Top News

Trump Said 'We Need' Global Warming To Deal With Record Cold Temperatures. Here's Why That Doesn't Make Sense. According to TIME, “President Trump has been a longtime opponent of taking action on climate change, as evidenced by everything from his accusation that the phenomenon is a ‘hoax’ created by China to his decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. There are many reasons Trump may be against addressing climate change, but one thing is clear: he doesn’t understand the science behind it. On Monday, the President took to Twitter to repeat a joke he frequently makes during winter weather events — this time the record-breaking, polar vortex-caused cold that’s sweeping the midwest this week — as a reason climate change cannot be real. The problem with Trump’s analysis is that climate and weather are not the same thing. Weather refers to the atmospheric conditions at a particular place and time. At this very moment, the weather in the midwest is freezing cold, with major snowstorms. Climate refers to the long-term atmospheric patterns in a particular area. It may hit -20°F in the midwest this week, but over the long term, the average temperature is expected to rise, as is the frequency of days with extreme high temperatures.” [TIME, 1/29/19 (+)]

Ethanol Group Angles To Protect Priorities With Wheeler Vote. According to E&E News, “A pro-ethanol group today urged senators not to vote on the nomination of Andrew Wheeler as EPA administrator until he provides ‘tangible documentation’ of his intentions for two of the industry’s top priorities. The American Coalition for Ethanol said senators shouldn’t support Wheeler, the acting administrator, until they have evidence he supports making higher-ethanol fuel available year-round and he takes steps to ensure that ethanol waivers granted to small refiners don’t result in lower overall ethanol volumes. ‘I urge you hold Acting Administrator Wheeler to this high standard because of the harm done to renewable fuels by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt,’ wrote the group’s CEO, Brian Jennings, in a letter to senators. Although Pruitt had earlier promised to uphold ethanol mandates if confirmed, he took actions as administrator counter to the industry’s interests, Jennings said, by holding back on expansion of 15 percent ethanol fuel, called E15, and by granting enough small-refiner waivers to erase 2 billion gallons of ethanol demand.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (+)]

Governor Signs Executive Order On Climate Change. According to the Albuquerque Journal, “Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered New Mexico to join a national coalition of states seeking to combat the effects of climate change, as part of a far-reaching plan to shift the state toward a renewable energy economy. At a press conference in the state Capitol, the Democratic governor described the order as a ‘game-changer’ that outlines broad, state-level initiatives to make up for a lack of federal action on climate change. ‘We want to make sure we are doing something irrespective of failed policies and a lack of science going on at the federal level today,’ said Lujan Grisham, as environmental advocates and schoolchildren looked on. The executive order calls for New Mexico to join 18 other states in the U.S. Climate Alliance. The coalition, which formed in 2017 after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, commits member states to implement policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Lujan Grisham specifically called for New Mexico to cut its emissions by 45 percent below 2005 levels over the next 12 years.” [Albuquerque Journal, 1/29/19 (+)]

Senator: Climate Change Letter Went Through ‘Political Censoring’ In Chao’s Office. According to the Washington Post, “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Tuesday that a response to inquiries he made about the impact of climate change on infrastructure in his state was censored by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s office. Whitehouse said in 2017 he pressed Chao about the dangers rising sea levels presented for highways and other infrastructure in a state with 400 miles of coastline. Chao said she’d get back to him. At a senate hearing Tuesday, Whitehouse alleged that Chao’s letter in response — which he said was originally drafted by staff at the Department of Transportation — had been the subject of ‘political censoring’ by Chao’s office. One reference to ‘sea level rise’ was changed to read ‘sea level variations,’ according to a comparison of the draft letter and the final letter released by Whitehouse. And the words ‘climate change’ were also edited out, he noted.” [Washington Post, 1/30/19 (=)]

Op-Ed: Trump Dismantling Mercury Pollution Ban Exemplifies Embrace Of Coal. According to an op-ed by Gina McCarthy and Rev. Mitch Hescox in The Hill, “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the business of protecting public health and our environment — or at least it used to be. The agency and its acting administrator, a former coal lobbyist, have been waging an offensive on public health protections, rather than fulfilling its mission to safeguard Americans from pollution. The most recent is its attempt to dismantle mercury pollution limits, which have been a success story both economically and from the standpoint of public health. Today, the agency’s leadership isn’t denying that mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin or that more kids won’t be harmed — they just don’t seem to care. That’s a failure of political and moral leadership that puts partisanship ahead of governing for the benefit of all Americans. Yet, in a nation overcome by polarization, her are a progressive woman and an evangelical, pro-life pastor finding common ground on this argument. While the current political landscape may obscure this fact, individuals with major differences can find ways to work together. We are living proof that they can — especially when it comes to protecting our environment and public health.” [The Hill, 1/29/19 (+)]

Boston Commission Preps For Carbon Neutrality By 2050. According to E&E News, “A commission convened by Boston’s mayor yesterday produced the fruit of a multiyear analysis of measures the city will need to undertake if it is to achieve its 2050 goal of carbon neutrality. The report, carried out by the Green Ribbon Commission and Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, provides a technical foundation for future city rules as well as more detailed, sector-specific planning. The city is due to update its Climate Action Plan this year, with new ‘critical actions’ aimed at slashing emissions from specific sectors. ‘This is among the most sophisticated policy analyses that any city has done,’ said John Cleveland, executive director of the commission. One cornerstone policy identified by the analysis involved the full decarbonization of Boston’s electricity by 2030. That’s several strides past the statewide standard of 80 percent by 2050. It also called on authorities to move with a general sense of urgency, saying incremental changes to energy and transportation systems would be insufficient to reach the city’s goals, while decisive action in the near term would make future changes easier.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (+)]

Trump, Sounding Off On Climate Change, Loses An Argument To Actual Climatologists — Government Ones. According to Yahoo, “As exceptionally cold air bore down on the Midwest Tuesday, President Trump took the opportunity, as he has before, to advertise his ill-informed speculation that cold weather disproves the fact of climate change. ‘In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded,’ the president tweeted Monday night. ‘In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sic]? Please come back fast, we need you!’ Global warming, of course, hasn’t gone anywhere. Scientists say this week’s so-called polar vortex is affecting the United States because a sudden jolt of warm air in the Arctic last month moved part of the icy air mass south. ‘Where the polar vortex goes, so goes the cold air,’ Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric and Environmental Research, told the Associated Press. There’s only so much cold air to go around, and some climatologists suspect that global warming is actually contributing to instability in the jet stream, which has brought extreme winter weather to the continental United States in the last decade.” [Yahoo, 1/29/19 (+)]

EPA

New EPA Policy Would Offer Alternative To Penalties For Some Oil, Gas Polluters. According to The Hill, “The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) office of enforcement will soon unveil a new finalized audit policy that will offer significant new penalty reductions for the oil and gas industry, according to two internal memos obtained by The Hill. The New Owner Clean Air Act Audit Program, tailored specifically for oil and natural gas producers, will focus on offering more flexibility to new company owners who choose to self-audit their emissions and report any failures to meet EPA’s regulations, according to the December draft memos for the new policy. The policy originally was slated to be rolled out in late December but was delayed due to the partial government shutdown, according to an EPA source with knowledge. ‘Policy finalization has been delayed; we can provide more details when we have a final policy to announce,’ an EPA spokesperson said of the rule.” [The Hill, 1/29/19 (-)]

What Happens If The Government Shuts Down Again? According to E&E News, “As federal workers return to work this week, a question lingers in hallways, around water coolers and throughout union offices: What do we do if this happens again? ‘I consider another shutdown a distinct possibility,’ said Mark Sims, president of the EPA Unit Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20 of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents Region 9 employees. President Trump’s surprise agreement with congressional Democrats on Friday reopened the government after a historic 35-day partial shutdown. But funding lasts for only three weeks — through Feb. 15 — and another standoff over Trump’s $5.7 billion border wall request could easily result in another shutdown. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney indicated as much on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday. ‘Keep in mind he’s willing to do whatever it takes to secure the border,’ Mulvaney said. ‘He does take this very seriously.’ That uncertainty has left federal workers, who felt like they were taken hostage by the recent shutdown, wondering what they can do should another occur.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (=)]

Uncertainty Over New Limit For PFAS Chemicals Sparks Outrage. According to E&E News, “EPA will not set a legal limit for two PFAS chemicals in drinking water, angering environmentalists and lawmakers. An EPA spokeswoman did not deny a report from Politico, citing unnamed sources, about the expected action but said a PFAS-related plan is ‘currently undergoing interagency review.’ ‘EPA will be prepared to discuss the contents of the plan as soon as interagency review is complete, and the plan is public,’ the spokeswoman said in a statement. David Ross, EPA Office of Water assistant administrator, said the agency was following the evaluation process for new drinking water standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. ‘Despite what is being reported, EPA has not finalized or publicly issued its PFAS management plan, and any information that speculates what is included in the plan is premature,’ Ross said in a statement. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a family of thousands of chemicals that have been used in products ranging from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam. Health effects of exposure may include increased risk of cancer and problems with growth, learning and behavior in infants and children.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (=)]

Enviros Press EPA For Deeper Scrutiny Of 2 Toxics. According to E&E News, “EPA must take a more careful look at two toxic chemicals that can be persistent in the environment, advocacy groups said. Hexafluoropropylene oxide, or GenX, and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid, or PFBS, are man-made chemicals that fall under the large category of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances known as PFAS, which are used in nonstick cookware, grease-proof food packaging and stain-resistant textiles. EPA’s draft risk assessments for GenX and PFBS in November found the liver is particularly sensitive to GenX, and the thyroid and kidney are sensitive to PFBS. While the draft assessment noted humans have the potential to be exposed to complex mixtures of PFAS through drinking water, it only focuses on potential health effects associated with each chemical and does not consider the effects a combination of chemicals could have. ‘This would involve a more complex assessment that would need to consider and evaluate mechanisms of action and endpoints of concern for each of the chemicals in the mixture,’ EPA said when soliciting comments on the draft proposal.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (=)]

States Fear CWA Jurisdiction Rollback Undercuts Push For 404 Authority. According to Inside EPA, “Trump administration plans to narrow the Obama-era standard for determining Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction might undercut some states’ plans to assume CWA section 404 dredge-and-fill permitting authority, a top state water official says, because it would limit the waters subject to the law and reduce the incentive for new state permit programs ‘For some states they look at the proposed definition of waters of the U.S., and it excludes virtually all the waters in their state, which would mean there’s really nothing to assume, and there would be no federal program in the state because there are no jurisdictional waters,’ said Julia Anastasio, executive director and general counsel of the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) which represents state and interstate water programs. ‘It takes away the attractiveness of running the state assumption program for them,’ she added in an exclusive Jan. 17 interview with Inside EPA. The Obama EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2015 issued their joint rule defining the CWA’s reach, but President Donald Trump and other critics say it extended the law’s scope far beyond what Congress intended. The Trump administration is working to scrap the 2015 rule and replace it with a much narrower standard.” [Inside EPA, 1/29/19 (=)]

EPA Backs Utilities' Push To Punt On Changes. According to E&E News, “The Trump administration is again echoing utilities’ predictions of potential grid woe if power plants lose a deadline extension for closing some coal ash dumps. A bid by environmental groups to erase the extension for dealing with leaking unlined storage ponds ‘would mandate that coal-fired power plants across the country alter complex waste disposal operations overnight,’ EPA attorneys told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a submission today in a lawsuit brought by a half-dozen environmental groups. ‘In simple terms, it would require the impossible,’ they added, ‘ ... and may compromise the reliability of the electric grid on which the public depends.’ Last week, utilities made a similar argument in defense of the administration’s 2018 decision to give power producers until late 2020 to begin closing or retrofitting unlined ponds that cause violations of groundwater protection standards. Under the original rules, companies had six months; plant operators say a tighter schedule would cause ‘regulatory chaos’ because they use the ponds to get rid of other liquid wastes and need more time to find alternatives.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (-)]

EPA Withdraws Pesticide Rollback Rules, Clearing Path For PRIA Renewal. According to Inside EPA, “EPA has withdrawn from White House review rollbacks of Obama-era pesticide farmworker protection rules, part of a deal with Democratic senators to win confirmation for the Trump administration’s new toxics chief and clear the way for Congress to renew EPA’s authority to collect industry fees to support timely pesticide reviews. According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), EPA Jan. 28 withdrew two Trump administration proposals that would have eliminated a series of protections that the Obama administration had added to EPA’s farmworker protection standards (WPS) and pesticide applicator certification and training program, including a mandatory minimum age of 18 for pesticide handlers. The withdrawal complies with commitments that acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler made in a recent letter to Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, to win confirmation for Alexandra Dunn to lead the agency’s toxics office.” [Inside EPA, 1/29/19 (=)]

EPA Faces New Backlog Of Chemical Applications After Shutdown Ends. According to Inside EPA, “EPA’s chemical office staff are returning to work following the weeks-long government shutdown facing a new backlog of applications for new chemical approvals and limited time to meet statutory deadlines for assessing risks of existing chemicals, sources say. While EPA was shuttered, just 22 of the 981 staff working in the agency’s toxics office have been deemed essential and working since December, acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee during his Jan. 16 confirmation hearing. With few staff available to process applications and take other steps, some industry attorneys advised their clients to refrain from submitting new chemical applications for agency consideration. Though EPA’s automated system for accepting pre-manufacture notice (PMN) applications remained open during the shutdown, the prospect remains that the agency may face another rush of PMN applications under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), which oversees EPA’s TSCA programs, had already been struggling to address delays in the PMN program resulting from its efforts to interpret and implement the changes in the reformed statute.” [Inside EPA, 1/29/19 (=)]

EPA's Draft PV29 Analysis Raises Legal Test Over TSCA Data Standards. According to Inside EPA, “Environmentalists and former EPA staff are raising multiple concerns that the agency’s recently released draft assessment of pigment violet 29 (PV29), the first such assessment released since Congress reformed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), violates that statute, signaling they plan to sue if the agency does not change it. The draft PV29 assessment falls ‘woefully short’ of meeting the expectations and requirements lawmakers included in the new law, environmentalists charge in comments submitted earlier this month. The groups urge EPA to withdraw the draft assessment, acknowledge that more information is needed to adequately assess PV29’s toxicity and use its expanded test order authorities to generate more information about the chemical. Chemical and pigment industry groups, however, largely commend EPA’s approach in their comments, while suggesting some improvements for the final assessment. ‘Compared to what we’ve been doing with Canada for the past 15 years, I thought the work product produced by EPA is a damn good work product and it does reflect what the regulation requires,’ David Wawer, executive director of the Color Pigments Manufacturers Association, Inc. (CPMA), tells Inside EPA.” [Inside EPA, 1/29/19 (=)]

EPA Sets Ambitious 2019 Deregulatory Agenda But Shutdown Spurs Doubts. According to Inside EPA, “EPA’s just-released ‘year in review’ report for fiscal year 2018 pledges an ambitious policy agenda that includes major efforts to undo or overhaul Obama-era regulations, but current and former agency staffers say the recent government shutdown creates significant doubts over whether EPA can keep its agenda on track. The 44-page summary of EPA’s work in the past calendar year -- released Jan. 28 as its first prominent announcement since the shutdown ended Jan. 25 -- combines new announcements, such as more detailed enforcement statistics than the agency has previously released, with summaries of the past year’s regulatory proposals and other actions to tout the Trump EPA’s record on loosening Obama-era rules while implementing an its own policy priorities. ‘Over the past year, the Trump Administration has continued to deliver on its promises to the American public. Not only are the economic prospects of Americans brighter and improving by the day, but so are environmental and public health conditions. Under President Trump, America is on a path to a stronger, safer, and cleaner future. This report highlights key steps we have taken to achieve this goal and to protect the environment and public health,’ reads acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s introduction to the report.” [Inside EPA, 1/29/19 (=)]

Questions Resurface About Industry Influence On PFAS Study. According to E&E News, “House Energy and Commerce Democratic leaders yesterday reupped their request to EPA acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler for information related to possible industry involvement in the suppression of a study focused on PFAS. ‘We are deeply concerned that these actions appear to indicate that politics, and potentially industry interests, and being placed before public health, particularly in light of reports that EPA has decided to not set a drinking water limit for several toxic chemicals,’ they said in a letter sent yesterday. Politico reported this week that EPA will not set a legal limit for two PFAS — PFOA and PFOS — in drinking water, sparking outrage from environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been linked to cancer, liver problems and birth defects. EPA Office of Water Assistant Administrator David Ross said the PFAS management plan had not been finalized, and ‘any information that speculates what is included in the plan is premature.’” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

EPA Abandons Plans to Roll Back Farmworker Pesticide Protections. According to Bloomberg, “EPA efforts to weaken Obama-era rules protecting farmworkers from pesticide exposure are being abandoned, fulfilling a deal that Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler made with Democratic senators to move along EPA nominations. Under the deal between Wheeler and the senators, Wheeler agreed to rescind the proposed changes that his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, had pursued. The changes were part of a list of policy demands that Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s ranking Democrat, made in exchange for lifting holds on the confirmation of two EPA political nominees. EPA recently asked the Office of Management and Budget to withdraw the proposed changes to the Worker Protection Standard (RIN:2070-AK43) and Certification of Pesticide Applicators Rule (RIN:2070-AK37).” [Bloomberg, 1/29/19 (=)]

Formaldehyde Makers Prepare In Case EPA Reviews The Chemical. According to Bloomberg, “Formaldehyde producers are being invited by the American Chemistry Council to discuss on Feb. 20 the possibility that the EPA may select that chemical to review this year. ‘Formaldehyde is a prime candidate for selection by EPA and the evaluation could have significant cost and regulatory implications to manufacturers, importers and users of formaldehyde,’ the chemistry council said in a Jan. 29 announcement. The council is the largest single voice representing U.S. chemical manufacturers. The Environmental Protection Agency’s is required under the 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act amendments to review at least 40 chemicals this year and decide which 20 are high priorities for risk evaluation. That means this year’s review could lead to closer scrutiny of the chemical, which the Department of Health and Human Services has classified as a known human carcinogen. Formaldehyde is used to make materials used in many different industries including transportation, health care, and building and construction.” [Bloomberg, 1/29/19 (=)]

Wheeler

Wheeler Responds To Dozens Of Inquiries From Senators. According to E&E News, “Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has answered dozens of questions from senators as part of his confirmation process to lead the agency. Wheeler, whom President Trump formally nominated to lead EPA earlier this month, provided written responses obtained by E&E News to queries on several matters before the agency, including air and water pollution rules, clean car standards, chemicals, the Superfund program, and biofuels. Wheeler’s Jan. 16 confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee sparked these ‘questions for the record.’ Wheeler also answered a number of questions about how the partial government shutdown affected EPA. The agency used carryover funds to stay open for the first week of the funding lapse but decided to close its doors after that. Roughly 13,000 EPA employees furloughed during the shutdown returned to work this week once lawmakers approved new government funding. Some of those questions focused on Wheeler’s preparation for his hearing, which occurred during the shutdown. The acting EPA chief said the number of staff needed to fulfill the agency’s constitutional duties increased in EPA’s latest shutdown plan to 28 employees to ‘directly support’ preparing for the hearing. Wheeler also said no contractors performed work related to his nomination during the shutdown.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (=)]

Dems Press Wheeler On Shutdown And Public Health. According to E&E News, “Top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are fretting that the partial government shutdown hampered EPA’s ability to protect public health and the environment. In a letter today to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the lawmakers wrote that they are ‘deeply concerned about the impacts of the recent government shutdown on public health, the protection of our environment, and our national, regional, and local economies.’ In particular, the lawmakers expressed concern that the shutdown may have crippled EPA’s activities related to the Clean Water Act and Superfund, including the approval of permits, the allocation of grants and the inspection of contaminated sites. The shutdown hamstrung EPA’s massive grant machine, which allocates more than $4 million each year to tribes, states, local governments and outside organizations (Greenwire, Jan. 28). Signing the missive were Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the T&I Committee, and Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (+)]

White House

NOAA Claps Back At Trump And His Climate Change Doubts. According to Huffington Post, “As the polar vortex brought record-breaking cold temperatures to the Midwest, President Donald Trump tweeted on Monday. The tweet prompted a number of retorts, many of which suggested that the president educate himself about the difference between climate and weather: One of the more surprising responses came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the government agency that deals with the conditions of the oceans, major waterways and the atmosphere. The National Weather Service is part of NOAA. NOAA tweeted a simple cartoon that explained how the warming of the oceans could lead to bigger snowfalls in the winter. And it included a link to an article on climate.gov with the headline ‘Are record snowstorms proof that global warming isn’t happening?’” [Huffington Post, 1/30/19 (=)]

As Trump Fibs, Scientists Consider Correcting The Record. According to E&E News, “President Trump has mocked and dismissed climate science. Now researchers seem increasingly inclined to correct the record. NOAA, the federal agency that studies the Earth, tweeted what appeared to be a rebuttal to Trump’s assertion Monday night that cold weather disproves long-term warming on a planet that’s seen average global temperatures rise about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. ‘Not only are severe snowstorms possible in a warming climate, they may even be more likely,’ NOAA officials wrote in a tweet that appeared to challenge the nation’s top executive. It came hours after Trump commented on the plummeting temperatures in the middle of the country. ‘In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Warming? Please come back fast, we need you!’ Trump tweeted Monday. Federal agencies rarely correct the president on climate science, and it wasn’t clear whether NOAA officials were directly responding to Trump’s tweet. Yet researchers are increasingly concerned about the dissemination of false statements related to rising temperatures.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

Trump Always Dismisses Climate Change When It’s Cold. Not So Fast, Experts Say. According to the Washington Post, “In Wisconsin, the governor has declared a state of emergency, and many school districts called off classes ahead of a bone-chilling week of weather. The looming deep freeze led to federal court closures in Chicago and shut down the Lincoln Park Zoo — though polar bears will still be allowed outside. Flights were grounded. Amtrak canceled trains running in parts of the Midwest. Utility companies scrambled 24-hour response teams, because as one executive told The Post, ‘In these kinds of events, people just cannot be out of power.’ As millions of people across the nation braced for a possibly life-threatening cold snap, President Trump late Monday used the opportunity to mock the idea that climate change is actually happening, while misspelling the word ‘warming.’ ‘In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder,’ Trump tweeted. ‘People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!’” [Washington Post, 1/30/19 (+)]

As Arctic Chill Hits US, Trump Again Casts Doubt On Climate Change. According to Voice Of America, “A Tuesday tweet from a U.S. government scientific agency seems relatively innocuous: ‘Winter storms do not prove global warming is not happening.’ The message from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is devoted to climate science and information, includes a link citing research that severe snowstorms may be even more likely in a warming global climate because higher ocean temperatures appear to create more moisture. Many are viewing Tuesday’s post as a rebuttal to President Trump’s tweet late Monday noting an approaching deep freeze for the American Midwest and asking ‘What the hell is going on with Global Waming (sic). Please come back fast, we need you.’ A polar vortex has returned this week to the Midwest bringing extremely low temperatures that could break records. NOAA denies any connection between the president’s comment and its social media posting. ‘We routinely put this story out at these times,’ the agency said in a statement. ‘Our scientists weren’t responding to a tweet.’” [Voice Of America, 1/29/19 (=)]

Federal Agency After Trump Tweet: Winter Storms Don’t Disprove Climate Change. According to The Hill, “A federal agency tweeted Tuesday that winter storms don’t disprove climate change, hours after President Trump seemed to imply the opposite in a tweet. ‘Winter storms don’t prove that global warming isn’t happening,’ the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tweeted from its main climate change-related account, which is associated with its Climate.gov website. The tweet had a cartoon-like drawing and linked to a 2015 post on NOAA’s website explaining that even with climate change, certain locations will continue to experience ‘winters that are unusually cold and snowy.’ Monday night, Trump tweeted about the extreme, historic cold blast coming into the Midwest and other parts of the nation. ‘What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sic]? Please come back fast, we need you!’ the president joked. Trump has often mocked global warming when temperatures turn frigid, including in a tweet earlier this month, writing of another storm, ‘Wouldn’t be bad to have a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now!’” [The Hill, 1/29/19 (=)]

National

Congress

Oversight Adds Progressive Firebrands To Environment Subpanel. According to Politico, “The House Oversight Committee today formally added a pair of high-profile freshmen — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — to its Environment Subcommittee. In addition, the panel added Democratic Reps. Katie Hill (Calif.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Jackie Speier(Calif.) and Jimmy Gomez (Calif.) to the Environment subpanel, which will be chaired by freshman Rep. Harley Rouda (Calif.). The Republicans on the panel will be Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Bob Gibbs (Ohio), Clay Higgins (La.) and Kelly Armstrong (N.D.). The ranking member will be Rep. James Comer (Ky.). Potential areas of interest for the subcommittee could include scandals tied to former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the Flint drinking water crisis and the administration’s response to hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.” [Politico, 1/29/19 (=)]

Senate Democrats Press For Fed To Assess Climate Threats. According to Politico, “Twenty Democratic senators — including several presidential hopefuls and likely candidates — are pressing the Federal Reserve and financial regulators to home in on the risks climate change poses to the financial system and to ensure it can absorb shocks from extreme weather events and long-term effects. Led by Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii), the letters signed by Democrats including Sens. Elizabeth Warren(Mass.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Kamala Harris (Calif.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) ask whether regulators were weighing climate risks, what tools they use and whether they’ve collaborated with other countries. ‘Your agencies are responsible for protecting the stability of our financial system and supervising U.S. financial systems. However, we have seen no evidence that your agencies have seriously considered the financial risks of climate change or incorporated those risks into your supervision of financial institutions,’ the senators said in letters dated Jan. 25 sent to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Jelena McWilliams.” [Politico, 1/29/19 (=)]

Senate Dems Reintroduce Bill Targeting Special Hires. According to E&E News, “Senate Democrats have offered legislation again that would shed light on hires of political appointees at EPA. Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and his aides’ use of a special hiring authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to bring on new officials as well as give substantial pay raises attracted controversy last year and is still subject to an internal review at the agency. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced S. 233, the ‘EPA Special Hiring Authority Transparency Act,’ which would require the agency to notify Congress of any hires under the authority within 30 days. Also under the bill, EPA would have to disclose the name, title, salary and justification for why that hire was made to carry out the Safe Drinking Water Act. The special hires are known as ‘administratively determined,’ or AD, positions at the agency.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (=)]

Democrats Name Natural Resources Subcomittee Chairs. According to Politico, “The House Natural Resources Committee today named subcommittee chairs and reshuffled their jurisdictions. The vice chair of the full committee will be Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.). Haaland will also chair the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, formerly the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) will chair the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, while Rep. T.J. Cox (D-Calif.) will lead the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee. Both of those subcommittees have preserved their jurisdictions. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) will chair the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, formerly Water, Power and Oceans. Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) changed the former subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs to the Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples, to be led by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), according to Monica Sanchez, the committee’s deputy communications director. The full committee will take over the insular affairs portfolio, which includes Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Del. Gregorio Kilili Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands) will be the vice chair for Insular Affairs.” [Politico, 1/29/19 (=)]

Panel Announces New Subcommittee Leaders. According to E&E News, “House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today announced his subcommittee chairmen, a mix of veteran lawmakers and freshmen. New Mexico Democrat Deb Haaland, a freshman, will head the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee, formerly called the Federal Lands Subcommittee, in addition to vice chairing the full panel, Grijalva said. The dean of the House, Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young, will be ranking member of that subcommittee, according to Austin Hacker, deputy press secretary for the Republicans on the committee. Another first-term congressman, California’s T.J. Cox, will lead the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, which is poised to play a prominent role given Democrats’ emphasis on digging into Interior’s policies and decisions over the last two years. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) will be ranking member.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (=)]

Groups Face Challenges In Crafting 'Green New Deal' Climate Plan Details. According to Inside EPA, “Increased debate over a ‘Green New Deal’ to tackle climate change is posing various challenges to upstart and established environmental groups as they seek to flesh out the plan’s policy specifics, even as observers credit the proposal with elevating the status of climate policy in the run-up to the 2020 elections. The issue is highlighting persistent splits within the environmental movement over which energy sources are ‘clean‘ and thus deserve federal support, as well as whether policymakers should rely on carbon pricing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the emerging splits, a key progressive lawmaker and aligned groups are declining to rule out the idea of a carbon tax, even though some hard-left groups oppose ‘market mechanisms’ for addressing climate change. Lawmakers are not expected to unveil major climate legislation until several more months -- or even later -- with the new Democratic House majority focused in the short-term on aggressive oversight of Trump administration climate policy rollbacks and possible bipartisan deals on issues such as grid modernization and energy efficiency.” [Inside EPA, 1/29/19 (=)]

Opposition To Fossil Fuel Cash Splits Democrats. According to E&E News, “Congressional Democrats agree on the need to combat climate change but are divided on whether to swear off money from companies that critics say profit by making the problem worse. ‘I keep trying to say to people: It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person and it doesn’t affect your vote,’ said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), referring to politicians who take money tied to fossil fuels. Jayapal, an increasingly prominent progressive, tells colleagues who take such donations: ‘It’s still on the table as a reason for people to mistrust you.’ Most Democratic members of the House and Senate, however, appear willing to take their chances, according to data and interviews. They have largely stayed away from an environmentalist-backed pledge ‘to not take contributions from the oil, gas, and coal industry and instead prioritize the health of our families, climate, and democracy over fossil fuel industry profits.’” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

17 Members Who Will Help Shape Energy, Green Policies. According to E&E News, “A centrist Texas Democrat and a onetime progressive activist against offshore drilling both landed on the Energy and Commerce Committee, while a Republican with ties to the Koch brothers gained a prized slot on Ways and Means. These are just a few of the changes taking place as the new Congress organizes. With 435 members and 21 permanent committees in the House to fill, it’s always a political jigsaw puzzle for party leaders at the start of a new Congress to match members’ political strengths and legislative interests with the right assignments. Here’s a look at 17 members and their new assignments, men and women who are likely to play key roles shaping the energy and environmental direction of the 116th Congress.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

Ways And Means Eyes Climate Hearings. According to E&E News, “House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) is planning hearings on energy and climate, as Democrats begin to sink their teeth into the new Congress after the shutdown. That could include consideration of a carbon pricing bill, Neal said. ‘We’re going to hold some hearings on energy as we move along here, and on that basis, that would be, I suppose, one of the conversations that we would have,’ Neal told reporters yesterday. Ways and Means didn’t often touch on energy issues under Republican control, but Democrats both off and on the tax-writing panel see it as an important venue for policies to reduce emissions. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), for example, successfully sought a seat on the committee specifically to work on carbon pricing legislation. And energy and electric vehicle tax credits also fall within its jurisdiction. Among the first bills introduced in the 116th Congress is the bipartisan ‘Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act,’ co-sponsored by several Democrats, including Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), as well as Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.).” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

House Democrat Adds Chemical Contamination To Flint Water Work. According to Bloomberg, “Three years ago, the simmering water crisis in Flint, Mich., boiled over onto the national stage, putting Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) front and center. He spoke frequently on the public health disaster involving lead in the city’s water supply. Today, Kildee, 60, is raising the alarm on another chemical in drinking water. He is one of the leaders of a bipartisan task force of lawmakers seeking to bring attention to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. The chemicals have been found in groundwater supplies around the country, especially around military installations. ‘We’re kind of at the front end of what we think is going to be a really big story for a really long time,’ Kildee told Bloomberg Environment. While lead is a long-standing challenge for water utilities, PFAS are a relatively new and little-understood class of chemicals.” [Bloomberg, 1/29/19 (=)]

Election 2020

Bloomberg Issues Warning On 'Green New Deal'. According to E&E News, “Billionaire entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg praised the concept of the ‘Green New Deal’ yesterday but warned Democrats not to come up with ‘pie in the sky’ details. Speaking in New Hampshire, the former New York mayor — who is considering a run for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination — said it has become ‘fashionable’ to support the ‘Green New Deal,’ but it’s time to ‘put meat on the bone’ and outline exactly what the term means. . ‘I believe that that plan should be bold and ambitious and most importantly achievable,’ Bloomberg said during a speech at St. Anselm College, according to a Facebook video of the speech posted by Fox News. ‘I’m a little bit tired of listening to things that are pie in the sky that we are never going to pass, never going to afford. I think it’s just disingenuous to promote those things. You’ve got to do something that’s practical,’ Bloomberg said. He said he was putting together his own ‘Green New Deal’ that would outline a ‘major and comprehensive investment’ for job and economic growth in coal regions. The plan also would push for state and local governments to ‘take more action,’ he said.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

National Security

Top Intelligence Official Issues Warning On Climate Change. According to E&E News, “The nation’s top intelligence official told the Senate yesterday that global warming looms large as a national security threat — even as President Trump continues to dismiss mainstream climate science. The sobering report from Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats came in the form of prepared remarks that Coats submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The panel had summoned the heads of the CIA, the National Security Agency and other related agencies for an hourslong hearing on global security threats. Much of the discussion focused on worries such as Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections and China’s pursuit of American intellectual property. Climate change was largely overlooked, however, in spite of its mention in Coats’ written report. The 42-page analysis, which contains the conclusions of the intelligence community, warned of widespread consequences in the face of global warming, including new risks for infectious diseases and additional, international tension over resources such as energy and water.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

Other Agencies

FERC Rejects Grid Group's Press Ban. According to E&E News, “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday unanimously rejected a New England power grid group’s request to codify a ban on journalists attending its meetings. FERC nixed a request from the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), an association made up of nearly 500 electric market participants from the six states. The group last year filed a proposal asking the agency to codify a ban on journalists attending its meetings. Meetings are the primary method for people to give formal feedback to regional grid operator ISO New England. FERC found that NEPOOL had not shown its proposal was ‘just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential’ and that because some members of the press would otherwise be eligible for NEPOOL membership as end-use participants, the prohibition ‘unjustly denies them the ability to vote on NEPOOL matters despite their stake in the outcome.’ FERC also reiterated that it has jurisdiction over regional transmission organization (RTO) stakeholder processes in its decision. NEPOOL’s central claim was that having reporters participate would harm the organization’s ‘ability to continue to foster candid discussions and negotiations in stakeholder meetings.’” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

International Agreements and Meetings

Teen Activist’s Strong Words For World Leaders At Davos. According to The Guardian, “Jeremy Corbyn considered it wasting time at a ‘billionaires’ jamboree’, referring to a quarter of the cabinet flying to Davos in the middle of the Brexit impasse (The week that was, Environment, 26 January). Greta Thunberg (Mountain mover, 26 January) clearly didn’t think it was a waste of time. Taking 32 hours to get there by train, the 16-year-old activist practised what she preaches. What could be more important than the future of our planet? As she said in her speech: ‘Either we choose to go on as a civilisation or we don’t.’ Our leaders apparently don’t: private jets, Davos ‘gridlocked with limos’ (What we learned at Davos, 26 January). Not a mention anywhere of a crisis, or climate emergency. But if we don’t take this desperate situation seriously, if we don’t act ‘as if our house is on fire‘ (Thunberg), Brexit will not matter in the least – Theresa May, Corbyn and thousands of other world leaders will have wasted their time. There won’t be a future.” [The Guardian, 1/29/19 (=)]

Industry and Business

PG&E’s Bankruptcy Filing Creates ‘A Real Mess’ For Rival Interests. According to the New York Times, “Pacific Gas and Electric’s bankruptcy filing on Tuesday, to deal with billions of dollars in wildfire liability, set off a scramble by the company, investors and elected leaders in California to protect themselves and influence what happens next. The corporate reorganization is shaping up to be one of the most complicated and difficult in recent years. In addition to traditional legal tussles between the company and its creditors and suppliers, the bankruptcy court will contend with demands by California officials and victims to force PG&E to pay damage claims estimated at tens of billions of dollars for wildfires started by its equipment. State leaders and residents are also likely to seek to thwart any effort by the utility to raise electricity rates. Coming up with a bankruptcy plan for PG&E, which is California’s largest utility and serves 16 million people, will amount to solving an intricate puzzle. Proposals to raise rates to pay creditors will inflame residents and lawmakers. And seeking to reduce what the utility pays for solar power could hurt renewable-energy companies and jeopardize California’s climate-change goals.” [New York Times, 1/29/19 (=)]

Exxon OK's Project To Nearly Double Size Of Texas Refinery: Sources. According to E&E News, “Exxon Mobil Corp has given final approval to an expansion that would nearly double the size of its 365,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Beaumont, Texas, refinery, making it the largest in the United States, said two people familiar with the company’s plans. The largest U.S. oil producer, which has been considering a third processing unit at the plant since at least 2014, has authorized financing for equipment needed to convert shale crude from its West Texas oilfields into precursors for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products. The authorization is the final step to begin building a third crude distillation unit (CDU) that would process between 250,000 and 350,000 bpd of light crude at the refinery located 87 miles (140 km) east of Houston. With a 250,000 bpd CDU, the plant’s total capacity would reach 615,644 bpd, placing it ahead of the nation’s largest, Motiva Enterprises’ 603,000 bpd refinery, in nearby Port Arthur, Texas. ‘It has been approved,’ said one of the people familiar with the refinery expansion. Employees have been asked to keep the approval confidential, said the person, who could not be identified because of the restrictions.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

PG&E Files For Bankruptcy With More Than $50 Billion In Debt. According to Bloomberg, “A series of devastating wildfires that killed more than 100 people and scorched hundreds of thousands of acres in California over the course of two years just brought one of America’s largest utilities to its knees. PG&E Corp. and its Pacific Gas & Electric Co. utility filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in San Francisco as investigators probe whether its equipment ignited the deadliest fire in state history. The San Francisco-based company listed $51.7 billion in total debts and $71.4 billion in assets. A Chapter 11 filing allows a company to keep operating while it works out a plan to turn the business around and pay off creditors. California’s wildfires have in the past saddled utilities with millions of dollars in damages, but never have the blazes exacted such a massive financial toll from a company—creating one of the country’s largest utility bankruptcies of all time. Since November’s Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise, PG&E has seen about three-fourths of its market value wiped out, its chief executive officer leave, its bonds plunge to junk status, and estimates of its fire liabilities swell to more than $30 billion.” [Bloomberg, 1/29/19 (=)]

Utility Giant PG&E Files For Bankruptcy After Wildfires. According to The Hill, “PG&E Corp., the nation’s largest electric utility, filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in an attempt to protect itself from the liabilities it faces for its role in recent California wildfires. The filing was expected since PG&E was obligated earlier this year to warn California that it planned to file under Chapter 11 of the United States code. PG&E listed assets of $71.39 billion and liabilities of $51.69 billion in a filing in the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. The company, whose main unit is Pacific Gas and Electric Co., faces around $30 billion in liabilities for numerous fires that its equipment like transformers and electrical cables caused since 2017, including the deadly Camp Fire and others. Under California law, even if the utility properly maintained its equipment, it can be held liable for fires the equipment causes.” [The Hill, 1/29/19 (=)]

Research and Analysis

Super-Fast Flights To Cause More Pollution — Study. According to E&E News, “The expected rise of super-fast air travel could lead to dramatic increases in planet-warming pollution, a new study warns. If three companies forge ahead with plans to introduce thousands of supersonic flights annually, an additional 96 million metric tons of carbon dioxide would enter the atmosphere each year, according to the study. That’s equivalent to the combined emissions of American, Delta and Southwest airlines in 2017. And over the course of their 25-year life span, the aircraft would emit an additional 1.6 to 2.4 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide, according to the findings released today by the International Council on Clean Transportation. That’s equivalent to one-fifth of the proportional carbon budget afforded to international aviation in a scenario where global temperature rise is capped at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Supersonic aircraft can travel faster than the speed of sound, producing a loud noise known as a sonic boom. The last supersonic commercial flight occurred in 2003, when British Airways ended service of the Concorde.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

Climate Change Could Hurt Babies' Hearts, Study Says. According to CNN, “Heat and pregnancy do not mix. High temps don’t just make a pregnant woman uncomfortable, the heat can actually hurt the health of her baby -- and with climate change, this will probably become a bigger problem. A study in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Heart Association found that a larger number of babies will probably be born with congenital heart defects between 2025 and 2035 due to their mothers’ exposure to higher temperatures, triggered by climate change, while pregnant. This especially holds true for moms who were pregnant through spring or summer. Climate change could result in as many as 7,000 additional cases of congenital heart defects in the United States over an 11-year period, according to the study. The Midwest will probably see the biggest percent increase, followed by the South and Northeast regions of the United States. Earlier research found that climate change could ‘halt and reverse’ progress made in human health over the past century, but there’s more limited research on theimpact that has on pregnancy, the authors said. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defects and can hurt a baby’s overall health and potentially impact how their body works or develops.” [CNN, 1/30/19 (=)]

Climate Change Likely To Hit Red States Hardest. According to The Hill, “A changing climate poses the greatest economic risks to the red states where voters and the politicians they elect are the least likely to believe in the threat of a warming world, according to a new report. The report, from the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, found states like Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas face potentially catastrophic losses from hotter summers and stronger storms through the end of the century. At the same time, longer summers — and even more carbon in the atmosphere — are likely to lead to higher crop yields in parts of the Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest. The costs likely to be borne by those cities and regions in the reddest states will come from a variety of factors. Cities in Florida and along the Atlantic Coast will bear large costs from rising sea levels, which are already leading to regular flooding in cities like Miami and Charleston.” [The Hill, 1/29/19 (=)]

Courts and Legal

Trump Lawyers Defend Obama EPA Involvement In Mich. Permits. According to E&E News, “The Trump administration is pushing back on claims that Obama-era EPA officials overstepped when they got involved in wetlands permitting in Michigan. In a brief submitted yesterday, Solicitor General Noel Francisco urged the Supreme Court to turn down a challenge to EPA’s involvement in a local agency’s effort to build a road through undeveloped land in the state’s Upper Peninsula. Though the conservative-leaning Pacific Legal Foundation frames the case as an example of federal overreach, Trump officials are siding with their predecessors. And they’re urging the justices to reject an argument that two recent Clean Water Act rulings from the high court leave EPA on the hook for more litigation. The dispute began in 2011 when the Marquette County Road Commission sought a permit to fill 25 acres of wetlands alongside a proposed road construction project that would link a local nickel and copper mine to its processing facility.” [E&E News, 1/29/19 (=)]

EPA Opposes High Court Review Of CWA Section 404 Permit 'Objections'. According to Inside EPA, “EPA is urging the Supreme Court to deny a Michigan road commission’s petition seeking judicial review of federal ‘objections’ to state-crafted Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404 permit proposals, arguing even when the agency uses its power to move authority over a permit away from state regulators it is not ‘final agency action’ subject to litigation. The Jan. 28 petition response in Marquette County Road Commission v. EPA, et al., from the agency says its ability to block states from issuing section 404 dredge-and-fill permits that it deems too lenient is merely part of the permitting process set out in the water law and not ‘tyranny’ requiring judicial intervention as Marquette’s allies have claimed in support of its petition for certiorari. ‘To be sure, EPA’s objections may have had the practical effect of making the overall Section 404 permitting process (if petitioner had continued to pursue it) more protracted than it otherwise would have been. . . . At most, however, EPA’s objections required petitioner to continue with a permitting process that petitioner was obligated to invoke regardless of EPA’s objections -- a requirement ‘different in kind and legal effect from the burdens attending what heretofore has been considered to be final agency action,’’ the government says.” [Inside EPA, 1/29/19 (=)]

Advocates Push To Keep Calif. Climate Case In State Court. According to E&E News, “Environmentalists, climate scientists, state and local government groups, and a Democratic senator came out in support yesterday of California cities and counties seeking to hold oil companies accountable for the impacts of climate change. The diverse group flooded the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with pleas to uphold a lower court’s ruling that lawsuits against big oil firms by Imperial Beach, San Mateo County and other municipalities belong in state court, not federal court. ‘States have a concrete interest in the ability of state courts to adjudicate climate change-related claims brought by our political subdivisions who are impacted by the conduct of fossil fuel producers and sellers,’ a coalition of Democratic-led states told the 9th Circuit yesterday. Environmental groups made similar arguments in their own filings last night, and climate scientists chimed in to support California local governments’ effort to tie climate change impacts to fossil fuel use. The flurry of filings is the latest stage of a carefully orchestrated effort by local governments in California and elsewhere to use state law to collect damages from companies producing and marketing fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases when burned.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

Extreme Weather

Midwest Girds For Deepest Freeze In Decades. According to E&E News, “Regional grid operators and power plant owners are bracing for a polar vortex driving severe subfreezing temperatures not seen for a generation across one-third of the nation today and tomorrow. The event will be a test of the bulk power system’s resilience, and especially the ability of coal, natural gas and wind generation to deliver power when called upon. Forecasts of temperatures across the region, such as minus 23 degrees Fahrenheit for Chicago, are far more extreme than those experienced during the polar vortex of January 2014, when the grid bent but did not break. ‘Back-to-back cold fronts will sweep through much of the Midwest, bringing with them some of the coldest air in recent memory,’ the nation’s largest grid operator, PJM Interconnection, said Monday. ‘The fronts will then spread east for the second part of the week.’ The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, whose territory is the bull’s-eye of the extreme cold, issued a cold weather alert for its North and Central regions to its generation-owning members. And at the Southwest Power Pool, ‘out of caution, we have issued our members and market participants a cold-weather alert lasting through Friday, Feb. 1,’ said spokesman Derek Wingfield.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

Better Get Used To Polar Vortex Outbreaks. According to E&E News, “It might seem counterintuitive, but the dreaded polar vortex is bringing its icy grip to parts of the U.S. thanks to a sudden blast of warm air in the Arctic. Get used to it. The polar vortex has been wandering more often in recent years. It all started with misplaced Moroccan heat. Last month, the normally super chilly air temperatures 20 miles above the North Pole rapidly rose by about 125 degrees Fahrenheit, thanks to air flowing in from the south. It’s called ‘sudden stratospheric warming.’ That warmth split the polar vortex, leaving the pieces to wander, said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric and Environmental Research, a commercial firm outside Boston. ‘Where the polar vortex goes, so goes the cold air,’ Cohen said. By this morning, one of those pieces will be over the Lower 48 for the first time in years. The forecast calls for a low of minus 21 degrees in Chicago and wind chills flirting with minus 65 degrees in parts of Minnesota, according to the National Weather Service. The unusual cold could stick around another eight weeks, Cohen said.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

U.S. Midwest Freezes, Australia Burns: This Is The Age Of Weather Extremes. According to the New York Times, “In Chicago, officials warned about the risk of almost instant frostbite on what could be the city’s coldest day ever. Warming centers opened around the Midwest. And schools and universities closed throughout the region as rare polar winds streamed down from the Arctic. At the same time, on the other side of the planet, wildfires raged in Australia’s record-breaking heat. Soaring air-conditioner use overloaded electrical grids and caused widespread power failures. The authorities slowed and canceled trams to save power. Labor leaderscalled for laws that would require businesses to close when temperatures reached hazardous levels: nearly 116 degrees Fahrenheit, as was the case last week in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. This is weather in the age of extremes. It comes on top of multiple extremes, all kinds, in all kinds of places. ‘When something happens — whether it’s a cold snap, a wildfire, a hurricane, any of those things — we need to think beyond what we have seen in the past and assume there’s a high probability that it will be worse than anything we’ve ever seen,’ said Crystal A. Kolden, an associate professor at the University of Idaho, who specializes in wildfires and who is currently working in Tasmania during one of the state’s worst fire seasons.” [New York Times, 1/29/19 (+)]

Opinion Pieces

Opinion: Look At This Embarrassing F*cking Moron. According to Esquire, “Among the many joys of the Trump Era is the knowledge that if it is cold somewhere, odds are the President of the United States will crow that it’s proof climate change is not real. Yes, the world’s most powerful man has, over and over again, treated the fact that it’s cold outside as evidence that the idea the planet is getting warmer is not the result of decades of work by hundreds of scientists across dozens of countries, but is in fact a hoax cooked up by the Chinese. Like the views of Senator James Inhofe, who once threw a snowball on the floor of the Senate to disprove a global historical phenomenon, this operates on the premise that climate scientists say it will never again be winter. A dangerous cold front is sweeping the midwest this week, so it was time for another Official Message from the President uniquely calibrated to once again make the whole world dumber. This man is allergic to books. He is so deeply incurious about the world you wonder how he’s learned to navigate outside Mar-a-Lago or his golden apartment in the sky. He is, quite simply, the Dumbest Man Available, and we made him president.” [Esquire, 1/29/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: Climate Change, Not Border Security, Is The Real National Emergency. According to The Intercept, “The shutdown might be over for now, but President Donald Trump’s threat to declare a national emergency still looms. The continuing resolution passed Friday afternoon does not contain funding for a border wall, and the president has suggested that if Congress doesn’t compromise on a funding plan within three weeks, he may still proclaim a national emergency at the border. When Trump first threatened to use emergency powers to unlock $5.7 billion for his $20 billion border wall project, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. came out strongly against it — but not for humanitarian reasons or because he is concerned about an unmistakable creep toward authoritarianism. Rather, Rubio worried that normalizing the call for a state of emergency might make it easier for politicians to act on a genuine existential threat: ‘If today, the national emergency is border security,’ said Rubio, ‘tomorrow, the national emergency might be climate change.’ Rubio is right to worry. Climate change is a legitimate emergency, unlike Trump’s border ‘crisis,’ which is a fabrication sewn of foam-mouthed racism and vain partisan panic.” [The Intercept, 1/28/19 (+)]

Editorial: Our View: Climate Change Calls For Immediate Action On The Part Of Maine Officials. According to the Editorial Board of the Portland Press-Herald, “Back in 2010, the state Department of Environmental Protection completed a report on the kind of risks Maine faced as a result of climate change. Although it contained 60 recommendations, it was not a climate response plan. It was more like directions on how to make a plan – but that never happened. Eight years of Paul LePage’s stewardship of Maine government meant there was no response contemplated to the predictable results of a warming ocean and rising sea levels, which include flooding, severe storms and disruption of the forestry and fishing industries. We are already starting to see the result of the policy of climate denial. Columbia University researchers have used computer modeling to measure the potential value lost to coastal properties with anticipated sea level rise. Not surprisingly Maine, with its long coastline developed with expensive homes and resorts, is expected to be one of the biggest losers. The study has a public database, Floodiq, where satellite images are overlaid with flood maps, assessing the potential impact on individual properties.” [Portland Press Herald, 1/28/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: The Very High Costs Of Climate Risk. According to the New York Times, “Before the catastrophic Camp Fire destroyed Paradise, Calif., the Pacific Gas and Electric Company was worth more than $25 billion. Now its C.E.O. has stepped down and the company, which provides natural gas and electricity to 16 million people in California, has filed for bankruptcy as it confronts billions of dollars in potential liability claims following recent wildfires. It is perhaps not the first bankruptcy in which the changing climate played a role, but it is almost certainly the largest. And no doubt, it won’t be the last. Of course, it’s not easy to attribute any particular event to climate change, and it will take time to sort out all of the causes of the Camp Fire last November, add up the damages and assess liability. Last week, in a small bit of good news for the company, the state concluded that PG&E was not responsible for the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County that burned nearly 37,000 acres, destroyed more than 5,600 buildings and left 22 dead. But the company says it still faces ‘extensive litigation, significant potential liabilities and a deteriorating financial situation’ following the ‘devastating and unprecedented wildfires of 2017 and 2018.’” [New York Times, 1/29/19 (+)]

States

Illinois

Ill. Lawmakers Alarmed Over 'Unusual' EPA Assessment. According to E&E News, “Democratic members of the Illinois congressional delegation yesterday called out EPA for what they dubbed an ‘unusual’ risk assessment of one chemical that included a request for public comment on a different one. The residual risk and technology assessment of hydrochloric acid, which was published in December, invited the public to comment on the risk value of cancer-causing ethylene oxide. ‘We are alarmed by this troubling information request that appears to be a transparent invitation for the public — including chemical industries — to weaken EPA’s forthcoming rules intended to protect Illinoisans and Americans from elevated levels of cancer risk resulting from exposure to ethylene oxide,’ the lawmakers said in a letter to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. Ethylene oxide is a flammable, colorless gas that is used in the production of solvents and antifreeze. EPA classifies it as a human carcinogen. The lawmakers suggested EPA’s actions would please the chemical industry. ‘On behalf of our constituents and communities across the country, we strongly urge you to publicly commit to at least preserving, if not strengthening, EPA’s current risk value of [ethylene oxide],’ the lawmakers wrote.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

Maine

Bill Would Create Consumer-Owned Maine Power Utility. According to the Associated Press, “A lawmaker is proposing to launch a consumer-owned Maine power utility. Democratic Rep. Seth Berry said in a Monday press conference that consumers would own the Maine Power Delivery Authority, which would operate outside of state government. Berry says the authority would then purchase Maine’s two utilities and then reduce rates through refinancing. The idea is getting support from some lawmakers and unions, which argue that the current structure hurts Maine customers and utility workers. Few details of the bills have been released. Central Maine Power spokeswoman Catherine Hartnett tells the Portland Press Herald that the company has ‘strong concerns about the state seizing private property.’” [AP, 1/29/19 (=)]

New Mexico

In Turnaround, State Attacks Emissions Across Sectors. According to E&E News, “Newly elected New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed an executive order yesterday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the state. The order aims to cut emissions 45 percent by 2030 by slashing pollution from transportation, electricity generation and buildings. It comes as Democratic governors across the country increase their efforts to address climate change in response to environmental rollbacks by President Trump. ‘We know all too well states cannot rely on the federal government right now to act responsibly and take the bold action scientists have made clear is needed to prevent calamitous climate change fallout in our lifetimes,’ Grisham said in a statement. Her order creates a Climate Change Task Force, which will provide strategies for adopting a market-based program that sets emissions limits. That’s seen as a signal that Grisham might consider joining California’s carbon cap-and-trade system. State agencies are also required to develop policies to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. New Mexico is the third-largest oil- and gas-producing state in the country, and it ranks 12th in coal production.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (+)]

New Mexico Pledges To Slash Emissions Even As Permian Oil Booms. According to Bloomberg, “The governor of New Mexico signed an executive order Jan. 29 requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least 45 percent by 2030, potentially hampering fossil fuel production in the Permian Basin, the world’s biggest shale oil field. The order brings New Mexico into the U.S. Climate Alliance, a group of states pledging to uphold the Paris climate agreement, which President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2017, a spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said by phone. Enormous amounts of natural gas are produced alongside oil in the Permian, which straddles Texas and New Mexico. Given the basin’s staggering production growth, there often aren’t enough pipelines to take away this gas, so it’s routinely burned through flaring, which produces carbon dioxide. The more oil is produced, the more flaring tends to take place. Grisham’s pledge to reduce emissions therefore potentially puts the state in conflict with oil and gas producers. Her move was welcomed by the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit which supports the Paris climate goals.” [Bloomberg, 1/29/19 (=)]

Chad Ellwood

Research Associate

cellwood@cacampaign.com

202.448.2877 ext. 119