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Jackson, Ryan[jackson.ryan@epa.gov] Bloomberg BNA Wed 5/24/2017 1:46:50 AM [SPAM] May 24 - Daily Environment Report
Daily Environment Report
May 24, 2017 - Number 99
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Leading the News
EPA
Budget Calls for 30-Year Low i i ' h
els
EPA staffing would plummet to its lowest levels since the mid-1980s, according to the Trump
administration's proposed fiscal year 2018 budget.
News
Air Pollution Daimler Raided by Prosecutors in Emission-Manipulation Probe Daimler AG offices across Germany were raided as part of a criminal investigation into diesel emission-manipulation allegations.
Air Pollution
Sena
?s First Steps in Uphill Battle to Delay Ozone Limits
Senate Republicans May 23 took what they hope was at least one small step forward in their
uphill battle to delay the EPA's revision of its ozone standards to 2025, arguing that 10 years
isn't much of a change for an agency that has repeatedly failed to meet a five-year statutory
deadline for updating the pollution limits.
Air Pollution U.S. Sues Fiat Chrysler for Diesel Emissions Test Violations The U.S. Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV over claims its dieselpowered pickups and SUVs were outfitted with illegal software that allowed them to pass laboratory emissions tests (U.S. v Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., E.D. Mich., No. 17-cv11633, 5/23/17).
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00003322-00001
Budget Budget Seeks Shutdown of `Duplicative' Chemical Safety Board The Trump administration kept its earlier promise to propose eliminating the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, describing the independent federal agency as "largely duplicative" of other government departments in its proposed budget released May 23, even as the board sent its own request for a small funding increase.
Budget
Civil, Criminal Environmental Enforcement Cui
mp Budget Plan
President Donald Trump's proposed budget would reduce the EPA's civil enforcement
program by 18 percent, criminal enforcement by 16.5 percent, and the forensics support that
makes many of those cases possible by nearly 44 percent.
Budget Cleanup Research < * ctaminated Sites Gets Boost in Trump Plan Toxin-eating bacteria and other remediation research projects would get a bump in funding under President Donald Trump's proposed budget, contrasting with agency-wide slashes in research and cleanup spending.
Budget
Climate Spending `Crazy Stuff Targeted in Tru
dget
President Donald Trump's first budget request to Congress would cut or eliminate a range of
programs designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well those helping communities
prepare for more intense flooding or hurricanes expected to result from climate change.
Budget EPA Requests More Chemicals Staff, Paid in Part by Industry Fee The staffing levels and appropriations for the EPA's chemicals office would get a boost under President Trump's fiscal year 2018 budget request--due, in part, to fees that chemical makers are expected to pay.
Budget Hanford Nuclear Cleanup Budget Slashed in Energy Proposal Washington state's Hanford Nuclear Reservation, scene of a recent collapse of a tunnel containing nuclear waste, would see its funding slashed under President Donald Trump's new budget proposal.
Budget Proposed Interior Budget Boosts Onshore, Offshore Energy Oil, natural gas and coal development would get a boost in the White House's proposed fiscal 2018 budget, despite a substantial 12 percent cut to the Interior Department's overall funding.
Budget Trump Dumps `Cie , " I' Research Despiv J ding Its Potential President Donald Trump promised his administration would bring about "clean coal," but his budget proposed slashing research the industry says it needs to make that a reality.
Budget Trump Proposes Selling Off Half the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve The White House plan to trim the national debt includes selling off half of the nation's emergency oil stockpile, part of a broad series of changes proposed by President Donald Trump to the federal government's role in energy markets.
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
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Budget Trump Seeks Pesticides Law Fix to Plug Budget Gap With Fees President Donald Trump wants to trim the EPA's pesticide licensing budget by about 18 percent and have industry fees cover the shortfall.
Budget Voluntary EPA Programs Get Ax in Budget Plan as Climate Work Halts Voluntary EPA programs that encourage businesses to improve energy efficiency and curb greenhouse gas emissions would get the ax from a Trump administration that has already pledged to roll back climate change regulations.
Budget White House Seeks $150M for Yucca, Nuclear Waste Storage President Donald Trump's first budget proposal would provide $30 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart work on licensing Yucca Mountain as a permanent repository for nuclear waste.
Chemicals Composite Wood Mata > t More Time to Comply Bp ,' ; "ule Companies making, importing, supplying and selling composite wood would get more time to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's formaldehyde emissions limits under a direct final rule the agency is scheduled to publish May 24.
Chemicals Minnesota Guide on Teflon Chemicals Addresses Water Supplies The Minnesota Department of Health updated its health advisory values for two industrial chemicals for public water supplies and private wells in two residential areas.
Climate Change
`Everything
tie' to Save Great Barrier Reef: Australian Official
Unprecedented damage to the Great Barrier Reef caused by climate change and cyclones
means that previously untried methods should be considered to protect it, the official
charged with the reefs management told Australian lawmakers.
Climate Change Trillions on Yearly Infrastructure Spending Would Help Climate Goals: OECD The world's biggest economies have to spend about $6.9 trillion a year on "smart" infrastructure through 2030 to be on track to keep global warming to safe levels, a new OECD report said.
Climate Policy Merkel to Confront Climate-Change `Doubters' Among G-20 Peers German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she won't give up trying to persuade doubters among her global peers that climate change is real, signaling her message for a Group of Seven summit starting May 26.
Climate Regulation EPA Applies Brakes on Landfill Methane Rules The EPA took its first step toward reconsidering methane limits for landfills set by the Obama administration by freezing implementation of the rules for 90 days.
Energy
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00003322-00003
Clean Car Rules Le^
i- I om Technology, Equipment
More than a quarter million U.S. jobs are tied to the use of technology and production of
materials used to improve vehicle fuel economy, according to a report released May 23 by
environmental groups.
Energy David Jonas Tapped as Energy Department General Counsel David S. Jonas, an expert in nuclear nonproliferation law, will be nominated by President Donald Trump as general counsel at the Department of Energy, the White House announced May 23.
Energy Two Energy Professionals Chosen for Nuclear Commission A former utility commission chairman and a Senate energy staffer were named by the Trump administration to fill two vacant Republican seats on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Energy Video: Advanced Energy Research Office Would Be Cut in frump Budget The Trump White House is proposing to eliminate a small Energy Department advanced energy research office under a fiscal 2018 budget proposal.
Fuel Efficiency Toyota, Nissan, Honda to Lead Japan's Hydrogen Station Coalition Eleven leading Japanese companies including Toyota, Nissan and Honda said they will collaborate to build more hydrogen stations to accommodate fuel cell motor vehicles in Japan.
Hazmat Transport States, Indu* ' ' f > Js Over Crude By Rail Pressure Standard Six state attorneys general and petroleum industry groups are battling over a pressure standard for transporting crude oil by rail tank cars.
International Climate China Joins EU, Canada in Backing Clin c to 4 tore Trump Plan China, Canada and the European Union are joining forces to advance the Paris Agreement while President Donald Trump is still deciding whether the U.S. should stick with the landmark deal on climate change.
Natural Gas Federal Energy Regulator Wins in Pennsylvania Pipeline Challenge The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not violate federal laws by granting a conditional permit for a pipeline expansion in Pennsylvania before the state had completed its permits, a federal court said May 23.
Oil & Gas `Gas Apocalypse* Looms Amid Power Plant Construction Bo The glut of cheap natural gas from a single, gigantic, shale basin that straddles the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest has sparked a massive construction boom of power plants. Dozens have been built in the past two years alone.
Pesticides EPA to Delay Farmworker Protections for Two Years: Budget The EPA will delay the effective date of its rule to tighten farmworker pesticide precautions
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00003322-00004
by two years, according to an agency budget document.
Renewable Energy Renewable Energy Powers Jobs for Almost 10 Million People Renewable energy employed 9.8 million people last year, up 1.1 percent from 2015, led by solar photovoltaic at 3.09 million jobs, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency's annual report on the industry.
Renewable Energy Speed Up Offshore Wind Projects, Industry Says Massachusetts' timeline for building an offshore wind industry in the state over the next 10 years is too slow and should be cut in half, energy developers said May 23.
Science Policy EPA Science Adviser Criticizes Pruitt on Capitol Hill The head of an EPA science advisory panel criticized the agency's dismissal of several members of her panel during a May 23 hearing before a House Science subcommittee.
Sustainability Smart-Beta Shoppers Going Green, Not Just for the Environment Getting a gold star for saving the world isn't the top motivation for asset managers who are looking to become more socially conscious. Instead, they're hoping to avoid long-term risk, according to a study by FTSE Russell.
Water Infrastructure Water Programs Not Spared in Trump EPA Budget Water did not emerge from the president's first official budget request unscathed, with several EPA water programs up for large cuts or even elimination.
Water Pollution EU Says Most European Beaches Safe for Swimming Nearly all of Europe's coastal and inland recreational sites met water quality standards for swimming last year, the European Environment Agency said May 23.
CORRECTION The May 19 story "Pesticide Rule Delay Unusual, But Not Necessarily Illegal" stated that a federal district court decision in North Carolina Grower's Association Inc. v. Solis created precedent for upholding a 10-day comment period. The decision did not create precedent. The online version has been corrected.
BNA Insights
Science Policy Practitioner insights: Taking the Science out of Federal Sciei < !< visory Boards Andrew Rosenberg: The Trump administration has given new definition to the term "conflict of interest," from political meetings at Trump-owned businesses to cabinet members who may financially benefit from hamstringing the agencies they now lead.
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00003322-00005
Regulatory Agenda
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Daily Environment Report for EPA
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00003322-00006