Government Update
by Henry M. Wise, P.G. and Arlin Howles, P.G.
If you’d like the most up-to-date Texas rules, regulations, and governmental meeting information we direct you to the HGS website to review The Wise Report. This report, which comes out as needed, but not more often than once a week, offers the most up-to-date information that may be of interest to Texas geologists.
AGI Government Affairs Monthly Review (February 2013)
Sally Jewell Nominated for Secretary of the Interior
In February, President Barack Obama nominated Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) Chief Executive Officer Sally Jewell to serve as the next Secretary of the Interior. Jewell would replace outgoing Secretary Ken Salazar who served during Obama’s first term.
As Secretary of the Interior, Jewell would oversee the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, and several other land management and regulatory agencies. She previously worked as an engineer for Mobil and commercial banker and has experience in conservation. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to review her nomination on March 7, 2013.
House Proposes Bipartisan Bill to Avoid Helium Shortage
Representatives Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Edward Markey (D- MA) introduced the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act (H.R. 527) on February 6, 2013.
The bill would keep the Federal Helium Reserve open until nearly all the helium is sold, raise BLM helium prices closer to market value, open the sale of helium to more than just a few companies by implementing a semiannual auction, improve transparency, and prevent supply disruptions. It would require studies of international and domestic helium resources as well as the development of domestic and global helium demand forecasts, domestic helium use accounts, and assessments and research into the extraction and refining of the isotope helium- 3 and the viability of creating a facility to separate the isotope helium-3.
On February 14, 2013, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing to receive testimony evaluating domestic helium demand and the role and future of the Federal Helium Reserve in the domestic market, and the proposed H.R. 527. AGI submitted a letter of support for H.R. 527 to the Natural Resource Committee and the Geoscience Policy web site includes a summary of the hearing.
The Federal Helium Reserve provides 42 percent of the domestic and 35 percent of the global helium supply. The Helium Preservation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-273) directed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to sell the helium supply until the Reserve’s debt was paid. The debt is set to be paid in October and the Reserve will close ahead of the predicted closure date with significantly more helium remaining than the target amount.
Sanders and Boxer Unveil Climate Change Bill
Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced the Climate Protection Act of 2013 (S. 332) on February 14, 2013 that would price carbon, end the exemption of hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act, require disclosure of fracturing chemicals, increase investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, establish a monthly rebate program for legal U.S. residents, and assess a carbon fee on imports from countries without similar carbon pricing standards. Sanders intends to introduce a companion bill that would eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and preserve the renewable energy tax incentive program.
The carbon price proposed of $20 per ton of carbon emitted with an annual 5.6 percent increase for ten years, is projected to raise $1.2 trillion in revenue in ten years and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2025 from 2005 levels. Investments in efficiency and renewables include weatherizing one million homes every year, tripling the budget for the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, investing $500 billion in efficiency and renewable technology, and creating a worker training program for the clean energy industry.
Sanders and Boxer hope the momentum initiated by President Obama’s call to address climate issues in his State of the Union will help move the bill forward. Environmental groups supporting the bill include 350.org, the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, the National Community Action Foundation, and the Center for American Progress.
Senate Environment Committee Hosts Climate Briefing
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, hosted a briefing on February 13, 2013 to address the latest findings in climate science research.
The participants were Donald Wuebbles, professor of Atmospheric Science from the University of Illinois; Marshall Shepherd, president of the American Meteorological Society; John Balbus, senior advisor for Public Health at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; and James McCarthy, professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University. An archived webcast of the event can be found on the committee’s web site http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&H... 8682-f7dd-13242e8035d1).
CRS Report: Oil and Gas Production on Federal and Non- Federal Lands
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report on February 28, 2013 outlining trends of decreasing oil and gas production on federal lands and increasing levels on non- federal lands.
The percentage of oil produced on federal lands decreased by seven points from fiscal years (FY) 2007 to 2012. Within that time frame, production on federal lands surged to a high of 36.5 percent of total U.S. production in FY2010, and then fell below FY2007 levels to 26 percent by FY2012. Historically, oil production on federal lands amounted to less than 20 percent and only rose to 30 percent in the early 2000s. On non-federal lands, modest shifts in production levels between FY2008 and FY2010 were followed by substantial growth between FY2010 and FY2012.
Domestic natural gas production increased 20 percent or four trillion cubic feet since 2007. Non-federal lands witnessed an increase in production by 40 percent, while federal lands witnessed a decrease of 33 percent. The report noted that major shale gas plays are located principally on non-federal lands.
Landsat Data Continuity Mission Launch Successful
On February 11, 2013 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), or Landsat 8, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. Landsat 8 is equipped with visible, near-infrared, short-wave infrared, and thermal infrared imaging capabilities and a moderate-resolution of 15 m to 100 m. One hundred days after the launch, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will take control of Landsat 8’s operation and data collection and dissemination.
The Landsat program has provided 40 years worth of continuous data and Landsat 8 ensures the continuation of data collection beyond the operation of the aging Landsats 5 and 7. Landsat images assist in tracking, understanding, and managing landscape changes, especially in terms of food, water, and forest resources.
2013 USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries Released
On February 7, 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey announced the release of the Mineral Commodity Summaries for 2013 which details events, trends, and issues related to each mineral commodity. The report contains data on domestic industry structure, government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. Over 90 minerals and materials are included as well as information on government stockpiled mineral commodities.
The report indicates that the reopening of Molycorp Inc.'s Mountain Pass mine in California has created a domestic source of rare earth elements (REE), reducing dependence on importing REE’s. Exports of raw mineral and scrap amounted to $21 billion. For the third year in a row, U.S. nonfuel mineral production increased. Almost all metals experienced a decrease in production and prices while other industrial mineral commodities witnessed an increase.
EPA Draft Climate Adaptation Plan Available for Comment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft of their 2013 climate change adaptation plans in February 2013 as required by President Obama’s 2009 Executive Order 13514.
The report establishes a framework for supporting and prioritizing the EPA’s future actions to adapt their operations with regard to climate change. EPA states that climate change will require them to adjust their operations due to sea-level rise, snowpack reduction, drought, high temperatures, and more extreme weather. These impacts necessitate improved watershed, wetland, and water supply protection; emergency management plans; grant and loan plans; contamination reduction; and understanding of energy efficiency programs.
Other federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of the Interior (DOI), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Energy (DOE), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released climate change adaptation plans in 2012.
DOE Defends Decision to Continue Collecting Fees for Nuclear Waste
On January 31, 2013, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) filed a motion to reopen a 2011 case against the Department of Energy (DOE) and review its 2010 Secretarial Determination of the Adequacy of the Nuclear Waste Fund Fee. On February 14, 2013 DOE responded saying it would not object to reopening the case.
Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (24 U.S.C. 10101), nuclear power generators have to pay a fee of one mill per kilowatt hour of nuclear-generated electricity. Revenues generated by the fee are deposited into a Nuclear Waste Fund and available to DOE to pay for the permanent disposal of commercial spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste. NARUC originally opened the lawsuit because of the Obama Administration’s decision to terminate the proposed Yucca Mountain geologic repository.
Fukushima Nuclear Plant Flooded Daily By 400 Tons Of Groundwater (RT, http://rt.com/news/fukushima-nuclear- plant-disaster-013/)
Groundwater flooding has become a major problem for Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), with hundreds of tons of water seeping daily into the damaged reactor buildings. Experts predict overall clean-up works at the site could take up to 40 years.
Stopping the groundwater is crucial, says Tepco's general manager for research and development of Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning, Shunichi Suzuki, adding that "Every day we have approximately 400 metric tons of groundwater."
Tepco is now building a bypass system to try to stop the water, flowing from high ground into the buildings, mixing with the water already being poured onto the leaking reactors through a jerry-rigged cooling system.
"One approach we are considering is putting grout like cement. In other words, filling it in. That would block all the holes," Suzuki said as cited by Reuters, adding that removing the groundwater may take from two to four more years.
One of the most challenging tasks for the operator remains the disposal of water contaminated after it is poured onto the reactors. Radioactive material must be filtered out and stored.
Work to treat and store the contaminated water is behind schedule, partly because of the groundwater flooding in. On Thursday, the company announced another delay in an operation to remove radioactive material from the water.
The Japanese government has told the facility to revise by June its roadmap for cleaning up the site, which is expected to take well over a quarter of a century.
"What we need to do is isolate, remove and store the damaged and broken nuclear fuel safely. This work will take 30 to 40 years to complete," plant manager Takeshi Takahashi told the media.
Experts say it could cost at least $12 billion to close the reactors down.
Monday it will be two years since the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami knocked out cooling equipment at the company's Fukushima Daiichi plant north of Tokyo, leading to the meltdown of three reactor cores. More than 160,000 people were forced from their homes.
Another earthquake or tsunami could be fatal for the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, according to a nuclear engineer, as two years after the disaster it’s still vulnerable to natural disasters.
"What remained intact after the disaster is completely fragile and when the next one comes it's going to collapse," he told The Weekend Australian newspaper.
Local residents are still unaware if it’s safe to return to their homes in the disaster area of Fukushima prefecture. The displacement caused huge psychological distress, becoming one of the biggest health issues which emerged from the disaster, according to experts, while attention is also focused on the potential cancer risks years after the tragedy.
A health questionnaire sent to Fukushima residents by the Fukushima Medical University found that around 15 percent of the 67,500 respondents indicated high levels of stress - much higher than the 3 percent among the general population of the country.