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Public Citizen’s Texas Office Seeks Press Officer

January 27, 2017 by kaibawhite

The Press Officer will work with the Director and other staff in the Texas office to develop press strategies that will augment our organizing and policy work, will provide rapid response when events warrant it, and will execute day-to-day press strategy utilizing social and traditional media. The primary topics of most media work will pertain to global climate change, air quality, renewable energy, fossil fuels, nuclear waste, and ethics. Some work will be statewide, while other campaigns are focused on specific cities, counties or regions. A substantial focus will be on using traditional and social media to educate residents of the greater Houston area about air pollution and promote opportunities for people to take action in support of clear air solutions.  Promoting our clean energy campaigns will also be a primary focus. This is a one year grant contingent position and will be based in Austin.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

One Resistance: Rally & Protest on Trump’s Inauguration

January 11, 2017 by Citizen Carol

Fri Jan 20 starting at 5:00PM on ​Auditorium Shores

Meet at Auditorium Shores at 5PM and join the community MARCH up Congress Ave.

America faces a crisis. Donald Trump’s campaign promises threaten millions. We must rally, protest, organize, and support one another.

On Inauguration Day, Austinites are gathering to protest Donald Trump’s politics of fear and hate. This is a call to action to rally for civil rights, immigrants’ rights, reproductive rights, our environment, good jobs, as well as justice and safety in all of our communities.

There will be  events throughout the day, culminating on Congress Avenue.

PARTICIPATING GROUPS/ORGANIZATIONS:

  • American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Austin
  • ATX Environmental Justice
  • Austin360.org
  • Austin Central Labor Council
  • Austin Democratic Socialists of America
  • Austin Jewish Voices for Peace
  • Austin Justice Coalition
  • Austin Socialist Collective
  • Clean Water Action
  • Education Austin
  • Equal Justice Center
  • Equality Texas
  • Fight for 15 Texas
  • Grassroots Leadership
  • Jolt
  • Las Comadres
  • Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equality
  • NAACP Austin
  • NARAL Pro-Choice Texas
  • National Women’s Political Caucus of Austin
  • Planned Parenthood Texas Votes
  • Public Citizen
  • Raza Roundtable
  • Sierra Club Beyond Coal
  • Sierra Club of Austin
  • Texas AFT (American Federation of Teachers)
  • Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, Austin Chapter
  • Texas Civil Rights Project
  • Texas Freedom Network
  • Third Coast Activist
  • Workers Defense Action Fund

We will continue adding non-partisan progressive grassroots organizations to the host list. If your organization would like to participate, please email joinoneresistance@gmail.com. We’ll also keep you updated through www.oneresistance.com

While political party participation is welcome, this event is non-partisan and not affiliated with any political parties.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged |

Wishing you a joyous holiday season

December 18, 2016 by Citizen Carol

holiday-greeting1.jpg

As you close out 2016, consider joining or making a gift to Public Citizen’s work – click here.

Thank you and we wish you a safe and happy holiday.

Posted in Consumers | Tagged , , |

California computer standards boot up big savings

December 16, 2016 by Citizen Carol

Reprinted from Appliance Standards Awareness Project

This week, the California Energy Commission (CEC) approved first-in-the-nation energy efficiency standards for computers and computer displays, or monitors (CEC factsheet). These new standards, which reflect several years of collaborative work by the computer industry, California investor-owned utilities, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Consumer Federation of America, other consumer organizations, and regional energy efficiency organizations should help save energy worth billions of dollars each year that would otherwise be wasted by the desktops, laptops and other computer equipment that consumers and businesses use every day.

California’s new computer standards are the latest in a long and very successful history of state level actions, dating back to the original refrigerator efficiency standards in the 1970s. California’s standards often become models for other states as well as the nation. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has begun a process of developing national computer efficiency standards, but has not yet published a proposal.

The computer industry has a good record of improving their products’ energy efficiency and participated constructively in the development of the new California standards. The standards will promote further innovation and the widespread adoption of existing energy-saving computer and monitor technologies. Manufacturers have expressed confidence that they will be able to achieve the new energy efficiency requirements, according to the New York Times.

Of course, computer manufacturers serve national and international markets. Rather than offer computers with different efficiency levels in California, manufacturers may upgrade national product lines to meet the California standards, especially if other states decide to follow suit. Based on the CEC’s estimates for California, we extrapolate that if manufacturers sold only compliant computers and monitors nationally, savings would reach up to 20,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually by 2027, or enough to supply 1.6 million U.S. homes. NRDC further describes the standards and their benefits for California and the nation in their blog post.

The California computer and monitor standards do not cover tablets, game consoles, televisions, larger servers, or computers used to control industrial machines. Different energy efficiency requirements will come into effect for various product types from 2018 to 2021 with a first tier of energy efficiency requirements for the most common computers becoming effective on January 1, 2019. A second, stronger efficiency level for this equipment kicks in on July 1, 2021.

California’s new standards acknowledge the challenge of setting energy efficiency requirements for rapidly evolving technologies like computers and monitors. Since consumer preferences for additional features and computing power may change over time, the California computer standards are designed to be flexible with allowances and exemptions to support innovation. However, these allowances and exemptions could potentially reduce the expected energy savings under some scenarios. To address this possibility the CEC issued an adoption order directing Commission staff to conduct rigorous market monitoring of “specific features and types of computers and monitors” using the state’s appliance efficiency database system. If the market develops in ways that significantly reduce the expected energy savings, CEC can revise the standards in the future.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

DOE publishes new minimum energy efficiency standards for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps

December 8, 2016 by Citizen Carol

acThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published new minimum energy efficiency standards for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps on Tuesday, December 6th.  The new standards, which are based on a negotiated agreement, will reduce air conditioner and heat pump energy use by about 7%, translating into hundreds of dollars in electricity bill savings for consumers over the life of their equipment.

A federal advisory committee working group concluded the negotiations on the new standards last January.  The working group included representatives of manufacturers, contractors, distributors, state government, utilities, and energy efficiency advocates.

The standards’ compliance date, 2023, was a key element of the negotiations because manufacturers wanted to align changes to the minimum standards with the expected phase-down of current refrigerants.  Today’s most common refrigerant used in central air conditioners and heat pumps – R410A – will be phased out under the terms of the recently concluded Kigali agreement, a global agreement supported by both manufacturers and environmentalists designed to eliminate the most environmentally-harmful refrigerants. Likely replacements for R410a include R32 and R452B.

DOE estimates consumers will save between $2.5 billion and $12.2 billion in total.

The new standards will supersede those currently in effect. The existing standards vary by region for air conditioners, and the new standards maintain the regional approach.  Heat pumps will continue to have a single, national standard.

Based on DOE’s analysis, manufacturers can meet the new standards with improved heat exchangers, better outdoor fan motors, and other design improvements. Switching to new refrigerants will also boost efficiency, helping manufacturers to comply with the new standards. Products with efficiency performance significantly above the new standard are already on the market today, providing additional savings opportunities for consumers and programs such as those run by utilities designed to save even more.

Many of the largest energy-saving DOE standards completed in the last year have been based on similar consensus agreements, including the recent standards for roof-top air conditioners (which will save more energy than any other standard in DOE history) and pending standards for swimming pool pumps which are expected to be published soon.

Posted in Efficiency | Tagged |

Public Citizen’s “drain the swamp” parody ad

December 8, 2016 by Citizen Carol

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

The Ninth Annual Austin Green Holiday Party – December 8th

November 21, 2016 by Citizen Carol

You are invited to attend:

The Ninth Annual Austin Green Holiday Party

 austin-green-holiday-sponsors

The Ninth Annual Austin Green Holiday Party

Dinner, drinks, and dessert are included in ticket price. There will be 4 buffet stations and all 4 have vegetarian options. After dinner, you will be able to make s’mores while listening to live music and get your picture taken with friends at the holiday party photo station.

Thursday, December 8th, 2016 6-10pm
Hosted by Barr Mansion
10463 Sprinkle Rd., Austin, TX 78754 (www.barrmansion.com)

Live music by Seu Jacinto
Advance Tickets $25.00, ($30.00 at door)
Co-Hosted by:

Join us for the Austin green mixer of the year, hosted this year by 17 great organizations! For nine years running, area environmentalists have come together to celebrate, scheme and prepare for the new year.
Experience how our hosts Barr Mansion are at the nexus of a merging of the environmental and food movements while enjoying a buffet featuring a variety of their seasonal, all-organic favorites. Check out Barr’s new “solar amphitheater”! We are also sponsored this year by Hops & Grain Brewing, Austin East Ciders and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Live music by Seu Jacinto, an Austin-based group interested in introducing and developing traditional Northeastern Brazilian culture to Central Texas. The group pays homage to the masters of the Brazilian folk musical traditions of forró, coco, cavalo marinho, and many other Brazilian Northeast rhythms.

We look forward to coming together with everyone  and “regrouping” for the good fight in 2017!  Click here to buy tickets to this event.   Procedes benefit Austin Earthday.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

Waste Control Specialists – what now?

November 18, 2016 by Citizen Carol

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) which has applied for a license to accept high-level radioactive waste at its Andrews County, Texas site currently has a license to accept low-level radioactive waste.  At the same time, have been negotiating a sale to EnergySolutions potentially initiating anti-trust intervention in the acquisition.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on Thursday, November 17, 2016, seeking to block EnergySolutions’ proposed $367 million acquisition of Waste Control Specialists – a transaction that would combine the two most significant competitors for the disposal of low level radioactive waste (LLRW) available to commercial customers in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

According to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, the transaction would deny commercial generators of LLRW – from universities and hospitals working on life-saving treatments to nuclear facilities producing 20 percent of the electricity in the United States – the benefits of vigorous competition that has led to significantly lower prices, better service and innovation in recent years.

“Since opening its LLRW disposal facility in 2012, Waste Control Specialists has provided EnergySolutions the only real competition it has ever faced,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the department’s Antitrust Division.  “This competition has allowed customers to extract better prices and to receive better and more innovative service in the LLRW disposal industry.  If consummated, EnergySolutions’ proposed acquisition of Waste Control Specialists would make EnergySolutions the only option for customers in nearly 40 states.  And this at a time when projects worth billions of dollars are set to be awarded in the coming years.”

LLRW is the radioactive byproduct of nuclear power generation, scientific research and certain medical treatments.  LLRW includes such items as personal protective clothing, tools, water purification filters and resins, hardware from nuclear power plants, and equipment from medical and research institutions.  LLRW may only be disposed of in a facility licensed by, or pursuant to an exemption provided by, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or a state acting under an agreement with the NRC.  LLRW disposal is an essential service for operating nuclear reactors, research laboratories and medical facilities.  Additionally, LLRW disposal is a requirement for the safe decommissioning of such facilities when they reach the end of their useful lives.

According to the department’s complaint, EnergySolutions and Waste Control Specialists are the only two significant competitors providing LLRW disposal services to commercial customers in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  After nearly two decades of development, Waste Control Specialists became the only new licensed commercial LLRW disposal facility to open since EnergySolutions, and provided EnergySolutions’ only true competition.  That competition has led to increased innovation and lower prices for customers.  EnergySolutions’ acquisition of Waste Control Specialists would eliminate that competition, with no likelihood of new entry to fill the void.

EnergySolutions Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rockwell Holdco Inc., also a Delaware corporation.  EnergySolutions is the leading company providing a full range of services related to the disposal of LLRW and the decommissioning of nuclear reactors.  In 2015, EnergySolutions’ U.S. revenues from LLRW disposal were approximately $112 million.

Waste Control Specialists LLC is a Delaware limited liability company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Andrews County Holdings Inc., a Delaware corporation.  It operates the only LLRW disposal facility that is licensed to accept all types of LLRW from 36 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.  In 2015, Waste Control Specialists’ revenues were approximately $45 million.

EnergySolutions Complaint

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

This Thursday – EPA Hearing on the Refinery Rule in Houston – Join Us!

November 15, 2016 by Citizen Stephanie

UPDATE: Happening now in Houston, until 8pm CT.  Go on Facebook to TEJAS’s page to watch.

https://www.facebook.com/TejasBarrios/videos/

Date:           Thursday, 11/17/2016
Location:  Hartman Community Center, 9311 East Ave. P. Houston, TX 77012
Time:          2:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Join HPCC public health advocates at an EPA hearing about toxic air pollution from petroleum refineries!

(En español, mira aquí: http://airalliancehouston.org/wp-content/uploads/Spanish-EPA-Hearing-Flier.pdf)

The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public hearing on the reconsideration of the Refinery Sector Rule for which EPA did not provide adequate opportunity for notice and comment. This rulemaking is the result of a lawsuit filed by Air Alliance Houston, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, Community In-Power and Development Association, and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, who are collectively represented by Earthjustice.

This is is our only chance to tell EPA we are concerned about pollution from oil refineries and its impact on our health. This is the only public hearing EPA will hold anywhere in the country, and public comment will be taken for six hours, from 2-8 pm. We’d like EPA to hear from us and our allies in refinery communities throughout the entire hearing, so please sign up to speak today.

Join us in telling EPA:

  • Our health suffers from pollution from oil refineries.
  • Our children are particularly at risk from the health effects of air pollution.
  • Air pollution affects our lives where we live, work, and play.

Together we can demand a stronger rule to protect communities from air pollution. The refining industry must cut pollution by:

  • Reducing emissions from flares and pressure relief devices.
  • Eliminate pollution exemptions for malfunction and force majeure events.
  • Require fenceline monitoring at all times.

Air Alliance Houston will have fact sheets and talking points available at the hearing.
If you would like to present oral testimony at the hearing, please complete this form or notify Ms. Virginia Hunt no later than November 15, 2016, by email: hunt.virginia@epa.gov (preferred); or by telephone: (919) 541-0832.
Space will also be available that day if time slots are not all filled, on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Basic background on key issues from EPA:
https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/petroleum-refinery-sector-reconsideration-october-2016
Sign the Earthjustice petition: http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2016/community-and-environmental-groups-sue-the-epa-and-call-on-the-agency-to-remove-free-pass-to-pollute-from

Posted in Air Quality, Gulf Coast Ports, Health, Ozone, Pollution, Safety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

NRC Begins Scoping Effort for Environmental Review of Proposed WCS Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility‌

November 14, 2016 by Citizen Carol

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking comments from the public on the issues to be covered in the environmental review of an application from Waste Control Specialists to construct and operate a facility to store spent nuclear fuel in Andrews County, Texas. The NRC will prepare an environmental impact statement to document its evaluation of those impacts and is now taking public comments on the scope.

WCS filed its application in April seeking a 40-year license for a facility that would receive spent fuel from nuclear reactors for storage, pending final disposal. The NRC will be conducting two separate reviews – an environmental review to identify potential impacts, and a safety review to determine whether the WCS application meets the NRC’s regulatory requirements. The environmental review will fulfill the National Environmental Policy Act’s requirement to do an analysis of environmental impacts for major federal actions.

The agency has not yet accepted and docketed the WCS application. WCS has been providing supplemental information in phases in response to a June 22 NRC request. The NRC will evaluate the supplemental responses before deciding whether to docket the application and proceed with the safety review. If the NRC dockets the application, it will announce in the Federal Register an opportunity to ask for a public hearing and an end date for comments on the scope of the environmental review.

WCS had asked for the environmental review to begin as soon as possible. The NRC has agreed because doing so will allow the agency to engage interested members of the public early in the process. It will also provide additional time to consult with federal, tribal, state and local government agencies, facilitating compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

“We cannot proceed with the technical safety review until WCS adequately addresses our request for supplemental information, but we do have the information we need to begin the environmental scoping process now,” said NRC’s Mark Lombard, director of the division of spent fuel management. “WCS will bear the cost of staff time devoted to the environmental review, even if we are unable to docket the application in its current form.”

We encourage you to read our earlier post and submit comments.  The comment period opened today (go to – https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NRC_FRDOC_0001-6227 –  for more information) and, if the application is docketed, will end 45 days after publication of a notice of docketing the WCS application.

Written comments on the scope may be submitted over the federal government’s rulemaking website, www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID NRC-2016-0231; by email to WCS_CISF_EIS@nrc.gov; or by mail to Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN- 12 H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. More information can be found in today’s Federal Register notice.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged |

Decision Time on the TX Railroad Commission

November 4, 2016 by Citizen Carol

rrc-who-are-we

UPDATE: By 10 am this morning, the Sunset Commission had already voted on the recommendations they were going to adopt for the report to the legislature. 

All the STAFF good enforcement recommendations were adopted, and the recommendation (proposed by the Public Member on the Commisson, Allen West) on induced seismicity was adopted.

The name change recommendation was dropped as we heard it would be, as were the transfer of contested cases to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH).  The new issue proposed by Rep. Raymond, calling for bonding for cleaning up abandoned wells at the last hearing fell by the wayside. Raymond did not even bring up his proposals.

The things we do support on enforcement will be in the bill when it’s introduced during the 85th Legislative session, but we expect that it may be a fight to keep them in.

Thursday, November 10th, the Texas Sunset Commission will meet to vote on recommendations to the 85th Legislature regarding the future of the Texas Railroad Commission.  Three times the Legislature has failed to pass a bill reauthorizing and making changes to this agency. 

We are asking that you contact the Sunset Commissioners and tell them to support staff recommendations plus Raymond and West’s new issues as outlined below.  For Sunset Commissioners’ contact information, click here. or contact your state rep and state senator to urge the Sunset Commission to support these recommendations. Find out who represents you here.

A coalition of environmental groups, including Public Citizen, have been following the Sunset review of the Railroad Commission and they are in agreement about supporting staff recommendations and new issues raised by Texas Sunset Commission Members – Representatives Dan Flynn,  Richard Peña Raymond, and public member LTC (Ret.) Allen B. West – to increase transparency, improve safeguards and protect the public.  It is time for more than a name change on failed agency! 

For a full version of the recommendations click here.

Issue 1 – Continue the Railroad Commission of Texas for 12 Years with a Name That Reflects the Agency’s Important Functions. (Page 11)

Change in Statute

Rec. 1.1 (Page 17) Change the name of the Railroad Commission of Texas to the Texas Energy Resources Commission and continue the agency for 12 years.

We support this change. On the eve of another election where most voters had no idea what the Railroad Commission does, and where industry supplied some 70 percent of the funding to those running, changing the name is a needed first step. We also believe that the Commission should only be continued for 6 years.

Issue 2 – Contested Hearings and Gas Utility Oversight Are Not Core Commission Functions and Should Be Transferred to Other Agencies to Promote Efficiency, Effectiveness, Transparency, and Fairness. (Page 19)

Representative Raymond Proposed Modification

Under this modification to Recommendations 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3, the Commission would contract with the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) to conduct the Commission’s hearings for contested permit and enforcement cases and Gas Utility Oversight would be transferred to the Public Utility Commission (PUC), with potential to contest the rates at SOAH. In conducting hearings, the PUC and SOAH would consider the Commission’s applicable substantive rules and policies.

We are in full support of Issue 2 and the transfer of these functions from RRC to SOAH and PUC, but do agree that the applicable rules and policies related to these issues should be considered in that transfer, as recommended by Representative Raymond.

Issue 3 – Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Need Improvements to Effectively Ensure Public Safety and Environmental Protection.

Rep. Flynn Modification: Also direct the agency to provide oil and gas production information on its website in a format that is easier for royalty owners to use and understand.

We Support these Sunset Staff recommendations on Enforcement, as well as Rep. Flynn’s proposed modification.

Issue 4 – Insufficient and Inequitable Statutory Bonding Requirements Contribute to the Large Backlog of Abandoned Wells. (Page 43)

We support this change to assure that oil and gas wells pay their fair share in upfront bonding costs.

Issue 5 – Improved Oversight of Texas’ Pipeline Infrastructure Would Help Further Ensure Public Safety. (Page 51)

We support these proposed statutory and appropriations modifications.

Issue 6 – The Railroad Commission’s Contracting Procedures Are Improving, but Continued Attention Is Needed. (Page 55)

We support these proposed management actions.

Issue 7 – The Railroad Commission’s Statute Does Not Reflect Standard Elements of Sunset Reviews. (Page 59)

We support these proposed changes.

Proposed New Issues

Vice Chair Taylor Proposed New Issue 1

Direct the Railroad Commission to study, develop, and implement ways to clean up and revive old oil fields for secondary and tertiary recovery using either the unitization method or other legal means which the Commission may develop or recommend. As part of this recommendation, the Railroad Commission shall consult with the Bureau of Economic Geology. (Management action — nonstatutory)

We have not taken a position on this recommendation.

Colonel West Proposed New Issue 2

Direct the Railroad Commission to incorporate findings from the TexNet Seismic Monitoring Program at UT’s Bureau of Economic Geology as they become available into its oil and gas disposal well rules or guidance, as applicable. The rules should seek to prevent any induced seismicity caused by disposal wells. (Management action — nonstatutory)

We are in full support. Utilizing the information that is being collected to develop more protective rules and procedures makes sense.

Representative Raymond Proposed New Issue 3

Amend RRC’s statute to require the agency to publish comprehensive oil and gas enforcement data (complaints, inspections, violations, enforcement actions taken, and penalties levied/collected) online, in a publicly accessible, searchable, trackable format. Make data available by operator and on a well-by-well basis and by bulk download.

We are in full support of this recommendation. We would note this could also be accomplished as a management action by direction of the Director to publish this information on-line.

Representative Raymond Proposed New Issue 4

Management recommendation to direct RRC to: review all relevant rules on spill reporting and response, and make changes to increase environmental protection and cleanup during flooding, such as specifying time frames for responding to spills; clarify its rules, so that both oil and gas spills and other spills like brine, produced water, or fracking fluid are also reported, tracked, and cleaned up; and report these spills and the results of any cleanup effort in an accessible way, either directly on its website or by sharing the information with TCEQ as part of its joint work on spills. (Management action — nonstatutory)

We are in full support. This is considerable confusion about reporting and clean-up requirements, particularly in the event of floods.

Representative Raymond Proposed New Issue 5

Amend Chapter 26 of the Texas Water Code to require operators that treat “domestic wastewater” or “mobile drinking water treatment system wastewater” at oil and gas well drill sites to obtain a permit from TCEQ instead of RRC.

We are in support. TCEQ is the appropriate agency to assure water is cleaned up to the appropriate level.

Representative Raymond Proposed New Issue 6

Improve inspection, regulation, and reporting of injection wells by: either removing the specific permit fee amount in Chapter 27, allowing the Commission to set a more reasonable amount, or raising it to $1,000 (Change in statute); requiring RRC to require monthly reporting of liquid injection in all disposal wells and make the information publicly accessible (Change in statute); and directing RRC to conduct a comprehensive review of its rules and programs regarding oil and gas disposal wells, and consider changes related to casing and cementing, aquifer exemptions, notice and public participation, seismic activity, and wastewater reporting and tracking. (Management action — nonstatutory)

We are in support of both the management and statutory changes. Permit fees for disposal wells are too low and the rules should be reexamined to assure proper notice, and proper safeguards.

Posted in Air Quality, Climate Change, natural gas, Railroad Commission | Tagged |

PUBLIC CITIZEN AND THREE OTHER GROUPS URGE NRC TO HALT REVIEW OF LICENSE APPLICATION FOR HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP IN TEXAS

October 28, 2016 by Citizen Carol

WCS RadioactiveApplication Raises Prospect of “Permanent Parking Lot Dump” of Nuclear Waste In Absence of Permanent Repository and Shifting Nuclear Waste Costs From Industry to Taxpayers.

Opposed to an industry scheme that risks a proposed short-term nuclear waste storage site becoming a permanent site while sticking taxpayers for the bill, four leading national and Texas groups — Beyond Nuclear, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), Public Citizen, and the Texas-based Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) Coalition — are calling on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to follow the law and terminate its review of the license application for the controversial plan by Waste Control Specialists (WCS) to construct an interim high-level nuclear waste dump in Andrews County, TX.

high-level-radioactive-waste-routes

Potential Texas highway routes if rail is not used.

WCS seeks a permit to build and operate the supposedly short-term storage facility for up to 40,000 metric tons of highly dangerous nuclear waste in Andrews County, but only if the U.S. government first assumes responsibility for the waste and further agrees to ship it to the Texas site by rail. The license application is for the first 5,000 metric tons but the company’s promotional materials show they are planning on expanding the site to accommodate more than half of the estimated 75,000 metric tons of commercial nuclear waste currently in the U.S.

The groups are concerned that the “interim” storage facility may become the de facto permanent home for the highly toxic waste. Given the long battle over Yucca Mountain, the groups have zero confidence that Congress or federal regulators would have the stomach for fighting to move the nuclear waste a second time from WCS or any other “interim” site. And, with utilities totally off the hook and taxpayers footing the entire bill, those that generated the waste would have no incentive to ensure its safe disposal in a permanent geologic repository.

Available online at http://pubc.it/2eMSaXM, the letter from the four groups to the NRC’s top executive argues that the WCS proposal would require the NRC to break federal law, which bars the U.S. government from assuming responsibility for interim waste storage in the absence of a federal repository for permanent disposal. They contend that, until a long-term geological repository is ready, federal law forces utilities to solve their own interim storage problems, including bearing the economic burden for facility construction and operation, and liability for accidents.

The groups’ letter demands that NRC immediately drop its review of the WCS application, including its plans to embark on an environmental study.

High-level radioactive wastes are irradiated nuclear fuel rods, and short-term exposure at close range, with no shielding, can cause immediate death. Lesser exposure can cause death or cancer for over a million years. It is so dangerous that Congress required that it be buried deep underground in geologically isolated repository for millennia. This danger also prompted federal lawmakers to prohibit putting taxpayers on the hook for “interim” solutions that could become de facto permanent surface storage sites.

According to the groups, there is no safety imperative for moving the waste to a consolidated storage facility. The safety and security of our toxic nuclear waste stockpile, not financial gain for this private entity, should drive NRC waste storage activity.  Rather than reviewing this premature and illegitimate proposal the NRC should focus its efforts on safeguarding the onsite storage of waste at nuclear facilities across the country.

“By requiring a permanent deep geological repository to be operating before centralized interim storage could be opened, Congress wanted to prevent the very real danger of a de facto permanent parking lot dump – a nuclear waste storage site that would be designed for the short-term but be there forever,” said Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist, Beyond Nuclear. He added: “WCS is a cynical shell game and taxpayers are sure to lose. Congress was right that liability for the costs of storing commercial irradiated nuclear fuel belongs with the generators and should not be shifted onto the backs of the American public.”

Diane D’Arrigo, radioactive waste project director, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), said: “Moving nuclear power waste over roads, rails and waterways to a supposedly temporary site puts us all at risk and creates only an illusion of a solution.”

Karen Hadden, executive director, SEED Coalition, added: “Due to risks of radioactive contamination from leaks or accidents or potential terrorist actions, nuclear waste should only be moved once, and only when a deep underground permanent repository is in place that could safely isolate the dangerous waste for the million years that it will remain hazardous.”

Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of the Public Citizen Texas office, said: “Texans do not consent to the risky plan to store high-level radioactive waste at private sites on an open pad above ground in Texas. Another company near Hobbs New Mexico – less than 50 miles away — is expected to file an application to open a storage site that would accept the rest of the nation’s high level nuclear waste. These twin ‘storage sites’ likely would create a de facto high level national waste sacrifice zone. This proposal invites disaster because the private owners will be cutting costs at every turn to maximize profits. If there was radioactive contamination our land, air, water, and human health could be harmed for millennia.”

 

ABOUT THE GROUPS

Beyond Nuclear is a national nonprofit organization that aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic.

Nuclear Information and Resource Service is the national information and networking center for organizations and individuals concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation and sustainable energy issues.

Public Citizen, Inc., is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization with over 400,000 members and supporters nationwide.  Public Citizen’s mission is to protect openness and democratic accountability in government and the health, safety and financial interests of consumers.  Public Citizen advocates for policies that will lead to safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy.

SEED Coalition is an environmental nonprofit organization with 2,000 members that works in Texas and other states to protect human health and the environment, including land, air, water and wildlife. The organization focuses on clean energy advocacy as a means to reduce pollution. SEED Coalition opposes the storage of radioactive waste from around the U.S. in Texas or New Mexico due to health and safety and environmental concerns. SEED Coalition’s members include neighbors of the proposed WCS facility and associated transportation routes.

Posted in Nuclear, Radiation, Radioactive Waste | Tagged |

Can the Freight Shuttle Reduce Congestion and Clean Houston’s Air?

September 28, 2016 by Citizen Stephanie

Freight ShuttleOn September 9th, Adrian Shelley and I went to Bryan, Texas, to watch the unveiling of the Freight Shuttle System (FSS), a technology  currently being built and tested by Freight Shuttle International. Dr. Stephen Roop, chief scientist at Freight Shuttle International and a professor at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, opened the unveiling with a press briefing sharing his vision. The FSS is an electric, autonomous shuttle powered by a linear induction motor, providing low friction to the steel wheels running on steel lines, similar to train tracks. The FSS combines elements of truck and train transport – single shuttles run on a track similar to a train track, and according to Dr. Roop’s vision, those tracks would be elevated from other modes of transportation to reduce congestion, provide a strong level of predictability and non-stop service, and reduce infrastructure damage often associated with truck transportation. 

Dr. Roop noted the emissions of the FSS are tied to the source of power. What that means is that the FSS itself would generate no point-of-source pollution like the cancer-causing pollution created by diesel engines currently on the road. Furthermore, because the FSS would operate under DC voltage, it could be tied easily to renewable energy. In that way, the FSS could take advantage of the increasing access to renewable energy in Texas and potentially be net zero in terms of carbon pollution.

Adrian and Stephanie with Freight Shuttle

Adrian and Stephanie with Freight Shuttle

The FSS is not designed to transport hazardous or toxic materials, and although it could possibly be used to transport people, it is intended now to be separate from people – that is to be contained within a separate line so that the roads and highways can be used for people, not cargo.

The Port of Houston Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with Freight Shuttle International and is planning to use the FSS to transport cargo between its container terminals, Bayport and Barbour’s Cut. Freight Shuttle International stated that the FSS line could be operational within 3 years.

Posted in Energy, Gulf Coast Ports, Renewables, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Longtime Director of Public Citizen’s Texas Office to Retire

September 20, 2016 by Public Citizen Texas

Tom "Smitty" SmithTom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office, will retire early next year after 31 years of championing consumer rights and clean energy policies in Texas.

Smitty is widely known as the man in the white hat around the state Capitol. He has testified more than 1,000 times before the Texas Legislature and Congress. He has led a team based in Austin, but also includes staff in Houston and Dallas. And he has effected reforms that have improved public health and safety, protected consumers’ pocketbooks and helped curb climate change.

Texas State Representative Rafael Anchia of Dallas had kind words for Smitty upon learning of his planned departure, “With the wisdom of Yoda and the dogged determination of the Lorax, Smitty Smith gave voice to the common man in the Texas Legislature for decades.  Smitty is that rare person who always put the best interests of the people of Texas first, and whether he was advocating for more honest government, voting rights, or the environmental, he did so with boundless knowledge, grace, good humor and patience.”

Smitty’s accomplishments at Public Citizen include:

  • Helping to make Texas the top wind energy state in the country by conducting studies, organizing Texans and assembling a coalition of groups to push for wind power;
  • Working with state policymakers to create the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP), which has awarded more than $1 billion to replace 10,000-plus diesel engines and has cut more than 160,836 tons of smog-forming NOx;
  • Organizing with Karen Hadden of the SEED coalition, now his wife, to create 16 local groups that stopped the construction of 12 of 17 proposed coal plants over the past decade and four proposed nuclear reactors;
  • Helping pass the state’s building energy code, which has significantly reduced energy use in homes build after 2003;
  • Helping craft and pass major ethics reforms that included the creation of the state’s ethics commission;
  • Helping craft insurance reforms passed in 1991;
  • Successfully pushing for a better state lemon law; and
  • Co-founding and mentoring 13 nonprofit organizations including Solar Austin, Clean Water Action in Texas, Texas ROSE (Ratepayers Organized to Save Energy) and the Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) coalition.

Smitty has been a great leader for Public Citizen’s Texas office and he knows that his success was thanks to our supporters.

“The only way to beat political corruption is with organized people,” Smitty said. “Time after time I have seen a small group of citizens organize and speak out, and change happens. Our job as citizens is to take back our government and keep our government open, honest and responsive.”

We will miss working with Smitty, but he will continue to contribute to the betterment of the world as a public citizen wherever he goes.

Please help us find a new Executive Director.  The job description is posted here.

Posted in News Roundup | Tagged , |

The Beginning of the End for Texas Coal Plants

September 12, 2016 by kaibawhite

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) released a study today that examines the finances of seven large Texas coal plants.  The news isn’t good for the owners of those plants, but it’s great for those of us fighting keep climate change to a manageable level, clean up air pollution and preserve our water resources.  The report – “The Beginning of the End: Fundamental Changes in Energy Markets Are Undermining the Financial Viability of Coal-Fired Power Plants in Texas” – describes how the coal-fired electricity industry in Texas is in decline and unlikely to recover in the face of rising competition from other energy sources.

The report, presented by IEEFA in partnership with Public Citizen, analyses the performance of four merchant generators—the Big Brown, Martin Lake and Monticello plants owned by EFH’s Luminant subsidiary, and the Coleto Creek plant owned by Dynegy. It also analyzes three coal-fired plants owned public power utilities or power agencies—the Fayette Power Project (co-owned by Austin Energy and the Lower Colorado River Authority), Gibbons Creek (currently up for sale by the Texas Municipal Power Agency), and J.K. Spruce Unit 1 (owned by San Antonio’s CPS). The 8,100 MW of capacity from these seven plants represents a little more than 40 percent of the total coal-fired capacity in ERCOT.

The study shows that all but one of the plant is losing money and that even that one – Martin Lake – is barely making a profit.  If output or market prices dip below those assumed in the base case scenario, Martin Lake will also lose money – and all of the other plants will lose even more than they already are.

Print“None of the units is financially viable, as none can be expected to produce substantial pre-tax earnings for their owners or be economic for ratepayers in coming years. Indeed, all but one of the plants can be expected to produce pre-tax losses for their owners in coming years,” report author David Schlissel summarized.

“The key finding is that fundamental economic transformations are undermining coal plants in Texas and that six of seven Texas coal-fired generators they studied in Texas are at risk of retirement,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of the Texas office of Public Citizen. “The coal industry is undergoing rapid changes in Texas as EFH resolves its bankruptcy and considers retirement of its oldest plants, as Gibbons Creek is being sold, as Austin Energy has begun to put money toward the retirement of its Fayette plant, as CPS retires rather than retrofit its JT Deeley coal plant,” Smith said. “We think other Texas utilities should follow their lead. The transition will reduce costs, clear the air and create jobs.”

The report notes several forces arrayed against coal-fired generation and that suggest retirement of coal-fired plants is likely:

  • The collapse of natural gas prices and subsequent declines in the cost of generating power and the increases in generation at natural gas-fired power plants.
  • Increased competition from thousands of megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar resources due to steep declines in installation prices, improved operating efficiencies and transmission upgrades.
  • Low energy market prices in ERCOT’s deregulated wholesale markets driven by lower natural gas prices and increased generation from renewable resources. (Unlike in some regions of the country, ERCOT does not have a “capacity” market, which often serves to subsidize older plants and keep them on-line when they are no longer cost competitive.)
  • Sharp reductions in generation from coal-fired plants as their output has been displaced by increased output from renewable and natural gas-fired capacity. Many coal-fired power plants in Texas no longer act as “baseload plants,” and are instead limited to operations during the peak load seasons. Although coal-fired plants generated 39 percent of the electricity in ERCOT in 2015, by May of 2016 they provided only 24.8 percent.
  • Public health and environmental regulations, including the EPA’s regional haze rule, that are forcing coal-fired power plant owners to decide whether to make expensive investments in their aging coal fleet.

Schissel said it is not a question of whether ERCOT reliance on coal will fade, but when. “The discussion should shift now to how to phase out these plants, what to replace them with, and how to retrain their workers.”

Posted in Coal | Tagged , |

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