Wednesday, June 18, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 6/18/14

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National / International News

 

<> Senate EPW Subcommittee hearing entitled, "Climate Change: The Need to Act Now." – Former EPA Administrators Ruckelshaus, Whitman, Reilly, Thomas; and others testify

<> First westbound natural gas flows begin on Rockies Express Pipeline - (Wed, 18 Jun 2014) The Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) announced on Monday that it expects service to commence as soon as today for the. . . -- see the U.S. Energy Information Administration's report

<> Secretary Jewell Announces $436.9 Million in PILT Payments to Support Vital Services in Rural Communities - Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that about 1,900 local governments around the country are receiving a total of $436.9 million under the. . .

<> FACT SHEET: Leading at Home and Internationally to Protect Our Ocean and Coasts - President Obama announced new executive actions to preserve and protect the oceans including immediately considering how we might expand protections near the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the south-central Pacific Ocean, an area which contains some of the most pristine tropical marine environments in the world.

<> Harper approves Northern Gateway pipeline

<> API: Delays in setting ethanol mandates are unacceptable - June 18, 2014 – The Obama Administration's continued delays in setting ethanol requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are unacceptable, API Downstream Group Director Bob Greco told reporters. . .

<> New Report Reveals Clean Energy Solution To Energy Poverty - The Sierra Club released a report -- Clean Energy Services For All (CES4All) -- analyzing the future growth of the booming global off-grid solar market.

<> Whitfield Knocks President's "Green Dreams" Ahead of Thursday Hearing with EPA - FoxNews.com on Tuesday featured an article by Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) highlighting the true cost of the president's "green dreams." He explains, "President Obama wants to be viewed. . .

<> EPA Selects Six Universities to Help Find New Uses for Toxics Data - U.S. EPA announced today its selection of academic partners for the 2014 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) University Challenge, a project designed to find innovative ways to increase. . .

<> Varnum Law Firm Highlights Comment Extension For WOTUS Rule - Comment Period Extended for Proposed EPA Rule Substantially Expanding Federal Jurisdiction Over Waters of the U.S., Including Creeks and Ditches

<> Secretary Jewell, Governor Patrick Announced the Nation's Largest Offshore Wind Energy Area Available for Commercial Development - BOSTON, MA – Secretary of the Interior announced more than 742,000 acres offshore Massachusetts will be available for commercial wind energy leasing and will be the largest in federal waters -- nearly double the federal offshore acreage available for commerical-scale wind energy projects.

<> Ocean Conference Results In $1.8 Bilion In Pledges - Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the State Department's first "Our Ocean" Conference resulted in commitments from government and private sources valued at more than $800 million to conserve the ocean and its resources for future generations & Norway announced it will allocate $1 billion to climate change mitigation and adaptation assistance.

<> EPA and Partners Celebrate Nation's Largest Federally Owned Wind Farm; Site near Amarillo, TX now generates power for nearby plant - The wind farm will generate nearly 47 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

 

Federal Register Highlights 

The following is an alert of Environmental Federal Register announcements that may be of interest for: Wednesday, June 18, 2014.  (Click here to access today's complete Federal Register index with links to complete announcements).

 

1. Climate, Air – Proposed Rule. U.S. EPA - Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units PDF | Text |

2. Climate, Air – Proposed Rule. U.S. EPA - Carbon Pollution Standards for Modified and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units PDF | Text |

3. Air – Direct final Rule. U.S. EPA - Modification of Significant New Use Rules on Certain Chemical Substances; Update of Chemical Identities PDF | Text |

4. Energy, Nuclear – Notice. Nuclear Regulatory Commission - License Renewal Application: DTE Electric Company; Fermi 2. Opportunity to request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene PDF | Text |

 

(click for the complete Energy & EPA announcements)