Tuesday, April 01, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 4/1/14

National / International News

 

<> UN Climate Change Secretariat to Showcase Worldwide Climate Action: Momentum for Change Call for Applications Now Open - Starting today, communities, cities, businesses and governments that are taking the lead on tackling climate change can apply to have their game-changing initiatives recognized by the UN Climate Change secretariat.

<> ExxonMobil Releases Reports to Shareholders on Managing Climate Risk - ". . .all viable energy sources will be essential to meet increasing demand growth. . . It is equally essential that society manages the risk of climate change by increasing energy efficiency and by investing in research into technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

<> Draft EPA Report Review On Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands - SAB Review of the Draft EPA Report Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence

<> U.S. EPA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Carbon Sequestration Permits in Central Illinois - Proposed permits that would allow the FutureGen Industrial Alliance Inc. to inject carbon dioxide deep underground near Jacksonville, Illinois.

<> Landrieu Reacts to Proposed GOMESA Rule - U.S. Sen Mary Landrieu, Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, reacted to the proposed rule issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior regarding implementation of Phase II of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) of 2006.

<> Department of Energy Announces First Quadrennial Energy Review Public Meeting - Department of Energy Announces First Quadrennial Energy Review Public Meeting Topics and Locations for First Six Meetings Also Announced. . .

<> EPA Takes Action on Illegal Nano Silver Pesticide in Food Containers - Cites NJ Company for Selling Food Containers with an Unregistered Pesticide Warns Large Retailers Not to Sell These Products

<> CPUC and ARB announce the California Climate Credit, cutting electricity bills for millions of households - Agencies announce that millions of California households will see a credit averaging $35 on their April electricity bills thanks to a State program to fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

<> IPCC AR5 Working Group II Highlights - C2ES – the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions – indicates that the IPCC report, released in stages, is the most comprehensive assessment of existing climate change research and provides a baseline for understanding and action.

<> Vitter: Obama's Methane Guidance Likely to Add Layers of Expensive Regulations on Energy Producers - U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, made the following statement regarding the recently released White House interagency guidance on methane

<> Landrieu, Murkowski Ask Inspector General to Examine Leaks of Grid Vulnerabilities - U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) called on the Department of Energy's inspector general to examine the leak of sensitive internal Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). . . 

<> Leading power companies call for resilience in the face of climate change - Geneva, March 31, 2014 - Leading electric utilities, and members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have today called for greater resilience in the power industry in the face of climate change. . .

<> Lawsuit Launched Over BLM's Failure to Report Threats to Desert Tortoise - Environmental groups filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Bureau of Land Management today for failing for seven years to report impacts to the desert tortoise and similarly threatened and endangered species from off-road vehicles, cattle grazing and other activities in California's deserts.

<> Researchers Prepare to Return to Site Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill -  A University of Georgia marine scientist will lead a research expedition back to the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico to examine the seafloor and assess the long-term effects of the oil 

<> Methane-spewing microbe blamed in Earth's worst mass extinction - (Reuters) - Sometimes bad things come in small packages.

 

Federal Register Highlights 

The following is an alert of Environmental Federal Register announcements that may be of interest for: Tuesday, April 1, 2014.  (Click here to access today's complete Federal Register index with links to complete announcements).

 

1. Air Quality - Petition Denial. U.S. EPA. Air Quality Designations for 2010 Sulfur Dioxide Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2); denial of petition for reconsiding designation decision for Detroit, Michigan. PDF | Text |