Posts for February 9, 2010

UMA ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETS WITH DEQ ADMINISTRATION – TALKS SHOP

February 9, 2010 – Lindsey Ford, Parsons, Behle and Latimer (UMA Environment Committee)

The Utah Manufacturers Association Environmental Committee met this morning with DEQ Director Amanda Smith and her Division Directors to get an update from them on budget issues, current legislation and pressing issues affecting them. Following is a summary of the highlights from the meeting. This is an annual meeting the UMA committee hosts for DEQ and has proved to be very productive in outlining priorities and building relationships.

Thanks for Lindsey Ford for compiling his notes as a report to the members of the committee who could not attend and with his permission published here for all UMA members.

Amanda Smith (DEQ Executive Director)

· Budget. Amanda discussed the budget issues facing DEQ. DEQ’s FY2010 budget was cut initially by 23% from FY2009 levels, then by an additional 4%. For FY2011, DEQ’s budget will be cut another 5% relative to FY2010 levels. In response to these cuts, the Department has cut back on new hires, travel, computer upgrades, and has delayed putting documents on line. To meet the FY2011 budget, DEQ will need to cut another three full-time employees (FTE’s) (one each from DAQ, DWQ and DERR). DEQ currently has 387 FTE’s.

· EQRA Bill. To address its funding needs, DEQ is working with stakeholders on legislation that would increase disposal fees that go into the Environmental Quality Restricted Account (EQRA). The language of this bill is not yet available.

· Western Climate Initiative (WCI). She explained that Utah is in a “wait and see” mode with respect to its continued participation in WCI, indicating that Utah and several other states have been described as “laggard states” with respect to their participation in WCI’s cap-and-trade system.

Walt Baker (Executive Secretary, DWQ)

· HB 343. This bill would establish, and provide funding for, a Great Salt Lake advisory group, which would perform scientific studies on the Great Salt Lake. Walt explained that, without better technical understanding of the lake, DWQ must make conservative/protective assumptions when issuing permits (most of which are appealed). These studies would enable DWQ to make better decisions relating to the lake.

· The DWQ staff person responsible for establishing water quality standards, Bill Molmer, opted for early retirement. DWQ will not be able to fill his position until July 1, which will slow the permit issuance process.

Dennis Downs (Executive Secretary, DSHW)

· Dennis announced that he is a “short timer” who will take retirement on May 1, 2010.

· DSHW is working on the EQRA bill.

· FTE’s at DSHW have been reduced from 75 down to 56 in the past several years. The DSHW toxicologist, Chris Bittner, has been transferred to another division. DSHW will rely on other DSHW personnel, and EPA, with respect to toxicity/risk assessment issues.

· HB 63 – Waste Tire Amendments. This bill would raise the fee on truck tires to $2/tire (up from $1/tire), beginning in FY2012. Fees on cars will remain the same ($1/tire).

· HB 221 – Waste Tire Sunset. This bill would reauthorize the Waste Tire bill.

· SCRG 6 & 7. These resolutions would provide the “legislative approval” necessary for two solid waste landfills (Central Valley Waste facility and Mountain View landfill) to become “commercial” landfills. DSHW supports these resolutions.

· HB 228. This bill would designate municipal solid waste as a “renewable resource” (e.g., energy generation through combustion of methane from landfills), thereby facilitating the attainment of renewable energy goals.

· E-Waste recycling bill. This bill would govern recycling of electronic scrap. DSHW is merely monitoring this bill but indicated it will not support it unless it is budget neutral. The current version of the bill would require three FTE’s to implement the program, which it would fund through new fees on electronics manufacturers. There is still much disagreement among the group involved in drafting this bill.

Cheryl Heying (Executive Secretary, DAQ)

· HB 70. This bill pertains to EPA certification of natural gas conversions.

· PM10 SIP Disapproval. DAQ will respond to EPA comments in its proposed disapproval of the State’s PM10 plans and continue to work with EPA to clarify summer/spring wind events and winter inversions. DAQ will take issue with EPA’s rejection of DAQ’s “flagging” of wind events as exceptional events. DAQ believes it has the PM10 winter inversion problem solved (noting that even during the recent inversion, one of the worst in recent years, Utah did not violate PM10 standards). It also will comment on unavoidable breakdown rule (UBR) and start-up, shut-down and malfunction (SSM) issues.

· Tailoring Rule. Cheryl mentioned a recent meeting she had with EPA Headquarters in which EPA seemed to be (finally) realizing that regulation of greenhouse gases is a “big deal” and suggested EPA might allow states additional time (beyond March 2010) to build their programs from the ground up to address greenhouse gases.

Brent Everett (Executive Secretary, DERR)

· Brent was appointed to be the Executive Secretary of DERR two months ago.

· HB 120. This bill revises the Underground Storage Tank Fund provisions.

· HB 190. This bill pertains to certification of methamphetamine contractors.


Ken Bausfield (Executive Secretary, DDW)

· SB32. This bill would allow entities to collect up to 2500 gallons of rainwater. DDW is monitoring this bill to prevent cross-contamination that might occur if such captured rainwater is used in pressurized irrigation systems that use potable water from a Public Water System.

Dane Finnerfrock (Executive Secretary, DRC)

· DRC is working on the EQRA bill.

OBAMA ADMIN SAYS IT WILL SPEND ALL REVENUE RAISED FROM NEW CARBON TAXES

February 9, 2010 - FOX News

President Obama and Budget Director Peter Orszag have thrown transparency out the window and created a black box for taxes and spending on climate change hidden inside the administration's 2011 budget.

The big news in last year’s budget release was the revelation that the Obama administration planned to use cap-and-trade to raise $646 billion dollars over ten years to finance its big spending programs. At the time I wrote here in the Fox Forum that estimate was a lowball of what actually constituted the biggest tax increase in U.S. history, something White House economist Jason Furman later admitted when he revealed the real revenue would likely be triple the official estimate. So the first thing I checked in this year’s budget was how much revenue was expected from the cap-and-trade energy tax, to which the president reiterated his commitment in his State of the Union address last week. The surprising answer is the budget actually has, literally, a blank line for the cap-and-trade tax. A black box. A slush fund. A secret budget-within-the-budget. Talk about a lack of transparency.

WHOLESALE INVENTORIES SLASHED IN DECEMBER

February 9, 2010 - Manufacturing.Net

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Businesses slashed wholesale inventories sharply in December, a much weaker showing than expected and a troubling sign that companies are still too pessimistic about the economy to begin restocking shelves on a sustained basis.

Economists believe that the country won't be in a sustained recovery until businesses begin restocking their depleted shelves which will mean higher orders to factories and increased demand for manufacturing workers.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that wholesale inventories were reduced 0.8 percent in December. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected inventories to rise by 0.5 percent during the month.

The government said that sales at the wholesale level did rise in December, increasing 0.8 percent.

The weakness in inventory rebuilding in December was an indication that businesses, still struggling to emerge from the deepest recession in decades, are not yet confident enough in rising sales to begin rebuilding their stockpiles on a sustained basis.

The 0.8 percent drop in wholesale inventories followed a 1.6 percent rise in November which had triggered hopes that businesses were growing more optimistic after a prolonged period of slashing inventories.

The 0.8 percent rise in sales followed an even bigger 3.6 percent increase in sales in November. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent sales rise in December.
Wholesalers hold 25 percent of all inventories with factories holding about one-third and retailers holding the rest.

It was a big slowdown in the pace of inventory reductions that contributed nearly two-thirds of the growth in the overall economy in the fourth quarter as measured by the gross domestic product.

The GDP shot up at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the October-December period, the strongest showing in six years but the concern is that this boost from inventories will be temporary and GDP will slow significantly in coming quarters.

More Unemployed, Fewer Jobs In 2009

Manufacturing.Net - February 09, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Finding a job got much tougher last year, as the number of available openings fell by nearly one quarter.

At the same time, the unemployed population soared by more than one-third, leaving more laid-off workers competing for fewer jobs.

All told, there were 6.1 unemployed workers in December, on average, for every available position, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday.

That's a sharp increase from 3.4 jobless workers per opening in December of 2008, and much worse than the 1.7 unemployed people per opening in December 2007, when the recession began.

There were 2.5 million jobs available at the end of December, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey. That includes all jobs publicly listed by companies and government agencies.

That may seem like a lot given the severity of the recession, but that's down from 3.2 million in December 2008. And it's way below the 4.8 million openings that existed in June 2007, the peak reached before the recession.

The picture eased slightly in December from the previous month, as available jobs increased by about 60,000 from November. December's ratio of 6.1 unemployed workers per job was better than November's 6.3, the highest on records dating from 2001.

NLRB NOMINEE CHALLENGED IN SENATE

February 9, 2010 - NAM

The Senate today failed to invoke cloture on the nomination of Craig Becker to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB.) With 33 bipartisan votes to oppose moving his nomination forward, the Senate recognized that the views of Mr. Becker are far outside the mainstream and ill-suited for a member of the NLRB, an independent agency that carries out quasi-judicial deliberations.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) appreciates the Senators who took into account the views of hundreds of manufacturers who wrote this week to register their objections to Becker's nomination. These companies recognize that the changes in labor law that Mr. Becker has advocated would limit the rights of employers and employees alike and promote adversarial workplace relations. The NAM sent a letter today to each Senator strongly opposing Mr. Becker's nomination.

Mr. Becker has asserted views that the NLRB should rewrite union election rules in favor of union organizers. Such policy decisions should only be determined by Congress. The NAM is particularly concerned that if confirmed, Mr. Becker would seek to advance aspects of the job-killing Employee Free Choice Act through actions of the NLRB.

Cloture Defeated 52-33
* 31 R's voted NO
* 10 R's absent: Brownback, DeMint, Ensign, Graham, Gregg, Hatch, Hutchison, Roberts, Thune and Vitter
* 2 D's voted NO - Lincoln and Nelson (NE)
* 5 D's absent: Byrd, Inouye, Landrieu, Pryor and Sanders
* 52 D's voted YES