In this issue: May 1-15, 2013 e 2011

Issue 39 • June 26, 2013

Latest sustainability & environmental management developments

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EL Trends: May 1-15, 2013

Contents:

Carbon footprint 3 Carbon markets 3 Chemicals and materials 3 Climate 4 Conventional energy 4 Corporate reports 5 Corporate sustainability 5 Energy management 6 Environmental & energy software 7 Environmental management 7 Executive moves 7 Finance & reporting 9 Fleets & transportation 10 Green building 13 Packaging, paper & forests 14 Renewable energy 15 Supply chain 15 Sustainable agriculture 15 Waste & recycling 16 Water management 17 Standards & compliance 18 Policy & enforcement 23

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Carbon Footprint

Researchers at MIT have found a way to manufacture steel without greenhouse gas emissions.

Properly managing value chain, or Scope 3, emissions is a critical survival tool companies must use to gain

competitive advantage in a resource-constrained future, the Carbon Trust says.

Carbon dioxide emissions from energy rose in 18 states and fell in 32 between 2000 and 2010 with Texas

showing the greatest absolute decline of 58.8 million metric tons, according to data released by the US

Energy Information Administration.

Carbon Markets

European carbon prices surged to their biggest-ever weekly gain on Friday after German Chancellor Angela

Merkel said the EU should take action on a plan to postpone the supply of permits.

Chemicals and Materials

Scotts Miracle-Gro said it has achieved its goal of removing phosphorus from its Turf Builder brand lawn

food maintenance products.

BASF, Dow, DuPont, Honeywell and the rest of the American Chemistry Council’s member companies have

pledged to implement 11 industry best practices to evaluate and improve their product safety performance.

Bridgestone Americas and agricultural-based biomaterials company Yulex have both announced projects to

investigate the use of the shrub guayule as an alternative natural rubber source.

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Small and medium businesses in northwest Europe can apply for Innovation Coupons worth up to €10,000

($13,109) each to help them assess the feasibility of taking a bio-based idea or technology to industrial

production.

Climate

Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cloud platform company Akamai

Technologies and the city of Cambridge, Mass., have agreed to work collaboratively to address climate

change issues at the local level.

Conventional Energy

Royal Dutch Shell has finalized plans for its Gulf of Mexico oil and gas project, expected to be the world's

deepest production facility, the company announced.

Air Products is now operating a Department of Energy demonstration project that will capture about 1 million

tons of carbon dioxide in an enhanced oil recovery project in Texas.

Unprocessed raw cotton may be an ecologically friendly, lower cost solution to clean up oil spills, according

to a report published in the American Chemical Society journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry

Research.

Novinda, which makes non-carbon mercury removal products, has announced the next-generation of its

reagent for mercury emissions capture. The company says its Amended Silicates HgX provides better

performance for removing mercury from coal-fired power plant flue gas emissions compared to its earlier

product.

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Corporate Reports

General Mills met its 2015 packaging volume goal three years early, selling 52 percent of its product volume

in packaging that it improved since fiscal 2009, according to the company's 2013 Global Responsibility

Report. The goal was for a 40 percent improvement.

Kohl’s relative emissions were down 2.8 percent last year to 7.74 metric tons of CO2e per 1,000 square feet

of building space, from 7.96 the year before, according to the company’s 2012 corporate social responsibility

report.

Corporate Sustainability

Echoing the growth in corporate social responsibility reporting, a growing number of mostly small- and

medium-sized companies are taking environmental and social stewardship further and becoming benefit

corporations — companies that are legally bound to have a positive effect on society — according to a report

by Worldwatch Institute.

Eddie Bauer, Disney, Nike, Patagonia, Quiksilver and Todd Oldham are the first apparel brands to join the

Otis Sustainability Alliance, a partnership between the fashion industry and higher education that aims to

advance environmental, social and economic sustainability.

Patagonia launched an internal fund to invest in environmentally responsible startups focused on clothing,

food, water, energy and waste.

The proportion of UK-based small businesses targeting the growing international market for low-carbon

products has doubled in the past two years, according to research by Shell Springboard and UK

government-backed nonprofit the Carbon Trust.

Cosmetics companies need to address the environmental consequences of consumption if they are to

significantly reduce their ecological footprints, Sustainable Cosmetics Summit organizers say.

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Companies are increasingly recognizing sustainability-related risk — but not adequately aligning risk

response to the scale of sustainability challenges, according to an Ernst & Young study.

Energy Management

Richland, Penn., is among several municipalities in the state to have paid money for energy upgrades that

were never delivered.

The concept of demand response, which aims to achieve stability on the electricity grid by ensuring that

demand does not exceed supply of electric power, is far more developed in North America than the rest of

the world, with almost 95 percent of such programs located in that region, according to a study by Navigant

Research.

Facing several legislative mandates to reduce energy consumption, Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso,

Fla., launched a strategic energy master plan, which includes McKenney’s bdoc Building Intelligence energy

management system integrated with Splunk Enterprise software.

National Energy Technologies has released an Eco Cube for refrigeration that the company says can cut

energy use between 10 and 20 percent and save businesses money on food and beverage preservation by

more accurately measuring food temperature.

A McDonald’s franchise owner has built a new restaurant in Garfield Heights, Ohio, to be super energy

efficient, spending about $1 million of his own money for the upgrades.

Electricity thieves cost utilities billions of dollars each year and marijuana growers are some of the biggest

culprits.

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) will recognize Boston College as a 2013 State Champion

and Northeast Business Leader for Energy Efficiency at NEEP’s summit gathering in June.

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Environmental & Energy Software

Belkin has launched Echo, an advanced sensor technology system for buildings that analyzes the use of

water, electricity and natural gas to reduce waste.

The American Hospital Association has launched a website to help managers and staff at health care

organizations implement sustainability improvements at their facilities.

Environmental Management

Air pollution control technology and systems provider Ceco Environmental has received several new orders

totaling $17 million. The company says these new orders were from natural gas and traditional

power customers located in Asia, Australia and the US, as well as from oil refinery, chemical and large

industrial customers in the US, China and Germany.

The Dow Chemical Company has awarded Fluor Corporation a contract to engineer and build several new

facilities in Freeport, Texas. Fluor’s scope includes the engineering, procurement and construction of a

propane dehydrogenation unit, an ethane cracker, and associated power, utilities and infrastructure facility

upgrades to support each unit. The facilities will be constructed in Dow’s Oyster Creek facility.

Executive Moves

Royal Dutch Shell: CEO Peter Voser will retire from the oil company in the first half of 2014. Voser was

appointed CEO in July 2009 and has been an executive director since 2004. The company didn’t give a

reason for Voser’s retirement. Shell’s Chairman Jorma Ollila says the board will lead a review of internal and

external candidates for the post.

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Alcoa: The aluminum producer has appointed Susan Ringler vice president and chief ethics and compliance

officer. Ringler, who joined Alcoa June 1, has been a deputy general counsel at water technology company

Xylem. She succeeds Judith Nocito, director, global compliance and assistant general counsel, who will

retire Aug. 1 after 34 years at Alcoa.

GEI Consultants: Raymond D. Hart is the new president of the civil, geotechnical, environmental, water

resources, and ecological science and engineering firm. Hart has served as the company’s chief operating

officer for the past seven years. He replaces Francis D. Leathers, who will return to full-time client practice

after working as GEI’s president for the past 14 years. Ronald Palmieri, formerly GEI senior vice president

and central region manager, has been named GEI’s new chief operating officer, replacing Hart in that

position.

DenBeste Water Solutions: The fluid containment and management systems company has named Les

Carmichael as its CEO. Carmichael has also been elected to the DenBeste board of directors. Carmichael

most recently was CEO of Taylor Companies, a subsidiary of Gibson Energy.

Steel Dynamics: Robert A. Simon has been appointed vice president and general manager of the steel

producers and metals recycler’s structural and rail division. The position became vacant following John

Nolan’s move to the newly created position of vice president product development. Most recently, Simon

was executive vice president of Evraz Tubular Product Group.

Solid Waste Association of North America: Sara Bixby has been hired as the group’s new deputy executive

director, Waste & Recycling News reports. Bixby, a past SWANA president, has been director of the South

Central Iowa Solid Waste Agency for the past 10 years. Bixby’s hiring comes months after former SWANA

deputy executive director Lori Scozzafava left in October.

US Composting Council: In related news, USCC has named Scozzafava executive director. Scozzafava

replaces former USCC executive director Michael Virga, who, according to the council, has moved on to

other career opportunities.

UQM Technologies: The electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers manufacturer has

appointed David I. Rosenthal as treasurer and chief financial officer. Most recently, Rosenthal was a director

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and served as interim president and CEO of Cyanotech Corporation, a publicly traded manufacturer of

nutritional supplement products.

Department of Justice: Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general of the environment and natural

resources division, announced that she will leave the DoJ on June 7. The Senate unanimously confirmed

Moreno in November 2009.

American Institute for Packaging and the Environment: The trade organization has named Donna

Dempsey executive director, effective June 3. Dempsey is a public affairs leader and association executive,

AMERIPEN says.

WK Dickson: The environmental and water resources engineering firm has hired Jeremy L. Brashears. He is

located in the Charlotte regional office and serves as a project manager in the water and wastewater group.

Finance & Reporting

The Ceres-led Investor Network on Climate Risk has proposed that companies listed on US and global stock

exchanges be required to include a series of environmental, social and governance sustainability

disclosures in their annual financial filings.

Corporate sustainability reporting — when done right — increases share price and bolsters stakeholder

confidence. When done incorrectly, however, CSR reporting does more harm than good, a Network for

Business Sustainability blog post says.

Thomson Reuters has launched a new family of environmental, social and corporate governance indices.

Only 37 percent of the world’s largest companies report their greenhouse gas emissions fully and correctly,

according to research from the Environmental Investment Organisation.

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FTSE Group has launched an environmental technologies index, FTSE ET100, designed to measure the

performance of companies whose core business is in the development and operation of environmental

technologies.

Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, has chosen Hara to track, verify and manage its carbon reporting on a UK-

wide basis. The software company has provided Aviva with visibility and transparency into its current

distributed energy and water activities through one system of record.

Fleets & Transportation

UPS has added wingtip devices to its Boeing 767 fleet that it says will save more than 6 million gallons of

fuel each year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 62,000 metric tons. The winglets will

result in a 4 percent fuel saving on each 767 flight, the company says.

Volvo Buses’ plug-in hybrid buses — which the company says reduce fuel consumption by at least 75

percent compared with diesel buses — will hit the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden this month as part of a

field test.

Ground has been broken for the Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell Project in Bridgeport, Conn., a 14.9 MW fuel

cell park, which will be the largest in the United States upon completion.

Fleet owners should consider factors including vessel type, trading patterns and local conditions when

choosing an exhaust scrubber for their vessels as a way of helping meet upcoming regulations, according to

an American Bureau of Shipping report.

NASA researchers say commercial airlines can safely fly using plant-based biofuel, following successful test

flights in California.

GE’s Power Conversion business has launched two technologies for ships that the company says can cut

emissions and save up to $550,000 in fuel annually.

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BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer says the European Union’s strict vehicle emissions standards are

“impossible to meet,” Drive.com reports.

Heckmann Water Resources and Blueknight Energy Partners, both of which serve the oil and gas industry,

have realized cost savings and made their fleets more efficient using PeopleNet’s paperless systems and

open technology, the companies say.

BYD will begin making electric buses and large-scale batteries at two manufacturing facilities in Lancaster,

Calif., the company says. These mark the first manufacturing facilities in the US for BYD Motors, a Los

Angeles-based subsidiary of the Chinese firm BYD (short for Build Your Dreams) Company.

GE Capital’s Equipment Finance business has signed a three-year agreement to provide financing for

commercial purchases of Global Electric Motorcars (GEM). Owned by Polaris Industries, GEM produces

electric low-speed vehicles that are typically used by municipalities, hotels, resorts, and property and facility

maintenance departments.

Virgin Australia, Brisbane Airport and sustainable jet fuel maker SkyNRG have announced a feasibility study

into the creation of Australia’s first “bio-port” at Brisbane Airport. The three parties have agreed to enter a

memorandum of understanding that will see them work together towards enabling aircraft to be fueled with

sustainable bio-jet fuel at Brisbane Airport.

Electric vehicle technology provider T3 Motion has entered in to a strategic manufacturing agreement

with McDonald Technologies, a manufacturing services provider. Under the terms of the agreement, T3

Motion will collaborate with McDonald Technologies on the manufacturing of its current Patroller and Vision

series EVs as well as the development of an advanced third-generation EV to be launched in Q4 2013.

Alcoa will invest $275 million over the next three years to expand and convert capacity at its rolling mill in

Alcoa, Tenn., to support automotive producers’ plans to use more aluminum sheet to increase cars and light

trucks’ fuel efficiency. The company says this is its second major North American expansion to meet the

growing demand for light, durable and recyclable aluminum sheet for automotive production.

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Modern Transportation has deployed freight service to the Owens Corning roofing plant in Savannah, Ga.,

using trucks powered by 12-liter natural gas-fueled engines. The high-volume, dedicated service established

between Sanford, NC and Savannah is the first-ever built around commercial-order, production-built engines

(Cummins Westport ISX12 G) fueled exclusively with liquefied natural gas, the company says.

Venchurs Vehicle Systems, a qualified vehicle modifier of CNG conversions for Ford Motor Company, says it

will offer a new price point for the 6.2L F-250 and F-350 CNG conversions (bi-fuel and dedicated). The

23.5GGE system utilizes the new 3M tank, and will be priced at $8,350, which Venchurs says is the industry

leading price point.

Amtrak says the first of 70 advanced technology electric locomotives being built by Siemens began rolling off

the assembly line. The first units of the $466 million order will be field tested this summer for entry into

revenue service in the fall. The new locomotives will operate on Northeast Regional trains at speeds up to

125 mph on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) along the Washington – New York – Boston route and on

Keystone Service trains at speeds up to 110 mph on the Keystone Corridor from Philadelphia to Harrisburg,

Pa. In addition, all long-distance trains operating on the NEC will be powered by the new locomotives.

Crowley Maritime’s petroleum services group has entered the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market by

acquiring Carib Energy, the company says. The acquisition provides Crowley an immediate book of business

for the supply, transportation and distribution of LNG via 10,000 gallon ISO tanks.

Dell OEM Solutions has partnered with Airbus to launch an electronic flight bag (EFB) service, an electronic

system for viewing and interacting with flight crew functions that have previously been accomplished using

paper references (operating manuals, performance calculations and navigation charts). Dell laptops will be

pre-loaded with FlySmart with Airbus software and installed as Class-2 EFB equipment.

Electric-car maker Tesla Motors is in talks with Google about adding driverless technology to its

vehicles, Bloomberg reports. Nissan and other automakers say fully autonomous vehicles may not reach

dealer showrooms for a decade, twice as long as Google expects, according to Bloomberg. The search

engine giant has been demonstrating a driverless fleet of Toyota Prius hybrids with laser-radar devices

mounted on the roofs.

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Bosch Automotive Service Solutions has introduced Power Max, which the company says is the automotive

industry’s first electric vehicle charging station with a price point of less than $450. The Power Max will retail

for roughly half the cost of current EV charging stations, offering 240V charging, and reducing charging time

by half, Bosch says. The Bosch Power Max is UL-certified in both the US and Canada.

LG Chem Michigan says it will start commercial production of automotive lithium-ion battery cells in July

2013 at its Holland, Mich. facility once it has successfully completed the Production Part Approval Process

(PPAP) and gained customer approval. Test runs have already begun at the facility. LGCMI anticipates

shipping product by the end of this summer. The plant initially will manufacture batteries for the Chevrolet

Volt.

Rolls-Royce has signed a repeat order for a ship developed specifically for transporting live fish. The vessels

feature an advanced diesel-electric propulsion system including two Rolls-Royce Bergen C6 diesel

engines and a hybrid shaft generator that significantly reduces energy consumption on board, the company

says.

Virent has delivered 100 gallons of its bio-based jet fuel to the US Air Force Research Laboratory for testing

purposes. Product testing will begin at Wright Patterson Air Force Base to validate Virent’s jet fuel against

the standards required for qualification and approval of new aviation turbine fuels established by the

American Society for Testing and Materials.

Packaging provider PaperWorks Industries has selected Transplace to manage its shipments throughout

North America. Transplace will employ its Transportation Management System, which it says will reduce

transportation costs and improve operational efficiency for outbound shipments from two PaperWorks mill

facilities to its customers located throughout the country, as well as select inbound shipments from the

manufacturer’s fiber supplier network.

Green Building

The worldwide market for green construction materials will grow from $116 billion in 2013 to greater than

$254 billion in 2020, according to a report from Navigant Research.

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Packaging, Paper & Forests

Sprint reduced by 55 percent the environmental impact of its branded device packaging from 2009 to 2012,

against a 2008 baseline, according to a new white paper.

Waitrose announced a goal to cut its packaging in half by 2016 compared to 2005 along with other changes

to its products that the UK supermarket chain says will save about 100 metric tons of packaging each year.

Novelis has announced the commercial availability of what it says is the industry’s first independently

certified, high-recycled content aluminum designed specifically for the beverage can market. With a

minimum of 90 percent recycled aluminum, the Novelis evercan aluminum beverage can body sheet allows

beverage companies to deliver soft drinks, beer and other beverages in a low-carbon

footprint consumer package, the company says.

Mars Africa has cut the carbon footprint of its Royco brand instant dry soup powder packaging 25 percent by

replacing a paper/foil lamination with a non-foil lamination that includes a coextrusion of polyethylene

polymers with high-barrier additives, Packaging World reports. Afripack and Mondi Extrusion Coatings

designed the packaging material.

Printing and packaging papers manufacturer Monadnock Paper Mills has developed an environmentally

friendly uncoated label designed specifically for craft beers. Monadnock Envi Label is made from 100

percent FSC-certified, post consumer waste fibers. The company says it withstands the rigors of challenging

print images, bottling lines and cold, wet coolers.

The Reusable Packaging Association is accepting submissions for its second annual excellence in reusable

packaging award, designed to recognize companies that have developed, supported or implemented

reusable packaging in a business-to-business supply chain.

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Renewable Energy

Biofuel company Logos Technologies and partner Edeniq have completed more than 1,000 hours of

continuous operation at their corn-to-cellulosic migration (CCM) pilot plant in Visalia, Calif., the companies

say.

AkzoNobel, a major paints and specialty chemicals producer, and renewable oil and bioproducts company

Solazyme announced an agreement to develop renewable oils from algae.

Verizon says it will invest $100 million in solar and fuel-cell energy projects with SunPower and ClearEdge

Power that will help power 19 of its facilities in seven states across the country.

The global market for low carbon and energy efficient technologies, including renewable energy supply

products, will triple to $2.2 trillion by 2020, the United Nations Environment Programme forecasts in a report.

Supply Chain

Less than half of executives say sustainability is highly important to their company's supply chain, according

to a PwC survey.

Sustainable Agriculture

A report from watchdog group Food & Water Watch accuses the US State Department of partnering with

Monsanto and other GMO seed companies to push biotech crops abroad, forcing farmers to buy genetically

modified seeds and agrichemicals.

Dow Chemical may see an uptick in sales of its pesticide sprays as a result of the European Union ban on

neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides linked to bee decline that are produced mainly by Bayer and

Syngenta, Reuters reports.

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Global greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector totaled 4.69 billion tons of carbon dioxide

equivalent in 2010, the most recent year for which data are available — an increase of 13 percent over

1990 emissions, according to Worldwatch Institute.

The Chicago Department of Aviation (CAD) has hired a herd of goats to provide sustainable vegetation

management at O’Hare International Airport.

Waste & Recycling

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Unilever, AB InBev and Nestlé are among the 45 UK retailers, manufacturers and

brands that have committed to reducing food and drink waste by 1.1 million metric tons by 2015 in the third

phase of the Courtauld Commitment.

Portland, Ore., city officials are offering citizens upgrades to larger trash containers in order to help them

adjust to the every-other-week garbage pick-up that was implemented a year-and-a-half ago.

The Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers, whose members represent more than 90 percent of

the processors of postconsumer plastic bottles in the US, Canada and Mexico, have formed a group to

address the rapid growth of full wrap shrink sleeve labels in the marketplace.

DuPont Refrigerants and EOS Climate have partnered to encourage the return of recovered

chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants by paying contractors and equipment owners for the ozone-depleting

substances, which will then be safely destroyed.

SC Johnson has launched Ziplock Brand Compostable Bags designed for use in commercial composting

facilities that accept food scraps and compostable bags.

Kimberly-Clark Professional has introduced a large-scale recycling effort for nontraditional cleanroom waste

such as cleanroom garments, gloves, hoods, boot covers and hairnets. The company says it is the first

large-scale recycling effort for this type of waste.

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Since Wisconsin launched a program for recycling electronic waste three years ago, the state has collected

more than 100 million pounds of e-waste, exceeding targets by several million pounds, according to state

officials.

Coca-Cola has invested over $250,000 in the Recycle & Win sustainability initiative which began in

Charlotte, NC, in 2009.

A landfill in Roxbury, New Jersey, has received hundreds of complaints from nearby residents of a stench

like rotten eggs, and a bill has been filed by Sen. Anthony Bucco that would force the landfill to shut down.

The percentage of local authorities collecting recyclable beverage cartons in the UK has reached 50%,

according to the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE) UK.

Composting is a major job creator, according to a new report released by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

(ILSR) nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC, in conjunction with International Compost Awareness Week.

Several waste haulers and the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) will settle a long-

standing waste flow control lawsuit against the City of Dallas that dates to 2011; the settlement means that

these haulers can dispose of the waste they collect in Dallas at a location of their choosing, including their

own facilities located outside Dallas.

George Washington University, American University and Georgia State are among the eight universities that

have joined Community Recycling Campus’ Reuse Movement and expect to generate some 1.9 million

pounds of reusable clothes and goods as students move off campus for the summer.

Water Management

Water treatment technology company Aquatech has acquired Fluid Recovery Services, thus creating a water

management network for the Marcellus and Utica shale region, Aquatech says.

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GE says its new membrane to purify tough-to-treat water such as wastewater from industrial processes can

reduce time between cleanings by up to 50 percent.

The global market for water and wastewater treatment and equipment within the pulp and paper industry will

grow from $983.9 million in 2012 to $1.569 billion in 2020, according to analysis from Frost & Sullivan.

Hydraulic fracturing operations should scale up their use of recycled water and non-freshwater resources,

and practice better water management planning if shale energy production is to grow as projected,

a Ceres research paper says.

A new online tool developed by scientists at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service can help

farmers and ranchers understand the quality of water flowing off their fields.

Imagine H2O has announced an initiative to establish pilot programs for water startups — the winners of its

food and agriculture competition — with commercial growers and food processors in California’s Central

Valley.

A new way to purify sludge may help the meat and dairy industries lower the environmental impact of their

wastewater treatments, Phys.org reports.

Standards & Compliance

Consultants have cited costs and the economic recession as reasons why rates of ISO 14001 certification in

the US lag behind other parts of the world.

The International Living Future Institute and the Health Product Declaration Collaborative will align their

building products standards to simplify disclosure requirements for manufacturers. The two organizations

say the Institute’s Declare ingredients label and online product database (declareproducts.com) and the

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HPDC’s Health Product Declaration (HPD) Open Standard for disclosing building product contents will work

seamlessly together.

ASTM International has proposed WK11340, Test Method for Determination of Sediment Control Product’s

Ability to Reduce Soil Loss Associated with Rainfall-Induced Erosion, which would provide performance-

based data of sediment control devices to regulating entities, specifiers, consumers and

manufacturers. Ryan Vavra, a member of the subcommittee drawing up the standard, said sediment control

devices are a fairly new category of products with few tests providing performance information.

All 10 buildings at Greenway Plaza, a Houston mixed-use campus owned by Crescent Real Estate Holdings,

have earned either Silver or Gold LEED status, Houston Business Journal reports. The complex includes

4,250,641 sq ft of office space, as well as retail, a food court, and what the company calls the largest green

roof in Texas.

Underwriters Laboratories has launched a due diligence service to support medical devices and laboratory

equipment manufacturers' compliance with the RoHS II directive. Many of these companies were excluded

from the original RoHS directive, but must comply with the new rules by July 22, 2014, UL says.

UK recycling and waste management company Viridor has achieved the ISO 50001 energy management

standard. The British Standards Institute awarded the certification, LetsRecycle reports.

Assurity Life's new home office in Lincoln, Neb., has earned LEED Gold certification. Assurity Center is the

largest of Lincoln's three LEED Gold buildings, the company says, at 175,000 sq ft.

Blackiron Data's Toronto DC3 data center has won LEED Silver certification. Highlights include water-free

cooling technology, non-ozone depleting refrigerant, a white roof, and 97 percent efficient uninterruptible

power supply units, the company says.

The Viana Hotel and Spa in Westbury, N.Y., has achieved LEED certification. The hotel says it implemented

strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency and indoor environmental

quality.

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The Hill Library at St. George's School in Middletown, RI has achieved LEED Gold certification,

GoLocalProv reports. Almost 15 percent of construction materials came from within the region, and 12

percent of building supplies used recycled materials.

California attorney general Kamala Harris filed a lawsuit against Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Target and

dozens of smaller manufacturers, retailers, manufacturers and distributors, alleging violations of the

state's Proposition 65. The filing in San Francisco Superior Court alleges that the companies are selling

lead-tainted ginger and plum candies without warning labels, the AP says.

Members of the Information Technology Industry Council, including Dell, HP, Sony, Samsung,

LG and Apple, lobbied at the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention to

have waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) reclassified as "non-waste" to enable it to be

exported to developing countries for repair. The Basel Ban Amendment, which has been implemented in 33

countries, makes WEEE export to developing countries illegal, Resource reports.

Basel Action Network, the creator of the e-Stewards standard for e-waste recycling, condemned the

electronic companies' proposal and said it undermined the very reason for the Basel Convention. Executive

director Jim Puckett said that if successful, the plan would "widen the floodgates" to allow even more e-

waste into Africa and Asia.

The Vanderbilt Technologies for Advanced Genomics (VANTAGE) laboratory at Vanderbilt University in

Nashville has achieved LEED Gold certification. Of the lab's 15,800 sq ft, about 12,000 were renovated

under the LEED Commercial Interiors protocol, the university says. Most workstations now have individual

controls for thermal and lighting comfort, allowing lab staff to adjust to their preferred settings in their own

workspace.

West Virginia's Wood County Justice Center has achieved LEED certification. The renovation of a 15-year-

old, 32,000-square-foot, single-story building included replacement of the existing HVAC system and

installation of more efficient lighting with automatic controls, the Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports.

Governor Jerry Brown has proposed reforms to California's Proposition 65 chemical disclosure law, saying it

has been "abused by unscrupulous lawyers." The package of reforms will build on ongoing legislative

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efforts in the state, Brown said, and includes proposals to cap attorneys' fees in Prop. 65 cases, change the

situations in which warnings are needed, and require plaintiffs to better demonstrate the support for their

claims.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association applauded the Prop. 65 proposal. The AAFA strongly

opposes Prop. 65, saying the measure has become a “feeding frenzy for bounty hunters and litigants,” Just-

Style reports. Meanwhile, in the Sacramento Bee, the Center for Environmental Health warned that if

penalties are lowered too much, companies would lose their incentive to remove chemicals from products.

The International Standards Organization's revision of the ISO 14001 environmental management standard

will likely increase demand for regulatory compliance services, and may significantly change how companies

treat environmental factors as part of their business goals, according to Enhesa's Tjeerd Hendel-Blackford,

writing for EHS Today. The first draft of the revision is expected this spring, with the final version due in

2015.

EMC's Durham Center of Excellence data center, Phases I and II, in Durham, N.C. has received LEED

Commercial Interiors Gold certification, according to architects Symmes Maini & McKee Associates. The

design cut EMC's overall carbon footprint by 100 million pounds of CO2 and qualified for $660,000 in power

company rebates, SMMA said. The project's HVAC design provides over 5,500 hours of free cooling per

year, or about 62.8 percent of cooling needs.

Standards are needed for the sustainability impacts of bioenergy crops, to harmonize efforts in the US, Brazil

and Europe, according to Jody Endres, University of Illinois professor of energy and environmental law and

chair of the Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSBP), interviewed for Science Daily. She said

such an effort will be vital for the airline industry because of looming carbon reduction regulations in Europe.

NETA has released ANSI/NETA ATS-2013, Standard for Acceptance Testing Specifications for Electrical

Power Equipment and Systems. This covers equipment including switchgear, transformers, circuit breakers,

protective relays, rotating machinery, motors, capacitors, batteries and emergency systems, Electric

Construction & Maintenance reports.

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Multi-Contact, a provider of electrical connectors to the photovoltaic industry, has achieved ISO

14001 certification, according to Solar Novus Today. Bureau Veritas certified the company's headquarters

in Allschwil, Switzerland, as well as two subsidiaries in Weil am Rhein and Essen, Germany.

UL Environment has launched UL 2803, its revised EcoLogo third-party environmental standard for printing

services. The revised standard combines two former EcoLogo standards – Lithographic Printing Services

(CCD 041) and Digital Printing Services (CCD 141) – and includes new criteria aimed at reducing risk to

human and environmental health, UL Environment says.

BASF has become the first chemical company to achieve gold-level certification under the European Water

Stewardship standard, for its production site in Tarragona, Spain, the company says. TÜV Nord Integra

assessed the site's entire water management performance, from water's extraction at the source to its

reintroduction in downstream water bodies.

The North Carolina House of Representatives approved HB 628, which is expected to prohibit the LEED

certification system for public projects, the Charlotte Business Journal reports.

Consumer Advocacy Group has filed a complaint under California’s Proposition 65 against manufacturers,

distributors and retailers of iWave electronics and other products, law firm Shook Hardy & Bacon reports.

The plaintiffs say products containing lead or diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP), without the required warnings,

include the iWave Neptune 2.0 speaker system, iWave OHM + stereo headphone, iWave laptop combination

lock, Mammoth Precision Tools 12V 300 PSI portable air compressor, and TKO jump ropes.

Yale University School of Medicine's 9,600 sq ft Laboratory for Comparative Medicine received LEED-

Commercial Interiors Platinum, according to designers Tate Burns Architects. The project used regional

brick, steel, wood, gypsum board and furniture, and Forest Stewardship Council-certified doors, millwork and

laboratory casework.

UK-based materials development and testing company Ceram has achieved ISO 14001 environmental

management system certification. The company said it achieved certification in only 15 months, and it will

share its experience to help customers implement EMSs.

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Printed circuit board maker Sprint Circuits received ISO 14001 certification following stage 2 assessment by

the British Standards Institution, PCB 007 reports. The company says it went from implementing the EMS to

achieving the standard in less than 12 months.

Policy & Enforcement

General Motors, Method Products and Novelis are among the latest seven US businesses to sign a

statement urging federal policymakers to take action on climate change, calling it “one of America’s greatest

economic opportunities of the 21st century.”

More than 100 national, state and regional organizations have written to members of the US Congress

urging them to support a Farm Bill with mandatory funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency

programs.

The EPA will not set methane emissions rules for coal mines, according to a document published in the

Federal Register.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has urged the world's environmental ministers to combat climate

change by implementing a five-point plan that includes putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions,

improving agricultural practices and ending fossil fuel subsidies.

Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) has gone live with an online

database of energy-related legislation pending in all 50 states.

Energy policies in Connecticut that are designed to promote multiple, competing sources of energy in a bid

to drive down energy costs have set the Democratic administration and environmentalists – a traditionally

Democratic support bloc – at loggerheads, reports the Associated Press.

The European Commission has adopted a strategy to promote green infrastructure by enhancing

biodiversity in urban areas. The EC says the strategy will create new jobs, provide economic benefits and be

a key step in implementing the European Union’s 2020 goals to protect biodiversity and ecosystems.

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The International Air Transport Association said the industry prefers a global carbon offsetting system that

involves buying carbon credits rather than an industry-wide cap-and-trade system, Reuters reports.

At its current rate, the EPA will take over a decade to judge the toxicity of 83 chemicals prioritized for review,

according to a report by the Government Accountability Office, FierceGovernment says. The EPA's pace

may even slip, the GAO says, since the agency chose to prioritize chemicals for which it had enough toxicity

and exposure data.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said she will schedule a

hearing to investigate the April 17 explosion at the West, Texas fertilizer plant, which killed 15 people and

injured hundreds, Talking Points Memo reports. Owner West Fertilizer failed to tell the Department of

Homeland Security about the massive amounts of ammonium nitrate being stored at the

plant, Reuters reported.

The Printing Industries of America and the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association are pushing the EPA to

finalize revisions to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's hazardous waste rules, which would

regulate the rags used for mopping up hazardous chemicals. Such rags are also used in auto body and

furniture refurbishing shops. The White House has been sitting on the draft of a final rule for more than a

year, the Hill reports.

The UK Supreme Court ruled that the country's government was in breach of an EU directive

limiting nitrogen dioxide emissions. The judges asked the European Court of Justice for guidance on further

steps, and the ECJ could take up to 18 months to answer, Reuters reported.

The Williston Basin, a vast region of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, contains twice as much oil

and three times as much natural gas as previously estimated, according to an Interior Department report,

the Washington Post says. The department says that 7.4 billion barrels of shale oil are technical recoverable

there.

The EPA's decision to dramatically lower its estimate of methane leaks during natural gas production could

have major implications, FuelFix says. The agency has cut its estimate of 1990-2010 methane emissions by

about 20 percent.

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The Bureau of Land Management has published a regulation that would limit mining claims near areas

designated as potential solar or wind sites, while the BLM considers the renewable energy applications. This

final rule replaces an interim rule in place since 2001, and will give the government a way to safeguard the

lands in the long term, the Hill reports.

The director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency told Denver-based MarkWest Energy that the

"repeated nature and magnitude" of its pipeline construction spills in Harrison and Belmont counties was

unacceptable, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The company had six spills of a clay-water lubricant mixture

between Sept. 17 and Mar. 27, polluting streams and wetlands, including one spill that took more than three

months to clean up. MarkWest and the Ohio EPA have discussed possible fines.

The EPA was expected to publish limits for residues of the weed-killer glyphosate, more commonly known

as Roundup, on agricultural crops including fruits, vegetables and canola seeds, the Hill reports.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) has urged President

Obama's administration to contract for the remaining $1.5 billion in energy savings performance

contracts (ESPCs) by the end of 2013. Obama committed the federal government in December 2011 to

spend $2 billion on energy upgrades via ESPCs, as part of the president's Better Buildings Challenge. The

government has so far awarded about $500 million, the Hill reports.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works was scheduled to consider the nomination of Gina

McCarthy for EPA administrator on May 9. The senators held a hearing on McCarthy the previous month.

The EPA has announced grants of $340 million to the state of New York and $229 million to New Jersey for

improvements to wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The

Union of Concerned Scientists described the grant as a "band-aid," the Hill reports.

Multiple factors contribute to honeybee colony decline, including parasites, disease, genetics, poor nutrition

and pesticide exposure, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture and the EPA. The

researchers pinned a large part of the blame on a parasitic mite known as Varroa destructor, and said it is

not clear whether pesticides are a major factor, the Guardian reported. The European Union voted to impose

a two-year ban on the pesticide class neonicotinoids, in an effort to protect bees.

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EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht was poised to recommend placing import duties on billions of euros

worth of solar panels from China, Reuters reports. But the EU and Beijing could also still negotiate an

agreement to avoid the levies.

US carbon dioxide levels would remain flat from now to 2040 if the government made all current policies

permanent, according to an Energy Information Administration analysis, reported in the Washington

Post. But flatlined emissions wouldn't be nearly enough to tackle climate change, the Post's Brad Plumer

says - and the Obama administration itself has set a goal of a 17 percent cut by 2020 and 83 percent by

2050.

At 160-nation talks in Bonn, Germany, the US gained some support for its plan to let all countries set their

own climate goals, which would mean throwing out the blueprint of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. But countries'

pledges so far are too low to prevent substantial temperature rises, Reuters says.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it will increase oversight at Exelon Generation Co.'s Three Mile

Island 1 reactor, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The NRC said inspectors conducting a post-Fukushima

review at the Pennsylvania plant last year found unprotected electrical conduits, which in a severe flood

could allow water to infiltrate the plant's safety equipment.

An Ontario court has rebuffed attempts to force Chevron's Canadian subsidiary to pay a $19 billion judgment

in the company's long-running Amazon pollution case, the Wall Street Journal says. Chevron has refused to

pay the penalty levied by an Ecuadorian court, and the company has no assets in Ecuador, so plaintiffs have

tried to collect the money in Canada, Brazil and Argentina.

The EPA has announced an agreement with D.S.C. of Newark Enterprises to obtain a reimbursement for

$1.6 million that the EPA spent to clean up the Friction Division Products Superfund site, which D.S.C.

owned, in Lawrenceville, N.J. The property was littered with asbestos material, acids, flammable materials,

waste oil, solvents, and metal compounds, the agency says.

The Moore Company, a manufacturer of rubber and elastic tapes, threads, sheets and rings, will pay a civil

penalty of $198,500 for Clean Air Act violations at its facility in Brattleboro, Vt., the EPA says. The facility

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violated air permit conditions related to particulate matter, emissions control systems, and recapture of

refrigerants during servicing, the agency says.

Delegates from 160 nations agreed in Bonn that a successor to the Kyoto Protocol should allow emissions

targets to be tightened without further negotiations, if researchers find that floods, droughts and sea levels

are worsening, Reuters reported. But a deep divide remains between China, which says developed nations

should collectively cut emissions by 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and the US, which is asking

for about 4 percent.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2013 was scheduled to come to the Senate floor, according to the

Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The committee unanimously approved the bill, which

would make low-interest loans available for water infrastructure projects, in March. Transportation and

Infrastructure Committee chairman Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) had said the House would introduce its own

version by late spring or early summer.

Protests by about 200 Amazon Indians halted work on the 11,233 MW Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, the

world's third-largest, Reuters reports. The protesters are demanding that Brazil's government hold

consultations with indigenous peoples before building dams that might affect their land and livelihoods. The

government maintains that it did this as required by the country's constitution.

The EPA says it has improved its conflict of interest review process for contractor-managed peer reviews,

with new oversight to ensure that contractors follow regulations and guidance. The agency says it will also

ensure the public has opportunities to review and comment on the composition of peer review panels

considering influential scientific documents.

The House Committee on Natural Resources scheduled a hearing entitled, "DOI Hydraulic Fracturing Rule:

A Recipe for Government Waste, Duplication and Delay." The committee says states have been successfully

regulating hydraulic fracturing for the past 60 years without a single instance of ground water contamination,

and that possible new federal regulation could be costly and damaging to job creation and energy

development.

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The House was scheduled to vote on a bill to speed permitting for the Keystone XL pipeline, according to the

Hill. The bill was likely to pass with support from all Republicans and some Democrats. The Hill previously

reported that Keystone XL will need State Department approval to proceed, but now says the bill would

circumvent the Obama administration's jurisdiction to secure a cross-border permit for the pipeline.

The environment and energy subcommittees of the House Committee on Science, Space and

Technology scheduled a joint hearing to discuss the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Obama administration has announced almost $600 million in funding for 28 projects to address damage

from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Louisiana barrier islands will receive about $320 million for

restoration of beaches and marshes, the Hill reports. A list of other funded projects is here.

The energy and power subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee scheduled a hearing

on "US Energy Abundance: Exports and the Changing Global Energy Landscape." The subcommittee said it

would examine potential effects of liquefied natural gas exports, including job creation and reducing the trade

deficit.

A report by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council found that LNG exports will spur job creation.

The report said the oil and gas industry has been a "rare bright spot" in the US economy, the House Energy

and Commerce Committee said.

President Obama was scheduled to meet with electric utility CEOs and power industry trade associations to

discuss lessons learned and actions taken since Hurricane Sandy, with an eye on the upcoming hurricane

season, the Hill reports.

The EPA defended its climate change regulations in two cases at the US Court of

Appeals, GreenWire reports. In one, Texas, Wyoming and industry groups argue that EPA rushed its review

of state implementation plans (SIPs) and threatened a ban on new facility construction to "coerce" states into

compliance. In the other, Texas is challenging the EPA's decision to revoke its permitting authority after the

state refused to include greenhouse gases in its SIP.

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Europe's environment committee has proposed fitting all new vans with devices to limit their top speed to

120 km (75 miles) per hour, in an effort to cut carbon emissions and improve fuel economy, Reuters reports.

Under the plan, which needs approval by EU member states, automakers would have to start fitting the

devices from January 1 of next year.

Canada lost its appeal against a World Trade Organization finding that Ontario's preference for locally

produced renewable energy equipment discriminated against foreign firms. The EU and Japan brought the

case. The appeal decision did revise a small part of the December ruling, Reuters reports.

The American Petroleum Institute has accused the EPA of violating procedural rules in a rush to enact auto

emissions regulations, the Hill reports. The oil and gas industry group says the agency violated Clean Air Act

rules requiring the EPA to publish regulations in the Federal Register prior to accepting public comments or

holding public hearings.

Energy and environment ministers from France, Germany, the UK and four other countries have signed a

statement urging a new vote on backloading, or temporarily withdrawing, EU carbon permits to prop up

prices. Prices fell to new lows last month after legislators rejected a backloading proposal, the Financial

Times said.

The House appropriations committee planned to hold a rescheduled budget hearing with acting EPA

administrator Bob Perciasepe. The hearing was originally scheduled for April 21.

The Energy and Power subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was scheduled to

hold a hearing entitled "American Energy Security and Innovation: Grid Reliability Challenges in a Shifting

Energy Resource Landscape."

Keller Transportation agreed to pay $83,500 to settle Clean Water Act claims related to a 2008 tanker truck

spill that resulted in more than 6,300 gallons of gasoline entering springs along Flathead Lake, Montana.

The spill affected groundwater as well as the lake itself, and sampling shows there are still high levels of

contamination in the main spill pathway, the EPA said.

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Republicans boycotted a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Gina McCarthy's

nomination for EPA administrator, leaving Democrats unable to get a quorum and forcing them to cancel a

planned vote, the Hill reported. GOP senators are also discussing a filibuster - the first ever on a cabinet-

level position - and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said he doesn't think Democrats will muster the 60 votes

needed to overcome that.

Canada is tightening greenhouse gas standards for ships to align itself with US regulations, in a move that

transport minister Denis Lebel said would cut GHGs by 11 megatons a year by 2025, the CBC reported. The

government said its new standards will reduce ships' sulfur oxide emissions by 96 percent and nitrogen

oxide by 80 percent, both by 2020, and cut carbon dioxide by 30 percent over 12 years.

S.761, the energy-efficiency bill co-sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH),

sailed through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, 19-3. The committee also approved

four bills that would relax permitting for small hydropower projects, and Wyden said he expects those to pass

a full Senate vote, the Hill said.

EU commissioners backed trade chief Karel De Gucht's proposal of import duties on Chinese solar

panels, Reuters reported. Shares in Chinese manufacturer Suntech fell sharply on the news, while shares in

Germany's SolarWorld, Phoenix Solar and Centrotherm rose.

Van maker Vehicle Production Group LLC, which received $50 million in Advanced Technology Vehicle

Manufacturing loans from the Department of Energy, has halted operations and laid off nearly all its

employees, Bloomberg reports. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said the latest closure of a DOE-funded business

signals that the loan program is a failure.

The Senate agreed unanimously to five amendments to the Water Resources Development Act, including

one authorizing the Army to build river and harbor projects, and another that would give towns smaller

than 25,000 people extra help to develop infrastructure. The bill, S. 601, would also authorize navigation,

ecosystem restoration, and flood risk reduction projects, the Hill said.

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The House Energy and Commerce Committee released the third in a series of white papers examining

issues with the Renewable Fuel Standard. The latest paper examines greenhouse gas emissions and other

environmental impacts associated with the RFS.

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) introduced H.R. 1900, the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act, a bill to

streamline the federal review process for natural gas pipeline permits. Pompeo says the current regulatory

process delays construction of critical infrastructure.

The EPA has approved Pennsylvania’s 2012 final list of impaired waters, part of a bi-annual monitoring and

assessment report. The list contains 7,009 impaired waters, adding 263 and removing 39.

Texas state representative Wayne Smith is proposing a bill that would limit the Texas Commission on

Environmental Quality to keeping five years of records on companies' compliance with state and federal

laws, NBC DFW reports. The Texas League of Conservation Voters said the law would limit the public's

access to company records.

Democrats said they would attempt another vote on Gina McCarthy's nomination for EPA administrator, the

Hill said. The late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) – who was ill at the time – planned to travel to Washington

to enable a quorum in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Republicans earlier boycotted

a vote as they sought more information about the data the EPA uses to draft regulations.

The EPA has decided to apply more stringent environmental reviews to genetically engineered corn and

soybeans from Dow Chemical and Monsanto, after determining that the crops could significantly affect the

human environment, the New York Times reported. These products are now unlikely to reach the market

until 2015 at the earliest.

The White House has released a National Strategy for the Arctic Region. The strategy seeks to balance

conservation with development of energy and mineral resources, the Hill says.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee planned opening statements tomorrow for a mark-up on the

Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act of 2013 (H.R. 271), authored by Rep. Pete Olson

(R-TX). The act aims to ensure that power companies can comply with DOE emergency orders to maintain

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grid reliability without facing penalties for violating environmental laws. Background and bill text will be

posted here.

The EPA and other federal agencies have added 11 locations to the Urban Waters Federal

Partnership, which aims to improve water quality, restore ecosystems and enhance public access to urban

waters. The departments of energy and education are also joining the partnership, and a progress report

details plans for each location.

Chevron Corp. is entitled to unspecified damages in a dispute with the federal government over California oil

deposits worth $37 billion, according to a US Court of Claims made public Thursday, Bloomberg reports.

Judge Susan Braden said the Department of Energy “repeatedly and materially violated” two agreements

determining equity interests in the Elk Hills Reserve.

Three greenhouse gas mitigation policies under consideration in Canada would all deliver emissions

reductions at reasonable cost, according to a report by the International Institute for Sustainable

Development (IISD). The institute says compromise between the federal government, Alberta and the oil and

gas industry is possible. The report is available here.

The American Petroleum Institute said the Bureau of Land Management's delay on oil and gas leasing will

prevent economic growth, the Associated Press reports. The bureau has postponed all oil and gas auctions

on California's prime public lands until October.

About 1,000 people marched against Hefei Guoxuan High-tech Power Energy Co's plans for a lithium battery

factory in Shanghai. The protesters are part of a growing anti-pollution movement in China, which also

included protests against China National Petroleum Corp's planned chemical refinery in

Kunming, Reuters reports.

Blount Boats, which operates a shipbuilding and ship repair facility in Warren, R.I., has agreed to pay a

$24,000 penalty and spend at least $230,000 on a clean air project to resolve EPA claims that it violated

federal and state clean air regulations. The agency alleged that Blount used paints with hazardous air

pollutants greater than the allowable limits, failing to keep required records of paint usage, and failing to

submit notifications and reports to state and federal officials.

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European Commission antitrust regulators are investigating Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Statoil and price

reporting company Platts - a subsidiary of McGraw Hill Financial - over potential oil price manipulation. The

probe is examining how price reporting companies help determine the cost of raw

materials, Bloomberg says.

The federal government is shielding the wind industry from liability for golden eagle deaths, and helping to

keep the scale of deaths a secret, an AP investigation alleges. The news agency says the Obama

administration has never fined or prosecuted a single wind company for the federal crime, though it has

prosecuted oil companies and utilities on the same charge.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions' license

and reactor-design certification for Southern Co.'s two planned nuclear reactors at the Vogtle Electric

Generating Plant in Georgia. The judges rejected arguments by nine environmental groups, who said the

commission didn't fully consider lessons learned from Japan's Fukushima disaster, Bloomberg reports.

But Friends of the Earth and other environmental groups also celebrated, after the NRC's Atomic Safety and

Licensing Board issued an order that they said would allow a more detailed review of plans to restart the San

Onofre nuclear plant in California. The twin-reactor plant has been shut since January 2012, after a small

radiation leak led to the discovery of damage to hundreds of tubes carrying radioactive water, the

AP reports. (Plant operator Southern California Edison later decided to permanently close the plant.)

China's environment ministry has given its approval to construction of the country's tallest hydroelectric

dam, Reuters reports. But the ministry said an environmental impact assessment found the dam would

negatively affect rare fish and flora.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said he would introduce a bill calling for the US to increase drilling on federal

lands to displace Iranian oil on the world market, the Hill reports. The legislation would require the president

to establish enough “Iranian Oil Replacement Zones” to produce 1.25 million barrels of oil per day — about

as much as Iran exports.

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Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) has introduced legislation to create a new category for natural gas-based

ethanol under the renewable fuel standard, Fuel Fix reports. Currently, only ethanol created from easily

renewable materials such as switchgrass or corn starch is covered by the standard.

The Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on energy and water development planned a hearing

to review the president's fiscal year 2014 funding request and budget justification for the Department of

Energy.

Two subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee - energy and power, and environment

and the economy - planned a joint hearing to review the president’s FY2014 EPA budget request and

discuss the agency’s agenda.

The environment and economy subcommittee said it would examine the Reducing Excessive Deadline

Obligations Act, the Federal and State Partnership for Environmental Protection Act, and the Federal Facility

Accountability Act. These three bills seek to modernize existing federal law and increase state authority for

certain environmental regulations.