The Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA) has written draft model legislation aimed at reducing and eliminating the use of PFAS in products.
The draft legislation offers a “menu of options” for legislators to consider, including a ban on products and packaging with intentionally-added PFAS. Manufacturers could apply for an exemption if they can prove the product has an “unavoidable use,” but they would be required to establish an extended producer responsibility organization to take back the items.
The draft bill contains other recommended provisions meant to label PFAS-containing items, educate the public on PFAS issues and set requirements so downstream operators know manufacturers are complying with regulations. The group is seeking public comment on the draft through June 29.
New York lawmakers are trying to make their state the fifth in the nation to pass an extended producer responsibility law for packaging, and some stakeholders feel like this is the year.
Decarbonization of electricity generation is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and scaling up energy storage deployment is key to achieving state decarbonization goals. Yet the most effective approaches to energy storage policymaking are far from clear. A new report by Sandia National Laboratories and the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of states leading in decarbonization goals and programs. The report, States Energy Storage Policy: Best Practices for Decarbonization, also summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of energy storage developers, and provides a deep dive into energy storage policymaking in several key states. In this webinar, report authors from CESA and Sandia will present their findings.
Panelists:
Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories
Todd Olinsky-Paul, Clean Energy States Alliance
Gabe Epstein, Clean Energy States Alliance (moderator)
This webinar is a presentation of the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP). ESTAP is a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the US. ESTAP is funded by the US Department of Energy Office of Electricity under the direction of Dr. Imre Gyuk; managed by Sandia National Laboratories; and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.
This report, published jointly by Sandia National Laboratories and the Clean Energy States Alliance, summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of states leading in decarbonization goals and programs. The report also summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of energy storage developers; and it provides a “deep dive” into key state energy storage policy priorities and the challenges being encountered by some of the leading states, in the form of a series of case studies. The report highlights best practices, identifies barriers, and underscores the urgent need to expand state energy storage policymaking to support decarbonization in the US.
Decarbonization of electricity generation is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and scaling up energy storage deployment is key to achieving state decarbonization goals. Yet the most effective approaches to energy storage policymaking are far from clear. A new report by Sandia National Laboratories and the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of states leading in decarbonization goals and programs. The report, States Energy Storage Policy: Best Practices for Decarbonization, also summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of energy storage developers, and provides a deep dive into energy storage policymaking in several key states. In this webinar, report authors from CESA and Sandia will present their findings.
Panelists:
Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories
Todd Olinsky-Paul, Clean Energy States Alliance
Gabe Epstein, Clean Energy States Alliance (moderator)
This webinar is a presentation of the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP). ESTAP is a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the US. ESTAP is funded by the US Department of Energy Office of Electricity under the direction of Dr. Imre Gyuk; managed by Sandia National Laboratories; and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is making $250 million available to develop innovative strategies to cut climate pollution and build clean energy economies. These planning grants, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are the first tranche of funding going to states, local governments, Tribes, and territories from the $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The program provides flexible planning resources for states, Tribes, territories, and municipalities to develop and implement scalable solutions that protect people from pollution and advance environmental justice.
“We know that tackling the climate crisis demands a sense of urgency to protect people and the plane. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is a historic opportunity to provide communities across the country with the resources they need to protect people from harmful climate pollution and improve our economy. These Climate Pollution Reduction Grants are an important first step to equip communities with the resources to create innovative strategies that reduce climate emissions and drive benefits across the country.”
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan
All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are eligible to receive $3 million in grant funds. In addition, each of the 67 most populous metropolitan areas in the country are eligible to receive $1 million for plans to tackle climate pollution locally. EPA is also making millions in noncompetitive planning grant funds available to territory and tribal governments. Later this year, EPA will launch a competition for $4.6 billion in funding to implement projects and initiatives included in these plans. States, cities, territories, and Tribes can also use this funding to develop strategies for using the other grant, loan, and tax provisions secured by President Biden’s historic legislation, including the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to achieve their clean energy, climate, and environmental justice goals.
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act includes historic funding to combat climate change while creating good-paying jobs and advancing environmental justice. Today’s announcement builds on $550 million announced last week for EPA’s new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program and $100 million announced earlier this year for environmental justice grants to support underserved and overburdened communities. Additionally, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will award nearly $27 billion to leverage private capital for clean energy and clean air investments across the country.
About the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program
The CPRG planning grants will support states, territories, Tribes, municipalities and air agencies, in the creation of comprehensive, innovative strategies for reducing pollution and ensuring that investments maximize benefits, especially for low-income and disadvantaged communities. These climate plans will include:
Greenhouse gas emissions inventories;
Emissions projections and reduction targets;
Economic, health, and social benefits, including to low-income and disadvantaged communities;
Plans to leverage other sources of federal funding including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act;
Workforce needs to support decarbonization and a clean energy economy; and
Future government staffing and budget needs.
In program guidance released today, EPA describes how the Agency intends to award and manage CPRG funds to eligible entities, including states, metropolitan areas, Tribes, and territories.
States
Under the formula-based program for planning grants, the governments of all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are eligible for up to $3 million. Each state government will be expected to develop or update any existing climate action plan in collaboration with sub-state jurisdictions including air pollution control districts and large and small municipalities statewide, and to conduct meaningful engagement including with low income and disadvantaged communities throughout its jurisdiction.
Metropolitan Areas
To further EPA’s efforts to cover as much of the population as possible under regional planning grants, the 67 most populous metropolitan areas will be awarded $1 million each to develop regional planning grants with key stakeholders in their area. Communities that do not rank in the top 67 most populous areas will have opportunities to partner with their states and neighboring jurisdictions.
Territories & Tribes
The territories of Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands as well as federally recognized Indian Tribes are also eligible entities; their application process is detailed in a separate program guidance.
Tribes have a set-aside of $25 million, for grants up to $500,000 for a single Tribe or $1 million for groups of 2 or more. Territories are eligible for up to $500,000 each. Applicants are not required to provide a cost-share or matching funds for this funding.
Next Steps
States must submit a notice of intent to participate by March 31, 2023; the 67 most populous metropolitan areas nationally must submit a notice of intent to participate by April 28, 2023.
EPA strongly encourages all eligible entities to review the complete program guidance documents available on EPA’s website to learn more about these planning grants, details about eligibility criteria and allocation formulas, important deadlines, and other requirements.
This funding for climate planning will be followed later this year by $4.6 billion in implementation grant funding that will support the expeditious implementation of investment-ready policies created by the CPRG planning grants, programs, and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the near term. Through the CPRG program, EPA will support the development and deployment of technologies and solutions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and harmful air pollution, as well as transition America to a clean energy economy that benefits all Americans.
Key Program Dates
States and metropolitan areas have different deadlines to notify EPA that they intend to opt-in to the climate planning grants.
States will have until March 31, 2023, to opt in to this grant by submitting a notice of intent to participate. The lead organization for the state will then need to submit an application, which will include a workplan and budget for the planning grant, by April 28, 2023. States can work with EPA regional offices during this time.
Metropolitan areas have until April 28, 2023, to opt in. The lead organization for the metropolitan area will then need to submit an application, which will include a workplan and budget for the planning grant, by May 31, 2023. Metropolitan areas can work with EPA regional offices during this time.
Tribes and territories have a separate program guidance, process and deadlines with applications and workplans due by June 15, 2023. EPA’s regional offices will work closely with Tribes and territories to support their successful application. They should work closely with their EPA region toward submitting an application and workplan by June 15, 2023.
By summer 2023, EPA Regional Offices expect to award and administer the funding agreements.
Driving through Yolo County, you’ll see the expected wide expanses of farmland. That’s nothing unusual for an agricultural area like this one, but Heather Nichols has an eye for one particularly interesting feature that others might miss: Hedgerows.
These rows of California native trees and shrubs are planted strategically alongside farmland. As the executive director of the county’s resource conservation district, Nichols has gotten familiar with their history.
“All these big fields have trees around them,” said Nichols, gesturing at them as she drives by. “That’s not always the case in agriculture, right? Sometimes it’s just crops and nothing else.”
In the past, these rows have been used by farmers for a variety of reasons. They can offer habitat for animals and attract pollinators, for example.
But while hedgerows have been around for a long time — centuries in Europe and introduced in recent decades to California — they’re now looked at through a new lens. Nichols said that they’re particularly good at sequestering carbon. All woody vegetation, trees and shrubs included, draw in and sequester carbon, even helping store that carbon in the soil around them.
In rivers and groundwater, in human bloodstreams and products ranging from cosmetics to food packaging to carpets, researchers are increasingly finding “forever chemicals” that don’t break down naturally and are shown to cause myriad health issues.
State lawmakers across the country want to tackle the growing problem. Several states have passed landmark laws in recent years, and now dozens of legislatures are considering hundreds of bills to crack down on using such compounds. The legislation would strengthen product disclosure laws, increase liability for polluters, bolster testing plans and enact water quality standards.
States across the country have a massive new opportunity to boost their local economy through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — and now, for the first time, that opportunity is quantified. Thanks to historic investment in clean energy technologies, low-carbon alternatives for energy, transportation, appliances, and manufacturing are cheaper than ever, sometimes already undercutting their fossil fuel counterparts.
States can capitalize on this opportunity and support the use of new tax credits and rebates that will allow individuals and businesses to buy new electric vehicles, heat pumps, renewables, energy efficient equipment, and more while saving money. More than that, it’s creating thousands of clean technology and energy jobs in the United States right now, reinvesting in parts of the country where manufacturing once thrived, and stimulating what could be a global climate and clean energy “race to the top.”
Our first-of-its-kind analysis shows the potential benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act state by state. Most of the financial incentives that will be used from the IRA will be in the form of tax credits, which means keeping billions of new investment dollars in-state and lowering the federal tax burden of residents across states. Taking full advantage of the IRA can also lead to a flood of private sector funding as industries and clean energy developers look to build new projects.
Read the full story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Wisconsin Watch.
This winter has already brought significant snowfall to much of the U.S. Historically, more snow has meant more road salt. It’s an effective way to clear roads — but also brings cascading environmental impacts as it washes into rivers and streams.
But amid one powerful winter storm that walloped the Midwest in December, employees from the La Crosse County Facilities Department in Wisconsin did something a little different.
As usual, they clocked into work well before dawn to plow the county’s downtown parking lots. They were followed by facilities director Ryan Westphal, who walked each of the lots, checking for slick spots. Finding none, he didn’t lay any salt down on top.
That’s a major departure from how he would have handled the situation a few years ago – before their department made the decision to dramatically cut back on salt use to prevent it from flowing into waters like the nearby Mississippi River, which new data show has been growing saltier for decades.
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