries and our economy

strong. This responsible proposal gives states flexibility to balance the needs

of

today with the

demands of tomorrow. I will make sure it works for Montanans. ' [Sen. Jon Tester Press

Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Thune: The President's Proposed Regulations Are Lose-Lose-Lose. U.S.

Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) this morning made the following comment regarding the

Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed regulations on existing power plants:

'Make no mistake, the administration's proposed rule is nothing more than a national energy tax

that will be yet another sucker punch to middle-class families throughout South Dakota

struggling to get by in the Obama economy. These regulations, which will increase electricity

costs, will especially hurt low-income families and seniors who live on fixed incomes and

already devote a large share

of

their income to electricity bills. In addition to hurting families,

the regulations will destroy jobs, while essentially doing nothing to improve our global

environment. The president's proposed regulations are lose-lose-lose. ' [Sen. John Thune Press

Release,

~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Toomey: The War On Coal Continues. Coal Is A Domestically Sourced, Low

Cost Form

f

Energy Which Helps Sustain Jobs For Pennsylvania And Beyond. Over The

Decades, Coal-Fired Plants Also Have Gone To Impressive Lengths To Reduce Emissions.

Nevertheless, The Obama Administration Continues To Implement Policies That Will

Make Energy More Expensive For Hard-Working Pennsylvanians While Destroying Good,

Family-Sustaining Jobs. U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) issued the following comment

regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed regulations on existing power

plants: 'The War on Coal continues. Coal is a domestically sourced, low-cost form

of

energy

which helps sustain jobs for Pennsylvania and beyond. Over the decades, coal-fired plants also

have gone to impressive lengths to reduce emissions. Nevertheless, the Obama administration



continues to

implement

policies

that will

make energy

more

expensive for

hard working

Pennsylvanians while destroying good, family-sustaining jobs. This new

policy

s more of the

same

old

bad ideas

we

have heard for six years. From making coal-fired electricity prohibitively

expensive; to forcing taxpayers to subsidize inefficient energy; to burning more corn in gas

tanks,

the

President continues to advocate policies

that

raise prices for consumers and

eliminate

jobs.I// [Sen. Pat

Toomey

Press Release,

~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Sen. Mark Udall: The

EPA's

Draft Rule Is A Good Start, And I Will

Fight

To

Ensure It Complements The Work We

Have

Already Done

In Colorado

And Provides

States The Flexibility

They

Need

To

Make It Successful. Mark Udall, who serves on the

U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the draft rule the Environmental

Protection Agency unveiled today follow a path Colorado has trailblazed over the past decade.

Udall said laws like Colorado's Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act have not only given Colorado a

running start, but they also show how Colorado is uniquely positioned to lead national efforts to

reduce carbon emissions and confront climate change. 'Climate change is threatening Colorado's

special way oflife. Coloradans have seen firsthand the harmful effects

of

climate change,

including severe drought, record wildfires and reduced snowpack,'

Udall

said. 'Coloradans also

have led the nation over the past decade in confronting this challenge and showing how we can

reduce carbon emissions, protect our land, water and air, and strengthen our economy. The

EPA's draft rule is a good start, and I will fight to ensure it complements the work we have

already done in Colorado and provides states the flexibility they need to make it successful. '

[Sen. Mark Udall, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Tom Udall:

Today's

Proposed Clean

Power Rule

Is Designed

To

Help Provide

What Every New Mexican Wants For Our

Children:

Clean

Air,

Fresh Water And Good

Health.

And

It Allows

Each

State

To Shape

Our

Own

Path To Lower Carbon Emissions.

'We've seen the impacts

of

climate change firsthand here in New Mexico. Prolonged droughts,

more frequent wildfires and increased threats to forests and agriculture present some

of

the

biggest economic and public health challenges we face in our state and nation. And when

we're

faced with problems, we roll up our sleeves and solve them. 'Today's proposed clean power rule

is designed to help provide what every New Mexican wants for our children: clean air, fresh

water and good health. And it allows each state to shape our own path to lower carbon emissions.

I've

always said we need a 'do it all, do it right ' strategy to balance traditional energy with new

energy sources. Let's seize this opportunity to spur innovation and job creation, strengthen

industries New Mexico does well, like solar, wind and biofuels, and build a clean energy future

for the generations to come. ' [Sen. Tom Udall Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen.

Vitter:

This Rule Is All Pain, No Gain. U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top

Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, made the following statement

about President Obama's new regulations on carbon emissions from existing power plants s part

of

his Climate Action Plan. 'This rule is all pain, no gain,' Vitter said. 'American families and

businesses will have to shoulder all the costs and burden from this rule without contributing to

any significant reduction in global carbon emissions. It's cap and trade all over again - but this

time without giving the American public a voice to vote on it in Congress. This rule is just a

payday for President Obama's friends and political allies.' This rule is expected to have a less

than 2% impact on carbon emissions reductions because it will not impact the world's largest



carbon emitters like China, India, and Russia. However, the rule will impose less reliable

electricity with much higher prices on all Americans. Last week, the U.S. Chamber o

Commerce released a report showing how a rule such s the one released today would decrease a

family's disposable income by $3,400 per year and increase their electricity bills by $200. The

report also estimates a loss o 224,000 jobs per year between 2014 and 2030. [Sen. Vitter Press

Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Warner: These Draft Regulations On Existing Source Carbon Power Plant

Emissions

re

Complicated, Consequential

nd

Far-Reaching, nd I m Pleased The

Administration Wisely Decided To Accept To Double The Comment

Period From 60 To 120 Days. 'Virginia is at the center o the national debate on climate

change, with our coalfields in southwest Virginia and the Commonwealth's coastal cities

beginning to see the impact o sea rise. These draft regulations on existing source carbon power

plant emissions are complicated, consequential and far-reaching, and I am pleased the

Administration wisely decided to accept our recommendation to double the comment period

from 60 to 120 days. 'This is a first step in a very long process, and it is important that

Virginians have a full and fair opportunity to express their views on the proposed rule. I will

review the EPA proposal and consult with a broad variety o Virginia stakeholders on these

issues. I will work to ensure that any final rule provides Virginia with adequate flexibility,

enhances innovation and R&D in clean coal, and ensures that we maintain a safe and reliable

energy network to power a competitive economy. ' [Sen. Warner Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Whitehouse: It's Real nd It's Serious, But With Republicans n Congress

Still Refusing To Take The Climate Threat Seriously,

EP

Standards Are The Best We

Can Do To End The Polluters' Long Holiday From Responsibility. I Applaud The Obama

Administration For Moving Forward To Clean

Up

The Worst Carbon Polluters

n

This

Country. Today the Obama Administration proposed new state-specific carbon pollution

standards for power plants, which are the largest source

o

carbon pollution in America. U.S.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), chairman o the Senate Environment and Public Works

(EPW) Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, is hailing the proposed rules

s

an

important step forward in our nation's effort to combat climate change and protect public health.

'It's long past time for there to be some limit to the carbon pollution that power plants spew into

our skies,' said Whitehouse. 'It's real and it's serious, but with Republicans in Congress still

refusing to take the climate threat seriously, EPA standards are the best we can do to end the

polluters ' long holiday from responsibility. I applaud the Obama Administration for moving

forward to clean up the worst carbon polluters in this country. ' [Sen. Whitehouse Press Release,

6/2/14]

6/2/14: Sen. Wyden: EPA's Proposed Rule Offers n Opportunity To

Put

Our Country

On The Road

To

Lower Emissions nd Put Each State In The Driver's Seat To Determine

Its Own Best Course.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement after

the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas



emissions

by

30

percent by

2030: American businesses, farmers, ranchers and families are

experiencing the effects of

climate

change in the United States today. Inaction on

climate

change is no

longer

an option, so those who would crit icize EPA s plan have a responsibility to

put forward their own ideas on how to move to a

low-carbon

economy. Climate change s the

most

important

environmental

challenge

of our time. Without immediate action,

its

effects will

only get

worse.

EPA s

proposed rule

offers

an

opportunity

to

put our country

on

the

road

to

lower emissions and put each

state

in

the driver s

seat to

determine

its

own best

course.I// [Sen.

Ron

Wyden

Press Release,

House of Re resentatives

Report: new EPA regulations will lead to 224,000 fewer jobs on average every year through

2030

Recent report estimates EPA regulations will force consumers to pay $289 billion more for

electricity through 2030 b

6/2/14: Rep.

Lou

Barletta: As a father

and

grandfather, I

support

a clean environment as

much as anyone, but I also support

an 'all

of the above' approach to energy, rather than

singling out one sector as the perennial villain

...

This is yet another

attempt

by the

president to circumvent the people's representatives and enact policies he was unable to get

through Congress.

'As

a father and grandfather, I support a clean environment

s

much s

anyone, but I also support an 'all of the above' approach to energy, rather than singling out one

sector

s

the perennial villain. The proposed EPA edict continues a disturbing trend of

governing by executive power without legislative action or concern for the effect on people back

home. Actions that will have such a striking impact on our economy should be carefully

considered by Congress and not forced upon people by unelected bureaucrats. 'This is yet

another attempt by the president to circumvent the people's representatives and enact policies he

was unable to get through Congress. This is nothing more than imposing the expensive and job

killing cap-and-trade legislation on consumers through the back door since Congress has killed it

repeatedly. 'It's a terrible deal for Pennsylvania, where our coal industry supports 36,000 jobs

and supplies electricity to millions of residents. Pennsylvania has already seen marked

improvement in its air quality since 2003. f existing power plants are even able to comply, the

costs will be substantial and will necessarily increase the prices customers pay. Dramatic hikes

in the cost of electricity will mostly hurt people who can least afford it, including senior citizens

living on fixed incomes. 'President Obama actually may be keeping a campaign promise with

this announcement - he is well on his way to bankrupting the coal industry. ' [Rep. Barletta

Press Release, ~ ~ -

6/2/14: Rep. Marsha Blackburn: According To The Chamber Of Commerce, The

Proposed Rule Will Result In

The

Loss Of

Hundreds

Of Thousands Of Jobs, Lower

Disposable Household Income By $586 Billion,

And

Increase Electricity Costs By Over



$289 Billion. The EPA's proposed rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing

fossil fuel-fired power plants continues the Obama Administration's war on coal and will tum

out the lights on American job creators. This rule is another tax on the American taxpayers and

will lead to higher electricity rates and fees. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the

proposed rule will result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, lower disposable

household income by $586 billion, and increase electricity costs by over $289 billion. President

Obama promised to make electricity rates skyrocket. Unfortunately, this is one pledge he intends

to keep. [Press Release, 6/02/2014]

6/2/14: Rep. Bucshon: Today's Announcement Is Yet Another Notch In The President's

Belt To Achieve His 2008 Promise That Electricity Rates Would Necessarily Skyrocket For

Hardworking Americans. 'As a physician and father of four, I want y kids and all

Americans to drink clean water and breathe clean air. This should be a goal we all share. In fact,

since 2008, emissions have declined over 9%. Unforhmately, what we've seen over the past few

years under President Obama's EPA is a complete disregard of science and a focus on pushing a

purely ideological agenda at any expense. 'Today's announcement is yet another notch in the

President's belt to achieve his 2008 promise that electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket for

hardworking Americans. More than any other state, this promise and new proposed rules have

the potential to astronomically impact Indiana, our economy, and those struggling everyday to

make ends meet. 'Every Hoosier coal mine is located in my district. A lot is at stake for our

families. Studies have repeatedly shown that these proposals will have little impact on the

environment in exchange for increased energy prices for families and businesses. By increasing

energy prices and putting jobs at risk, these regulations erode our state's competitiveness. 'At a

time when our economy is struggling, the President should be focused on policies that will

protect jobs and keep energy prices low, instead of pushing an ideological agenda. ' [Rep.

Bucshon Press Release,

announcement will cost hundreds of thousands of

~ ~ - - = ~ a t 2 p.m. ET/I p.m. CT to discuss.

each year. I'll be on

The Imperial Presidency continues w/ today's

~ ~ - w -

costs a slowed economy.

power plant rules. Costly regulations, higher

Thanks to this new EPA rule, the working families of West Virginia will bear the burden of

fewer jobs and higher energy prices.

New EPA rule will kill 224,000 jobs every year until 2030 and impose $50 billion in annual

costs.

6/2/14: Rep. Capps: Today's Announcement

By

The

EP

Is A Historic Step Forward In

Our Effort To Combat Climate Change

nd

Protect The Health Of Our Communities.

Today, Rep. Lois Capps (CA-24), a public health nurse and member of the Committee on



Energy

nd

Commerce released the following st tement on the proposed

EP greenhouse

gas

emission standards

for

existing coal

nd n tur l

gas

fired power

plants:

Today's announcement

by the EPA is a historic step forward in our effort to combat climate change and protect the

health of

our communities. With Congressional leadership refusing to act, these proposed rules

will go a long way toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, keeping our air clean, and

protecting the health

of

seniors, children, and families. ' [Rep. Lois Capps Press Release,

6/2/14: Rep. Cassidy:

When

Will The President Care As Much For The American Worker

As He Does About His Notions Of Climate Change? The GDP Decreased Last Quarter,

The Number Of Unemployed Americans Is Too High And Families Are

Struggling

..

Instead,

President Obama

Is Proposing Regulations

That

Hamstring

The

Economy, Raising Utility Costs For Families And Destroying Tens Of Thousands Of Jobs.

Today, Congressman Bill Cassidy commented on the Obama Administration's proposal that will

force power plants to cut carbon emissions by up to 20 percent. Dr. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released

the following statement: 'When will the President care s much for the American worker s he

does about his notions

of

climate change? The GDP decreased last quarter, the number

of

unemployed Americans is too high and families are struggling. The Federal Government should

focus on creating jobs. Instead, President Obama is proposing regulations that hamstring the

economy, raising utility costs for families and destroying tens

of

thousands

of

jobs. I will

continue to push back against EPA over-regulation and fight for pro-growth energy policies that

will help, not hurt, Louisiana businesses and families. ' [Rep. Bill Cassidy Press Release,

6/2/14: Rep. Dingell: Although I Do Not Believe The Clean Air

Act

Is Intended,

Or

Is The

Most Effective Way, To Regulate Greenhouse Gases, I Nevertheless Appreciate The Need

To Take Action To Protect

Human

Health And The Environment For The Generations

Who

Come After Us, Especially

In

The

Absence

Of

A Congress

That

Is Willing

And

Able

To Work Together

On

Legislation To Address This Very Real Problem. Climate change

is real and needs to be addressed. Although I do not believe the Clean Air Act is intended, or is

the most effective way, to regulate greenhouse gases, I nevertheless appreciate the need to take

action to protect human health and the environment for the generations who come after us,

especially in the absence of a Congress that is willing and able to work together on legislation to

address this very real problem. I look forward to working with the Administration on this matter

and hope any final rule will be written and implemented in a fashion that balances the need to

reduce carbon pollution with the very real need to promote economic growth. [Press Release,

6/2/14; 0 : = 1 ~ = ~ = ~ = = = = ~ - = = = ~ = = - ' = ' - - ~ ~ = = = = ~ ~ ~ = ~ = ~

6/2/14: Rep. Ellison: Reducing Carbon Pollution From Power Plants Is The Right Thing

To Do And Will Guarantee A Healthier Future For

Our

Children.

It

Is The Single Most

Important Action

That

President Obama Can

Take

To Minimize The Worst Effects Of

Climate Change. Investing

In

Green Energy

Creates

Good Jobs

Around

The Country.

Reducing carbon pollution from power plants is the right thing to do and will guarantee a

healthier future for our children. It is the single most important action that President Obama can

take to minimize the worst effects of climate change. Investing in green energy creates good jobs



around the country. 'Polluters must pay for the damage they cause. Communities around the

country are already seeing higher rates of childhood asthma, increased food prices and

superstorms that hit low-income communities

hardest-all

the effects

of

a changing climate. In

Minnesota, we have had three 1,000-year flooding events in the last decade. By aggressively

cutting carbon pollution and holding fossil fuel companies accountable, we can lower health

costs for millions

of

Americans.

'A

strong proposed rule to cut carbon pollution is essential to

our future.

It

is our moral obligation to slow the worst effects

of

climate change. Cutting carbon

pollution will make us more competitive with other countries who are already investing in a

clean energy economy. ' [Rep. Keith Ellison Press Release, 6/2/14]

New EPA regs announced today will increase the price of electricity and have serious

consequences for our

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. Bill Enyart: President Obama Will Set A National Limit On Carbon

Emissions From Coal Plants, But Will Allow Each State To Determine How To Cut Those

Emissions. As Co-Chair

f

The Coal Caucus, I Oppose This Unnecessary Regulatory

Attack On Our Coal Plants.

Today, the President will use his executive powers to create new

standards and regulations for carbon emissions across the country,' said Enyart. 'President

Obama will set a national limit on carbon emissions from coal plants, but will allow each state to

determine how to cut those emissions.

As

Co-Chair of the Coal Caucus, I oppose this

unnecessary regulatory attack on our coal plants.'

It is

important that we strive to create a

cleaner, safer environment for our children. This will help to reduce child asthma rates, while

slowing down the deterioration of our environment. Coal emissions are lower today than ever

before, and companies right here in Southern Illinois are working every day to ensure safe, clean,

affordable power is delivered to your home without interruption. 'The EPA and President Obama

must understand that coal continues to be the single largest source for America's electricity

supply. The standards set to be unveiled today, an expected 30% cut, are impractical and

unnecessary because the coal industry is already working toward improving emissions while

maintaining reliable energy delivery. 'Instead of penalizing the coal industry, we must work to

improve clean coal technology and bring costs down.

As

we do this, coal will become even

more environmentally friendly. I've spoken to coal operators and industry leaders, and it's clear

to me that the standards would make it virtually impossible to produce stable, reliable energy.

With 40% of our electricity generated by coal, we can't tum the lights out on America. [Rep.

Enyart Press Release, 6/2/14]

• 6/2/14: Rep. Bill Enyart: We Have Abundant Coal Resources In Southern Illinois

That Can Help Power Our Nation For Decades To Come. And In These Uncertain

Economic Times,

We

Must Ensure That Our Nation's Energy Supply Is Reliable

And Affordable As Well As Environmentally Friendly.

We

Simply Cannot Afford

A Massive Spike In Energy Prices. 'We

have abundant coal resources in Southern

Illinois that can help power our nation for decades to come. And in these uncertain

economic times, we must ensure that our nation's energy supply is reliable and affordable

as

well

as

environmentally friendly. We simply cannot afford a massive spike in energy

prices. Southern Illinois' fixed income families cannot afford an increase in heating and

air conditioning bills.

'In

recent years, our Southern Illinois coal industry has slowly



rebounded through persistence and determination. The regulations announced today will

halt that rebound and cause more uncertainty in coal mines and power plants in our

region and beyond. Our local economies, and most importantly, our families simply

cannot withstand the loss of good paying jobs in the region. I ve been fighting for our

Southern Illinois coal plants and mine workers since my first day in office. Today's

announcement only reinforces

my

commitment and desire to continue that fight. ' [Rep.

Enyart Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Eshoo: The EPA Proposal Gets To The Heart

Of

The Problem By Curbing

Harmful Greenhouse Gas Pollution With Smart Policy Grounded In The 1970 Clean Air

Act. t Will Propel A U.S. Clean Energy Economy, Create Jobs, And Make The United

States A Global Leader In Clean Energy Use. Amid Record Drought, Extreme Weather,

Declining Public Health, And Rising Temperatures, Inaction Is Not An Option. I

Wholeheartedly Welcome This Prudent Proposal. Congresswoman Anna G Eshoo (CA-

18), a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement

on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions:

'Climate change is one

of

the most serious issues facing our nation and our planet, and the

science makes clear that greenhouse gases from human activity are the number one contributor.

The EPA proposal gets to the heart of the problem by curbing harmful greenhouse gas pollution

with smart policy grounded in the 1970 Clean Air Act. It will propel a U.S. clean energy

economy, create jobs, and make the United States a global leader in clean energy use. Amid

record drought, extreme weather, declining public health, and rising temperatures, inaction is not

an option. I wholeheartedly welcome this prudent proposal. ' [Rep. Anna Eshoo Press Release,

6/2/14]

Obama's new EPA rule will cost a quarter-million jobs per year and closures of power plants

across the

c o u n t r y . = = ~ ~ ' - ' - ~ ~ = = = - ' - ~ ~ = = ~ ~ = = : ' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ = = = - = - = = ~ = = = - ' ~ ~ - -

Costs of new EPA rule could top $50 billion a year, according to US Chamber of Commerce

s t u d y : _ _ _ _ , ~ ~ - - w ' - ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. Gosar: The Obama Environmental Protection Agency's Unnatural Fixation

With And For

Consumers Continues Today. The U.S. Economy Can't Afford To Lose 226,000 Jobs And

$50 Billion Each Year As The President Pursues His Overreaching Climate Change

Agenda

y

Any Means And All Costs Necessary. The President's Agenda Is So Extreme,

That The Obama

Environmental Protection Agency's unnatural fixation with destroying the coal industry, killing

jobs and driving up energy prices for consumers continues today. The U.S. economy

can t

afford

to lose 226,000 jobs and $50 billion each year

as

the President pursues his overreaching climate

change agenda by any means and all costs necessary. The President's agenda is so extreme,

that less than 25% of all Americans consider it to be a priority. 'The President continues to

unlawfully direct the EPA to impose strict limits on coal plants in order to appease



environmental

extremists

within

his

own

party. Congress has

repeatedly

rejected previous cap

and-tax energy plans proposed by

the

President and his

big-government

allies. Knowing he

can t lawfully

enact a carbon-dioxide

tax

plan, President Obama has chosen

to circumvent

Congress and impose these

new

regulations by execut ive fiat. Congress,

not EP

bureaucrats

at

the behest

of

the President, should dictate our country s climate change policy. The bottom

line

is

that

this

new

rule

will

kill good-paying

jobs

in rural

communities

throughout the

country.

In Arizona,

this

proposal

will

likely force

the

Navajo Generating Station

to

close its doors,

which

will

mean the permanent loss

of

nearly a 1,000 good-paying jobs. I will continue to fight for

jobs, oppose this overreach and be a voice of reason for the American people. [Rep. Gosar Press

Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. Morgan Griffith: Let's See. The President Says t Will Make Your Rates

Skyrocket,

But

Because They Know

That's

Politically Unpopular, Administrator Mccarthy

Tells You The Opposite. Somebody Is Trying To Fool The American People .. I Told The

Reporter,

Matt

Laslo, A Freelance Reporter Covering Congress,

That What

I Think The

Other Nations See Is An

Opportunity

To Pick

The

Carcass Of

The

American Economy.

Monday, June 2, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new regulations that

would require our nation's existing power plants to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 30

percent from

2005

levels by

2030.

This rule will impact approximately

1,000

fossil fuel-fired

plants, particularly those that bum coal or natural gas. In issuing these regulations where

Congress has refused

to

legislate, the President and his EPA are seeking to fulfill his 2008

promise that, ' ... under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily

skyrocket.' (Interview with the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board, 1/17 08) Amazingly,

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in her statement unveiling this latest attack on the

American family, 'Critics claim your energy bills will skyrocket. They're wrong.' Let's see.

The President says it will make your rates skyrocket, but because they know that's politically

unpopular, Administrator McCarthy tells you the opposite. Somebody is trying to fool the

American people. A reporter asked me last week

if

I thought that developing nations would see

what the United States was doing and then issue similar regulations for emissions from existing

power plants after President Obama does so. I told the reporter, Matt Laslo, a freelance reporter

covering Congress, that what I think the other nations see is an opportunity to pick the carcass of

the American economy. After nations with emerging economies watch this Administration's

unreasonable regulations damage our economy, negatively impact our jobs and our access to

reliable energy, and raise our electric rates, do you expect that these nations will 'follow our

lead? ' [Rep. Morgan Griffith Newsletter, ~ ~ ~

President's ~ ' - - = ~ = ' ~

affordable energy

~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ = ~ ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. Brett Guthrie Press Release: The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce's Institute For

21st

Energy

Report Dated May 28, 2014, Anticipates That Regulating Carbon Emissions

From Existing Power Plans Will Cost The U.S. Economy Approximately $51 Billion Each

Year,

Cut

224,000 Jobs

And

Raise Electricity Costs By $289 Billion Over

The

Next Two

Decades.

'The

EPA under this Administration s out of touch with American families,' said



Congressman Guthrie. 'With jobs and the economy remaining the top concerns on the minds

of

Americans, issuing new burdensome regulations that will cost jobs due to billions of dollars in

compliance costs - not to mention raising home and business energy costs significantly - is the

last thing we need.' The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Energy report dated

May 28, 2014, anticipates that regulating carbon emissions from existing power plans will cost

the U.S. economy approximately

51

billion each year, cut 224,000 jobs and raise electricity

costs by $289 billion over the next two decades. In the East South Central region, which

includes Kentucky, the Chamber estimates a decrease in GDP of $2.2 billion and a loss of 21,400

jobs. [Rep. Brett Guthrie Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Hudson: The Obama Administration's War On Coal Threatens Over 800,000

Jobs Across The Country And Means Higher Energy Costs For Everyone. Today, U.S.

Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) released the following statement in reaction to the

Obama Administration's proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation requiring

power plants to cut carbon emissions by thirty percent: 'The Obama Administration's war on

coal threatens over 800,000 jobs across the country and means higher energy costs for everyone.

In North Carolina over the past year, nearly 38%

of

our electricity came from coal. Instead

of

the

government trying to pick winners and losers to appeal to deep-pocketed environmental donors,

the Administration should adopt a balanced, market-led approach that utilizes all of our

resources to create a more abundant, affordable, and sustainable energy supply that will unlock

the potential for a more prosperous America. ' [Rep. Hudson Press Release,

6/2/14: Rep. Eddie Johnson: The Impact f Climate Change On American Citizens Is

Being Felt Today And The Consequences Are Growing More Severe. Acting On Climate

Change Is Not Only An Environmental Imperative, But A Public Health One Too. The

impact of climate change on American citizens is being felt today and the consequences are

growing more severe. Acting on climate change is not only an environmental imperative, but a

public health one too. Higher risks

of

asthma attacks, heat stroke, and respiratory disease are all

consequences of a warming climate. The EPA's new rule works within the Clean Air Act to

protect the health and well-being of Americans. In addition to the health risks, severe weather

trends associated with climate change threaten the economic vitality of communities across the

country. By fostering clean energy innovation and modernizing the power sector, the United

States will lead the world in tackling this global challenge. I

am

pleased that the proposed rule

allows for state input and flexibility in developing regional approaches to achieving the goals of

the rule. 'The climate and health benefits of this proposed rule are estimated to be worth up to

$93 billion per year in 2030, far outweighing the plan's estimated annual cost of up to $8.8

billion per year in 2030. The long-term job creation and health benefits are clear and I fully

support the work the EPA is doing to curb carbon emissions and protect the health of every

American. ' [Rep. Johnson Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Kingston: This Ideologically-Driven Policy Will Have Devastating And

Disastrous Results For Georgia By Artificially Raising The Costs f Nearly Everything,

Destroying Good Private-Sector Jobs, And Hindering The Kind f Economic Growth Our

State Needs To Improve The Lives f Each And Every Georgian. Congressman Jack

Kingston (R-GA) issued the following statement on the release of the Environmental Protection

Agency's latest rule attacking coal-fired power plants: 'This ideologically-driven policy will



have

devastating

and disastrous results

for

Georgia by artificially raising

the

costs of nearly

everything, destroying

good private-sector jobs, and

hindering the

kind

of

economic

growth

our

state needs

to improve

the

lives

of

each and

every

Georgian. The

United

States has

already

reduced

its

carbon footprint dramatically

- and

it

has

done

it

through

innovations

and new

technology, not heavy-handed government regulations. These rules ignore

the

prevailing

climate

science and are

meant

solely

to

fulfill the

President's campaign

promise

to

make

electricity prices 'necessarily

skyrocket'. '

[Rep. Kingston Press Release, ~ ~ ~

latest reg is especially harmful for w 70% of power from

already lost

as

a result of previous regs.

tt011r'

latest reg is an attack on low-cost, reliable f f ~ J S ~ · _ g c J - that will cost US

electricity more expensive curb econ growth.

4 units

make

6/2/14: Rep. Long:

President

Obama

Was

Unable To

Get

His

Cap-And-Trade Proposal

Through

Congress So Now He

And

His

EPA

Are Proposing New Rules Attacking

The

Country's

Largest Source Of Electr ici ty. U.S. Rep. Billy Long released the following

statement on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new plan to regulate existing power

plants. 'President Obama was unable to get his cap-and-trade proposal through Congress so now

he and his EPA are proposing new rules attacking the country's largest source of electricity.

Coal is one of America's most abundant and affordable sources of energy. Right now Americans

are suffering from this bad economy. Despite this, the EPA is pressing forward with regulations

that will increase the costs of every American's electric bill . ' [Rep. Long Press Release, 6/2/14]

With Congress unable to face climate reality,

~ ~ ~ ~ p r o p o s e s

decisive action to combat

climate change.

6/2/14: Rep. Matsui: I Am Pleased

That

The Administration Today Took A Big Step

Forward

In Turning The

Tide Of Dangerous Climate Change By Placing Sensible Limits

On Carbon Pollution From Existing Power Plants. Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui

(CA-06), member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power,

member of the Bicameral Climate Task Force and Safe Climate Caucus, and vice-chair of the

Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), issued the following statement on the

Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) draft proposal to reduce carbon pollution from

existing power plants: 'I am pleased that the Administration today took a big step forward in

turning the tide

of

dangerous climate change by placing sensible limits on carbon pollution from

existing power plants. California has already taken bold steps to combat climate change, and it

is past time for our nation as a whole to tackle climate change. 'Climate change is already

threatening our communities and the risks will only get worse if we don't take action. In 2012

alone, the cost of weather disasters exceeded $110 billion in the United States. In California, our

entire state is in a historic drought. Climate change will only increase the frequency and

intensity of these events, unless we take action now. It is our responsibility to do all we can to

protect this and future generations. ' [Rep. Doris Matsui Press Release, 6/2/14]



• 6/2/14: Rep. Matsui: EPA's Flexible Approach Will Empower States To Develop

Custom Solutions To Meeting This National Challenge Through Cooperation,

Innovation, And A Shared Commitment To A Cleaner, Safer, Healthier Future For

All Americans. The EPA has successfully set sensible limits on mercury, soot, arsenic,

and other toxins while supporting continued economic growth. Stopping power plants

from dumping unlimited amounts of dangerous carbon pollution into the air is no

different. This is a public health risk and we cannot wait any longer. EPA's flexible

approach will empower states to develop custom solutions to meeting this national

challenge through cooperation, innovation, and a shared commitment to a cleaner, safer,

healthier future for all Americans. [Rep. Doris Matsui Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. McCarthy: He Is Acting Now To Impose Cap-And-Trade That Congress

Rejected In 2010, And He Is Doing t Unilaterally House Republicans, Along With

Many Democrats, Will Continue To Fight The President's Agenda To 'Necessarily

Skyrocket Electricity Prices' By Considering Legislation That Will Reduce Energy Costs

For All Americans And Encourage Job Creation Throughout Our Economy. House

Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy released the following statement on the Administration's

proposed EPA regulation on existing power plants: 'What are the President's real priorities?

s

it

to help put Americans back to work or to please the narrow environmental lobby at the expense

of our economy and everyday Americans? He is acting now to impose cap-and-trade that

Congress rejected in 2010, and he is doing it unilaterally. This is uncalled for, unnecessary, and

harmful to our economy, which just saw negative economic growth for the first time since 2011.

While the President and his advisors believe this regulation to be a legacy builder, it will no

doubt be a job killer for communities across the country. House Republicans, along with many

Democrats, will continue to fight the President's agenda to 'necessarily skyrocket electricity

prices' by considering legislation that will reduce energy costs for all Americans and encourage

job creation throughout our economy. ' [Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy Press

R e l e a s e ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. George Miller: This New Rule Takes Us One Huge Step Closer To A

Healthier, Cleaner And More Prosperous America. Limiting Carbon Pollution Will Save

Lives, Help Combat Climate Change, And Spur New Clean Energy Jobs And Innovation.

This new rule takes us one huge step closer to a healthier, cleaner and more prosperous

America. Limiting carbon pollution will save lives, help combat climate change, and spur new

clean energy jobs and innovation. I'm pleased to see the Administration moving forward with

strong and scientifically sound action that gives states the flexibility they need to meet this

critical challenge. [Rep. Miller Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Jim Moran: The EPA's Proposal Today Is A Game Changing Decision That

Reflects President Obama's Commitment To Act On Climate Change. 'The EPA's

proposal today is a game changing decision that reflects President Obama's commitment to act

on climate change. This is a problem that won't go away unless we take decisive action to

reduce the carbon emissions that are driving climate change,' said Rep. Moran. 'But this isn't

just about the threat it poses in the future. This is a present day threat to our national security,

our economy, our health and well-being. Climate change is already affecting communities

across the country. We

can't

continue ignoring its effects, whether it 's sick children or



dangerous

extreme

weather events. ' [Rep. Jim Moran Press Release, ~ ~ -

• 6/2/14: Rep. Jim Moran: Gina McCarthy's Proposal Gives States Incredible

Flexibility To Reduce Carbon Emissions. Gina McCarthy's proposal gives states

incredible flexibility to reduce carbon emissions. I hope that communities that have

borne the brunt

of

harmful emissions from unregulated and outdated coal-fired power

plants will be the primary beneficiaries, the way Alexandrians benefitted from the closure

of the Potomac River Generating Station, once the region's single largest source of air

pollution. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for nearly 40 percent of the carbon

pollution in the U.S. It 's time for the utility industry adapt for our future,'' Moran

concluded. [Rep. Jim Moran Press Release, ~ ~ -

6/2/14: Rep. Noem: Once Again, Congress Has Already Denied The President's Expensive

Cap-And-Trade Proposal,

So The Administration Is Now Trying To Circumvent The

Legislative Process. We Won't Have It. U.S. Representative Kristi Noem today expressed

her serious concern over the future affordability of electricity after the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) proposed severe restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions for existing power

plants. 'Nearly one third

of our electricity in South Dakota comes from coal,' said Rep. Noem.

'Coal-fired power plants make it more affordable to heat our homes during the winter, cool them

during the summer, and run the fans in grain bins during harvest. f prices skyrocket, as even the

President has admitted they will do under strict regulations, our way of life will change. This is

a pocketbook issue for South Dakota; it 's a pocketbook issue for our entire country.' The

proposed climate rule for existing power plants would require

as

much

as

a 30 percent cut in

greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first major greenhouse gas regulation on existing power

plants.

s

a result of the President's plan, costs could increase by an estimated $17 billion per

year. It could also shut down some power plants, putting potentially 224,000 jobs at risk every

year. 'Once again, Congress has already denied the President's expensive cap-and-trade

proposal, so the administration is now trying to circumvent the legislative process. We

won t

have it,' continued Noem. I will do all I can to stop the financial impact of this administration's

overzealous regulations from hitting the pocketbooks of hardworking South Dakotans. I know

how critical it is to South Dakota families that we are successful. ' [Rep. Kristi Noem, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Pete Olson: The Economic Costs f This Rule Will Be Tremendous - Even

EPA Sets The Price Tag In The Billions, And The Chamber f Commerce Recently Said

That The Cost To Our Economy Could Exceed $50 Billion Cost 200,000 Jobs. Our

Economy Is Still Struggling To Recover From The Great Recession And This Rule Will

Only Push Our Recovery Back Further Through Job Losses And Higher Energy Costs.

' Today, President Obama's EPA waged another battle in their quest to shut down affordable

energy for American consumers. This time, the Administration is using a little-known section

of

the Clean Air Act to justify a sweeping new cap-and-trade scheme that will cripple our economy.

Cap-and-trade was soundly rejected by Congress 3 years ago when the Democrats controlled

both the House and the Senate. In defiance, Obama simply ordered his EPA to ignore the will of

Congress and the American people, and invent the authority to go forward. 'The economic

costs of this rule will be tremendous - even EPA sets the price tag in the billions, and the

Chamber of Commerce recently said that the cost to our economy could exceed $50 billion cost

200,000 jobs. Our economy is still struggling to recover from the Great Recession and this rule



will only push our recovery back further through job losses and higher energy costs. [Rep. Pete

Olson Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Pallone: EPA's Proposed Regulation To Curb The Amount f Greenhouse

Gasses Produced By Power Plants Marks Our Nation's Most Significant Move To Date To

Address Climate Change. These Regulations Will Offer Meaningful Changes While

Allowing States And Industry The Flexibility To Find Ways To Meet The New Standards.

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce

Committee, released the following statement today upon an announcement by the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) of a proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emission from U.S. power

plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030: EPA s proposed regulation to curb the amount

of

greenhouse gasses produced by power plants marks our nation's most significant move to date

to address climate change. These regulations will offer meaningful changes while allowing

states and industry the flexibility to find ways to meet the new standards. 'Lower power plant

emissions will have many benefits, specifically, improving public health by making the air we

breathe cleaner and helping to reduce breathing related illnesses like asthma, which is

increasingly affecting more and more Americans, particularly children. New clean energy jobs

will be an additional positive outgrowth

of

this change,

s

the rapidly expanding field

of

energy

alternatives will boom to meet the demands of adjusting to lower emissions standards, giving our

economy a much needed boost. ' [Rep. Pallone Press Release, 6/2/14]

• 6/2/14: Rep. Pallone: The Costs

f

Inaction In Dealing With Climate Change Are

Simply Too High To Ignore. EPA's Proposal Today

s

An Important Step Forward

Toward Taking Action On One f The Most Important Issues f Our Time.

As a

Representative and lifelong resident of one the areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy,

my

constituents and I know all too well the serious impact climate change is having on

our lives, economy, health and wellbeing. Without addressing climate change, sea levels

will continue to rise, resulting in enormous costs from damage to coastal areas and

devastating the tourism industry, which is critical to the economies

of places like the New

Jersey Shore. The costs of inaction in dealing with climate change are simply too high to

ignore. EPA's proposal today is an important step forward toward taking action on one

of the most important issues of our time. [Rep. Pallone Press Release, 6/2/14]

Today's plan to ~ ~ gives states the

opportunity to be laboratories for climate action.

energy strategy: stop new jobs by

b l o c k i n g ~ = . - ' = = - " - = ·

Destroy current

jobs+ spike energy prices through

6/2/14: Rep. Thornberry: Texas Relies On Affordable And Reliable Energy To Power Our

Strong Economy. These Proposed Rules Are A Serious Threat To That Growth. Just Last

Week A U.S. Chamber

f

Commerce Report Estimated That Texans Will Pay An

Additional $1.4 Billion For Electricity Each Year f These Rules Take Effect. Rep. Mac

Thornberry (R-Clarendon) released the following statement in response to the President's new



EP regulations on carbon dioxide emissions:

'We all want clear air and clean water. What the

vast majority of Americans do not want, though, is an even more aggressive EPA issuing

sweeping regulations that will further drive up costs for businesses and consumers alike.

'Texas relies on affordable and reliable energy to power our strong economy. These proposed

rules are a serious threat to that growth. Just last week a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report

estimated that Texans will pay an additional $1.4 billion for electricity each year

if

these rules

take effect. 'Today's announcement makes it clear, once again, that the President puts a

growing economy and our standard ofliving at a much lower priority than his anti-fossil fuel

agenda. The House must do everything it can to stop these destructive regulations. ' [Rep. Mac

Thornberry, ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. Rahall: We Will Introduce Bipartisan Legislation That Will Prevent These

Disastrous New Rules From Wreaking Havoc On Our Economy In West Virginia

'We

will introduce bipartisan legislation that will prevent these disastrous new rules from wreaking

havoc on our economy in West Virginia,' said Rahall. 'There is a right way and a wrong way of

doing things, and the Obama Administration has got it wrong once again. This new regulation

threatens our economy and does so with an apparent disregard for the livelihoods of our coal

miners and thousands of families throughout West Virginia. ' [Rep. Rahall Press Release,

6/2/14: Rep. Keith Rothfus: The Regulations The Obama Administration Announced

Today Will Raise Energy Prices, Destroy Family-Sustaining American Jobs, And Reduce

Our Nation's Competitiveness In The Global Marketplace. These Regulations Will Benefit

China, India, And Other Rising Economic Competitors At The Expense

Of

American

Workers Congressman Keith Rothfus [PA-12] released the following statement on newly

announced Obama Administration regulations on existing power plants. Congressman Rothfus

greeted workers at First Energy's Bruce Mansfield Power Station during this morning's 6:00AM

shift change. The Bruce Mansfield Power Station is one of many power plants in Western

Pennsylvania threatened by the new regulations. 'President

Obama is making good on his

campaign promise to cause electricity prices to 'necessarily skyrocket,' said Rothfus. 'The

regulations the Obama Administration announced today will raise energy prices, destroy family

sustaining American jobs, and reduce our nation's competitiveness in the global marketplace.

These regulations will benefit China, India, and other rising economic competitors at the expense

of American workers like the hardworking men and women I talked with this morning

s

they

were heading home after a long night's work at the First Energy Bruce Mansfield Power Station

in Beaver County. ' [Rep. Keith Rothfus Press R e l e a s e ~ ~ ~

President Obama moves to increase your energy bill with proposed EPA plan:

6/2/14: Rep. John Sarbanes: In The Face Of Reckless Congressional Inaction, The EPA's



Proposal To Reduce Carbon Pollution Over The

Next 6

Years

Is

The Strongest Action To Date

On Climate Change. Despite

n

Overwhelming Consensus In The Scientific Community

That

Climate Change

Is

A Real Danger, Republicans In Congress Continue To Block Legislation To

Address The Threat. U.S. Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md) today released the following

statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) draft proposal to cut carbon

pollution from America's power plants by 30 percent by 2030:

'In

the face

of

reckless

Congressional inaction, the EPA' s proposal to reduce carbon pollution over the next 6 years is

the strongest action to date on climate change. Despite an overwhelming consensus in the

scientific community that climate change is a real danger, Republicans in Congress continue to

block legislation to address the threat. We must work constrnctively to find solutions that are

rooted in science and protect our environment for the next generation. ' [Rep. Sarbanes Press

Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. Steve Scalise: Today's Proposed EPA Regulations Are A Continuation Of

President Obama's Attack On American Jobs, And

It

Will Lead To Less Take-Home Pay

And Higher Energy Costs For Hard-Working Taxpayers As Well As Those On Fixed

Incomes. Today's proposed EPA regulations are a continuation

of

President Obama's attack

on American jobs, and it will lead to less take-home pay and higher energy costs for hard

working taxpayers

as

well as those on fixed incomes, said Congressman Steve Scalise, Vice

Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power. Once again, this Administration is trying

to impose unachievable standards on our nation's power plants that have no basis in reality.

f

allowed to go into effect, this rnle will cost millions of Americans their jobs and cost the

economy over $500 billion in lost economic activity. In another end-rnn around Congress,

President Obama is trying to resuscitate the cap-and-trade scheme that was soundly rejected by

the Democrat-controlled Senate just four years ago. This radical proposal is devastating to coal

fired plants which are our nation's largest source

of

electricity.

Is

it any wonder that our

economy is still strnggling and millions of Americans are looking for jobs when President

Obama continues to propose radical regulations like this just to appease liberal extremists?

[Rep. Steve Scalise Press Release, ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep. Schakowsky: I Applaud President Barack Obama And The Environmental

Protection Agency On The New Proposed Rule To Reduce Carbon Emissions From Our

Nation's More Than 600 Existing Power Plants. Carbon Pollution Is The Most Significant

Driver Of Climate Change Accounting For Roughly 80 Percent Of U.S. Greenhouse Gas

Emissions That Are Warming Our Planet And Increasing The Frequency And Severity

Of

Extreme Weather. I applaud President Barack Obama and the Environmental Protection

Agency on the new proposed rnle to reduce carbonemissions from our nation's more than 600

existing power plants. Carbon pollution is the most significant driver of climate change -

accounting for roughly 80 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that are warming our planet

and increasing the frequency and severity

of

extreme weather. Power plants are the largest

emitters of carbon pollution in this country, and there are no current restrictions on the amount of

carbon they can emit. The proposed rnle is both ambitious and achievable. It will help reduce



power

plant emissions

30

percent while

allowing

each state

to come up with

its own plan

to

achieve

that

goal -

from ramping

up clean energy production

to

joining state cap-and-trade

programs. Taking

this

step

will protect public health

and save lives. Once

fully

implemented,

the rule will

prevent

up to 6,600 premature deaths, up to 150,000 asthma attacks in children,

and up to 490,000 missed

work or

school days per year. Until now, energy companies have

externalized

the

impacts

of

pollution,

thus

contributing

to

rising global

temperatures,

worsening smog, increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events - pushing the

costs of dealing

with

those

problems

onto

the American people. It's

time that

those energy

producers take responsibility

for

cleaning up

their own

mess, and

with this

rule,

they

will. This

rule will also

grow

jobs. By

promoting

investment in cleaner technologies,

our

country can

become the undisputed

leader in

renewable

energy and energy efficiency - an industry

that is

expected to generate

almost

2 trillion in

investment between

2012 and 2018. There are three

times

s many jobs created per $1

million

spent in clean energy

than

there are in fossil fuel

energy, so taking steps

to

meet the requirements of this rule will benefit American workers.

Today's proposed rule sends a clear signal

to

the world

that

the United States will continue to

lead on

the

issue of

climate

change in order

to

protect public health and

the

environment

for

this

generation

and

the

ones

that

follow. I strongly support

this

action, and I

will

continue

to

do

all I can

to

ensure

that we hold polluters

accountable and transition

toward

cleaner sources

of

energy. [Rep. Schakowsky Press Release, = = = = ~

6/2/14: Rep.

Brad

Schneider: Addressing The Challenges Presented By Climate Change

Requires Concerted, Long-Term Action, And The New EPA Standards Represent Just

That.

Addressing the challenges presented by climate change requires concerted, long-term

action, and the new EPA standards represent

just

that. Asking our energy sector to curb carbon

pollution is a significant step forward in combatting climate change and modernizing how we

power our nation for future generations. Reducing carbon pollution not only helps improve the

air we breathe, it helps spur important investments in green technology that are critical to

reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Climate change is a real, pressing threat and by

developing and harnessing green and renewable energy, we can continue to lessen the impact on

the Earth's climate and pass along a cleaner, healthier planet to the next generation. [Rep. Brad

Schneider


Taking a big step today toward leaving our kids a cleaner, healthier planet:

6/2/14: Rep. Bobby Scott:

We

Have

An

Obligation To

Act To

Reduce

The Impacts Of

Climate Change,

And

That

Is

Why

I

Support

The

Clean

Power Plan Announced Today.

Congressman Robert

C

'Bobby' Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the

Environmental Protection Agency announced new actions to cut carbon pollution 30 percent by

2030: 'In Virginia, and across the nation, we are already seeing the harms

of

climate change.

From increased health risks from diseases such

as

asthma to increasingly devastating extreme

weather events, numerous scientific reports have shown that a failure to reduce carbon pollution

will only increase these and other threats. These impacts are being felt particularly in Norfolk,

which has been listed

as

the second most at risk city behind New Orleans for sea level rise in the



United

States. 'We have an

obligation to

act

to

reduce the

impacts

of

climate

change, and that

s why I support the Clean

Power

Plan

announced today.

These actions will allow future

generations of Americans to enjoy our clean air and our natural resources well into

the

future.

'While work remains to ensure that Virginia remains resilient in

the

face of climate change and

its effects, I am confident that

the

commonsense limits on carbon

pollution

announced

today

will spur innovation

and ensure

that

the United

States

s

a

world leader

in

taking

action

to

deal

with the realities

of climate change. '

[Rep. Bobby Scott Press Release, ~ ~ ~ ,

6/2/14: Rep. Shimkus: Without A Doubt, This New Front In The War On Coal Will Raise

Electricity Rates - Especially In The Midwest - And Cost Hundreds

Of Thousands Of

Good Paying Jobs Nationwide... This Rule Will Be All Pain

And

No Gain For American

Energy Consumers And Job Seekers. 'After failing to win support for a cap-and-trade

program in Congress, the Obama Administration is now attempting to implement a similar

scheme through EPA rulemaking. Without a doubt, this new front in the War on Coal will raise

electricity rates - especially in the Midwest - and cost hundreds of thousands of good paying

jobs nationwide. 'All for what though? EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy already conceded

that it's 'unlikely' any

of

EPA' s climate-related rules will have a meaningful impact on the

agency's own indicators

of

global climate change. In fact, even

if

President Obama could close

every coal-fired power plant in America tomorrow, the effect on global emissions would be

entirely offset by just a fraction of

the proposed coal-fired plants being built overseas. 'This rule

will be all pain and no gain for American energy consumers and job seekers. ' [Press Release,

New rule released today is devastating, costs economy 51 billion per year 224,000

jobs. I absolutely oppose.

= ' ~ ~ ~ = = ~ ~ = = ~ = = ~ = ~

In his own words, = = ~ ~ = ~ =

skyrocket for consumers

= ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ = ' - = = = = - ~ = ~ ~ ~ = = = ~ ~ ~

= ' ' - ' ~ s t a n d a r d s are big step forward. By working to limit carbon today, we invest in a

livable world tomorrow. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

6/2/14: Rep.

Terry:

This Is Another Example Of The Administration Sidestepping

Congress And Governing By Fiat Rather Than By The Will And Consent Of The

Governed.

U.S. Representative Lee Terry (R-NE), today made the following statement after

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule to regulate green house

gas emissions from coal-fired power plants: 'This is another example of the Administration

sidestepping Congress and governing by fiat rather than by the will and consent of the governed.

Congress has already defeated cap-and-trade by a bipartisan vote and now this proposed rule

flies in the face of Congressional will and intent. 'Nebraska is involved in the coal industry both

as a user and a generator. Currently, we have seven coal-fired power plants that provide reliable

and low-cost energy to industry, agriculture producers, commercial businesses and homes. Our



electricity rates are 15 percent

lower

th n

the

n tion l average. Today s proposed rule

would

drive

up

the

cost

of

power

gener tion th t will ultim tely be

passed

onto the consumer. ' [Rep.

Lee Terry, 6/2/14; = ~ = ~ ~ . = ~ ~ ~ ~ - = = = = = = 1 ; ; ; > = = ~ ~ ~ = = ~ = = - - ~ = = ~ J

• 6/2/14: Rep. Terry:

This President

Is Intent To Ram

This

Rule Through In

An

Aggressive

Timetable. To

Me,

It's

Nothing

More Than

A

Partisan

Political

Gimmick

From This

Administration

In An Election Year. This President is intent

to ram this rule through in an aggressive timetable. To me, it's nothing more than a

partisan political gimmick from this administration in an election year. I would like to see

the administration take a step back and provide a thoughtful study

of

the environmental

and economic consequences of this proposed rule much in the same way they have

deliberated building the Keystone XL Pipeline. [Rep. Lee Terry, 6/2/14;

6/2/14: Rep. Tsongas: We Must Be Proactive If

We Want

A Sustainable

And Healthy

Future For

The Next Generation. Massachusetts And The Northeast Region

Of

America

Have Long

Been

Leading

The Way

In

Environmental

Initiatives, As

Evidenced By

The

Regional

Greenhouse

Gas Initiative. These Types

Of

Initiatives

Have

The Dual Purpose

Of

Protecting The

Environment

And Pursuing Healthier

Living For All. 'We must be

proactive if

we want a sustainable and healthy future for the next generation. Massachusetts and

the northeast region of America have long been leading the way in environmental initiatives,

s

evidenced by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. These types

of

initiatives have the dual

purpose of protecting the environment and pursuing healthier living for all. 'My colleagues and

I wrote to the Administration because we recognized RGGI s a standard for success that could

assist other regions of the country in dramatically improving air quality and the overall health of

their communities. 'Plain and simple, this is an important step toward cleaner air and I applaud

President Obama and the EPA for taking it. Decades

of

emissions and pollution have left our air

quality on a downward spiral, threatening public health now and into the future. 'Protecting our

environment is not a political issue; it is a critical generational responsibility that will take

sustained commitment from Washington. By supporting these kinds of initiatives now, we can

leave the earth a little better, a little cleaner, a little healthier. ' [Rep. Tsongas Press Release,

6/2/14: Rep. Waxman: The

Proposal

Is A Major

Step

Forward.

Acting

Now Will Protect

Public Health, Slow Global Warming, And Create New

Clean

Energy Jobs. Doing Nothing

Will Lead

To Catastrophic

Changes In

The

Climate And Endanger Our

Health

And

Economy. The

Proposal

Takes The Nation In The Right Direction

At

A Crucial

Crossroads.

The proposal is a major step forward. Acting now will protect public health,

slow global warming, and create new clean energy jobs. Doing nothing will lead to catastrophic

changes in the climate and endanger our health and economy. The proposal takes the nation in

the right direction at a crucial crossroads. 'We

are a can-do country and will be able

to

achieve

the reasonable reductions required by the rule. Industry always exaggerates the impact of clear

air regulations. But the history

of

the Clean Air Act shows we can have both a clean

environment and a strong economy. 'The carbon pollution standards are especially strong in

their early years. They establish a foundation upon which President Obama and Congress can

build to ensure we protect our planet for our children and lead the way in creating the clean



energy economy of the future. ' [Rep. Waxman Press Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Weber: The President Bypassing Congress To Institute His Own Cap-And

Trade On Our Energy Industry Is Unacceptable. In February 2014, I Voted For H.R. 3826,

The Electricity Security And Affordability Act, Which Would Allow For A Future

Of

Affordable Energy From Coal, As Well As Natural Gas

And

Renewables.

The President

bypassing Congress to institute his own cap-and-trade on our energy industry is unacceptable. In

February 2014, I voted for H.R. 3826, the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, which

would allow for a future of affordable energy from coal,

s

well

s

natural gas and renewables. It

would also rein in the EPA with realistic guidelines and would prevent the Administration from

going around Congress and instituting their cap-and-tax policies. [Rep. Weber Facebook Post,

6/2/14: Rep. Welch: EPA's Plan Is A Flexible, Common Sense Approach

To

Reducing

Power Plant Emissions

That

Allows States And Utilities

To

Tailor Remedies

To

Local And

Regional Circumstances. I Am Particularly Pleased That This Plan Promotes Energy

Efficiency As A

Key

Remedy

To

Carbon Emissions.

'Climate change is real and poses a

serious threat to our economy, environment and public health. And Vermont is not immune from

its effects. Just ask our farmers, sugar makers and ski area operators. They will tell you how

climate change is already upon them. Across the country, severe weather events related to

climate change, like Tropical Storm Irene, are becoming more commonplace. 'Every day we

wait makes solving this problem much more difficult. The current Congress simply cannot find

common ground on addressing this issue. Incredibly, the Republican-led House just passed an

amendment banning the Pentagon from studying the impact of climate change on national

security. So I am pleased that the President, in the face of climate change denial by Congress,

has taken bold action today, using the executive authority available to him, to tackle one of the

leading causes of climate change. 'EPA's plan is a flexible, common sense approach to

reducing power plant emissions that allows states and utilities to tailor remedies to local and

regional circumstances. I am particularly pleased that this plan promotes energy efficiency s a

key remedy to carbon emissions. Vermont has led the nation on energy efficiency and is reaping

the benefits of lower electric bills, good jobs, and a cleaner environment. ' [Rep. Welch Press

Release, 6/2/14]

6/2/14: Rep. Ed Whitfield: I Am Deeply Concerned

The

Upcoming Regulations Could

Have Devastating Effects On Americans' Ability To Secure Affordable Electricity And The

Chamber's Report Confirmed What's To Come

If

These Regulations Are Finalized I

m

deeply concerned the upcoming regulations could have devastating effects on Americans'

ability to secure affordable electricity and the Chamber's report confirmed what's to come

if

these regulations are finalized,'' said Whitfield. In addition to previous EPA regulations that

have already contributed to an unprecedented number

of

coal plant shutdowns, it is clear these

proposed regulations could threaten the reliability of our nation's power grid, our economic

growth, and the price

of

power for consumers

s

we know it. I will continue to fight President

Obama's radical agenda and ensure the EPA's regulatory assault does not go unchecked. [Press

Release, 6/02/14]



To:

From:

Sent:

Subject:


Allen, Kara

Fri 1/31/2014 2:50:07 PM

SEEC

Daily Clips 1.31.14


Coalition

Top news stories:

I think when he uses

that

phrase, it's presenting us with a

menu,

said

Rep

Gerry Connolly (D-Va.),

who is co-chairman of the

House

Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. There's nothing

wrong

with

that

approach -- and it leaves room for us to debate what

we

pick and choose on that

menu.

The

resolution

from

SEEC

Vice-Chair

Reps

Rush

Holt

(D-N.J.), SEEC

Member

Jim

Himes

(D-Conn.) and

SEEC

Member Mike

Honda (D-Calif.), H.Res. 467, proposes the designation of Feb. 12 as Darwin Day

to

recognize Charles Darwin's contributions

to

science.

Following

40

years of sustained fighting on

behalf of

human health, the

environment,

and a livable

climate,

SEEC

Member

Congressman

Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced on Thursday

that

he would

retire from Congress after this year.

The

U.S.

State Department is preparing a report that

will

probably disappoint environmentalists and

opponents

of

the

Keystone pipeline, according

to

people

who

have been

briefed

on

the draft

of

the

document. While the report will deviate from a March draft in some ways to the liking of

environmentalists,

the

changes

won't

be

as

sweeping

as

they had sought, several people

familiar with

the government's

deliberations over the review told Bloomberg News. Changes could still be made

to

the

report before its release, which could come as early

as tomorrow.

President Barack Obama will

nominate

former federal prosecutor Norman

Bay now

the head

of

enforcement at the

U.S.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

to

be the agency's chairman.



More than 12,000 megawatts of U S wind farms were under construction

at

the end of 2013, the

most

ever, as developers raced

to

qualify for an expiring federal tax credit, according

to

the American Wind

Energy Association.

For California, 2013 was the driest year since the state started measuring rainfall in 1849.

Paleoclimatologist B Lynn Ingram says

that,

according to the width of old tree rings, California hasn t

been this

dry

for about 500 years.

Energy news

Wind power advocates urged Congress on Thursday

to

quickly restore

the

production tax credit

that

expired

at the

end

of

2013, saying

that

a prolonged period

without it

threatens gains made in recent

years.

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.)

might

be interested

to

a

return

as top Democrat on the House Energy and

Commerce

Committee following

Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-Calif.) decision

to

retire.

People on both sides

of

the shale drilling debate were scratching their heads yesterday trying

to

figure

out a new proposal on shale from President Obama. He didn t

mention it

in his speech, but in a fact

sheet released

as

part of

the

State

of the

Union rollout, he proposed Sustainable Shale

Gas Growth

Zones.

A group of senators is pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its proposed volume

levels for the amount of biofuels

that

must be blended by refiners

into

the nation s oil supply.

The National Council of Chain Restaurants has urged the EPA to further reduce the levels of corn ethanol

mandated under

the

Renewable Fuel Standard.

For all the debate over whether Washington should

lift

the nation s decades-old ban on exporting crude

oil,

the thing that

matters most may

be

the

price

at

the

pump.

Climate news

The Metropolitan Water District,

the Los

Angeles-based utility

for

19

million

people in Southern

California, said

it would

ask customers

to voluntarily

reduce water use

by

20 percent amid a

drought.



A group of 17 philanthropic groups including the Wallace Global Fund and John

Merck

Fund with a

combined asset base of about $1.8 billion has vowed

to

divest from fossil-fuel companies and invest in

clean-energy technology.

Seventy-six business groups, including the

U S

Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of

Manufacturers (NAM) and the American Gas Association, have agreed

to

dedicate necessary resources

to

vigorously

participate

in every facet

of

President Obama's

effort to

tackle climate change through

regulation, said Karen Harbert,

president of the

Chamber's

Institute for

21st Century Energy.

Petition filed by 16 green groups outlines a new basis for challenging the State Department's review

of

the

project,

as

well

as

hints

at

a future lawsuit.

The

meeting

of

nearly

200

governments

in Peru

later this

year

for

a

major

UN

climate

change

summit

must produce the first draft of a global deal

to

cut emissions, the country's environment minister says.

Former

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been tapped

to

be U.N. special envoy for cities and

climate change, sources

familiar with the situation

said on Thursday.

From 1999 through 2006,

methane

concentrations in

the

atmosphere stopped increasing after more

than

a decade

of

strong growth. Then they took

off

again.

It

is, said Euan Nisbet,

of the

University of

London in an interview, a real puzzle.

Hundreds of drivers were reunited with their abandoned cars and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal ordered

state

employees back to work Friday as the metro Atlanta region rebounded from a winter storm that

coated the area with snow and ice.

Life has never been easy

for just-hatched

Magellanic penguins,

but

climate change

is

making

it

worse,

according

to

a decades-long study

of the

largest breeding colony

of

the birds.


Living near hydraulic

fracturing

-

or

f racking - sites

may

increase

the

risk

of

some birth defects by

as

much

as 30 percent, a new study suggests. In the U.S., more than 15 million people now live within a

mile of a well.



It

now

seems almost certain

that

- after two years of pummeling in

the

Congressional

gantlet

- the

farm

bill will limp down the Hill and make its

way

over

to

President Obama s desk

for

its final step

toward becoming a law.

Garfield County is joining four other western Colorado counties in an effort

to

persuade state regulators

to

soften proposed new air quality standards, urging the state not

to

adopt statewide standards that

may not apply in some areas. Environmental groups want statewide rules governing the oil and gas

industry, which has been blamed for

much

of the air pollution.

Environmentalists are slamming a

new

draft Chesapeake Bay restoration agreement for failing

to

address toxic pollution

or

even

mention climate

change s a

complicating

factor in the

three-decade

effort to

revive

the

ailing estuary.

Celilo Ind ian Village, Ore., separated from the Columbia River by only a highway and some railroad

tracks,

is

one

of

many

tribal

communities

that

sit in

the

path

of

what

could soon

become

America s coal

export superhighway.

Regulators are moving too slowly

to

safeguard nuclear reactors in the West against earthquakes in light

of the 2011 Fukushima

meltdown

in Japan, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works

Committee said Thursday.

Australia approved plans by

North

Queensland Bulk Ports Corp.

to

dump dredging waste from the

expansion of the

Abbot

Point coal terminal near the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.

After driving for 15 minutes over the bottom of what was once I ran s largest lake, a local environmental

official stepped out of his truck pushed his hands

deep into

his pockets and silently wandered

into

the

great

dry

plain,

s

if searching for water he knew he

would

never find.



To Vaught, Laura[[email protected]]; Haman, Patricia[[email protected]]

Cc: McBride, Brandon Agriculture)[[email protected]]; Adamo, Chris

Agriculture )[Chris _Adamo@ag .senate .gov]

From Thieman, Karla Agriculture)

Sent Thur 4/10/2014 7:39:39

P

Subject Biofuels Hearing Testimony



www nnovate m

Written Statement for the Record

Sumesh M. Arora Ph.D.

Vice President Innovate Mississippi

Director Strategic Biomass Solutions

efore the

United States Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry

Full Committee Hearing

Advanced Biofuels Creating Jobs and Lower Prices at th Pump

Washington

D.C.

Tuesday April 8 2014

Strategic iomass SolutionsTM

www.biomass.ms



Thank you, Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Cochran and members of the

committee for the opportunity to testify today in support of advanced biofuels and

how

they may lead to job creation and lower prices t the fuel pump.

My name is Dr Sumesh Arora and I serve as the vice president of Innovate Mississippi, an

independent nonprofit organization

th t

champions innovation and technology-based

economic development. I have worked in corporate research for 13 years in the chemical

process industry and have 12 years of experience in the renewable energy sector. My Ph D

in international development has given me an opportunity to study the human side of

technology adoption and

how new

innovations may be diffused among various

populations.

I hope to provide a perspective on how advanced biofuels and bioenergy development and

deployment may be accelerated in the Southern United States,

where

considerable related

activity

is

already taking place on multiple fronts.

In the time I have today, I will address five challenges and opportunities for furthering the

domestic development of advanced biofuels and biomass-based energy options:

1

This industry is still in its infancy. Currently

there

is no dominant design for

advanced biofuels technologies

or

feedstocks, which means

th t

many different

technologies

re

being perfected

th t

can use a wide variety of feedstocks. This

opens up opportunities for many technical and business innovations in this sector

from deploying very large scale systems to small modular and even on-farm



systems. Achieving the concept of dominant design makes a technology more

bankable and much easier to be adopted by the masses. There

is

however, a

significant need to educate entrepreneurs and investors on how to mitigate risks

associated with developing successful ventures in this space. It is

import nt

to look

t risk in five key areas as these businesses evolve: technology, markets,

management, finance and execution. Innovate Mississippi, through its Strategic

Biomass Solutions program, has developed the Renewable Energy Venture Startup

or

R VSup for short) Academy, which does just that- educate entrepreneurs to

mitigate risk. REVSup workshops have been conducted all over the country in the

last

three

years. Linking business plan competitions and business accelerators

around the country is critical to encourage investment in new ventures.

2.

Many parts of the country, especially the Southeastern United States, re well suited

to generate current and emerging feedstocks in an ecologically sustainable manner,

which can provide very effective regional solutions. For example, forestry and

poultry

re

two of the biggest industries in the Southeastern United States

th t

can

supply feedstocks currently for advanced biofuels. Emerging dedicated energy

crops such as grasses and algae also grow well in this climate,

but

additional

research and

m rket

development is still needed to optimize the feedstock supply

chains.

3.

Deployment of these technologies will lead to an increase in the

number

of

STEM

science, technology, engineering and mathematics) related jobs across the country,

which will be difficult to off-shore and will also lead to rural wealth creation.

However, we need to better connect and leverage federal research assets with local

2



universities, schools, business and nonprofit organizations to accelerate the

development of these technologies. For example, Innovate Mississippi is the

original member among nine p rtners with the USDA Agricultural Research Service

ARS) to facilitate commercialization ofARS research through the Agricultural

Technology Innovation Partnership ATIP). I applaud the 2014 Farm

Bill

for urging

the Department to move forward with further development of public-private

partnerships to provide venture development training for innovative technologies.

4. Advanced biofuels should not be limited to just liquid fuels, but should be viewed in

a more comprehensive

m nner

to include viable biomass-based energy and

biochemical options in gaseous, liquid and solid forms, thereby necessitating a long

term and stable policy

th t

provides clear m rket certainty. The announcement by

President Obama March 28 unveiling a strategy to curb methane emissions does

th t

to a gre t extent; however, the national Biogas Roadmap scheduled to be

released in June this ye r is expected to focus primarily on the dairy industry, which

is quite small in the south compare to poultry. Millions of tons of poultry waste is

generated in states from Maryland to Arkansas and the contributions to biogas

production from this very viable feedstock have largely been ignored. There are

tremendous entrepreneurial opportunities in developing such systems

th t

can lead

to rural job growth and keep energy prices low for farmers, while improving soil

health.

5. A large enough volume of advanced biofuels and biomass-based energy options in

the overall mix will help keep fuel prices in-check by diversifying our energy supply

3



and enhancing

our

national security,

but m rket

conditioning efforts led by various

federal agencies

must

continue for gre ter adoption of such fuels.

Our

work

t Innovate Mississippi can be summed up in two words:

coach

nd connect.

While our mission and goal may sound simple, the work of coaching early stage innovation

based enterprises and connecting them with a wide var iety of resources, including early

stage capital, technical research and entrepreneurial service providers, is challenging. The

ultimate goal is to create fast growing, commercially viable companies, which also yield

gre t returns

for the early stage investors. Innovate Mississippi relies on various sources

of state, federal and private sector funding to provide such services

t

low

or

no cost to the

entrepreneurs.

I am proud to say that, due to the combined efforts of many stakeholder organizations,

Mississippi is emerging as a regional leader and the proving ground for commercial scale

production of various advanced clean energy technologies such as woody biomass and

MSW-based cellulosic biofuels, biogas production using poul try litter, torrefied wood

pellets, thin film solar panels and energy efficient windows.

The need for a consistent, long-term energy policy for

our

country has been identified by

many organizations. o quote Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew Trusts' Clean Energy

Program, whom we hosted in Mississippi in 2012 to hold one of five national round ables,

predictable, long-term incentives are needed to usher this emerging industry as it

approaches broad m rket acceptance.

4



n

closing, I would like to reiterate

th t

investing in renewable energy is just like investing

for your retirement - it is bout diversifying the portfolio and investing early. We have to

diversify the nation s energy portfolio and begin moving away from a transportation sector

th t

relies on nearly 93 percent of its demand from fossil fuels. Furthermore, jus t as it is

not prudent to wait until we are about to reach retirement age to st rt investing in th t

portfolio, in this case, it means we cannot put off making serious investments in renewable

forms of energy until the expiration of fossil fuels

is

imminent. Thank you.