Weekly Clips

 

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CenterPoint Energy A Part of New Battery Energy Storage System to Support Houston's Power Grid

CenterPoint Energy along with Irby Construction Company and SMT Energy have begun work on a new Battery Energy Storage System in Houston.

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Ad Campaign Funded by Chemical Industry Skirted Campaign Finance Rules

New York Focus revealed last week that the American Chemistry Council, which represents major corporations like DuPont, Exxon, and 3M, poured $250,000 into the reelection campaigns of lawmakers across the state, from Long Island to Syracuse.

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US Health Secretary Keen to ‘Incentivise’ Production of Sustainable, Non-toxic Food Packaging

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has said that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is aiming to tighten regulations to prevent the use of harmful chemicals in food packaging and improve national waste recovery systems for recycling.

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American Chemistry Council v. Bonta: A Decision in Support of Trade and Professional Associations’ First Amendment Rights

Does the First Amendment protect associations’ communications with their members when petitioning government agencies? Without yet providing a definitive response to that question, the May 1 decision by Judge Amit P. Mehta in American Chemistry Council v. Bonta holds out the possibility that such communications will be protected from discovery. The decision delivers several critical lessons every membership-based organization should internalize.

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‘We’re Championing a Culture of Prevention and Protection,’ Chemical Safety Board Says

Chemical Safety Board investigation reports, safety recommendations and videos “provide a clear-eyed view of the scale and cost of preventable chemical incidents,” board member Sylvia Johnson said during a recent public meeting.

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NRC Reviewing Nuclear SMR Permit to Power Dow Chemical Manufacturing on Gulf Coast

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted and will review a construction permit application for building an X-energy 320-MW small modular reactor nuclear plant to power Dow Chemical’s 4,200-acre manufacturing complex on the Texas Gulf Coast.

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ExxonMobil Gets One Step Closer for New $10 Billion Gulf Coast Facility

Plans for ExxonMobil's $10 billion Gulf Coast plastics plant progressed this week when the Calhoun County Independent School District board unanimously voted to begin tax break negotiations with the company.

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Houston Ship Channel Ranked No. 1 U.S. Waterway

The Houston Ship Channel is once again ranked the number one waterway in the U.S., according to a recent report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

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New Task Force to Tackle Tube, Thermoform Recycling

Creation of The Packaging Recyclability Advancement Task Force brings together efforts from environmental group GreenBlue, the U.S. Plastics Pact, The Recycling Partnership, the Association of Plastic Recyclers and the Solid Waste Association of North America. The Recycled Materials Association, formerly known as the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries also is a member.

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Business Tax Breaks Closer to Reality After Texas Senate Approves Compromise

The Texas Senate advanced a bill Wednesday to give business owners bigger breaks on their property taxes — a key piece of a deal brokered on how to lower Texans’ property taxes.

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A former LyondellBasell refinery is switching to plastic recycling. Will the community get a say?

The first refinery built along the Houston Ship Channel in 1918 shut down its petroleum production this spring, laying off hundreds of workers, but owner LyondellBasell had no intention of closing the site itself. Instead, the company applied for expedited permits to turn part of the facility into a chemical recycling unit for plastic waste.

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Europe Prepares to Counter US Tariffs

The United States has struck at least temporary trade deals with the United Kingdom and China, but not the European Union, a once-close ally now preparing to impose counter tariffs on some $106.2 billion (95 billion euros) of U.S. goods, including chemicals, plastics, rubber and processing machinery.

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In Break for Chemical Makers, Trump Pauses Most China Tariffs

Chemical companies have gotten a reprieve—albeit a temporary one—from sky-high tariffs. The US and China declared a 90-day truce in their trade war during a meeting between the countries in Geneva to negotiate a broader trade agreement.

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The Most Promising Ways to Destroy ‘Forever Chemicals'

Toxic “forever chemicals” that can persist in the environment for years have long troubled environmentalists and regulators. Their harmful effects on human health are well documented, but their ubiquitous use and strong bonds make it difficult to eliminate them.

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States Are Banning Forever Chemicals. Industry Is Fighting Back

In 2021, James Kenney and his husband were at a big box store buying a piece of furniture when the sales associate asked if they’d like to add fabric protectant. Kenney, the cabinet secretary of New Mexico’s Environment Department, asked to see the product data sheet. Both he and his husband were shocked to see forever chemicals listed as ingredients in the protectant.

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What the EPA’s Partial Rollback of the ‘Forever Chemical’ Drinking Water Rule Means

On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to weaken limits on some harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water roughly a year after the Biden administration finalized the first-ever national standards.

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Renewable Energy Is Booming in Texas. Republicans Want to Change That.

Conservative states with a hands-off approach to development, such as Texas and Oklahoma, have become wind and solar energy dynamos in recent years. But a simultaneous push by Republicans in Washington and in Sun Belt state capitals to cut off tax incentives and tighten permitting regulations threatens to snuff out the red-state renewable energy boom.

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Texas Bill Seeking to Keep Toxic “Forever Chemicals” Off Farmland Misses Key Deadline

A bill aimed at limiting the spread of toxic chemicals on Texas farmland has hit a political wall — missing a key deadline that decreases its likelihood of passage this session. House Bill 1674, introduced by Rep. Helen Kerwin, R-Cleburne, aims to regulate the use of fertilizers made from treated sewage, also known as biosolids, by requiring regular testing for PFAS — a group of long-lasting, harmful chemicals often called “forever chemicals.”

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