Editor’s Note: The new Congressional Research Service Report, “EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?” is attached here. Below is an excerpt.
From: Congressional Research Service
Carbon Pollution Standards for New and Existing Power Plants.
Triangulate: “Triangulation is a powerful technique that facilitates validation of data through cross verification from two or more sources”.
N. B. Subsequent to the publication of the following post EPA did respond to CRE; we appreciate their doing so in a comprehensive manner.
DQA: The Data Quality Act requires that EPA conduct a structured peer review of CCS pursuant to the Data Quality Act.
OIRA: OIRA has the statutory mandate to enforce the DQA.
GPRA: GPRA directs EPA and OMB to disclose actions they have taken to ensure regulations are science based.
From: American Water Works Association
AWWA has expressed concerns to a US House of Representatives panel about carbon capture and storage technology.
In a letter to the leadership of the Committee on Science, Space & Technology, AWWA said that while it has not taken a position on whether the US Environmental Protection Agency should encourage or mandate CCS as a method for controlling greenhouse gas emissions, “we believe very strongly that underground sources of drinking water must be protected from CCS activities. CCS has not been implemented anywhere for large volumes of CO2 injection. Therefore, it should be considered an experimental technology and could pose significant risks to drinking water sources if rushed prematurely to commercial scale.”
Editor’s Note: The key sentenance in the article is: “The company has received some $700m in federal grants and tax credits, and has been authorised to recover at least $2.8bn of Kemper’s costs by increasing utility rates – in one of the poorest areas of the country.”
From: The Guardian
A $5bn facility to capture carbon and pump it underground could provide a lifeline for the dirtiest of fossil fuels, but many remain unconvinced
Suzanne Goldenberg in Kemper county, Mississippi
Editor’s Note: The CRE letter requesting that EPA conduct a structured peer review as mandated by the Data Quality Act is in this letter to the Administrator. Below is the introductory paragraph.
Dear Administrator McCarthy:
We are writing to advise you of a clear failure by EPA to comply with legally binding OMB data quality peer review rules in proceeding with publication of its notice of proposed rulemaking concerning new source performance standards for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units. The NPRM signed by you was published in the Federal Register on January 8. Issuance of a final rule without compliance with the OMB peer review guidance would be a violation of law because it would violate a number of OMB peer review mandates.
From: E&E Publishing/ClimateWire
Anne C. Mulkern, E&E reporter
Actions to limit climate change and calls for water conservation are on a potential collision course, some water researchers believe.
Making low-carbon electricity from sources like concentrated solar, geothermal and coal with carbon capture and sequestration consumes more water than fossil fuel-generated power, experts said. Developing cleaner-burning motor fuels also requires more water than turning oil into gasoline.
With severe droughts in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and other states, water consumption is becoming a mounting concern.
From: Herald-Review.com
CHRIS LUSVARDI H&R Staff Writer
DECATUR — Jake Woodward wants to know why the water out of his family’s well has become severely discolored.
He has tried to have the well water filtered. Among other things, he’s concerned about giving his children a bath.
“We don’t drink the water,” Woodward said while showing pictures of water in his family’s bathtub. “It is terrible.”
The timing of when the problems started and the proximity of where he lives off of Reas Bridge Road to drilling for a nearby carbon sequestration project led him to question during a discussion Thursday at Richland Community College whether there is a connection between the two things. The Community Environmental Council organized the meeting.
From: The Washington Times/Commentary
By Tim Phillips
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has trouble following the law. Not only is the Supreme Court mulling whether the agency overstepped its regulatory authority regarding greenhouse-gas emissions, but last month the EPA released regulations regarding Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) — a pleasant-sounding policy that oversteps the EPA’s legal authority and bilks Americans once in their taxes and again in their utility bills.
This regulation is the fulfillment of President Obama’s 2008 campaign pledge, “If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can — it’s just that it will bankrupt them.”