Written by Moms Clean Air Force

Moms across the country fought hard to win the Lautenberg Chemicals Safety for the 21st Century Act. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla) came together in an unprecedented bipartisan effort to protect us from dangerous chemicals and passed the bill in 2016. The new...

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Jennifer McPartland, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist. We blogged before the holiday break about how EPA used a single, unverified and conflicted estimate of worker exposure to build a whole house of cards and then used it to conclude that Pigment Violet 29 (or PV29) poses no risk to human […]

The post Correction: The Trump EPA’s first TSCA risk evaluation is a skyscraper of cards, not just a house first appeared on EDF Health.

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Jennifer McPartland, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist. We blogged before the holiday break about how EPA used a single, unverified and conflicted estimate of worker exposure to build a whole house of cards and then used it to conclude that Pigment Violet 29 (or PV29) poses no risk to human […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Jennifer McPartland, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist. We blogged before the holiday break about how EPA used a single, unverified and conflicted estimate of worker exposure to build a whole house of cards and then used it to conclude that Pigment Violet 29 (or PV29) poses no risk to human […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Jennifer McPartland, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist. We blogged before the holiday break about how EPA used a single, unverified and conflicted estimate of worker exposure to build a whole house of cards and then used it to conclude that Pigment Violet 29 (or PV29) poses no risk to human […]

Peoples Gas commits to curb methane emissions 50 percent from its distribution systems in Pittsburgh.

The Environmental Protection Agency has sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a draft final rule that significantly scales back the ban it proposed two years ago on deadly paint strippers containing methylene chloride.

EDF statement from Elgie Holstein, Senior Director for Strategic Planning

Gov. Wolf Takes Another Strong Step, Committing to Limiting Climate Pollution in Pennsylvania

It may be a new year, but FirstEnergy is still at its old tricks. Latest newsletter from @dickmunson :… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

New year, new strategy for @firstenergycorp? Nope. Our latest newsletter: edf.org/jDK https://t.co/iidQhFtzFL

96 New year, new strategy for FirstEnergy? Nope. p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; } .ExternalClass,.ExternalClass p,.ExternalClass td,.ExternalClass div,.ExternalClass span,.ExternalClass font{ line-height:100%; } a[x-apple-data-detectors]{ color:inherit !important; text-decoration:none !important; font-size:inherit !important; font-family:inherit !important; 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Monday January 7, 2019 - Edition #60

Welcome to 2019! It may be a new year, but FirstEnergy is still at its old tricks.

Remember in late 2016 when the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) gave the utility $600 million? Despite claims of grid modernization, regulators admitted that the money was nothing more than a blank check that the utility giant could do with as it pleased.

FirstEnergy wanted the funds to improve its credit rating, which was low as a result of bad business decisions. Yet this past year FirstEnergy shed millions of debts by declaring bankruptcy for its subsidiary and saw its stock value rise more than 20 percent. Pretty hard to justify any credit support, let alone $600 million.

EDF, along with other environmental groups, are crying foul. Because the bailout is so unreasonable, we’ve asked the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn it. The process is officially kicking off with the oral argument, which begins this Wednesday January 9. Our lawyers will be there and we’ll follow the case closely, with a decision expected later this year.

For past newsletters and other updates, you can always visit our FirstEnergy landing page.

--> Money in the pocket Even if the bailout does get overturned, FirstEnergy will get to keep the hundreds of millions it’s already collected. Cool. Sinking ship? Last year, FirstEnergy Solutions – the subsidiary that owns and operates power plants and sells power to customers in the competitive market – filed for bankruptcy. One issue the judge will need to decide is what the new (post-bankruptcy) company will be named.

The “FirstEnergy” brand, primarily driven by parent company FirstEnergy Corp., has value and advertising dollars behind it. For example, the Cleveland Browns play their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium because the Browns are big fans of the politically powerful utility. Just kidding – FirstEnergy Corp. paid for the naming rights.

Consumer groups and energy marketers want the new company to either relinquish or pay for the right to use the name “FirstEnergy Solutions.” 

We understand why these groups would want to prevent the bankrupt company from benefitting from any value this name might have. What we don’t understand is why the new company would want to use the FirstEnergy name – it’s like naming a new ship after the Titanic.  Return of the ZEN New year, new strategy? Nope.

Gongwer reports that a couple of Ohio legislators intend to revive the controversial bills to bail out FirstEnergy’s nuclear power plants, fondly called the ZEN (zero-emission nuclear) proposal. The idea went nowhere last year – not in the regular legislative session nor the lame duck. 

The thing is, if you’re looking to decarbonize Ohio’s power sector, energy efficiency and renewables are a safer, more cost-effective bet.

Moreover, the grid operator responsible for reliability in Ohio and many other states, PJM, recently found “there is ‘no imminent threat’ to keeping the lights on as coal and nuclear power plants close.”

So, why do FirstEnergy these few legislators keep trying to make Ohioans pay for the uneconomic clunkers? Just when FirstEnergy thought bankruptcy was its biggest problem… Porcupines started getting aggressive around FirstEnergy’s hydroelectric plant in New Jersey. --> --> Copyright © 2019 Environmental Defense Fund |Energy, All rights reserved.


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Written by Moms Clean Air Force

  Welcome to 2019, a year in which our battles against dozens of harmful EPA rollbacks gets even more intense. To kick things off: While many families were enjoying a holiday break, Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced that EPA would begin to undo the very...

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The post From villages to states, significant progress on lead service line replacement in 2018 first appeared on EDF Health.