Daily on Energy: Business groups warm to climate legislation

The latest climate bill to gain such industry support: A measure to slash hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, refrigerant chemicals that are potent greenhouse gases. A bipartisan group of more than a dozen senators — led by Louisiana Republican John Kennedy and Delaware Democrat Tom Carper — introduced legislation last month that would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate HFCs.

The legislation allows U.S. companies a path to implement a 2016 global deal to reduce HFCs, even as the Trump administration won’t back the agreement for now.

“The business community, especially those involved in the manufacturer of these chemicals and also the equipment manufacturers, are all behind this because there are substitutes readily available,” said Steve Eule, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute. “From the industry’s perspective, this is a win-win.”

The Chamber, along with the National Association of Manufacturers, backed the legislation in a letter to the senators, saying they “stand ready” to help move the HFC bill to President Trump’s desk.

Add the HFC bill to a growing list of climate “innovation” measures industry groups are touting: The Chamber and NAM have also thrown their support behind several bills to boost carbon capture technology, including carbon dioxide pipelines and natural gas systems; legislation to spark development of advanced nuclear technology and energy storage; and measures to target research and development for ways to cut industrial greenhouse gases.

And they want all of those bills to move together through the Senate, as a climate innovation-focused package, Eule told Abby.

“We think that would be a strong statement,” he said.

Eule added he’s noticed a shift in the way lawmakers talk about climate change, including a “much more vocal embrace” of technology and innovation’s role in lowering emissions.

“We like to think that we’ve had a part in raising the profile of this issue,” Eule said.

A change in tune? What makes these bills different from the Obama-era climate regulations the Chamber and other business groups staunchly opposed is their acknowledgment that technology must lead the way, Eule said.

“I think all too often you see the regulatory cart before the technology horse. We’d like to see the technology horse get in front and pull the regulatory cart,” he said.

Eule said promoting an innovation agenda isn’t new for the Chamber. But he did say the group has gotten “much more proactive” engaging with lawmakers on the issue.

That could be happening in part as business groups both combat progressive Democrats’ sweeping, Green New Deal-like climate plans and try to help Republican lawmakers, long silent on climate, work out their own agenda.

“We hope we get results this time,” Eule said. “We really see an opening here where both parties can get a win out of this.”

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe) and Abby Smith (@AbbySmithDC). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

THE SUPER CLIMATE RISK OF SUPERFUNDS: Climate change threatens about 60% of the nation’s Superfund sites, and the federal government is not prepared to withstand the problem, the Government Accountability Office reported Monday.

Citing its review of federal data, the GAO found that 945 of 1,571 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List, which includes locations that most urgently need cleanup of toxic chemicals, are vulnerable to climate-related impacts.

These sites are located in areas that may be exposed to worsening flooding, storm surge, wildfires, and sea level rise from climate change.

Superfund sites on the GAO’s list of vulnerable locations include: American Cyanamid in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, which was flooded by Hurricane Irene in 2011; Iron Mountain Mine near Redding, California, which the Carr Fire burned through last year; and San Jacinto River Waste Pits near Houston, Texas, which was damaged by record-breaking rainfall and flooding from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

EPA is not prepared to respond: GAO found the EPA has taken some actions to manage risks at these sites. However the nonpartisan federal government auditor warned that EPA is undermining its ability to manage risk by not addressing climate change as part of its “agency-wide goals and objectives.”

Without prioritizing climate change, “EPA cannot ensure that senior officials will take an active role in strategic planning and accountability for managing” related risks to Superfund sites.

The agency recommended EPA “align” its goals and objectives with the need to address the effects of climate change, and also provide direction to regional offices on how to integrate climate change threats into risk assessments for Superfund sites.

For example, officials in EPA’s Region 5, representing the Great Lakes, reported to GAO that “they do not have any formal direction on how to address risks from climate change and are waiting for EPA headquarters to provide information on how to do so.”

Democrats press EPA to act: Carper, who requested the report, wrote a letter with other Democrats to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler demanding a response from the agency on how it plans to counter climate-related risks to Superfund sites.

“EPA’s refusal to implement GAO’s recommendations could result in real harm to human health and the environment as the effects of climate change become more frequent and intense,” Democrats wrote.

PIPE DOWN: After bipartisan talks fell through, House Democratic committee leaders decided to go at it alone to introduce legislation to improve the safety of pipelines and reduce emissions from natural gas.

The “SAFER Pipelines Act,” introduced by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone and Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, aims to prevent pipeline leaks and increase financial penalties on operators responsible for them. It would reinstate a 2016 EPA rule that the Trump administration rolled back requiring oil and gas companies to install technologies to inspect and repair pipelines that leak methane.

“Pipelines should be the safest way to transport natural gas and oil, but they are not nearly as safe as they should be,” Pallone said, referencing recent spills on the Keystone pipeline.

What’s in it for you: The bill would require pipeline mapping for the first time, forcing operators, including operators of gas gathering lines (which deliver gas from where it is extracted to larger pipelines) to submit the location of their lines to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

It would force operators of gas gathering lines to report leaks, which is not required now. It mandates operators to use the “best available technology” to prevent leaks when doing repairs or maintenance of pipelines. It also requires installation of automatic shutoff or remote-controlled valves on not just new and replaced pipelines, but also on existing ones.

LAWYERS, REV YOUR ENGINES: Another fuel economy lawsuit is headed to the courtroom.

Nearly two dozen states and three cities sued Friday over the EPA’s decision to withdraw California’s vehicle waiver, which allows the state to set its own greenhouse gas limits for passenger cars that are stricter than federal standards. The waiver, which the EPA has never before revoked and has only once denied, is the cornerstone of the Golden State’s ambitious clean cars program.

“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: California will not back down when it comes to protecting our people, our health, and our environment from preventable pollution,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is leading the lawsuit.

California’s program was thrown for a lurch when the Trump administration decided to eliminate the state’s authority to set its own standards. The Department of Transportation already faces a lawsuit over its role in scrapping California’s power, by claiming federal fuel economy standards preempt any state’s ability to set tailpipe greenhouse gas limits.

Speaking of that Department of Transportation lawsuit: Tesla is entering the ring, throwing its weight behind California and its allies. The electric carmaker is part of a coalition of advanced transportation companies, utilities, and electric charging infrastructure firms joining the suit to support the Golden State standards.

Automakers are feeling the heat, too: Especially the ones that sided with the Trump administration in the California fight.

Consumer Federation of America said Monday it is launching a public awareness campaign to call out those companies — particularly General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and Toyota. The consumer group also sent a letter to the three automakers who have yet to take sides — Mazda, Daimler, and Volvo — urging them to join California’s team.

EPA RELATIONS WITH HOUSE SCIENCE TURN TOXIC: Don’t mess with Texas Democrat and Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson — or you might end up facing a couple subpoenas.

Johnson slapped the EPA with two subpoenas late Friday, after she said the agency failed to deliver documents and information related to Trump administration changes to a chemical risk program. Facing the subpoenas are Wheeler and David Dunlap, formerly of Koch Industries, one of the agency’s top science officials.

Dunlap is at the center of the controversy that Johnson and other Democrats say they want answers to. They’re seeking documents over the EPA’s decision to reorganize its Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, program, which studies the risks chemicals pose to human health.

In particular, Democrats have raised concerns about Trump officials shut down an IRIS assessment of formaldehyde — a chemical that international health institutions have said can cause cancer — and shift the review to the agency’s chemical safety office.

The EPA, though, insists it has been negotiating fairly: The agency says it is working with House Science Democrats to get them the information they want, even offering Dunlap for a briefing with committee staff.

“The committee has chosen, quite frankly, an unreasonable and unwarranted nuclear option that I can only surmise is a political investigation rather than a pursuit of the truth,” an EPA senior official told Abby of the subpoenas.

WHERE’S WHEELER?: He started a tour of Israel this weekend, becoming the first EPA administrator to visit there since 2012, to increase cooperation on water, technology, and contamination clean-up.

EPA’s press team says Wheeler met with Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection Ze’ev Elkin to discuss a Memorandum of Understanding between Israel and the U.S. signed last year to further collaboration on water technology. He also met with Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz to discuss “bilateral relations and regional cooperation.” And he met with the Ministry of Energy Yuval Steinitz to talk about water infrastructure and quality issues, as well as the future of energy.

FIRED UP FOR MORE POWER SHUTDOWNS: California’s beleaguered utility PG&E may turn off power this week to about 250,000 customers in 19 counties of Northern California due to high winds and dry conditions that pose a wildfire risk.

PG&E issued the warning this weekend, saying it could shut down power for roughly 180,000 homes and businesses to guard against a “strong wind event” expected early Wednesday through Thursday.

The bankrupt utility, which was criticized for how it handled power shutdowns last month, plans to notify customers beginning Monday morning.

The Rundown

Wall Street Journal Saudi Aramco IPO price range values company at up to $1.7 trillion

Reuters Investors step up pressure on global energy watchdog over climate change

New York Times Ford wants to sell you an electric SUV. It’s called a Mustang.

Indianapolis Star Cummins’ most ambitious environmental plan yet targets net-zero emissions by 2050

Chicago Sun-Times In Chicago and across the Midwest, Trump’s EPA inspecting polluters less, cutting staff

Morning Consult Climate talk isn’t on the Thanksgiving menu for most people

Calendar

TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 19

10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a business meeting is to consider pending nominations and legislation.

10 a.m. 406 Dirksen. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a legislative hearing on “S. 1087, the Water Quality Certification Improvement Act of 2019, and Other Potential Reforms to Improve Implementation of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act: State Perspectives.”

10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a markup of various bills.

2 p.m. 2154 Rayburn. House Oversight and Reform Committee holds a hearing entitled “Toxic, Forever Chemicals: A Call for Immediate Federal Action on PFAS.”

WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 20

10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change will hold a hearing entitled “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: The Challenges Facing Frontline Communities.”

10 a.m. 2362-B Rayburn. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development holds a hearing on the Energy Department’s role in addressing climate change. Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will testify.

1:30 p.m. 1334 Longworth: House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis holds a hearing on “Creating a Climate Resilient America: Reducing Risks and Costs.”

2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn. House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities holds a hearing entitled “Climate Change in the Era of Strategic Competition.”