To:
Jackson, Ryan[jackson.ryan@epa.gov]
From: Bloomberg BNA Environment & Energy
Sent: Fri 10/27/2017 11:04:46 AM
Subject: First Move: EPA Not Holding Nose on Animal Waste Zinke Deputy On Regs ExxonMobil's
Chemical Offer
EPA Not Holding Nose on Animal Waste Zinke Deputy On Regs ExxonMobil's Chemical Offer
By Chuck McCutcheon
Cows, pigs, chickens, and other farm animals generate lots of waste--so much, in
fact, that it can greatly befoul air quality. Now th
ants to help farmers deal
with the related paperwork.
The agency has put out materials it hopes can guide farmers through complying
w
eadline next month to start reporting releases of hazardous air emissions
from animal waste that are over the allowed limits in federal law, Abby Sn
reports.
Hogs on a farm in Elma, Iowa.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Farmers say they need all the help they can get on something so technical.
"The average farmer isn't a chemical engineer. There's going to be a tremendous learning curve," says Michael Formica, assistant vice president of domestic policy and counsel for the National Pork Producers Council.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has often vowed to streamline regulations governing energy development on federal lands. One of his newest point people on the issue says he's looking at a variety of changes to bring it about.
The changes that David Bernhardt, Interior's deputy secretary, is contemplating are
intended to shorten the time and trouble for everyone involved in the approval
process for drilling ar
ng. That audience includes the Interior staff consumed
with sizing up the litany of proposals to meet Presider
p's goal of expanded
ergy production.
Bernhardt, a longtime natural resource attorney, knows that Interior risks losi
rt
of court cases when environmentalists, states, and others sue the feds over
violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws. He tells Alan
Kovski, who's writing about his interview with Bernhardt, that he thinks he's helping
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00000768-00001
his agency succeed at its efforts to be careful..
"I am pretty confident that our track record will be as good, if not better, than our predecessor's track record," Bernhardt says..
Exxon Mobil is urging the EPA to work with it and other chemical manufacturers,
along with other industries, to learn how--and at what levels--people
posed
to chemicals.
The agency, when it reviews chemicals' risks, traditionally has been starved of
Information on people's exposures to chemicals. But an amended chemicals law
now put
smium on the agency having that kind of data as it weighs regulations
to restrict chemical uses, Pat Rizzuto explains i
>ry out later this morning.
Without good exposure data, the agency makes assumptions about the extent to
which people are exposed. Whether subsequent regulations are too
restrictive--limiting chemical sales and u
r too lax--which could put people at
risk--often hinges on debates over these assumptions.
Other Stories We're Covering
Rebecca Kern and Bloomberg News reporters are expected to sit down today
for an interview with FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee. They will ask how his
agency plans to address all of the comments about the Energy Department's
grid proposal in a relatively short time.
State solid waste management officials are wrapping u|
eting in
Arlington, Va., and the EPA will discuss how to assess urban sites
contaminated with leac
gnan is covering.
Murray Energy Corp.'s CEO will have to tell miners that they can go to federal
regulators about safety conditions without first notifying managemen
ne
regulatory panel says.
Reducing byproduct fish and other creatures caught during commercial fishing
for a different species is a focus of < . wildlife summit wrapping up in
Manila. Adam Allington is tracking.
One of Scott Pruitt's loyal Senate allies wants to stop a vote o
smocratic
FERC member to try to win floor votes
nominees who face Democrats'
opposition.
Quote of the Day
"No one entity has all the information. We really need to work together." --Rosemary Zaleski, who heads the chemical exposure division at Exxon Biomedical Sciences Inc., discussing the company's desire to help the EPA on chemical risks.
Today's Events
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00000768-00002
9:30 a.m. Water A House infrastructure committee's water resources panel
holds webcasted roundtable in Mi
improving ports, dams, and other
water-related infrastructui
I Schultz is monitoring..
im< f I ange George Washington University hosts "climathon"
seeking technology-based solutions on addressing climate change.
m. Alaska Alaska Center for Climate Assessment & Policy holds
webinar on ste
mate conditions.
All Day Women's Convention NRDC Actic
d and other groups
sponsor convention in Detroit addressing how women are affected by, and can
change policies on, drinking water safety, as well as other issues.
Around the Web
A new video game promotes attacks on oil pipelines, the game's critics say,
demanding that the university whose professor developed it pull the plug.
pie who study wildfires say new thinking about them--such as regarding
them as inevitable natural disasters comparable to earthquakes--will help with
preparedness.
Energy alliance launches initiative to halve transportation energy use by 2050.
Maryland's water quality monitoring data indicates the best year on record
since 2012.
Democratic senators ask
us the math that led you to propose
rescinding the Clean Power Plan.
For all of today's Bloomberg Environment headlines, visit Environme
qy
port
1801 South Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202
c .mmy Wmz rhe rwiwu > i
cP stv in-.
Manage Your Subscriptions Unsubscribe Web Version Contact Us
Privacy Policy Terms of Service.
Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00000768-00003