By Ari Natter

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Department of Energy Dec. 29 said it will waive “Buy American” requirements contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for several products after determining the goods were unavailable in satisfactory quantity in the United States.

In two separate notices of limited waivers published in the Federal Register, the Energy Department waived Buy American requirements.

By Andrew Childers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing revisions to its methods for allocating consumption and production allowances for two hydrochlorofluorocarbons for 2012 through 2014 in response to a 2010 federal court decision.

The proposed rule, to be published in the Federal Register Jan. 4, would establish company-by-company baselines for HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b production and consumption.

It would also clarify the procedures for intercompany transfers of the ozone-depleting substances, EPA said. The revised system would account for transfers of the ozone-depleting substances between companies, something EPA had previously eliminated from its calculations.

Under the proposed rule, EPA would continue to allocate HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b allowances based on the projected needs for those compounds while encouraging companies to recycle and reclaim existing stores of the substances. That could result in fewer allocations for HCFC-22, EPA said.

As part of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, the United States is required to eliminate the use of HCFCs, ozone-depleting gases that also contribute to global warming, by 2030. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons are commonly used as refrigerants…

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By Amena H. Saiyid

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The House Dec. 16 approved a $1.043 trillion, nine-bill omnibus package to fund the federal government for the rest of 2012, including provisions that would place restrictions on environmental and energy regulations and prevent the White House from using funds to hire an assistant to the president for energy and climate change.

The omnibus spending bill passed by a vote of 296-121, clearing the way for a Senate vote. The Senate was expected to pass the bill either late Dec. 16 or Dec. 17.

As adopted, the spending package (H. Rept. 112-331) includes funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior and Energy departments for fiscal year 2012. It would replace the interim stopgap funding measure that is due to expire at midnight Dec. 16.

The bill would block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from livestock operations and from requiring greenhouse gas reporting from manure management systems. It also would prevent the Energy Department from tightening light bulb efficiency standards, among other provisions.

In addition, the bill contains language that would prevent the White House from using FY 2012 funds to hire an assistant to the president for energy and climate change. It also would require the administration to provide a detailed report to House and Senate Appropriations committees on all climate change programs, activities, and actions with reference to specific plans.

The number of environmental riders in the omnibus bill is far fewer than the nearly 40 riders contained in a House appropriations bill (H.R. 2854) to fund Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies that failed to advance after an agreement was reached in July on the debt ceiling. (See related story; 149 WCCR, 8/1/11.)

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Environmental Protection Agency approved three hydrocarbon refrigerants to replace ozone-depleting substances in a final rule to be published in the Federal Register Dec. 20.

Compared to other refrigerants, hydrocarbons have zero ozone-depletion potential and very low global warming potential, EPA said.

The final rule approves the use of propane, isobutane, and the chemical R-441A in commercial and household refrigerators and freezers as substitutes for the chlorofluorocarbon CFC-12 and the hydrochlorofluorocarbon HCFC-22.

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By Amena H. Saiyid

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Republicans and Democrats have reached on agreement on retaining policy language that would restrict the regulatory authority of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department in an omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government through the rest of fiscal year 2012.

“We have a broad agreement between House and Senate. … We are doing the paper work,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) told reporters. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), an Appropriations Commission member, said, “We are just putting the finishing touches.”

Lawmakers said Dec. 12 that their goal is to pass the spending package and have it on its way to President Obama’s desk before a current stopgap government spending act expires at midnight Dec. 16. Passage of the measure is one of only a handful of items still on lawmakers’ “must-do” list before adjournment.

The agreement on the policy riders means there will be no standalone continuing resolution crafted for the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies spending measure that would fund Interior and EPA.

Rogers said “there are a number of riders that have been agreed upon” but added that he would not release specifics as “the bill has not been filed yet.”

Emerson said she was not aware of any outstanding objections to the environmental policy riders…

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By Andrew Childers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The addition of greenhouse gas emissions to the prevention of significant deterioration permitting process has largely been a smooth transition, industry representatives and state regulators told BNA.

EPA and state regulators have finalized 17 permits through Nov. 21 that limit emissions of greenhouse gases from new and modified industrial sources since the permitting took effect Jan. 2. Another 100 are pending, the agency said.

Industry representatives said the permitting process has gone more smoothly than they may have initially predicted. However, they say they are still concerned about how controls are determined and potential conflicts with other pollutant rules.

“The fact there have been 17 permits approved shows states are really figuring out how to do this,” Margaret Peloso, an attorney at Vinson & Elkins LLP who works on permits for industry clients, told BNA.

Permits Target Efficiencies

PSD requires new and modified sources to obtain permits for emissions of regulated air pollutants and to control those emissions using best available control technology (BACT), determined individually for each source

Permitting includes a review process to determine the optimal controls for each facility, or BACT. The BACT process is a “top down” review that begins by identifying all available control technologies…

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By Jessica Coomes

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to force the Environmental Protection Agency to establish new source performance standards for emissions of methane and other pollutants from coal mines (WildEarth Guardians v. EPA, D.D.C., No. 1:11-cv-02064, 11/17/11).

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas more than 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, according to EPA.

WildEarth Guardians, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Integrity Project, and the Center for Biological Diversity filed the complaint Nov. 17, asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel EPA to act on a June 2010 petition seeking regulation of air pollution from coal mines.

“The evidence clearly shows that air pollution from coal mines is endangering our health and well-being across the country,” Ted Zukoski, an attorney for Earthjustice, which represents the plaintiffs, said in a press release Nov. 23. “Other industries are already required to do their part to protect the air we breathe. It’s time for the EPA to hold the coal industry accountable for its air pollution, too.”

The environmental groups said in their petition that emissions of methane, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides from coal mines can harm public health.

The complaint said coal mines account for 10 percent of methane emissions in the United States.

The environmental groups also said coal mines release 17,000 tons of particulate matter each year.

The complaint noted that emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides are a concern because they react to form ozone…

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By Avery Fellow

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Almost 75 percent of Standard & Poor’s top 500 U.S. companies tout sustainability efforts on their websites, according to a new study.

The website promotion, however, is more an effort to attract and maintain customers than to incorporate and promote sustainability principles, according to the study, “Sustainability Practices and Promotion: Websites of Large U.S. Companies,” published in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues. But the promotional efforts may still boost sustainability initiatives within companies and also have an impact on increasing adoption among various industries and services, the researchers found.

The report looked at online sustainability promotion by companies in the financial, information technology, health care, energy, utilities, telecommunications, manufacturing, and other industries. The study found that the companies are increasing their environmental sustainability efforts and are promoting these efforts on their websites.

Fewer than half of the companies advertised energy-savings efforts on their websites in 2008, the study found. In 2011, 66 percent of companies posted information about their energy-savings efforts online.

A total of 36 percent of the S&P 500 have chemical waste programs in place, the study found, and 31 percent support biodiversity programs, up from 30 percent and 24 percent in 2008, respectively…

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AUSTIN, Texas—The Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 10 issued the first greenhouse gas emissions permit in Texas since it took over permitting authority after the state refused to implement the federal greenhouse gas emissions program.

The prevention of significant deterioration permit covers a new 590-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant at the Lower Colorado River Authority Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant in Llano County, 50 miles northwest of Austin.

The new plant would replace a 37-year-old 440-megawatt gas-fired boiler that has not been used to full capacity in recent years.

Clara Tuma, spokeswoman for the Lower Colorado River Authority, said construction of the plant will begin in 2012, and the authority plans to have it online by 2014. The application for the permit was submitted in March…

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By Dean Scott

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Senate approved a fiscal 2012 spending bill Nov. 1 that allots $2 billion for carbon capture and storage projects and restores $161.5 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate service that had been barred by the House in June.

The spending bill (H.R. 2112) was approved by a vote of 69-30. The “minibus” spending measure would provide funding through Sept. 30, 2012, for Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, and other federal departments.

The $2 billion in carbon capture and sequestration funding was added to the measure Oct. 21 by an amendment from Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). Up to $2 billion would be set aside for construction, acquisition, or improvement of coal-fired and other fossil-fueled electricity generating plants that capture and store their carbon dioxide emissions. (See related story; 206 WCCR, 10/21/11.)

The measure now goes back to the House for consideration. It is unclear whether the House will take a similar multi-department approach to funding. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) issued a statement after the Senate vote calling for progress on other fiscal 2012 spending bills.

Without such cooperation, Inouye said, “We will be forced to resort to an omnibus or yearlong Continuing Resolution down the road,” a fallback approach Congress has used repeatedly in recent years to fund federal programs…

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