Corporate Environmental Lawyer

Sustainability Remains A Challenge For U.S. Businesses

By E. Lynn Grayson

Two new reports recently released by EIRIS and CERES suggest that U.S. businesses are making progress on sustainability initiatives but may lag behind European companies. On May 1st, EIRIS released On Track for Rio+20: How are Global Companies Responding to Sustainability? On April 25th, Ceres released The Road to 2020: Corporate Progress on the Ceres Roadmap to Sustainability.

EIRIS looked at the sustainability performance of more than 2,000 global companies and rated the 50 largest, by market capitalization, using a scale of "A" through "E." The researchers looked at the extent to which a company has social, environmental, or governance impacts or risks and then looked at how well the company manages those impacts, using more than 300 sustainability indicators. European companies generally rated higher due to stricter sustainability laws as well as greater public awareness there, according to Mark Robertson, the report's author and spokesman for EIRIS.

The Ceres report conducted a detailed evaluation of how well 600 major U.S. corporations are meeting key sustainability expectations. The good news is that there are pockets of corporate sustainability leadership; companies that are making significant strides towards becoming truly sustainable enterprises. In the process they're not only laying the groundwork for their own success, they're making a real contribution to building a sustainable global economy for all. The bad news is that most companies have barely begun the journey towards sustainability and remain stuck in outmoded ways of doing business. The pace of change must accelerate because our major sustainability threats such as climate change and water scarcity are coming at us faster and harder than projected just a few years ago.

These reports are being issued in advance of the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June.

EIRIS is a leading global provider of independent research into the environmental, social, governance (ESG) and ethical performance of companies. An independent, not-for-profit organization, EIRIS works to help our clients develop the market in ways that benefit investors, asset managers and the wider world. Its mission is to empower responsible investors with independent assessments of companies and advice on integrating them with investment decisions.

Ceres is an advocate for sustainability leadership. Ceres mobilizes a powerful network of investors, companies and public interest groups to accelerate and expand the adoption of sustainable business practices and solutions to build a healthy global economy. Its mission is to mobolize investors and business leadership to build a thriving, sustainable global economy.

More information about sustainability research and these reports are available at http://www.eiris.org/ and http://www.ceres.org/.

U.S. EPA Releases 2012 IRIS Agenda

By Steven M. Siros

On May 7, 2012, U.S. EPA announced its 2012 Integrated Risk Information System ("IRIS") agenda which adds seven new chemicals to the IRIS program while withdrawing four chemicals from the program.  The new IRIS chemicals are chlorobenzene, decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, element mercury, methyl mercury, vanadium, and 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene.  The four withdrawn chemicals are alkylates, bisphenol A, mirex and refractory ceramic fibers.  There are now a total of 51 chemicals on the IRIS evaluation list.   U.S. EPA intends to have have initiated the assessment process for all 51 chemicals by fiscal 2014.  Click here to go to U.S. EPA's IRIS website.

DOE Identifies Possible Carbon Sequestration Storage Sites

By Steven M. Siros

On May 1, 2012, the Department of Energy released the North American Storage Atlas that maps the potential carbon dioxide storage capacity in North America. According to the Atlas, there is at least 500 years of geologic storage capacity for carbon dioxide in North America. In addition to identifying the locations with large carbon dioxide storage capacity, the Atlas also identifies the location of approximately 2,250 large stationary sources of carbon dioxide. The Atlas was developed by the Department of Energy, Natural Resources Canada and the Mexican Ministry of Energy.

Business Roundtable Report Calls For Improved Permitting Process

By E. Lynn Grayson

The Business Roundtable (BRT) issued a report this month, Permitting Jobs and Business Investment Streamlining the Federal Permitting Process, highlighting the adverse impacts to business of the often long, inconsistent and burdensome federal permitting process. The CEOs of Business Roundtable believe that it is time to simplify, streamline and accelerate America's permitting process with the goal of encouraging large-scale capital investments in the U.S. economy while maintaining the nation's commitments to health, safety and soundness. With this goal in mind, this report identifies key challenges associated with the existing regulatory permitting system and sets forth a series of recommended reforms.

In its report, the BRT identified three key concerns associated with federally required permits:

1. Too Many Burdensome Permits Are Needed
2. Processing Permits Results in Delays and Inconsistencies
3. Litigation Also Delays Construction Projects

The BRT has developed a set of recommendations to reform the federal permit process making it more efficient for business and less of an adverse economic impact. A summary of the problem and recommended solution is attached.

BRT is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with over $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 14 million employees. Their companies generate an estimated $420 billion in sales for small and medium-sized businesses annually. BRT members comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and invest more than $150 billion annually in research and development – nearly half of all private U.S. R&D spending. BRT companies pay $163 billion in dividends to shareholders and give nearly $9 billion a year in combined charitable contributions. To learn more about BRT, please visit their website at www.brt.org.

EPA Issues New NEPA Mapping Tool

By E. Lynn Grayson

EPA has issued a new online mapping tool, NEPAssist, to assist federal agencies in evaluating possible NEPA environmental review obligations. NEPAssist is one of five pilot projects selected by the White House Council on Environmental Quality to advance the NEPA process through innovation, public participation and transparency.

NEPAssist is a tool that facilitates the environmental review process and project planning in relation to environmental considerations. The web-based application draws environmental data dynamically from EPA's Geographic Information System databases and web services and provides immediate screening of environmental assessment indicators for a user-defined area of interest. These features contribute to a streamlined review process that potentially raises important environmental issues at the earliest stages of project development.

Federal agencies can enter an address, zip code, city, county, watershed or a pair of coordinates in order to evaluate a potential new study area. The mapping tool also is available to the public at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/nepassist-mapping.html.

Happy Earth Day 2012

By E. Lynn Grayson

Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson started the environmental movement that would turn into what we celebrate now as Earth Day. On November 11, 1969, Senator Nelson announced that April 22, 1970 – a date chosen to fit best in college schedules between spring break and final exams – would be the day of what they named the "National Teach-In on the Crisis of the Environment."

Senator Nelson's actions launched the environmental movement in the U.S. that resulted not only in the designation of an Earth Day but the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the adoption of many of the country's earliest laws including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Years after these early efforts, Senator Nelson provided these thoughts on why environmental protection was essential: "The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity…that's all there is. That's the whole economy. That's where all the economic activity and jobs come from. These biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world."

To learn more about the history of Earth Day, visit http://nelsonearthday.net/.

If you are in D.C. today, consider joining the Earth Day celebration on the National Mall. The rally on Sunday, April 22nd will take place from 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and include civic leaders and celebrities addressing the environmental movement.

"There is a great need for the introduction of new values in our society, where bigger is not necessarily better, where slower can be faster, and where less can be more."

--Gaylord Nelson

Happy Earth Day 2012!

2012 Environmental Health Webinars Announced By NIEHS

By E. Lynn Grayson

The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Partnerships in Environmental Public Health (PEPH) has initiated an environmental health and education webinar series. The webinars will strive to promote interactions among PEPH grantees, and increase awareness of emerging issues and approaches in environmental public health. The PEPH umbrella unites researchers in basic and clinical research, community-based participatory research, education, outreach, and environmental justice in the pursuit of improved public health.

The first webinar conducted earlier this year focused on the theme of connecting environmental exposures to chronic inflammation and diseases. Topics included: 1) How Is the Immune System Involved in Inflammation; 2) Air Pollution Morbidity: Confounding Effects of Chronic Inflammation; and, 3) Inflammation and Effects of Chronic Disease. The most recent webinar focused on the health implications of arsenic in our food system.

Upcoming seminars include the following:

• April/May: Mapping and Environmental Public Health: Visualizing Health Disparities and the Effects of Pollution
• May: Health Impact Assessments and Community Engagement
• June: Science-based Decision Making
• July: Hydraulic Fracturing

The PEPH webinars are free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Registration information is available in advance of each webinar at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/index.cfm or by contacting the Office of Communications and Public Liaison at 919-541-3345.

The PEPH webinar series provides easy access to up to date research on the interplay between environmental impacts and public health concerns.

Earth Day 2012 – Saturday, April 22nd – Mobilize The Earth

By E. Lynn Grayson

This Saturday, more than one billion people around the world will participate in Earth Day 2012 according to the Earth Day Network. The Earth Day 2012 campaign is designed to provide people with the opportunity to come together to support a call for a more sustainable future.

April 22nd also marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. "It was a gamble," Earth Day founder and then U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson recalled, "but it worked."

Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. Earth Day has become the largest civic observance in the world. All of EDN's activities, whether greening schools or promoting green economic policies at home and abroad, inform and energize populations so they will act to secure a healthy future for themselves and their children. With its partner organizations, EDN provides civic engagement opportunities at the local, state, national and global levels. At every turn, EDN works to broaden the definition of "environment" to include all issues that affect our health, our communities and our environment, such as greening deteriorated schools, creating green jobs and investment, and promoting activism to stop air and water pollution.

EDN wants Earth Day 2012 to serve as a launch pad for a growing environmental movement demanding immediate action to secure renewable energy for all and a sustainable future for everyone.

For more information about Earth Day 2012, April 22nd activities or the Earth Day Network, see http://www.earthday.org/2012.

U.S. EPA Promulgates New Air Rules For Hydraulic Fracking

By Steven M. Siros

Under newly promulgated U.S. EPA regulations, on or before January 1, 2015, natural gas fracking operations will be required to capture volatile organic compound ("VOC") emissions by using reduced emissions completions equipment (otherwise known as "green completions" equipment) from fracked wells.  The green completions equipment (which is already required in certain states) allows the natural gas and other related emissions that are typically released during the well completion process to be captured and reused while at the same time also reducing NOx emissions that are typical byproducts of combustion.  Until January 1, 2015, VOC emissions from fracked wells will need to be flared during the well completion period.

According to U.S. EPA, it delayed the requirement to capture the VOC emissions until 2015 in response to industry comments that indicate that there currently are an insufficient number of the "green completions" equipment available to industry.  Comments submitted by the American Petroleum Institute noted that there currently are only about 300 sets of "green completion" equipment available but that about 1,000 new sets would be needed in order for industry to fully comply with the new rule.  Certain exploratory wells and low-pressure wells are exempted from the requirement to use green completions equipment. 

The new rules also impose specific notification and reporting requirements.  For example, notification must be provided to U.S. EPA and/or state/local air agencies no later than two days before well completion work begins.  Well owners/operators must also submit annual reports detailing all well completions for the prior year.  The reports must be certified by a senior company official.

For further information on these new regulations, click here.

Urban Waters Federal Partnership Launches First Pilot Program In Los Angeles

By E. Lynn Grayson

The Urban Waters Federal Partnership, made up of 11 federal agencies, recently announced a program in seven cities that will accelerate and coordinate on-the-ground projects that are critical to improving water quality and public health, restoring forest resources and fostering community stewardship in urban watersheds. Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Urban Waters Ambassadors Program will work with state and local governments, non-governmental organizations and other local partners. The Urban Waters Federal Partnership is an effort to help urban and metropolitan areas, particularly those that are underserved or economically distressed, connect with their waterways and work to improve them.

The first Urban Waters Ambassador has been selected for the Los Angeles River watershed pilot project with additional ambassadors to follow for the Anacostia River watershed (Washington, D.C. and Maryland), the Patapsco River watershed (Baltimore, Maryland), the Bronx and Harlem River watersheds (New York City), the South Platte River (Denver, Colorado), Lake Pontchartrain (New Orleans, Louisiana) and Northwest Indiana. Each of the pilot locations was selected due to the strong local and community leadership spearheading restoration efforts underway. Lessons learned from these pilot locations will benefit communities across the country.

Later this year, the Council for Watershed Health, a non-profit partner on the Los Angeles River watershed location, will host a staffer from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development who will focus on coordinating the pilot project. The Los Angeles River location includes more than 30 partner organizations – federal, state and local governments and non-profit organizations – focusing on a range of restoration projects, studies and outreach in the Los Angeles area.

The Urban Waters Federal Partnership closely aligns with and advances the work of the White House's place-based efforts, including the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, to revitalize communities, create jobs and improve the quality of life in cities and towns across the nation. The Urban Waters Federal Partnership also advances the work of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative.

For more information on the seven Urban Waters Federal Partnership pilot projects, visit http://www.urbanwaters.gov/projects.html. For more information on the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, visit http://urbanwaters.gov.