EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide For 2013 Models

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are releasing the 2013 Fuel Economy Guide, giving consumers clear and easy-to-read information to help them choose the most fuel efficient and low greenhouse gas emitting vehicles that meet their needs. The 2013 models include efficient and low-emission vehicles in a variety of classes and sizes, but notable this year is the growing availability of hybrids and the increasing number of electric vehicles.

This year’s guide gives consumers a broad range of information that they can use to select their next fuel efficient vehicle, whether they want to consider an electric vehicle or one that uses a more conventional fuel. This year, for the first time, EPA and DOE have added a second top ten list of most efficient vehicles -- separating advanced technology vehicles from conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles. Electric and plug-in hybrid electric models are the most fuel-efficient and lowest-emission vehicles available today and are becoming more common. At the same time, consumers may still look up the conventional gasoline and diesel models that offer superior fuel efficiency.

The 2013 guide provides an estimated annual fuel cost for each vehicle. The estimate is calculated based on the vehicle’s miles per gallon (mpg) rating and national estimates for annual mileage and fuel prices. The online version of the guide allows consumers to enter their local gasoline prices and typical driving habits to receive a personalized fuel cost estimate. The 2013 guide also includes a greenhouse gas rating for each model.

Consumers may view the guide at fueleconomy.gov and it will be available in hard copy at dealer showrooms. EPA and DOE will update the guide online as more 2013 vehicles become available.

All 2013 model year vehicles will display a new fuel economy and environment label to provide consumers with more comprehensive fuel efficiency information, including five-year fuel costs or savings compared to the average new vehicle, as well as new ratings for greenhouse gas and smog. These labels are required for model year 2013, but some automakers voluntarily adopted the new label design on some 2012 models.

More information, including a complete version of the guide and details on the fuel economy labels:  and for mobile devices.

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California Cap & Trade Program Nov Allowance Auction

As part of the cap-and-trade program, the Air Resources Board (ARB) held its first auction of greenhouse gas allowances (GHG) on November 14, 2012.  The auction included a Current Auction of 2013 vintage allowances and Advance Auction of 2015 vintage allowances.  The California Air Resources Board will make available additional Auction 1 summary statistics. The report will be published on the ARB website at 10:00 am Pacific Time on Thursday, December 6, 2012.

The notice will be posted on ARB’s website. If you have any questions on the auction results, please contact the ARB Public Information Office at (916) 322-2990.

Information on the California Cap-and-Trade Program.

The auction auctions and reserve sales are to allow market participants to acquire allowances directly from ARB.  ARB plans to conduct the first quarterly reserve sale on March 8, 2013. Auction participants will have to apply to participate in an auction, or submit a bid for reserve sales, and meet financial regulatory requirements in order to participate in an auction or reserve sale.

The November 2012 auction was conducted from 10:00 AM Pacific Time (PT) until 1:00 PM PT on November 14, 2012. Provided below are the results of the auction. For more detail on the results, please see the full ARB Auction 1 Summary Results Report.

Auction	Allowances Offered	Allowances Sold	Settlement Price
Current Auction (2013 Vintage)	23,126,110	23,126,110	$10.09
Advance Auction (2015 Vintage)	39,450,000	5,576,000	$10.00

(Calif Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board)

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DC Stormwater Proposed Rule Public Comments

The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) has posted to its website the public comments it received on the Proposed Rulemaking on Stormwater Management and Soil Erosion and Sediment Control and the Draft Stormwater Management Guidebook. DDOE is currently reviewing these comments and incorporating changes to the Proposed Rule and Draft Guidebook as appropriate. 
 

DDOE plans to release a revised Rule and Guidebook in spring of 2013 for a second, 30-day round of public comment. When DDOE posts the revised Rule and Guidebook, it will also post a Comment Response Document for the comments it received on the initial Proposed Rule and a similar document for comments received on the Draft Guidebook. 
 

To view the comments on the Proposed Rule.
 

To view the comments on the Draft Guidebook.
 

To access the Proposed Rule, Draft Guidebook, presentations from training sessions, responses to clarifying questions, and related information, please visit http://ddoe.dc.gov/proposedstormwaterrule.

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U.S. Oil Production Highest In 15 Years

U.S. crude oil production (including lease condensate) averaged almost 6.5 million barrels per day in September 2012, the highest volume in nearly 15 years. The last time the United States produced 6.5 million barrels per day or more of crude oil was in January 1998. Since September 2011, U.S. production has increased by more than 900,000 barrels per day. Most of that increase is due to production from oil-bearing rocks with very low permeability through the use of horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing. The states with the largest increases are Texas and North Dakota. (DOE-EIA)

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Fuel Pipelines Vulnerable To Floodwaters

Federal investigators plan to announce soon that flood-caused erosion along the riverbed—known as scouring—exposed an Exxon Mobil Corp. pipeline on the Yellowstone River in Montana in 2011, causing it to break and spill 1,000 barrels of crude. A month later, an Enterprise Products Partners  pipeline burst after it was exposed by scouring in a Missouri River floodplain in Iowa, spilling 818 barrels of a gasoline additive.

The greater weight and speed of floodwater can scrape dozens of feet of soil and gravel off a river's bed, potentially exposing pipelines and leading to their rupture. Heavy snow and rain last year caused record flooding on the Missouri River basin, which includes the Yellowstone.

In January, Congress ordered a review of pipeline incidents at river crossings to determine if the pipelines' depths were a factor. The study is expected to help lawmakers determine whether regulations should be strengthened.

The U.S. Geological Survey found severe scour last year at 27 sites surveyed along the Missouri River from Kansas City to St. Louis, with the riverbed deepened in places by nine to 41 feet. Other unpublished USGS research found more severe scouring upstream.

Federal law requires operators to bury pipelines a minimum of four feet beneath waterways. Many river engineers say that standard is grossly inadequate. A congressional research report this year said the 4-foot minimum "appears to be insufficient to prevent riverbed pipeline exposure."
 

The federal agency for pipeline safety, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), learned of the pipelines' depths through an optional survey of operators. When operators didn't report the depths of 12 pipelines in the survey, PHMSA said it didn't pursue the matter because it isn't required to track pipeline depths. Under current rules, PHMSA leaves much of the oversight of pipelines to operators, who are required to inspect river crossings every five years.

"It is the operator's responsibility to weigh and assess the risks associated with its pipeline," PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman testified at a congressional hearing last year on the Exxon spill in Montana. "Especially in [flood conditions]. That is why we kept saying to them, 'You need to check this pipeline out and watch it.'"

Reinstalling shallow pipelines at river crossings across the nation would cost billions of dollars, "and that would be a very high cost to consumers. Scour is typically temporary, with the holes refilled by sediment over time. (WSJ, 12/3/2012)

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America's Great Outdoors Initiative

2012 Progress Report

On December 4, 2012, the Obama Administration released the 2012 America's Great Outdoors Progress Report, detailing key successes of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, including advancing local conservation priorities, expanding access to lands and waters for recreation, restoring critical landscapes, and creating great urban parks and water trails in American communities.

On February 15, 2011, President Barack Obama announced the America's Great Outdoors Report, the Administration's action plan under the America's Great Outdoors initiative to achieve lasting conservation of the outdoor spaces that power our nation's economy, shape our culture, and build our outdoor traditions.

 

The report released outlines ways in which the Federal Government will help empower local communities to accomplish their conservation and recreation priorities by recognizing that the best ideas come from outside of Washington. In the summer of 2010, senior Administration officials held 51 listening sessions across the country to gather input from Americans about the outdoor places and activities that they value most. These sessions drew more than 10,000 participants and more than 105,000 written comments, used to inform the America’s Great Outdoors Report, which when implemented will result in:

• Accessible parks or green spaces for our children.
• A new generation of great urban parks and community green spaces.
• Newly-restored river restorations and recreational “blueways” that power economic revitalization in communities.
• Stronger support for farmers, ranchers, and private landowners that help protect rural landscapes and provide access for recreation.
• The reinvestment of revenues from oil and gas extraction into the permanent protection of parks, open spaces, wildlife habitat, and access for recreational activities.
• A 21^st century conservation ethic that builds on local ideas and solutions for environmental stewardship and connecting to our historic, cultural, and natural heritage. (CEQ)

Center Participation

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D.C. Water Management

In 2004 the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority was forced to settle a federal lawsuit that claimed it failed for decades to stop its sewers from spewing pollution. D.C. Water agreed to build three huge tunnels within 20 years to stop pipes from overflowing during rains, sending billions of gallons of storm water mixed with raw sewage into Rock Creek and the Potomac and Anacostia rivers every year.  The $2.6 billion Clean Rivers tunnel project is underway and construction can be seen just off of Highway 295 in Ward 8 at the Blue Plains Waste .

But now, the three-tunnel solution is in doubt, and activists, engineers and bureaucrats are arguing once again about the best path to cleaner waters. Although digging is underway for the first tunnel, D.C. Water wants to put the other two on hold and instead see whether rain gardens, retention ponds and grass rooftops can soak up as much storm-water runoff as the pipes can store. D.C. Water has asked the Environmental Protection Agency for permission to build an experimental “green infrastructure” project and run tests for at least eight years.

The green project would be built where the second and third tunnels were slated to run, along Rock Creek Parkway near the Kennedy Center to protect the Potomac River and in Upper Northwest neighborhoods to protect Rock Creek. A 13-mile tunnel under the Anacostia River and deep into the Northeast near a Home Depot off Rhode Island Avenue, currently under construction, would continue as planned.

The EPA is considering D.C. Water’s proposed “partnership agreement,” and a decision on whether to move forward with public hearings on the changes is expected soon. The green infrastructure proposal is an attempt to delay or cancel part of the tunnel. (Wash Post, 12/3/2012)

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