In this issue:
OMB RELEASES BUDGET GUIDANCE FOR FY 2013
On August 17th, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its budget guidance to federal agencies for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013.
In memo, Director Jacob Lew wrote, “In light of the tight limits on discretionary spending starting in 2012, your 2013 budget submission to OMB should provide options to support the President's commitment to cut waste and reorder priorities to achieve deficit reduction while investing in those areas critical to job creation and economic growth. Unless your agency has been given explicit direction otherwise by OMB, your overall agency request for 2013 should be at least 5 percent below your 2011 enacted discretionary appropriation. As discussed at the recent Cabinet meetings, your 2013 budget submission should also identify additional discretionary funding reductions that would bring your request to a level that is at least 10 percent below your 2011 enacted discretionary appropriation.”
The memo is significant as an indicator of the direction of federal funding in future budgets and because budget experts in Washington have estimated that the budget sequestration process agreed to by Congress and the Administration in August will amount to at least 9 percent across the board budget cuts beginning in 2013. Across-the-board cuts would only kick in under a worst-case scenario where Congressional leaders fail to agree to specific spending cuts or revenue increases. The 10 percent cut proposed by the OMB may signal that the Obama Administration will push hard for cuts above the 1.5 billion top-end target set under the August debt agreement, making room for another government stimulus package, which may include tax cut extensions, increased funding for key ‘jobs’ programs, or some combination of the two. No additional information has been released specific to the federal science and engineering agencies.
In addition, OMB is asking federal agencies to:
- Identify priority investments, if scaled up, could spur economic growth;
- Include in the budget submission endeavors that would improve both organizational efficiency and service delivery to the public;
- Explain how agencies plan to improve policy and operational decisions by their analytic and evaluation capacities; and,
- Take into consideration areas of potential duplication that were identified by organizations like the Government Accountability Office (GAO) when evaluating their FY 2013 budget requests.
The full text of the OMB memo can be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2011/m11-30.pdf
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education issues for ASME. She can be reached at: carlm@asme.org
Paul Fakes public policy-related research and development (R&D) issues for ASME. He can be reached at: fakesp@asme.org
Robert Rains handle public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
DOE "FRACKING" PANEL RELEASES SHALE GAS RECOMMENDATIONS
A diverse group of advisors to Energy Secretary Steven Chu has released a series of consensus-based recommendations calling for increased measurement, public disclosure and a commitment to continuous improvement in the development and environmental management of shale gas, which has rapidly grown to nearly 30 percent of natural gas production in the United States. The report was prepared by the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board Shale Gas Production Subcommittee. Chaired by John Deutch, an MIT professor, it was convened by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.
The subcommittee was tasked with producing a report on the immediate steps that can be taken to improve the safety and environmental performance of shale gas development. The report includes recommendations in four key areas:
- Making information about shale gas production operations more accessible to the public;
- Immediate and longer-term actions to reduce environmental and safety risks of shale gas operations, with a particular focus on protecting air and water quality;
- Creation of a Shale Gas Industry Operation organization committed to continuous improvement of best operating practices; and,
- Research and development (R&D) to improve safety and environmental performance.
The report specifically recommends that measures should be taken to reduce emissions on air pollutants, ozone precursors and methane as quickly as practicable and supports prompt adoption of standards to reduce emissions of all air contaminants. The report also urges the adoption of a systemic approach to water management based on consistent measurement and public disclosure. Companies should measure and publicly report the composition of water stocks and flow throughout the process; manifest all transfers of water among different locations; and makes recommendations about best practices in well development and construction, especially casing and cementing.
The subcommittee report is available at: http://www.shalegas.energy.gov/index.html
Although the federal government is studying the issue, several states have been weighing in on “fracking” as well this summer. In June, Texas passed a law which will require the disclosure of the chemical cocktails being used in the hydraulic fracturing process beginning in 2012. Several other states are considering or have advanced measures banning or restricting the practice, including New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Also, the New Jersey state legislature passed a bill banning “fracking” earlier this summer. The bill currently awaits the signature, or veto, of Governor Doug Christie. If the bill is signed into law, it would qualify New Jersey as the first state to approve such a measure.
Robert Rains handle public policy-related environmental issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
USDA, DOE AND NAVY PARTNER TO ADVANCE BIOFUELS TO FUEL MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION
The White House announced this week that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and Navy will invest up to $510 million during the next three years in partnership with the private sector to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. The biofuels initiative is being steered by the White House Biofuels Interagency Work Group and Rural Council.
Increased use of advanced biofuels is a key component of the Administration’s energy security agenda, but there is currently a lack of this manufacturing capability for next-generation drop-in biofuels in the United States. To accelerate the production of bio-based jet and diesel fuel for military and commercial purposes, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus have developed a plan to jointly construct or retrofit several drop-in biofuel plants and refineries. This effort will help address energy security and national security challenges, and will provide economic opportunities in rural America.
The joint plan calls for the three Departments to invest a total of up to $510 million, which will require substantial cost share from private industry – of at least a one to one match. The partnership aims to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil and create jobs while positioning American companies and farmers to be global leaders in advanced biofuels production. The United States spends more than $300 billion on imported crude oil per year. Producing a domestic source of energy provides a more secure alternative to imported oil and improves our energy and national security.
To review the aforementioned plan, please visit: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/DPASignedMOUEnergyNavyUSDA.pdf
Additional information can also be found at: http://energy.gov/articles/president-obama-announces-major-initiative-spur-biofuels-industry-and-enhance-america-s
Robert Rains handle public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
NIST ISSUES REPORT ON DEVELOPING MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY TO QUANTIFY GHG EMISSIONS
A new report sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focuses on one of the key challenges for managing the Earth’s greenhouse gases (GHG): defining and developing the technology needed to better quantify greenhouse gas emissions. "Advancing Technologies and Strategies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Quantification" is the result of a special workshop in the NIST Foundations for Innovation series, convened in June 2010, to bring together greenhouse gas experts from government, industry, academia and the scientific and engineering community to address the technology and measurement science challenges in monitoring greenhouse gases.
A wide variety of techniques are used for measuring GHG emissions and, to a lesser extent, the effectiveness of "sinks"—things like the ocean and forests that absorb greenhouse gases and sequester the carbon. The problem is that developing an effective global strategy for managing greenhouse gases requires a breadth of measurement technologies and standards covering not only complex chemical and physical phenomena, but also huge differences in scale. These range from point sources at electric power plants to distributed sources, such as large agricultural and ranching concerns, to large-scale sinks such as forests and seas. Satellite-based systems, useful for atmospheric monitoring, must be reconciled with ground-based measurements. Reliable, accepted international standards are necessary so governments can compare data with confidence, requiring a lot of individual links to forge an open and verifiable chain of measurement results accepted by all.
The report identifies and discusses, in detail, four broad areas of opportunity for technology development and improvement:
- Advanced science and technology for reliably quantifying greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of geography, sector or source;
- Accurate and reliable quantification of distributed carbon sources and sinks;
- Consistent, standardized methods for measurable, reportable and verifiable greenhouse gas emissions data; and,
- Integration of ground-based (bottom-up) and remote atmospheric observation (top-down) methods.
Copies of the new report are available at the Website for the 2010 June meeting, "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Quantification and Verification Strategies Workshop," which can be found at: http://events.energetics.com/NISTScripps2010/downloads.html. Additional materials from the workshop are also available at this site.
Robert Rains handle public policy-related NIST issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
MIT REPORT: SMART METERS ALSO REQUIRE SMART POLICIES TO SUCCEED
The large-scale use of “smart meters” by consumers could have the unintended effect of triggering a destabilization of the national electrical grid due to demand upswings, according to a new report recently issued by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Industrial Performance Center. The report is entitled the “Volatility of Power Grids under Real-Time Pricing.”
At issue are smart meters, devices that permit electricity customers to monitor their own energy use in near-real-time. The technology would also allow the powering down of household appliances in order to meet thresholds like a set cost by the consumer, or set electricity limit. Industry advocates also contend that this technology would allow consumers to make smarter decisions, thus reducing their energy consumption after a decade where electrification of products has soared.
Today, customers receive monthly electrical bills that indicate the cost of electricity as a three- to six-month average. In fact, however, the price that power producers charge utilities fluctuates every five minutes or so, according to market conditions. The electrical system is thus what control theorists call an open loop: Price varies according to demand, but demand doesn’t vary according to price. Smart meters could close that loop, drastically changing the dynamics of the system.
Among the recommendation contained in the report are the following;
- Clarify the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) role as having jurisdiction over high voltage transmission planning authority over transmission owners, operators, developers as well as related local, state and federal agencies;
- Provide FERC with the authority to designate regional transmission planning bodies;
- Empower regional planning bodies’ authority to develop regional transmission plans on approved projects in consultation with appropriate stakeholders;
- Give FERC the ability to set clear timelines for completing transmission planning, review, modification, and approval; and
- Ensure that FERC’s approval of proposed projects in regional plans is final for other government agencies.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has several members keenly interested in smart grid advancements through legislation, particularly full Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Energy Subcommittee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA). However, energy legislation continues to elude Congress this session, The last major action on smart grid was arguably the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” (P.L. 111-5), which contained about $11 billion to support smart grid infrastructure, including $4.5 billion for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. For more information, please see the February 17th, 2009 Edition of Capitol Update.
To read the full MIT report, please visit: http://www.mit.edu/~mardavij/publications_files/Volatility.pdf
Robert Rains handle public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
NIST AWARDS $2.7 MILLION TO 18 U.S. SMALL BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECTS
NIST has announced nearly $2.7 million in Phase 1 and Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards to 18 U.S. small businesses. The awards provide funding to small businesses to help develop technologies that could lead to commercial and public benefit. Winning projects include a research platform for developing microscopic robots less than a millimeter in size, an environmental chamber for testing the weathering of materials, and an improved system for broadcasting time-of-day signals.
NIST's SBIR program is a competitive funding opportunity that provides contracts to small businesses for federal research and development. The program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector, strengthens the role of small business in meeting federal research and development needs, increases private-sector commercialization of federal research and development, and fosters technological innovation at minority and disadvantaged firms.
SBIR awards are funded through a three-phase process. In Phase 1, small businesses can receive up to $90,000 to establish the scientific or technical merit, or feasibility of ideas, that support the commercial potential of their research. Every year, NIST issues a "call for proposals" under Phase 1 of the SBIR program to address specific problems related to the agency's mission. Successful completion of Phase 1 enables awardees to compete for Phase 2 funding of up to $300,000 that enables them to continue their research and development efforts. Phase 1 awardees have six months to complete their work; Phase 2 awardees have up to two years. Phase 3 involves commercial applications of the newly developed technologies, with funding from outside of the SBIR program.
A full list of the 18 awards is available online at: www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/sbir-081011.cfm
Robert Rains handle public policy-related NIST issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN EPA'S PROPOSED AIR POLLUTION STANDARDS FOR OIL & GAS PRODUCTION
On Thursday, July 28th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its proposal to reduce harmful emissions from the oil and natural gas industry while allowing continued responsible growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production.
EPA will conduct a briefing on Tuesday, August 23rd where the public will have an opportunity to ask questions of EPA officials about this proposed action. The call-in information is provided below.
Date: Tuesday, August 23rd
Time: 3:00 PM EDT
Call-in Number: (877) 290-8017
Conference ID Code: 93594065
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