NEWS OF THE WEEK
TARGET PRACTICE WITH EPA CONGRESS: House passes bills to limit
regulations; panel issues subpoena
T
Republican-led House of Representatives in early August fired at the Environmental Protection Agency. In one salvo, the House passed two bills that would stymie EPA’s ability to regulate. In another shot, the House Science, Space & Technology Committee took the unusual step of issuing a subpoena for key data that EPA relies on to justify air pollution regulations. The actions came just before lawmakers left Washington, D.C., for a five-week recess. One of the bills to pass is H.R. 1582, which would give the Department of Energy veto power over energy-related EPA regulations that cost more than $1 billion to implement. The legislation would chiefly affect future air pollution rules, including efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions. The 232-181 vote was largely along party lines. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who introduced the measure, says it would protect consumers from increases in energy prices that result from EPA regulations. The second bill to pass the House is H.R. 367, which
HOUSE SCIENCE, SPACE & TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE DEMOCRATS
House Science Committee Chairman Smith with documents previously provided by EPA.
RAINING ITS SIGHTS ON a favorite mark, the
would require the Senate and House to approve any major regulation—defined as those with annual economic impact of $100 million or more—before it could take effect. Many EPA regulations hit that metric. Both bills are likely to be dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate, says Katie Greenhaw, an analyst with the Center for Effective Government, a public interest group that monitors federal regulatory policy. House Republicans passed the measures to demonstrate their antiregulatory credentials to their supporters, she tells C&EN. The White House has threatened to veto both bills should they reach the President’s desk. Finally, the House Science Committee, in a partyline vote, issued its first subpoena in 21 years—to EPA. The move requires the agency to turn over confidential data from two long-term studies of the health effects of particulate matter air pollution— which committee Chairman Rep. Lamar S. Smith (R-Texas) calls “secret science.” EPA uses the information to quantify the health benefits of rules that control air pollution. In a recent letter to Smith, the agency says it has already provided the committee with all the data from the studies that are in its possession. The rest of the data—including confidential health information from individual participants—is controlled by either the American Cancer Society or Harvard University, each of which conducted one of the studies. Making this data public “is a true invasion of people’s privacy and has a chilling effect on getting people to participate in studies,” says Andrew Rosenberg, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Center for Science & Democracy. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, the top Democrat on the Science Committee, accuses Smith of using congressional power to harass EPA .—CHERYL HOGUE
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BASF to close New Jersey fuel-cell assembly plant Although the fuel-cell sector may finally be taking off, the German chemical giant BASF has decided to exit one part of the business and close a facility in Somerset, N.J. The move will affect about 25 employees. It was with some fanfare that BASF opened the $10 million Somerset facility in 2009. The company invited the press and the governor of New Jersey to see a factory where it would produce membrane electrode assemblies for high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane, or PEM, fuel cells. Composed of electrodes, catalysts,
and membranes, the assemblies allow hydrogen to react with oxygen to generate heat and electricity. BASF primarily targeted stationary applications such as backup generators and combined heat and power systems. The company now says such fuel cells face competition from many other technologies, including internal combustion engine and microturbine generators and other types of fuel cells. Instead, BASF will focus on supplying catalysts and adsorbents for a broad range of fuel cells. High-temperature PEM fuel cells promise lower sensitivity to impurities in fuels
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than do their low-temperature cousins, according to Dan Carter, an analyst with the London-based market intelligence firm Fuel Cell Today. But problems with longevity and durability have prevented the high-temperature cells from significantly penetrating the market, Carter says. Overall, the fuel-cell industry had its best year ever in 2012, Carter says, thanks to residential installations in Japan and growth in portable chargers for electronics. Hyundai launched the world’s first commercial fuel-cell vehicle earlier this year, and Carter expects other automakers to follow.—MICHAEL MCCOY
