[EnviroEngr]

October 20, 2004Congress OKs tax credit for WTE systems that use poultry waste as fuel
Oct. 20 -- Congress recently passed a tax break that will encourage development of waste-to-energy systems using poultry waste as fuel.

The Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 included a renewal of tax incentives for systems that produce electricity from poultry waste, wind and closed-loop biomass produced from plants grown specifically as fuel for electric generation.

"This tax credit is important to have in place as a solution to excess poultry liter and for renewable energy solutions," said Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, R-Maryland. He lobbied to include the tax credit in the bill.

The measure provides a 1.8-cent per kilowatt-hour benefit for the first 10 years of a facility´s operation. It was renewed through 2005.

FedEx to build solar electric system at Oakland airport facility
Oct. 19 -- FedEx Corp. will construct an 81,000-sq.-ft. solar electric system at its operations at Oakland International Airport, the largest corporate solar electric system in California.
The project, which will provide electricity to the site's 1,700 workers, is slated for completion in May.

The solar power system will cover two buildings´ roofs. More than 300,000 solar cells will convert sunlight into enough electricity to handle about 80 percent of the site´s peak load demand, FedEx said.

The FedEx project will create 904 kilowatts of electricity, enough power to power 900 homes during the daytime, the company said.

[EnviroEngr]

Federal government is making progress in environmental areas, report says

Nov. 3 -- The federal government is making significant progress in improving environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, according to a report recently delivered to President Bush.

"We continue to work diligently to ensure the federal government does its part to use our resources wisely so that we can make our communities more livable, our businesses more competitive, and our world a cleaner place for future generations," said Federal Environmental Executive Edwin Pinero.

He delivered to the president the biennial report "Leading by Example: A report to the President on Federal Energy and Environmental Management (2002-2003)."

Among the report´s highlights:

§ - Between fiscal years 1990 and 2003, total carbon emissions from energy used in federal facilities declined by 2.8 million metric tons of carbon equivalent.

§ - As of March, agencies purchased almost 552 gigawatt hours of green power -- enough renewable electricity to service 54,000 households per year.

§ - In fiscal year 2003, federal agencies acquired nearly 21,000 alternative fuel vehicles, increasing the federal government´s inventory to 81,000.

§ - The federal government is seeking U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification for 150 buildings.

§ - Almost 2,000 federal facilities are implementing environmental management systems.

The report also outlines progress the federal government has made on recommendations contained in the previous report that covered 2001-2002.

The full report will be made available on the federal environmental
executive´s Web site at www.ofee.gov


{perhaps this operationally defines the term "hubris"!; EE}

[EnviroEngr]

Group of energy experts releases plan to address climate change issues

Dec. 9 -- A bipartisan group of energy experts has completed two years of work and released a plan Dec. 8 for addressing major long-term U.S. energy challenges -- including climate change.

"Our climate change plan would both limit greenhouse gas emissions and cap the costs of doing so," said William K. Reilly, a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator and commission co-chair. "At the same time, it provides incentives for low- and noncarbon sources like natural gas, renewable energy, nuclear energy, and advanced coal technologies with carbon capture and sequestration, as well as for increased efficiency of energy end use."

The group -- including representatives of industry, government, labor, academia and environmental and consumer groups -- is calling for implementation in 2010 of a mandatory, economywide tradable permits system. The system is designed to curb future growth in the nation´s emissions of greenhouse gases while capping initial costs to the U.S. economy at $7 per metric ton of carbon dioxide-equivalent.

In 2015 and every five years thereafter, Congress would review the program and evaluate emissions control progress.

Conservative modeling analyses suggest the proposal would reduce total emissions in 2020 by about 540 million metric tons and the reductions could be as high as 1 billion metric tons, according to the commission.

The report is available online at
http://www.energycommission.org

[savethehumans]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all of this actually did some GOOD?!

Oh, well....

[highlander]

I work for a gov't agency and have seen some of these programs in use.
Purchase of Chrysler FFV vehicles that are so poor nobody wants to drive them
Paper savings programs that send out print jobs to keep in house numbers low, but at a considerable increase in cost.
reduction of haz waste by reallocation to "raw materials", by which it can be used a soil amendments, fertilizer ingredients, etc.
Taxpayers pay the bills for "green" power on both ends, but it looks good in management plans.
I will say the gov't acceptance of hybrid vehicles has been a good thing., but we still drive them all over the state instead of using telecommunications.

[EnviroEngr]

Wind energy growth dropped in ´04, expected to jump in ´05

Jan 27 -- The U.S. wind energy industry´s installation of new capacity fell sharply in 2004, primarily due to regulatory uncertainty regarding financial incentives.

During 2004, wind power totaling 389 megawatts was added to the nationwide total, which stood at 6,740 megawatts as of Dec. 31, according to the American Wind Energy Association. During the boom years of 2001 and 2003, the industry added 1,696 megawatts and 1,687 megawatts, respectively.

The reduction in new capacity fell after Congress failed to renew the tax credits for wind energy projects, which expired at the end of 2003. The federal government recently renewed the incentive, and the AWEA estimates that more than 2,000 megawatts will be added in 2005.

[EnviroEngr]

Michigan leads industrialized states in unemployment

Michigan's jobless rate climbed to 7.3% in December, a new high for the year. The percentage is the highest among industrialized states, and is matched only by Alaska for the month of December. Michigan lost 15,000, mostly non-manufacturing payroll jobs compared to November figures, according to a report in the Detroit News. The report said manufacturing job losses were expected, however, due to a weak 2005 earnings prediction from General Motors. For the month, the national unemployment rate remained at 5.4%, despite increased unemployment in 23 states.

[EnviroEngr]

McCain, Lieberman to retry climate change bill

Feb. 11 -- Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., late last week reintroduced their Climate Change bill that would mandate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The senators reintroduced the bill Feb. 10, expressing confidence they could recruit more than the 44 votes the measure received when it failed to pass on the Senate floor in October 2003.

The bill would require industries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 2000 levels by 2010 by capping the overall greenhouse gas emissions from electric utilities and the industrial, commercial and transportation sectors. It would also establish a system of pollution credits that could be traded or sold to companies having difficulty reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

"Today, we can see with our own eyes what global warming is doing," Lieberman said. "In that context it becomes truly irresponsible, if not immoral, for us not to do something."

However, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council immediately said it was opposed to the measure.

"It would ration energy usage by Americans by imposing reductions and caps on carbon dioxide emissions," said Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the SBE Council. "Energy costs would rise and jobs would be lost."

McCain and Lieberman said they intend to hold a "listening tour" to solicit comments from the public at sites across the country.

[EnviroEngr]

NRC board OKs Utah nuclear storage site
Bruce Geiselman

Feb. 25 -- A federal licensing board has approved plans for constructing a temporary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel on an American Indian reservation in Utah despite the objections of state officials.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission´s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board heard testimony for 16 days in September, and issued its decision Feb. 24. Its recommendation will go to the NRC for final action.

The storage facility would accept spent nuclear fuel from electric generating power plants around the country, many of which are storing spent fuel on-site.

Utah officials objected to the Private Fuel Storage Consortium´s plans to build the above-ground storage facility on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation, about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, saying a plane from a nearby Air Force base might crash into the facility, releasing high level radioactive waste.

However, the NRC licensing board in announcing its decision said that after reviewing information about the construction of the storage casks and speeds and angles at which F-16 jets have crashed in the past, it decided the risk of a breach was less than one-in-a-million per year.

"Under the NRC´s standards, a facility like PFS does not have to be designed against such an unlikely accident," the agency said in a prepared statement.

Two activist groups - Public Citizen and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, which opposes nuclear energy - condemned the board´s decision.

"The idea that shipping tens of thousands of tons of high-level nuclear waste to Utah for a pit stop before transporting it further to a hypothetical permanent repository will improve the safety and security of the waste is ludicrous," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen´s energy program.

Opponents question whether a permanent repository ever will open. The planned Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada is running behind schedule and facing legal challenges.

PFS is glad to have won the licensing board´s approval, spokeswoman Sue Martin said, adding it has been a seven-year effort. A storage facility is necessary because nuclear power plants are running out of storage space and building a central location makes better economic sense, she said.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

smallpoxgirl,

Your insights please.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnviroEngr', '[')b]smallpoxgirl,
Your insights please.

[shortonoil]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')ncidently, there's also a story about booming investment in a lot of small ethanol plants in the midwest and concern they are going to produce a glut of that fuel additive.

[EnviroEngr]

Workers may have falsified Yucca Mt. documents, government reveals

By Bruce Geiselman


March 17 -- Government employees working on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project may have falsified documents related to their research, according to the U.S. departments of Energy and the Interior.

The documentation in question relates to computer modeling involving water infiltration and climate. Critics said the possible falsification is further evidence of government mismanagement of the process for selecting Yucca Mountain for storing the nation´s spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste.

The discovery provided ammunition to opponents who argue that the government used faulty science in selecting the site in the Nevada desert.

"I am both disappointed and outraged by this development, but hardly surprised," said Nevada Gov. Kenny C. Guinn, a Republican who has strongly opposed the Bush administration´s attempts to build the respository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "All along, the state of Nevada has felt it is our duty to hold the federal government accountable on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump because we would be storing the deadliest substance known to man."

The revelation of possible falsification of documents is critical because it pertains to questions about whether water in the area could corrode the underground storage containers at Yucca Mountain and carry radioactive waste into the environment, Guinn said.

Department of Energy contractors uncovered evidence of the possible falsification of documents when examining multiple e-mails written between May 1998 and March 2000 in which a U.S. Geological Survey employee indicated he had fabricated documentation of his work, the department revealed March 16.

The Department of Energy is reviewing all of the work completed by individuals associated with the e-mails to ensure that other work was not affected.

"I am greatly disturbed by the possibility that any of the work related to the Yucca Mountain Project may have been falsified," said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. "This behavior indicated in the e-mails is completely unacceptable, and I have referred this matter to the Department of Energy´s Office of Inspector General for full investigation."

The U.S. Geological Survey, part of the Department of the Interior, also is conducting its own investigation.

"Once the facts are known, appropriate actions will be taken," Geological Survey Director Chip Groat said. "USGS remains committed to maintaining scientific excellence."

Meanwhile, the chairman of a House subcommittee plans to hold a hearing April 5 to examine the allegations.

"If true, these charges have wide-ranging implications that can only serve to further jeopardize this dangerous project," said Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., a Yucca Mountain opponent and chairman of the House Federal Workforce and Agency Organization Subcommittee. "Undoubtedly, allegations of federal employees blatantly and purposefully falsifying documentation of Yucca Mountain will affect nearly every decision that has been made in the courts and in the U.S. Congress on the development of this already ill-thought-out scheme."

Public Citizen, an advocacy group, called on the federal government to abandon the Yucca Mountain project in light of the recent allegations.

"Coupled with a string of bad news recently for the DOE, the most recent developments should be the straw that breaks the camel´s back," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. "Inaccurate information about highly dangerous radioactive material continues to plague the Yucca Mountain project, confounding the public, the Congress and the government managers."

The Yucca Mountain project has been the subject of several legal challenges. The project has received less funding from Congress than the president requested, and the official in charge of the project resigned last month. In addition, Energy Department officials, who had predicted that the site would open in 2010, recently said the opening would be delayed. They have not released a new target date.

Waste News Headlines

[EnviroEngr]

Oil company shareholders withdraw climate-change resolutions

March 17 -- Shareholders of six U.S. oil and gas companies have withdrawn resolutions calling on the companies to address climate-change risks.

ChevronTexaco Corp., Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Apache Corp., Unocal Corp., Tesoro Petroleum Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. have agreed to disclose climate-change risks and address greenhouse gas emissions.

Shareholder groups have filed resolutions demanding that the companies become more transparent with regard to financial and competitive risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions and the possible regulation of such emissions. They also want the companies to develop plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One such resolution filed at Apache´s shareholders´ meeting last year received 37 percent support.

"Most of the oil and gas companies are taking climate change much more seriously than they were just a year ago," said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, an investor coalition that has helped coordinate the shareholder resolution filings with the oil and gas companies. "These disclosure commitments are only a beginning, but there´s a much broader recognition from companies that climate change is a serious issue with serious financial consequences for investors if it isn´t well managed."

Some of the measures the petroleum companies will take include setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and investing in low-carbon technologies. They also will assign boards to oversee climate change strategy and integrate climate risk into their core business strategies.


Waste News Headlines

[EnviroEngr]

Delaware oil refiner pleads guilty to discharging pollutants into river

March 18 -- A Delaware oil refiner and retail business admitted to discharging pollutants into the Delaware River and negligently releasing sulfuric acid and will pay a $10 million fine, the state´s largest criminal fine.

Motiva Enterprises LLC, which is owned by Shell Oil Co. and Saudi Refining Inc., pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, the U.S. Department of Justice said March 17. Judge Sue L. Robinson sentenced the company to pay a $10 million fine.

In July 2001, a 415,000-gallon tank at the company´s Delaware City, Del., refinery exploded, spilling spent sulfuric acid into the river. The accident also killed one worker and injured several others.

Waste News Headlines

[EnviroEngr]

Xethanol Corp. acquires Iowa ethanol corn-fuel plant

March 18 -- Xethanol Corp. has completed the acquisition of an Iowa ethanol plant that will use corn to produce fuel.

The company will upgrade the Blairstown, Iowa, plant to produce 7 million gallons of ethanol annually. The plant is expected to be operational in May and will produce 500,000 gallons of ethanol monthly. In addition to corn, Xethanol will use other types of biomass in the ethanol production.

"Bringing this facility online provides a significant revenue stream that should make Xethanol profitable for this calendar year," said Chris Taylor, chairman and CEO.

Xethanol also operates an ethanol production plant in Hopkinton, Iowa.

Waste News Headlines

[EnviroEngr]

GE Energy names Robert Gleitz to head wind energy division

March 18 -- GE Energy has tapped Robert Gleitz to head its wind energy segment, the company said March 17.

Gleitz will serve as general manager of the division, which had more than $1 billion in revenue last year. GE Energy had revenue of $17.3 billion in 2004.

The unit expects to double its sale of wind turbines this year due to the passage of the renewable energy production tax credit, said Mark Little, vice president of power generation for GE Energy.

Waste News Headlines

[EnviroEngr]

N.J. refinery fined $793,000 for air violations

April 19 -- Valero Refining Co. will pay $793,000 in fines and install $3.5 million in emission controls to settle alleged clean air violations at its Paulsboro, N.J., refinery.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection alleged that the company violated permit limits for emissions between 2001 and 2004. The pollution controls will reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

"New Jersey citizens have a basic right to breathe clean air," said Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey.

The $3.5 million pollution control system at the refinery´s wastewater treatment plant will reduce VOC emissions, which included benzene, by 95 percent.


Waste News Headlines

[EnviroEngr]

States Lose Fight Over Automobile Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Bruce Geiselman

July 15 -- A federal appeals court has ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not required to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles, handing a partial defeat to attorneys from a dozen states, several cities and environmental groups who sought to require the EPA take action.

However, the court´s decision kept open the door that the EPA could decide to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in the future. The agency argued it does not have the authority by Congress to regulate greenhouse gases, but the court did not decide that issue.

Environmentalists said the ruling also would not prohibit individual states, like California, from moving forward with its own regulations for the auto industry.

"While we are disappointed in the outcome, we are heartened by some aspects of today´s decision," said Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, one of the plaintiffs. "We are reviewing our legal options, but we are likely to ask that this case be heard by the full court given the fractured nature of today´s decision. With each day of inaction, the problem of global warming worsens."

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued its decision July 15. The states could appeal for the full appeals court to consider the matter.

The three-judge panel issued a 2-1 decision in favor of the EPA´s decision not to begin a rulemaking process for regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars.

Environmentalists urged states to move forward with their own limits for carbon dioxide emissions.

"We wish that the Bush administration would take this issue as seriously as California, other states, and the rest of the world," said David Bookbinder, an attorney with the environmental group Sierra Club. "Ignoring the reality of global warming won´t make it go away and won´t deter state and local efforts to support cleaner technologies that reduce carbon pollution."

Lisa Jaeger, a former attorney for the U.S. EPA who is now in private practice, said the court found the EPA correctly relied on the findings of the National Research Council that global warming "cannot be unequivocally established."

"The court concluded that EPA had ample other reasons not to regulate, including the need to preserve leverage to persuade developing nations to reduce CO2 emissions," Jaeger said. "The court noted that EPA, in making this decision ´on the frontiers of science,´ properly exercised its policy judgment."

The case began in 1999 when various environmental groups requested the EPA set motor vehicle emission standards for greenhouse gases. In October 2003, state and local governments, along with environmental groups, filed a court challenge to the EPA´s decision.

Contact Waste News government affairs editor Bruce Geiselman at (330) 865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com


Waste News Headlines

[EnviroEngr]

Here's a whole mess of headlines I missed while away, starting with the earliest. Wouldn't be surprised if several of these where picked up elsewhere.

--- --- ---

EPA to issue rule to smooth switch to ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel

June 1 -- Federal environmental regulators plan to issue a rule later this year to help ease the transition to ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will shift the retail compliance date from Sept. 1 to Oct. 15, 2006, to allow more time for terminals and retail outlets to comply with the ultra-low-sulfur diesel standard of 15 parts per million. During the extended transition period, diesel fuel measuring 22 parts per million can be marketed as ultra-low-sulfur diesel, according to the EPA.

The rule also will establish a test program in cooperation with the fuel industry to determine if the current testing tolerance of 2 parts per million is sufficient.

The proposed changes will not interfere with the planned introduction of clean diesel vehicles and engines in the autumn of 2006, according to the EPA.

---

Mohawk Paper increase use of wind power to make paper

June 2 -- Mohawk Paper Mills is increasing its use of wind power to manufacturer paper.
The company on June 1 started using 45 million kilowatt hour of annual wind power to run two mills in New York and a newly purchased site in Hamilton, Ohio, the Cohoes, N.Y.-based company said.

Mohawk said it is only second to Johnson & Johnson as a consumer of wind power for manufacturing operations. And the company´s three locations are the only paper mills in the country using wind power to make paper, Mohawk said.

Wind power accounts for 21 percent of the company´s energy needs at its two mills in upstate New York and 50 percent of the energy needs at the Ohio mill, Mohawk said.

---

Shoe maker installs solar energy system at Calif. warehouse

June 8 -- Footwear maker Timberland Co. is installing a 400-kilowatt solar power system that will meet nearly 60 percent of the electricity needs at its Ontario, Calif., distribution center.

The 401.8-kilowatt project will include 1,960 photovoltaic modules. Northern Power Systems, a Distributed Energy Systems Corp. subsidiary, will design and construct the system. Stratham, N.H.-based Timberland will receive a $1.5 million rebate through California´s Self-Generation Incentive Program.

Timberland also will retain the green credits from the solar power system, which represent the emissions associated with power that would have come from the grid. The system annually will avert 935,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

---

LFG-to-energy project at Wis. landfill will generate 3.2 megawatts

June 8 -- A new landfill gas-to-energy project in Farmington, Wis., will create enough energy to power 2,700 homes, Waste Management Inc. said.

Waste Management will begin construction of the power project at its Deer Track Park landfill this month, and the plant is expected to be operating by the end of this year, said Brian Linzmeier, landfill site manager.

The plant will generate 3.2 megawatts of electricity initially, but that could double over time, Linzmeier said.

"Soon, area residents will have last night´s leftovers to thank when they turn on a light switch or open a garage door," he said.

---

3 oil firms to pay $1.3M to settle violations on Wyo. Indian reservation

June 8 -- Three oil companies will pay a combined $1.3 million to settle alleged environmental violations on tribal lands in Fremont County, Wyo.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleges that BP America Production Co., CamWest Inc. and CamWest LP violated the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act. The oil fields where the alleged violations took place are located on the Wind River Indian Reservation of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Indian Tribes. The alleged violations include underground injection, oil containment and surface water discharge issues.

The parties lodged a consent decree June 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. The $1.3 million settlement includes supplemental environmental projects totaling $724,956.

---

Minnesota agency cracks down on petroleum storage tanks

June 10 -- B&H Petroleum will pay a $30,000 civil penalty to settle hazardous waste violations alleged by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The company operates a petroleum storage tank installation, upgrading and demolition facility in Mankato, Minn. The agency alleged B&H Petroleum failed to evaluate wastes, improperly managed hazardous wastes and failed to get required permits. The allegations stemmed from a November 2001 inspection of the facility.

B&H Petroleum also agreed to stop dismantling waste storage tanks.

---

Ohio air agency approves grants for clean-coal projects

June 16 -- The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority has approved eight grants totaling $5.3 million for clean-coal technology projects throughout the state, the group said June 16.

The grants range in length from 13 to 48 months, and the authority said it hopes the projects stimulate economic development while protecting the environment, said Mark Shanahan, executive director of the authority.

The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority is a nonregulatory government agency that helps Ohio businesses comply with air pollution regulations. The entities receiving the grants are Energy Industries of Ohio; FirstEnergy Corp.; Babcock & Wilcox Co.; Battelle; the Ohio Energy Project; and Ohio State University, which received three grants.

---

2 petro refiners agree to to pay $1 billion to reduce plants´ emissions

June 17 -- Two petroleum refiners will pay about $1 billion to reduce annual emissions from their plants by more than 44,000 tons, under an agreement with the federal government.

Valero Energy Corp. will spend more than $700 million to install pollution control equipment at its refineries, according to the consent decree filed June 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The measure will reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxides by 4,400 tons and sulfur dioxide by 16,000 tons.

Sunoco Inc. will shell out $285 million to reduce emissions at its refineries, according to a June 16 consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The agreement will reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxides by 4,400 tons and sulfur dioxide by more than 19,500 tons at Sunoco refineries.

The settlements are part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency´s Petroleum Refinery Initiative, which addresses refinery pollution issues through a comprehensive cooperative approach. Fifteen oil refiners operating 76 refineries have reached agreements with the government under the program. Those settlements represent 65 percent of the domestic petroleum refining capacity.

---

EPC commissions anaerobic digester to produce electricity in Wis.

June 17 -- Environmental Power Corp. is commissioning the first of its electricity generating anaerobic digester systems in collaboration with Dairyland Power Cooperative.

The system, at Five Star Dairy in Elk Mound, Wis., will use waste from 800 cows to produce enough electricity for about 600 homes.

"The commissioning of this system is the first step toward what we believe will be an important role for this superior technology in helping our country cost-effectively meet its growing energy demands while protecting the environment," said Joseph Cresci, chairman of Portsmouth, N.H.-based Environmental Power.

Dairyland Power, of La Crosse, Wis., distributes power wholesale to 25 member cooperatives and 20 municipal utilities in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

---

Senate proposal to cut diesel emissions receives bipartisan backing
By Bruce Geiselman

June 17 -- Ohio´s senior senator has introduced legislation aimed at reducing diesel engine emissions, and it is receiving bipartisan support and endorsements from engine and equipment manufacturers and environmentalists.

Republican Sen. George Voinovich, a member of the environment committee, introduced the legislation June 16 and appeared on Capitol Hill with Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., a fellow committee member and supporter of the legislation.

Representatives of several engine manufacturers and environmental groups also appeared to lend their endorsements.

The bill would distribute more than $1 billion over five years to establish grant and loan programs to help states develop programs for retrofitting existing diesel engines with new emission control technology and to fund development of new technologies.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has adopted new regulations establishing tighter emission limits for new diesel engines -- but the new regulations won´t address the problems presented by an estimated 11 million existing diesel engines used on buses, garbage trucks, construction equipment, tractors, and a variety of other types of equipment.

"The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2005 will provide pivotal funding through national and state-level grant and loan programs for the voluntary retrofitting of existing diesel engines," Voinovich said. "I am pleased that such a strong, diverse coalition of environmental, industry, and public officials understands the need for this legislation and is working hard to make it a reality."

Diesel vehicles account for about half of the nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions from mobile sources. The EPA´s new diesel fuel and engine regulations will reduce diesel emissions in new engines by more than 80 percent. However, the full benefits of the rules won´t be realized until 2030 because existing engines can last for hundreds of thousands of miles and for as long as 30 years, Voinovich and Carper said.

"EPA´s new diesel regulations will go a long way to cleaning the air, but it could take up to 25 years before today´s current dirtier engines are replaced," Carper said. "This bill will help us meet our clean-air goals quicker, meaning less children being hospitalized for asthma and more lives saved."

Jim Parker, vice president of construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., called the proposal a "landmark bill, which provides a basis for a consistent national approach for reducing diesel fleet emissions."

The proposal also won the endorsement of Environmental Defense, an advocacy group and frequent critic of Republican environmental policies. "The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2005 is a good example of common-sense legislation that is winning support from industry and nongovernmental organizations who are working together on retrofit activities as a workable solution for reducing emissions in older diesel engines," group President Fed Krupp said.

Other co-sponsors of the bill are Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Environment Committee; Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.; Dianne Feinstein, D.-Calif..; Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

Contact Waste News government affairs editor Bruce Geiselman at (330) 865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com

---

U.S. Chamber of Commerce urges Senate to reject energy bill changes

June 22 -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to members of the Senate on June 21 urging them to reject amendments to the energy bill that would establish mandatory cap-and-trade programs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., plan to ask the Senate to include a measure that would require reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., also has proposed a less stringent plan. The proponents argue that the measures are necessary to address global warming.

However, the Chamber of Commerce objects to both plans. The U.S. Energy Information Agency has estimated that the McCain-Lieberman and Bingaman amendments would lower gross domestic product by $852 billion and $569 billion respectively, the Chamber wrote to senators.

"Such amendments will limit the sources of energy the nation can use, impose millions of dollars in new costs on businesses, and cripple the economy," wrote Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president.

The Chamber said it would support an alternative amendment expected by Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., which would provide an incentive plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A copy of the Chamber´s letter is available online at www.uschamber.com/issues/letters/2005/0 ... icyact.htm

---

Pa. cites gasoline providers for not selling reduced emissions gas

June 23 -- Pennsylvania has come down on several gasoline providers that have failed to meet the June 1 deadline to sell gasoline blended to reduce summertime emissions.

State regulations require retailers to begin sell the less volatile Low Reid Vapor Pressure fuel, which fuel releases fewer volatile organic compounds when combusted, by June 1 to help decrease ground-level ozone. Distributors must ship the blended gasoline to retailers from May 1 through Sept. 15. Inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found distributors providing noncompliant gasoline to retailers after May 1.

The DEP sent notices of violation to Sheetz Inc., Penn Tank Lines Inc., Bruceton Mills Farm Service Inc., Coen Oil Co. Gnagey Oil and Gas, Bradigan’s Inc., CLO Transport LLP, Petroleum Products Corp., Petroleum Traders Corp., Neville Gulf LP and BP Products NA Inc.

---

President Bush stumps in Md. for construction of nuclear power plants

June 24 -- Donning a hard hat, President Bush visited the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, Md., on June 22 to publicly call on Congress to pass an energy bill and to publicly support nuclear energy and call for the construction of new nuclear power plants.

While acknowledging that nuclear energy is controversial, Bush said further development of reactors is necessary to obtain greater independence from foreign energy sources and to improve the environment.

Bush said scientific and technological advances over the past 30 years have made nuclear power plants safer than in the 1970s, when an accident at the Three Mile Island reactor near Middletown, Pa., created widespread fear about the possibility of a release of radioactive material. No injuries resulted, and the federal government subsequently tightened its regulatory oversight.

However, some environmentalists are rejecting the idea of developing new nuclear power plants, despite their concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change.

"The Bush administration and its allies in Congress have painted a glowing picture of nuclear power to justify billions of dollars in new taxpayer subsidies for the industry," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. "In reality, nuclear power poses a major security risk and produces a radioactive waste, which we have no way to store safely over the long term.

---

Wis. Supreme Court rules that utility can proceed with expansion

June 29 -- Wisconsin Energy Corp. won a legal battle June 28 when the state Supreme Court overturned a lower court´s decision that hindered a $2 billion project to double power production at one of the company´s coal-fired power plants.

In a 4-2 vote, the court ruled that state regulators properly approved the project, which will provide enough electricity to power some 615,000 homes. The decision reversed a ruling by the Dane County Circuit Court that blocked construction at the Oak Creek, Wis., Power Plant.

We Energies, a Wisconsin Energy Corp. subsidiary, wants to build two 615-megawatt units at the plant. The Oak Creek site currently produces 1,200 megawatts of electricity through four existing units. The company has retired four older coal-fired generators at the plant.

The expansion is part of We Energies´ larger plan to provide electricity to Wisconsin, which is in desperate need of new capacity, according to the company.

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CO2 report gives mixed message for U.S.

July 5 -- U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels increased by 1.7 percent in 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.

But while total carbon dioxide emissions increased, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per dollar of real gross domestic product, referred to as emissions intensity, declined by 2.6 percent in 2004 as the economy grew by 4.4 percent.

"This reduction demonstrates that we are on course to meet, and may exceed, the ambitious goal President Bush set forth in 2002 to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent by 2012," Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said.

Total U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions have grown by 18.2 percent during the 1990 to 2004 period, according to the EIA’s preliminary findings. A final report, once more data is available, will be issued in November. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions account for more than 80 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and are a good indicator of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EIA.

A warmer than normal winter and cooler than normal summer in 2004 helped to hold down carbon dioxide emissions last year, according to the energy report. However, the impact of a strong economy and growth in industrial output helped offset those benefits.

The EIA’s estimates are available at www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/flash/flash.html

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Western Wind Energy buys 700-megawatt wind farm in California

July 6 -- Western Wind Energy Corp. has purchased a 700-megawatt wind farm in California, which includes a power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison Co.

The wind farm, which is in Tehachapi, Calif., about 72 miles from Los Angeles, includes about 500 wind turbine generators that can produce 1.4 trillion watt-hours of electricity per year. The cost of the acquisition is about $829,000.

Coquitlam, B.C.-based Western Wind Energy has subsidiaries in Arizona, California and New Brunswick.

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Coalition forms to advance the cause of wind-generated energy

July 8 -- A new coalition of wind energy advocates has formed to push the merits of wind-generated electricity.

The organizations involved in the coalition, called Wind Energy Works, include a diverse group of national, regional and local environmental, agricultural, economic development, faith-based and renewable energy advocates.

The group´s mission is to educate the public about the benefits of wind-generated electricity to counter the misinformation that wind-energy opponents are spreading, said Randall Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, which led the coalition´s formation.

More information on the coalition and its members can be found at www.awea.org


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Demoractic Senators Attempt To Halt Hydraulic Fracturing

July 20 -- Four senators have introduced a measure that would prevent oil and gas drillers from pumping diesel fuel and other toxic products underground in a process known as hydraulic fracturing.

Sens. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., introduced the bill July 19.

"It is unconscionable to allow the oil and gas industry to pump toxic fluids into the ground," said Jeffords, the ranking member of the Senate Environment Committee. "Our legislation clarifies once and for all that hydraulic fracturing is part of the Underground Injection Control Program regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act."

Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping a high pressure fluid - normally a mixture of water and a high viscosity fluid additive - into a well with sand to create fractures in the rock that allow oil and gas to flow more readily through the rock, increasing well production.

Proponents of the process argue it is safe and effective and that the fluid is removed from the wells once the process is completed.



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