The document summarizes recent activity in the Trump administration related to energy policy and the environment, including executive orders rolling back regulations, memoranda to expedite oil and gas pipeline projects, and appointments of officials like EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt who plan to scale back the agency's activities. It also discusses uncertainties around future actions like potential withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and rescinding the Clean Power Plan.

1. Presented by:
John B. King
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2. Activity in the Trump Era
•America First Energy Plan
•Priebus Memorandum
•Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda
•Pipelines
•EPA
•Congress
Climate
Possible Future Activity
•Regulations
•Congress
Compliance and Enforcement
Recent Rules
•Oil and Gas
•RMP
•Hazardous Waste
Questions

3. “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone.” President Barrack Obama, Jan. 14, 2014

4. Posted on January 20, 2017
• Committed to energy policies that lower costs for
hardworking Americans and maximize the use of
American resources
• Eliminate harmful and unnecessary policies
Such as Climate Action Plan and WOTUS
Will increase wages by $30B over 7 years
• Boost domestic energy production
Embrace the shale revolution
Tap into $50T of reserves
Especially on federal lands
Use revenues for infrastructure
Achieve energy independence
• Committed to clean coal technology
Revive America’s coal industry
• Refocus EPA on its essential mission
Protect our air and water

5. • The ‘Priebus Memorandum’ - issued on January 20, 2017
• Essentially, freezes regulations for 60 days
-No regulation may be sent to Federal Register until an agency head appointed or designated by the President
after noon on January 20, 2017, reviews and approves the regulation
-Withdraw any regulations sent to the Federal Register but not published for review and approval
-Published in FR but have not taken effect, postpone their effective date for 60 days
Can extend further with notice and comment
• EPA Response (82 FR 8499, Jan. 26, 2017):
-Effective date of thirty rules postponed until March 21, 2017
Risk Management Program rule (82 FR 4594, 1/13/17) (effective date extended to June 19)
Subsurface Intrusion Component to Hazard Ranking Index (82 FR 2760, 1/9/17)
Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products (81 FR 89674, 12/12/16)
Renewable Fuel Standards for 2017 (81 FR 89746, 12/12/16)

6. • Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing The Executive Branch
-Executive Order issued on March 13, 2107
-OMB to propose a plan to reorganize governmental functions, eliminate unnecessary agencies and agency programs
-OMB must consider:
Are agency functions appropriate for the Federal government or would be better left to states?
Are the functions or administrative capabilities redundant, including with those of another agency?
Are costs of continuing to operate an agency justified by the public benefits it provides?
• Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda
-Executive Order issued on February 24, 2017
-Each agency shall designate an agency official as its Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO)
RRO oversees implementation of regulatory reform initiatives, such as EO 13771
-Each agency shall establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force (RRTF)
Evaluate existing regulations
Make recommendations to the agency head regarding repeal, replacement, or modification
• Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
-Executive Order 13771 issued on January 30, 2017 (‘One In, Two Out’)
-Agency requirements
Identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed when it proposes a new regulation
Total incremental cost of all new regulations shall be no greater than zero
Incremental costs shall be offset by the elimination of existing costs of prior regulations
No regulation issued unless included in Unified Regulatory Agenda
Most include caveat: “unless prohibited by law”
-Already subject of lawsuit - Public Citizen/NRDA v. Trump

7. • Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic
Manufacturing
-Presidential Memorandum issued on January 24, 2017
-Support expansion of manufacturing through expedited reviews/approvals
-Outreach to stakeholders on this issue within 60 days
-Report within 60 days thereafter setting forth a plan to streamline permitting reduce regulatory
burdens
• Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High Priority
Infrastructure Projects
-Executive Order issued on January 24, 2017
-Streamline and expedite environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects
-Chair of CEQ determines if project is high priority and then works to expedite reviews/approvals
• Hiring Freeze
-Presidential Memorandum issued on January 23, 2017
-Applies to all executive departments and agencies

8. • Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline
-Presidential Memorandum issued on January 24,
2017
-Invited TransCanada to promptly re-submit its
application
-Submitted on January 27, 2017
-Reach a final permitting determination within 60
days
-Instructs Corps and Interior (BLM/FWS) to
expedite review and approvals
-Final Supplemental EIS (Jan. 2014) satisfies all
applicable requirements of NEPA
-Compared to rail, fewer spills and injuries
-Lower GHG emissions than from
movement of oil by rail or other means
-Offsets as many as 200 ocean tankers
-Unlikely to significantly affect the rate of
extraction in the oil sands

9. • Construction of the Dakota Access
Pipeline
-Presidential Memorandum issued on
January 24, 2017
-Expedite review and approvals for
easements or rights-of-way to cross
federal areas
-EA (July, 2016) satisfies all applicable
requirements of NEPA
-Easement granted by Corps on Feb. 8,
2017
-Litigation?
-Suits by several Sioux nations,
including Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
who sought TRO in DC district court on
Feb. 10 to block construction
Denied on Feb. 13
-Suit by Cheyenne River Sioux over
religious issues pending

10. • Scott Pruitt
-Nominated on December 7, 2016
-Confirmed on Feb. 17, 2017
-Sworn in on Feb. 17, 2017
• Former Attorney General of Oklahoma, 2010 – 2017
-Sued EPA multiple times as Oklahoma AG
• Core philosophies - Opening Statement to Congress, January 18, 2017
-Rule of law
Role EPA plays in protecting the environment is defined by statute
-Cooperative federalism
States are frontline environmental implementers and enforcers
States are partners, not be “mere passive instruments of federal will”
-Public participation
Take into account the full range of views of the American people
Consider the economic consequences of any regulation

11. • Addition of Natural Gas Processing Facilities to TRI
-Proposed on January 6, 2107
-Extended comment period until May 6, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 12924, March 8, 2017)
• Information Collection Requests for Existing Facilities
-Issued to oil and gas operators to gather information for regulation as to those sources under authority of CAA 114
-Designed to build on Paris Agreement
-Withdrawn so EPA can assess need for information, reduce burdens (82 Fed. Reg. 12817, March 7, 2017)
-Follows letter by eleven states expressing concerns regarding burden
-No owner or operator is required to respond
• Intention to Review and Rescind or Revise the Clean Water Rule
-82 Fed. Reg. 12532 (March 6, 2017)
-Follows Executive Order issued on February 28, 2017
-Seek to define ‘navigable waters’ as per Justice Scalia’s opinion in Rapanos
-EPA/Corps will review the rule and provide notice of rulemaking
• Reconsideration of GHG Standards for MY 2022-2025 Light Duty Vehicles
-Issued March 15,2017
-Reconsider the Final Determination (issued on Jan. 12, 2017) that standards are appropriate for these model years

12. • Congressional Review Act, 5 USC §801, et seq
-1996 act allowing Congress to overturn or ‘disapprove’ regulations issued within 60 legislative days
-Congressional Research Service calculated eligible date as rules issues on or after June 13, 2016
-Actions under CRA
OSM Stream Protection Rule: HJ Res 38 (Feb. 1), passed Senate (Feb. 2), signed Feb. 16
SEC Disclosure of Payments: HJ Res 41 (Feb. 1), passed Senate (Feb. 3), signed Feb. 14
BLM Waste Prevention Rule: HJ Res 36 (Feb. 3)
BLM Planning 2.0: HJ Res. 44 (Feb. 7), passed Senate (March 7),
EPA RMP Rule: HJ Res. 59
EPA 2016 Oil and Gas NSPS: HJ Res 22
EPA CSAPR 10/26/16: SJ Res 21
• Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2017, HR 26
-Major rule carrying costs of at least $100 million per year would require a “joint resolution of approval” from
Congress to become effective
• Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, HR 5
-Removes the deference a court may give an agency in interpreting an ambiguous rule or statute

13. • The Trump Administration
-Removed WH climate page within minutes of inauguration
-Suggested withdrawal from Paris Agreement
-Suggested scrubbing non-regulatory climate data from EPA’s web-site
• Scott Pruitt, March 9, 2017
-“Measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something
very challenging to do and there's tremendous disagreement about the
degree of impact.”
-"So no, I would not agree that [CO2 is] a primary contributor to the
global warming that we see.“
• Unknowns
-Rescind Clean Power Plan?
Trump EO expected – review, revise, rescind?
-Future of Paris Agreement?
-Pending litigation?
Clean Power Plan at DC Circuit
New Power Plant GHG Rule
NSPS 2016 Update
-Congressional action?
Amend CAA to prohibit GHG regulation
Maintain minimal level to preempt states
Carbon tax in lieu of regulation
-EPA?
No grants for climate research
Refocus on air and water

14. • Existing rules
Rescind or amend
Must follow APA notice and comment requirements, with full judicial review
Petitions for reconsideration
Enforcement discretion
Can be used, but cannot abdicate statutory duties
Already subject to judicial review
Request a stay while EPA reviews rule, but discretionary with court
Abandon defense of rule in court
Settle and send back to EPA for revisions
Already subject to judicial order
Follow order or seek to revise order
• Future rules
Mandatory - Subject to a statutory or judicial deadline
Follow deadline but tailor outcome to current administration’s approach
Ignore deadline but face possible action to force compliance
Follow APA requirements, judicial review, petitions for reconsideration
Discretionary
Tailor to current administration’s approach
Follow APA requirements
Judicial review
Petitions for reconsideration

15. • EPA Itself
HR 861 (Feb. 3, 2017) by Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-1)
Eliminate EPA
HR 958 (Feb. 7, 2017) by Rep. Sam Johnson (TX-3)
Eliminate regional offices, GHG programs, grants, and EJ programs
• EPA Budget
Currently, around $8.1B per year – proposed reduction of 2.6B suggested on March 16, 2017
“Holman Rule”
1876, pre-Civil Service procedural rule, re-instated by 115th Congress
Allows Congress to reduce individual employees pay through appropriations bill
House Energy & Commerce Committee requested all studies on waste or inefficiency
• EPA Size
Myron Ebell - Possible reduction from 15,000 to 5,000 over four years
Re-direct EPA employees from climate duties to CAA duties
End functions at regional offices that are ‘duplicative’ of state functions
Shut down of Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance?
Combine some regional offices?
• EPA Authority
Amend CAA to remove GHG as a pollutant and/or authority to regulate GHG?
Devolve power to states?

16. Next Generation Compliance: 2014 – 2017
(October, 2014)
• More Effective Regulations and Permits
-“Move us towards improved compliance as the ‘default’
option”
-Offers “real time information to communities … [to] help
inspire facilities to improve compliance.”
• Advanced Monitoring
-Technologies, such as infrared cameras, will be identified to
make the “invisible visible”
-“Help the public … find pollutant discharges, environmental
conditions, and noncompliance”
• Electronic Reporting
-Allows government to “spot pollution and compliance issues
and respond quickly”
-“The default assumption for new regulations”
-Allows the public to “more quickly identify violations, and
then more quickly address them
• Transparency
-Provides the public with better information about “the
performance of regulated sources”
-Allows the public to assess impacts
-Allows the public to “act … to hold facilities accountable and
advance environmental justice”
• Innovative Enforcement
-“Increases the power of individual cases to inspire
improvements at other facilities”

17. National Enforcement Initiative
Proposed - 80 Fed. Reg. 55352 (Sep. 15, 2015)
Announced - February 18, 2016
Beginning - October 1, 2016

18. • Ensuring Energy Extraction Activities Comply with Environmental Laws
Need to assure energy sources developed in an environmentally protective manner
Some techniques for NG extraction pose a significant risk to public health and the environment
Continue to address pollution through greater use of …
Advanced pollution monitoring
Reporting techniques
Next Generation technologies (infrared cameras to make the ‘invisible visible’)
• Cutting Hazardous Air Pollutants (expanded initiative)
Used advanced monitoring and found that emissions are > permitted/estimated
Focus on leaks, flares, and excess emissions from refineries and chemical plants
Expanded to include addressing air emissions from large product storage tanks
Focus on identifying and addressing violations of LDAR
• Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical Facilities
Focus on reducing the risks of accidents
Use innovative accident prevention measures and improving response capabilities
Cites RMP Rule as part of initiative
• Keeping Industrial Pollutants Out of the Nation’s Waters
Focus industrial sectors like chemical and metal manufacturing, mining , food processing
Build compliance with Clean Water Act discharge permits and cut illegal pollution discharges

19. • The 2012 NSPS Rule
-77 FR. 49490 (Aug. 16, 2012)
-40 CFR 60, Subpart OOOO
-New facilities as of Aug. 23, 2011
-Targets VOCs
-RECs or ‘green completions’
-Storage tanks
-Equipment leaks
• The 2016 NSPS Rule
-81 FR 35824 (June 3, 2016)
-40 CFR 60, Subpart OOOOa
-New facilities as of Sep. 18, 2015
-Targets methane and VOCs
-Subpart OOOO applies between Aug.
23, 2011 and Sept. 18, 2015
-Owners/operators to find and repair
leaks
-Next Generation Enforcement, such
as optical gas imaging
-General duty added at 40 CFR
60.5370a(b) and to Subpart 0000

20. • What is ‘adjacent’ to determine what is a ‘major source’ under Title V?
Major source:
Building, structure, facility or installation which emits or may emit a pollutant
Building, structure, facility, or installation – three-pronged test
Same industrial grouping
Located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties
Under the control of the same person or persons under common control
• 81 Fed. Reg. 35622 (June 3, 2016)
Equipment located at a single ‘surface site’ will be considered ‘adjacent’
any combination of one or more graded pad sites, gravel pad sites, foundations, platforms, or
the immediate physical location upon which equipment is physically affixed (63.761)
Equipment located on separate surface sites within ¼ mile of each other?
Aggregate only if equipment is shared between separate surface sites
Shared equipment?
Emission control devices, storage tanks, phase separators
If so, aggregate because the sites meet the ‘common sense notion of a plant’
Separate surface sites not aggregated if they do not share equipment, even if within ¼ mile
Equipment located on separate surface sites beyond ¼ mile of each other?
Do not aggregate

21. • Refineries, 80 Fed. Reg. 75178 (December 1, 2015)
Applies to major sources - 142 refineries
First ever fence line monitoring for benzene
• Pretreatment Standards (effluent guidelines), 81 Fed. Reg. 41845, June 28, 2016
No discharge into POTWs of wastewater pollutants associated with production, field
exploration, drilling, well completion, or well treatment for unconventional oil and gas extraction
81 Fed. Reg. 67191, Sep. 30, 2016 – extended compliance date to Nov. 29, 2016
• BLM regulations applicable on Federal/Indian lands
80 Fed. Reg. 16128, March 26, 2015: Regulates hydraulic fracturing
Stayed and on appeal in Tenth Circuit
81 Fed. Reg. 83008, November 18, 2016: Waste Prevention Rule
Limits amount of flaring, adds leak detection, reduces venting
H.J. Res 36 pending
• Pipelines
EPA using NEPA regulations to review and comment on FERCs EIS
EPA also using CWA Section 404 to ‘veto’ Corps permit decisions
Mingo Logan Coal Co. v. U.S. E.P.A., 714 F.3d 608 (D.C. Cir. 2013)

22. • Risk Management Program
-82 Fed. Reg. 4594 (January 13, 2017), effective March 14, 2017
Effective date delayed until March 21, 2017 under Priebus Memorandum
Petition for Reconsideration filed on February 28, 2017 by RMP Coalition
Effective date delayed until June 19, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 13968, March 16, 2017)
H.J. Res. 59 pending
-Initiated under EO 13650, issued by President Obama, after West Fertilizer explosion
EO required agencies to improve risk management practices
-Major Changes
Root cause analysis for ‘catastrophic release’ or a ‘near-miss’
Creates uniform definition of ‘catastrophic release’
No definition of ‘near-miss’ (“could reasonably have resulted in a catastrophic release”)
Independent third-party to perform compliance audit after a reportable release
Standards for third-party qualifications, certifications, findings, response to findings
Adds Safer Technology and Alternatives Analysis (STAA) to PHA
Applies to paper, petroleum and coal, and chemical manufacturing
Require additional coordination with local emergency response agencies
Annual notification exercise, annual tabletop exercise, and field exercises every 5 years
Increase public availability of information
Provide information, upon request, to LEPC
Provide information to the public, via web-site or similar means
Hold public meeting after a reportable accident

23. • Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements
-81 FR 85732 (Nov. 28, 2016), eff. May 30, 2017
-543,000 generators potentially affected in practically every industrial sector
-About 60 overall changes to the regulations
-Major changes
Allow consolidation of VSQG (fka CESQG) waste at LQG
Must be under control of same person
New streamline rule for ‘episodic generation’ (i.e., spike in volume)
First time – must follow certain conditions, such as notice and recordkeeping
Second time – need permission
Waste determinations
Must be accurate and made at point of generation (prior to any dilution)
Identifies what is ‘acceptable knowledge’ for process knowledge determination
Process knowledge (e.g., information about feedstocks to process)
Knowledge of materials produced by the manufacturing process
Chemical or physical characterization of wastes
Testing that illustrates the properties of the waste
Other reliable and relevant information

24. John B. King
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP
225/381-8014
jbk@bswllp.com
www.bswenviroblog.com