9.24.13
Oil Spill
BP renews bid to suspend settlement payments
The Associated Press
September 24, 2013 at 12:52 AM
NEW ORLEANS — BP on Monday renewed its request for a federal judge to
temporarily suspend settlement payments to Gulf Coast residents and
businesses following its massive 2010 oil spill, citing a scathing report
on alleged misconduct within the court-supervised program.
http://blog.al.com/live/2013/09/bp_renews_bid_to_suspend_settl.html#incart_river
BP again asks federal judge to suspend Deepwater Horizon oil spill private
claims payments
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
September 23, 2013 at 3:20 PM
BP has asked a federal judge in New Orleans to suspend payment of private
claims stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill until new anti-fraud
measures are implemented in the claims process.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/09/bp_again_asks_federal_judge_to.html
BP asks court to halt payments from Gulf oil spill settlement
Reuters
Mon, Sep 23 2013
HOUSTON (Reuters) – BP asked a U.S. court on Monday to halt payments from
its settlement agreement for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico until
the claims administrator improves accounting and anti-fraud controls.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/23/us-bp-claims-idUSBRE98M1AL20130923
State
Canebrake dam road remains closed
Weekend rain did not cause more damage to dam
Hattiesburg American
The good news for Canebrake residents is that a weekend of wet weather
appears to have had no impact on the dam at the south end of the
development and that the structure is believed to be sound and safe.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20130924/NEWS01/309240017/Canebrake-dam-road-remains-closed
Regional
Environmentalists win dead zone round against EPA
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY — Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- Environmental advocates in states along the Mississippi
River have won a round toward a long-term goal of having federal standards
created to regulate farmland runoff and other pollution blamed for the
oxygen-depleted "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico and problems in other
bodies of water.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/09/23/4975540/environmentalists-win-dead-zone.html
National
Opponents ramp up fight against Obama climate plan
By JOSH LEDERMAN — Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers and industry groups are vowing to fight
President Barack Obama's climate change plan and its first-ever emission
limits on new power plants. But they're finding their options are limited —
at least in the short term.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/09/24/4975833/opponents-ramp-up-fight-against.html
EPA Won't Require Carbon Capture at Existing Coal Plants
Bloomberg
By Mark Drajem - Sep 23, 2013
Existing coal-fired power plants won't be required to install equipment to
capture and store the carbon dioxide they emit under new Environmental
Protection Agency rules, the regulator's top EPA official said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-23/epa-won-t-require-carbon-capture-at-existing-coal-plants.html
E.P.A. Rules on Emissions at Existing Coal Plants Might Give States Leeway
NY Times
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON — Four years ago, Congress rejected the idea of a cap-and-trade
system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by putting a price on them. But
the plan announced by the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday to
regulate emissions from existing coal-fired power plants could foster
creation of such a system, at least on a regional basis, and a push for
renewable energy and energy efficiency in states that so far have embraced
neither.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/business/energy-environment/epa-rules-on-emissions-at-existing-coal-plants-might-give-states-leeway.html?ref=earth&_r=0&pagewanted=print
EPA won't require carbon trapping for existing power plants
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 09/23/13 10:16 AM ET
The Environmental Protection Agency will not call for existing coal plants
to install carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology next year, the
head of the agency said Monday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/323895-epa-power-plant-rule-wont-include-controversial-provision
Cabinet stumps for climate action
Politico
By: Erica Martinson
September 24, 2013 05:00 AM EDT
Now that the Obama administration has released the first major piece of its
long-awaited climate action plan, the job of selling it can begin in
earnest.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/cabinet-climate-action-gina-mccarthy-97229.html?hp=r8
Business group cries foul over EPA water rule
The Hill
By Ben Goad - 09/24/13 07:00 AM ET
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) neglected its requirement to take
small businesses into consideration during the development of regulations
with major implications for land development around the country, a powerful
industry group charged Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/324071-business-groups-cries-foul-over-epa-water-rule-
Shutdown would shutter EPA, chief says
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 09/23/13 12:35 PM ET
A government shutdown would effectively close the doors at the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency's administrator warned on
Monday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/administration/323933-shutdown-would-shutter-epa-chief-says-
Pioneer of Environmental Movement Had Ear of Presidents
Wall Street Journal
By STEPHEN MILLER
Ruth Patrick created methods of monitoring water pollution used around the
world, and as a pioneer of the emerging environmental movement, she worked
with government and industry to clean up rivers and streams.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303983904579093661907108566.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_6
Press Releases
EPA Honors 24 Organizations for Green Power Leadership
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
presented its 13th annual Green Power Leadership Awards to 21 Green Power
Partners and three suppliers for their achievements in advancing the
nation's renewable electricity market. Close to one-third of America's
carbon pollution – a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change –
comes from power plants. By using green power, communities, businesses and
organizations can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support
America's growing renewable energy industry, improve public health, and
help transition the United States to cleaner energy sources.
"Our 2013 Green Power Leadership Award winners are driving new renewable
energy generation and providing clear examples of organizations thriving on
innovation and sustainability," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
"These winners are moving us closer to the vision President Obama outlined
in his Climate Action Plan—cutting harmful pollution and promoting American
leadership in renewable energy."
EPA defines green power as electricity that is generated from renewable
resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas and low-impact
hydroelectric sources and produces no fossil fuel-based carbon pollution.
The winning organizations are recognized for dramatically increasing their
green power purchases, installing large-scale solar panel arrays, and
leading innovative renewable energy procurement efforts, among other
actions.
The 2013 Green Power Leadership Award winners are listed below in the
following categories:
Sustained Excellence in Green Power: Intel Corporation (Santa Clara,
Calif.); Kohl's Department Stores (Menomonee Falls, Wis.); Staples
(Framingham, Mass.)
Green Power Partners of the Year: Cisco Systems, Inc. (San Jose, Calif.);
Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.); Microsoft Corporation (Redmond,
Wash.); The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)
Green Power Communities of the Year: Cincinnati, Ohio; Mercer Island, Wash.
Green Power Purchasing: Accredo Packaging, Inc. (Sugar Land, Texas); Dell
Inc. (Round Rock, Texas); Pearson (Upper Saddle River, N.J.); Powdr (Park
City, Utah), The North Face (Alameda, Calif.); U.S. Department of Energy
(Washington, D.C.); UW Credit Union (Madison, Wis.); Western Pennsylvania
Energy Consortium (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
On-site Generation: Apple Inc. (Cupertino, Calif.); County of Santa Clara,
Calif.; Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.); Volkswagen Group of America
Chattanooga Operations, LLC (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Green Power Suppliers of the Year: 3Degrees (San Francisco, Calif.);
Dominion Virginia Power (Richmond, Va.); Sterling Planet (Atlanta, Ga.)
The 21 award-winning partners were chosen for their exemplary use of green
power from more than 1,500 partner organizations, including Fortune 500
companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state and federal
governments, and colleges and universities. Utilities, renewable energy
project developers, and other green power suppliers were eligible to apply
for the Supplier of the Year Award, which recognizes leadership in
voluntary renewable energy offerings.
EPA also announced the winners of the third annual Green Power Community
Challenge, a national competition between communities to use renewable
energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the collective
participation of local governments, businesses, and residents. Out of 48
competing communities, Washington, D.C., won the challenge for a third year
in a row for using the most green power annually with more than one billion
kilowatt-hours (kWh). Oak Park, Ill., also won the challenge for a second
consecutive year for achieving the highest green power percentage of total
electricity use at 92 percent.
EPA, through the Green Power Partnership, works with partner organizations
to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Nearly
two-thirds of partners use 100 percent green power. All together, the
partners are voluntarily using more than 28 billion kWh of green power
annually, equivalent to avoiding carbon pollution created by the
electricity use of more than three million average American homes each
year.
More on the Green Power Leadership Awards:
http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/awards/winners.htm
More on the Green Power Community Challenge:
www.epa.gov/greenpower/communities/gpcchallenge.htm
More on the Green Power Partnership: www.epa.gov/greenpower
