Wednesday, March 05, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 3/5/14

<> President Obama Announces His 2015 Budget - President Barack Obama signs copies of the FY 2015 Budget as Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Director, Office of Management and Budget, and OMB staff look on in the Oval Office, March 4, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Today, after sending his 2015 budget to Congress, President Obama visited a local elementary school to discuss what he called a "roadmap" for the. . .

·        Remarks by the President Announcing the FY2015 Budget

·  The President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2015

·  Fact Sheet: Building a Clean Energy Economy, Improving Energy Security, and Taking Action on Climate Change

<> EPA's FY 2015 Budget Proposal Focuses on Delivering Core Environmental and Health Protections-  The Obama Administration proposed a Fiscal Year 2015 (FY 2015) budget of $7.890 billion for U.S. EPA. This request is $309.9 million below the EPA's enacted level for Fiscal Year 2014. . .

·  100-page EPA FY 2015 Budget in Brief

·  Detailed EPA FY 2015 Congressional Justification Available March 11

<> President Proposes $11.9 Billion FY2015 Budget for Interior - Secretary Jewell announced President Obama's fiscal year 2015 budget request of $11.9 billion for the Department of the Interior, saying it makes key investments to maintain 

<> President Requests $711.0 Million for Fossil Energy Programs- March 4, 2014President Requests $711.0 Million for Fossil Energy Programs President Obama's FY 2015 budget seeks $711.0 million for the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) to advance technologies related to the reliable, efficient, affordable and environmentally sound use of fossil fuels as well as manage the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Northeast Home Heating oil Reserve to provide. . .

·  Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Justification documents to support Department of Energy Budget Request to Congress 

<> Vitter: President's Spending Agenda Lacks Necessary Reforms, Accountability for EPA

<> President Obama's Irresponsible Budget By the Numbers - Speaker Boehner's Press Office: Today, President Obama released his 2015 budget, which Speaker Boehner called "perhaps his most irresponsible" yet. The plan would spend too much, borrow too much, and tax too much, growing government at the expense of the middle class. Below is a joint analysis of the numbers behind the president's budget, courtesy of Republicans on the House and Senate Budget. . .

<> Green Investments: National Environmental Groups Highlight Impact of Federal Budget Cuts on Conservation and Natural Resources - Green Investments: National Environmental Groups Highlight Impact of Federal Budget Cuts on Conservation and Natural ResourcesMichael ReinemerMar 4, 2014Washington Citing damage to the environment, the economy, drinking water supplies and more, The Wilderness Society, along with other national groups across the U.S., is urging the President and Congress to end. . . 

<> API: Obama Budget Adds to Deficit of New Ideas, Repeats Calls for $97 Billion Oil & Gas Tax Hike - March 4, 2014 – The president's FY 2015 budget proposal contains no new ideas in the oil and natural gas sector, recycling earlier calls for tax hikes that would hurt job creation, energy production, and government revenue, said API President and CEO Jack Gerard.

<> External peer review of draft health effects documents for PFOA and PFOS - U.S. EPA is initiating an external peer review of the agency's draft human health effects documents for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).

<> GAO-14-74, Climate Change: Energy Infrastructure Risks and Adaptation Efforts - According to assessments by the National Research Council (NRC) and the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), U.S. energy infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to a range of climate change impacts -- particularly infrastructure in areas prone to severe weather and water shortages. Climate changes are projected to affect infrastructure. . .

<> DOE issues Finding of No Significant Impact for the Environmental Assessment on Resumption of Transient Testing of Nuclear Fuels and Materials at Idaho National Laboratory

<> Preparing Now for Our Climate Future – CEQ indicates: Our climate is changing.  We are not just seeing global increases in air and ocean temperatures, we are seeing changes across the United States:  extended periods of unusual heat, a greater number of heavier downpours, more severe regional drought and wildfires in parts of the American West, permafrost thawing in Alaska, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise threatening coastal

<> Webinar for Water Utilities on Planning for Climate Change Impacts - On March 19 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET, EPA's Climate Ready Water Utilities program will host a webinar to help water utilities analyze risk and make decisions under uncertainty when planning for climate change.

<> Webinar: Who caused climate change? - Is it possible that the courts could one day find that large-scale greenhouse gas emitters have "caused" rising sea-levels, extreme weather events and other climate-related damages?  The problem of causation is one of the most challenging for lawyers interested in lawsuits for climate-related damages. Friday, April 11

<> EPA Stops Illegal Import of Vehicles That Fail to Meet Pollution Standards - A Chinese powersports company and its related U.S. distributor have agreed to recall and replace fuel tanks that will better control gasoline vapors in approximately 1,000 vehicles and take other steps to control pollution stemming from the illegal import of over 12,000 recreation...

<> NREL Aims to Improve Building Energy Performance with New Web-Based Tool - The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a web-based tool to help consumers better understand the energy performance of building-related products. The Technology Performance Exchange™ (TPEx™) is a portal that helps manufacturers and other organizations that measure and test products easily share performance data with. . .

<> NREL Examines Solar Policy Pathways for States - The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has published a report that aligns solar policy and market success with state demographics. By organizing the 48 contiguous states into four peer groups based on shared non-policy characteristics, the NREL research team was able to contextualize the impact of various solar policies on photovoltaic (PV). . .

<> The NRC's Annual Regulatory Information Conference Goes Mobile - The NRC is now offering a new mobile-friendly website loaded with information about this year's Regulatory Information Conference – the RIC.

<> Greenpeace report says that ageing nuclear reactors threaten a new era of risk for Europe - Paris, 5 March 2014 – A new report commissioned by Greenpeace from an independent group of nuclear energy experts (1) has exposed the decrepit state of Europe's nuclear reactors showing that ageing is an urgent issue in most European countries that have nuclear power plants. Analysis for the report shows that 44% of European nuclear reactors are over thirty years old.

<> API urges focus on the strategic importance of U.S. LNG exports- March 5, 2014 ─ Recent unrest in Ukraine has sparked renewed calls for the Department of Energy to quickly approve long-delayed exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). API Director of Upstream and Industry Operations Erik Milito welcomed the focus on LNG exports and reiterated that U.S. exports would serve as a valuable option for U.S. allies in Europe and. . .

<> Energy-Efficiency Measure Is a Win-Win for Manufacturers - March 4, 2014 – National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse issued this statement in support of passage of H.R. 2126, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014, which would promote a number of energy-efficiency measures:

·  H.R.2126 - Better Buildings Act of 2013

<> Manufacturing Coalition Announces Principles for Effective Alternative Assessments - A diverse coalition of manufacturing associations unveiled a set of principles that will help establish a meaningful, effective program for assessing chemicals in consumer products and identifying possible alternatives.