February 27, 2012 - IMM@BUCT

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GOVERNMENT & POLICY CONCENTRATES INDUSTRY MOVES TO DISMISS ‘MEGA’ PESTICIDE LAWSUIT A coalition of pesticide and chemical industry trade groups has filed a motion to dismiss the so-called mega lawsuit filed against EPA in January 2011 by the environmental advocacy groups Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America. The lawsuit claims that EPA failed to consult the Fish & Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service about the effects of hundreds of pesticides on endangered species when it approved the use of the pesticides. EPA is required to conduct such consultations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The industry groups argue that the complaint is fundamentally flawed because it does not specify which actions EPA did or did not take with respect to the required consultations. The groups also point out that the plaintiffs did not file their suit in the correct jurisdiction or within the deadline for challenging a pesticide registration under federal law. Jay J. Vroom, president and CEO of the pesticide industry group CropLife America , acknowledges that the ESA consultation process needs to be improved. But, he says, “the solution lies in stakeholder collaboration to develop a workable approach to pesticide ESA assessments rather than” via litigation. —BEE EARLIER ASSESSMENT SOUGHT FOR CHEMICALS New chemicals and technologies need to be comprehensively assessed before they reach the commercialization phase, according to a report from the UN Environment Program . Given the increasing pace of deployment, the world needs to break its pattern of first producing new technologies and chemicals and then trying to evaluate their impacts after the fact, the report says. Released last week, the report ranks minimizing risks from new chemicals and technologies as one of the top 10 emerging environmental issues that could have a major impact on human well-being and the planet. A reformed international system “could help society handle the inadvertent hazards caused by its novel technologies,” the report says. The report also highlights the need to repair “broken bridges” between science and policy-making to help develop solutions to environmental problems and to adapt to global change while attaining a green economy. —CH EPA LIMITS EMISSIONS FROM PVC FACILITIES EPA has issued final standards requiring facilities that produce polyvinyl chloride and copolymers to reduce emissions of several toxic air pollutants, including vinyl chloride, hydrogen chloride, and chlorinated dioxins and furans. The previous standard, established in 1976, set limits only for vinyl chloride. The agency expects the new rule to result in a total U.S. annual emission reduction of 238 tons of toxic air pollutants from largescale emitters. EPA says the standards are based on currently available technologies, and facilities will have “the flexibility to choose the most practical and cost-effective control technology or technique” to reduce their emissions. Facilities will be required to monitor emissions at certain points in the PVC production process to ensure that the standards are met. The U.S. currently has 17 PVC production facilities, with the majority located in Louisiana and Texas. EPA estimates it will initially cost industry $18 million in total capital investment to meet the rule’s requirements, with additional annual costs of $4 million. —GH OBAMA SEEKS FUNDS FOR WEAPONS DESTRUCTION The Obama Administration is seeking a significant increase in funding for the Defense Department ’s chemical weapons disposal program. The Administration is asking Congress to provide $779 million in fiscal 2013 to continue the construction of facilities in Kentucky and Colorado where stockpiles of obsolete chemical weapons are slated for destruction. Congress appropriated $477 million for the program in the current fiscal year. “The funding request for the Kentucky and Colorado disposal projects reflects the continued commitment by the Pentagon to the accelerated effort to rid us of these weapons,” says Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group , a Kentuckybased watchdog organization. The Pentagon would direct $411 million to the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and $340 million to the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. The remaining $28 million would be used for program management. Under the 2013 budget proposal, the Blue Grass Army Depot will continue to be funded to destroy the chemical weapons it stores. Disposal of about 2,600 tons of mustard agent at the Pueblo depot is expected to begin in 2015 and conclude in 2017. Disposal work at the Kentucky facility is scheduled to start in 2018 and finish in 2021. — GH NNSA, NATIONAL LABS AT ODDS “A breakdown of trust” exists between the three national nuclear weapons laboratories and the National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-independent part of the Department of Energy that oversees the labs, according to a recent report by the National Research Council . The report blames NNSA micromanagement and close oversight for the problem, which the report says is most prominent at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The other weapons labs are Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Security problems that led to the close oversight have largely been resolved, NRC notes, but an “intrusive level” of oversight and a perceived lack of independence remain. The report says the oversight has resulted in restrictions in lab science. It urges NNSA to back off on reporting requirements and other oversight measures at the labs. This is the first of two reports of NRC’s review of the weapons labs. —JJ U.S. ARMY WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 34 FEBRUARY <strong>27</strong>, <strong>2012</strong>
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February 27, 2012 - IMM@BUCT

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