Obama Administration Shuts Down ChAMP Chemical Program?

EPA sources report that the Obama administration and EPA leadership are shutting down EPA's Chemical Assessment and Management Program (ChAMP). ChAMP was initiated as a mechanism to implement the Montebello Agreement, also called the Security & Prosperity Partnership between the three countries (Canada, Mexico and the US), signed in August 2007 by former President Bush.

Apparently EPA staff were told of this decision in an internal meeting within the last two weeks. It remains unclear what might replace it. However, it should be known that highly placed EPA executives believe the report misrepresents what is actually happening, which is merely to "renovate" the program rather than shut it down completely.

If the decision is to shut ChAMP down completely, it would come as a bit of a surprise to EPA watchers. Just a few months ago EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson had indicated that she wanted to accelerate the full assessments of high priority chemicals. For the time being it actually looks like the risk-based prioritization activities have ceased pending further review. Jackson also suggested that she had been leaning toward a ChAMP like program rather than the original Kid Safe Chemical Act concept previously introduced to Congress by Senator Lautenberg and Congressman Waxman. TSCA reform has been a hot topic of discussion in Congress and Lautenberg repeated only a few days ago that he plans to reintroduce the bill later this year, though the bill is expected to be substantially altered from the original to incorporate new ideas...and some thought, ChAMP-like provisions.

According to the Montebello Agreement, the United States agreed to complete risk characterizations by 2012 on more than 9,000 chemicals produced above 25,000 pounds per year. The regional agreement also provided for the sharing of scientific information and technical understanding, best practices and research on new approaches to chemical testing and assessment. The agreement established additional goals to be met by 2020, which include creating and updating chemical inventories in all three countries, as well as coordinating the management of chemicals in North America as outlined in other international agreements. ChAMP was on its way toward meeting those goals, and in fact was anticipated to be expanded to take on additional enhancements that would look at inorganic chemicals and reset the TSCA Inventory.

Obstensibly a voluntary program which put much of the onus for evaluation on EPA, ChAMP is the second large voluntary program that has been shut down by the current administration - the first being the Performance Track program. There is no question that the ChAMP program takes substantial EPA resources, and this announcement may simply be a sign that the administration is intending to revamp the program in a way that allows its stated goals to be pursued within a revised Kid Safe Act when it is reintroduced later this year.

I will continue to update as I get more information.

New Report Says Climate Changes Are Already Occurring

A new report says that climate change is already happening, and and its effects are on track to get much worse in the coming century. The report, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," was released today (June 16th) by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which "coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society." Begun as a presidential initiative in 1989 by George H.W. Bush, and then mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), the USGCRP called for "a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change." Thirteen Departments and Agencies participate in the USGCRP.

Key findings from today's report include:

1. Global warming is unequivocal and primarily human-induced.
Global temperature has increased over the past 50 years. This observed increase is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. (p. 13)

2. Climate changes are underway in the United States and are projected to grow.
Climate-related changes are already observed in the United States and its coastal waters. These include increases in heavy downpours, rising temperature and sea level, rapidly retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost, lengthening growing seasons, lengthening ice-free seasons in the ocean and on lakes and rivers, earlier snowmelt, and alterations in river flows. These changes are projected to grow. (p. 27)

3. Widespread climate-related impacts are occurring now and are expected to increase.
Climate changes are already affecting water, energy, transportation, agriculture, ecosystems, and health. These impacts are different from region to region and will grow under projected climate change. (p. 41-106, 107-152)

4. Climate change will stress water resources.
Water is an issue in every region, but the nature of the potential impacts varies. Drought, related to reduced precipitation, increased evaporation, and increased water loss from plants, is an important issue in many regions, especially in the West. Floods and water quality problems are likely to be amplified by climate change in most regions. Declines in mountain snowpack are important in the West and Alaska where snowpack provides vital natural water storage. (p. 41, 129, 135, 139)

5. Crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged.
Agriculture is considered one of the sectors most adaptable to changes in climate. However, increased heat, pests, water stress, diseases, and weather extremes will pose adaptation challenges for crop and livestock production. (p. 71)

6. Coastal areas are at increasing risk from sea-level rise and storm surge.
Sea-level rise and storm surge place many U.S. coastal areas at increasing risk of erosion and flooding, especially along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Pacific Islands, and parts of Alaska. Energy and transportation infrastructure and other property in coastal areas are very likely to be adversely affected. (p. 111, 139, 145, 149)

7. Threats to human health will increase.
Health impacts of climate change are related to heat stress, waterborne diseases, poor air quality, extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents. Robust public health infrastructure can reduce the potential for negative impacts. (p. 89)

8. Climate change will interact with many social and environmental stresses.
Climate change will combine with pollution, population growth, overuse of resources, urbanization, and other social, economic, and environmental stresses to create larger impacts than from any of these factors alone. (p. 99)

9. Thresholds will be crossed, leading to large changes in climate and ecosystems.
There are a variety of thresholds in the climate system and ecosystems. These thresholds determine, for example, the presence of sea ice and permafrost, and the survival of species, from fish to insect pests, with implications for society. With further climate change, the crossing of additional thresholds is expected. (p. 76, 82, 115, 137, 142)

10. Future climate change and its impacts depend on choices made today.
The amount and rate of future climate change depend primarily on current and future human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases and airborne particles. Responses involve reducing emissions to limit future warming, and adapting to the changes that are unavoidable. (p. 25, 29)