Driving Tomorrow: EVs & AVs
Climate change, rapid advances in technology and the drive for innovation are leading to a big shift in the world of automobiles.
The Biden Administration has set a target that by 2030, half of new passenger vehicle sales will be zero-emissions, making electric vehicles a norm rather than an exception. And smart, autonomous vehicles powered by AI could further transform driving culture.
As batteries, chips and electric charging stations become more vital, how can we design an infrastructure framework with sustainability in mind? What new skills will the workforce need to develop? How do we make electric vehicles affordable and accessible to all drivers? And can autonomous vehicles pave the way to safer roads?
Speakers:- Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Commerce, Science & Transportation Subcmte. on Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight, and Ports
- Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), Republican Leader, Energy & Commerce Subcmte. on Communications & Technology
- Everette Bacon, Member, Board of Directors, National Federation of the Blind
- Marc Bedard, CEO, Lion Electric
- Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety
- Eric Danko, Director, Federal Affairs, Cruise
- Toks Omishakin, Director, California Department of Transportation
- Trevor Pawl, Chief Mobility Officer, State of Michigan
- Jessika Trancik, Professor, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Cathy Zoi, CEO, EVgo
Trusting the Tap: Upgrading America's Drinking Water Infrastructure
The Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change of the Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a hybrid hearing that includes both in-person and remote attendance on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. This hearing will take place in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, as well as remotely using Cisco Webex online video conferencing. The hearing is entitled, “Trusting the Tap: Upgrading America’s Drinking Water Infrastructure.”
Witnesses- Erik D. Olson, Senior Strategic Director for Health & Food, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Lori J. Mathieu, Public Health Branch Chief, Environmental Health & Drinking Water Branch, Connecticut Department of Public Health, President, Association of Drinking Water Administrators
- Kareem Adeem, Director of Water and Sewer Utilities, The City of Newark, NJ
- Richard Diaz, Midwest Regional Field Organizer, BlueGreen Alliance
- Jim McGoff, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Environmental Programs, Indiana Finance Authority, On behalf of Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities
A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Horticulture and Urban Agriculture
Witnesses
PANEL 1
- Jennifer Lester Moffitt, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
- Terry Cosby, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, D.C.
PANEL 2
- Laura Batcha, Chief Executive Officer, Organic Trade Association, Washington, D.C.
- Brie Reiter Smith, Vice President of Product Leadership, Driscoll’s, Inc., on behalf of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, Watsonville, CA
- Marc Oshima, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, AeroFarms, Newark, NJ
- Nate Olive, Owner, Ridge to Reef Farm, and President, Virgin Islands Farmers Alliance, Inc., St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Bruce Kettler, Director, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, on behalf of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, Indianapolis, Indiana
Oversight: Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Phyllis Fong, Inspector General, USDA
March Commission Meeting
Commission meeting held in Commission Meeting Room (Room 2C) at FERC Headquarters, 888 First St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426
Link to meeting webcast when live
| Meeting agenda | ||
|---|---|---|
| ADMINISTRATIVE | ||
| A-1 | AD22-1-000 | Agency Administrative Matters |
| A-2 | AD22-2-000 | Customer Matters, Reliability, Security and Market Operations |
| ELECTRIC | ||
| E-1 | EL21-66-001 | Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation, Consolidated Edison of New York, Inc., Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, New York State Electric & Gas Corporation, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation v. New York Independent System Operator Inc. |
| ER21-1647-002 (not consolidated) | New York Independent System Operator, Inc. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, New York State Electric & Gas Corporation, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation | |
| E-2 | ER21-1115-003 | Duke Energy Progress, LLC and Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC |
| ER21-1118-003 | Louisville Gas and Electric Company | |
| ER21-1125-003 | Alabama Power Company | |
| ER21-1128-003 | Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc. | |
| E-3 | ER21-1111-005 | Alabama Power Company |
| ER21-1112-005 | Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc. | |
| ER21-1114-005 | Louisville Gas and Electric Company | |
| ER21-1116-005 | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | |
| ER21-1117-005 | Duke Energy Progress, LLC | |
| ER21-1119-005 | Georgia Power Company | |
| ER21-1120-005 | Kentucky Utilities Company | |
| ER21-1121-005 (Not consolidated) | Mississippi Power Company | |
| E-4 | OMITTED | |
| E-5 | ER22-865-000 | Glaciers Edge Wind Project, LLC |
| E-6 | EL10-56-000 | Western Electricity Coordinating Council |
| E-7 | ER21-2401-001 | Oliver Wind Energy Center II, LLC’ |
| E-8 | EF21-3-000 | Bonneville Power Administration |
| E-9 | ER21-2179-001 | Oliver Wind I, LLC |
| E-10 | ER21-1807-003 | Hill Top Energy Center LLC |
| E-11 | ER21-2860-001 | The Connecticut Light and Power Company |
| E-12 | EL22-27-000 | Alabama Power Company, Georgia Power Company, and Mississippi Power Company |
| E-13 | ER18-194-000 | Southwest Power Pool, Inc. and American Electric Power Service Corporation |
| ER18-195-000 | ||
| E-14 | ER18-1106-002 | Kestrel Acquisition, LLC |
| E-15 | EL22-8-000 | Irradiant Partners, LP |
| E-16 | EL21-98-000 | Pacific Gas and Electric Company |
| GAS | ||
| G-1 | RP22-433-000 | Range Resources-Appalachia, LLC and Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC v. Texas Eastern Transmission, LP |
| RP22-435-000 (Not Consolidated) | Range Resources-Appalachia, LLC v. Texas Eastern Transmission, LP | |
| G-2 | RP21-1001-002 | Texas Eastern Transmission, LP |
| G-3 | RP21-957-000 | Northern Natural Gas Company |
| HYDRO | ||
| H-1 | P-14227-005 | The Nevada Hydro Company, Inc. |
| H-2 | P-15229-000 | Alabama Power Company |
| Certificates | ||
| C-1 | PL18-1-001 | Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas Facilities |
| PL21-3-001 | Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas Infrastructure Project Reviews | |
| C-2 | CP20-527-000 | Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC |
| C-3 | CP20-50-000 | Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. |
| CP20-51-000 | Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C. | |
| C-4 | CP20-48-000 | Iroquois Gas Transmission System,L.P. |
| C-5 | CP15-554-004 | Atlantic Coast Pipeline,LLC |
| CP15-554-005 | ||
| CP15-554-006 | ||
| CP15-554-007 | ||
| CP15-554-009 | ||
| CP15-555-003 | Dominion Energy Transmission, Inc. | |
| CP15-555-004 | ||
| CP15-555-005 | ||
| CP15-555-007 | Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, Inc. | |
| C-6 | CP17-458-015 | Midship Pipeline Company, LLC |
| C-7 | CP21-28-000 | Northern Natural Gas Company |
Climate-Related Disclosures
The meeting will be webcast on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:
The Commission will consider whether to propose amendments that would enhance and standardize registrants’ climate-related disclosures for investors.
CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: For further information and to ascertain what, if any, matters have been added, deleted or postponed, please contact Vanessa A. Countryman from the Office of the Secretary at (202) 551-5400
Clean Energy and National Security with Jason Crow and Tom Malinowski
Join Rep. Jason Crow (CO-06), Rep. Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), former Assistant Secretary of Defense Sharon Burke, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy Admiral Dennis McGinn, and more foreign policy experts for a Climate Power, Foreign Policy for America, and League of Conservation Voters (LCV) event on clean energy and national security. Watch on Twitter or Facebook.
2022 National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program, Day 3
Register for The 2022 National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center
8:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Open
Conference Facilitator Ms. Carolyn Sawyer Communications Strategist Tom Sawyer Company
9:00 a.m.—10:00 a.m.
PRESENTATION: THE EVOLVING PARK IDEA David Vassar and Sally Kaplan have spent a lifetime making films and video about the natural world, parks, and environmental issues. They will present and discuss three short film clips which illustrate the evolving mission of parks: the importance of equitable access, the growing need for urban parks and historic sites that represent diverse peoples, and the battle to preserve lands that remain sacred for Native Americans. Clips include an interview with Robert Garcia, founder of City Project.
David Vassar Sally Kaplan Producers Backcountry Pictures
10:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m.
PANEL: Closing the Infrastructure Gap for Those in Need: Accessing Engineering Consulting Services for Infrastructure Provision in Underserved Areas of the US and its territories.
Natalie Celmo Senior Program Engineer Community Engineering Corps employed by Engineers Without Borders USA
Ellie Carley Senior Program Coordinator Community Engineering Corps employed by Engineers Without Borders USA
11:00 a.m.—11:15 a.m.
Break
11:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
PANEL: Resources, Tools, and Strategies to Promote Equitable Investments in Transportation Infrastructure.
James Schroll Senior Analyst Abt Associates
Nissa Tupper Transportation and Public Health Planner Minnesota Department of Transportation
Benito Perez Policy Director Transportation for America
Chris Forinash Principal Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates
12:15 p.m.—12:45 p.m.
BREAK
12:45 p.m.—2:00 p.m.
LUNCH
Introduction of Luncheon Keynote Speaker Dr. Kim Lambert Environmental Justice Coordinator U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
KEYNOTE REMARKS
Mike Martinez Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks U.S. Department of the Interior
2:00 p.m.—2:15 p.m.
BREAK
2:15 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
PRESENTATIONS:
USDA Forest Service Environmental Justice Mapping Program
Mark D. O. Adams Senior GIS Specialist Office of Sustainability and Climate (OSC) USDA Forest Service
Dixie Porter Deputy Director Office of Sustainability and Climate (OSC) USDA Forest Service Satellite Data for Environmental Justice: Advancing EJ Mapping Tools and Building a New Community of Practice
Lauren Johnson The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health
3:30 p.m.—4:00 p.m.
CLOSING REMARKS
Dr. Melinda Downing Environmental Justice Program Manager U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq. Chairman, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. Chairman, Board of Directors, National Environmental Justice Conference, Inc.
Timothy Fields, Jr. Senior Vice President, MDB, Inc. Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors National Environmental Justice Conference, Inc.
DAY 3 – Friday, March 11, 2022 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS
Grand Ballroom Salon E
9:30 a.m.—11:00 a.m.
Federal Title VI and Environmental Justice
This session will be a discussion with Federal civil rights offices engaged in Title VI enforcement and compliance work related to environmental and health programs receiving federal financial assistance.
Title VI Committee Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice
Daria Neal Deputy Chief, Federal Coordination & Compliance Section Civil Rights Division U.S. Department of Justice
Lilian Dorka Director, External Civil Rights and Compliance Office U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Carla Carter Associate Deputy Director, Civil Rights Division in the Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Amy Vance Title VI Coordinator, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Yvette Rivera Associate Director for Equity and Access Division Departmental Office of Civil Rights U.S. Department of Transportation
Jacy Gaige FHEO Director of Compliance and Disability Rights U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
11:30 a.m.—12:45 p.m.
USDA Forest Service Conservation Education Strategy: Advancing Equity and Justice for All
The USDA Forest Service Conservation Education Program is developing a new Conservation Education Strategy to provide clear, agency-wide program direction, unifying how the Forest Service communicates the value and interdependence of Conservation Education while empowering delivery of programs that uplift our communities and partners. We aim to achieve a comprehensive strategy that advances equity and environmental justice for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent inequality. This session will engage participants in innovative thinking around the Forest Service’s new Conservation Education Strategy. We will review the draft strategy and engage in a small group discussions focused on how the FS and partners/communities can effectively collaborate in the advancement of equity and inclusion in Conservation Education programming.
John Crockett Associate Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry USDA Forest Service
Tinelle Bustam National Director USDA Forest Service Conservation Education
Rachel Bayer Environmental Education Specialist USDA Forest Service Conservation Education
Elaine Jackson-Retondo Program Manager Regional Preservation Partnership and History Department of The Interior Park Service
Amtchat Edwards Education Specialist USDA Forest Service Conservation Education
2:30 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
Incorporating Cumulative Risk into Tribal Risk Assessments
Tribal Nations are disproportionately affected by environmental issues, including contamination and climate impacts. Further, Tribes are a uniquely vulnerable population in the US, as Federal agencies have a Trust responsibility to Tribes, stemming from historical treaties, requiring government to government consultation, and the respecting of treaty rights (e.g., the right to hunt/fish/gather in usual and accustomed places). Tribal communities may be at greater risk of exposure to contamination than the general population because of dependence on the environment for sustenance (hunting, gathering, fishing); fixed boundaries of reservations (compounding the effects of shifting biological populations); and confounding equity issues (such as social and health inequities). For these reasons, risk assessments that do not consider the cumulative impacts of both contaminant and non-contaminant stressors will fail to fully characterize health risk to Tribal Nations.
The purpose of this workshop is to share examples, ideas, and considerations for incorporating cumulative risk into Tribal risk assessments. Through the presentation of case studies and facilitated discussions, the goal of this workshop is to provide a broader understanding of Tribal risk assessment and to stimulate discussion and engagement on this topic.
Beth Riess Associate Abt Associates
Michelle Krasnec, PhD Senior Scientist Abt Associates
2022 National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program, Day 2
Register for The 2022 National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center
8:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Open
Conference Facilitator Ms. Carolyn Sawyer Communications Strategist Tom Sawyer Company
8:30 a.m.—9:15 a.m.
PANEL: Community and College Partners Program (C2P2): Developing Alternative Energy Options for Indigenous People in Tyonek, Alaska
Michael Burns Founder/Executive Director C2P2
Margaret McCurdy Graduate Student, Peace Engineering Program Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Joan Nguyen Graduate Student, Peace Engineering Program Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Kate Ryan Graduate Student, Peace Engineering Program Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
9:15 a.m.—9:55a.m.
Introduction of Keynote Speakers
Dr. Melinda Downing Environmental Justice Program Manager U.S. Department of Energy
KEYNOTE REMARKS
The Honorable James E. Clyburn Majority Whip (Democrat, 6th District, South Carolina)
The Honorable Jennifer Granholm Secretary U.S. Department of Energy
9:55 a.m.—10:05 a.m.
BREAK
10:05 a.m.—11:15 a.m.
PANEL: Estimating Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change on Childhood Asthma Rates Among Socially Vulnerable Populations in the U.S.
Margaret Black Abt Associates
Stefani L. Penn Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc)
Lauren E. Gentile U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Estimating the Benefits of Reduced Air Pollution During COVID-19 for Socially Vulnerable Populations in New York City.
David Cooley Abt Associates
11:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
PANEL: USDA Forest Service’s Environmental Justice and Climate Change Related Topics.
Elisabeth Grinspoon, Ph.D. Environmental Justice and Technology Transfer Specialist Office of Sustainability and Climate USDA Forest Service
Dixie Porter Deputy Director Office of Sustainability and Climate (OSC)
USDA Forest Service
12:15 p.m.—12:30 p.m.
BREAK
12:30 p.m.—1:45 p.m.
LUNCH
Introduction of Luncheon Keynote Speaker
Dr. Melinda Downing Environmental Justice Program Manager U.S. Department of Energy
KEYNOTE REMARKS
The Honorable David Turk Deputy Secretary United States Department of Energy Washington, D.C.
1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
BREAK
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
PRESENTATIONS:
Approaches for Evaluating Environmental Justice Issues at the State Level
Lisa McDonald, PhD Senior Associate Abt Associates
Appliance Standards: The Best Climate Change Policy You’ve Never Heard Of
Madeline Parker Outreach & Coalition-Building Associate Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP)
3:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m.
PRESENTATIONS:
Bridging America’s Outdoor Equity Gap
Diane Regas President and CEO The Trust for Public Land
In Defense of a Greenspace: Students Discover Agency in the Practice of Community-Engaged Technical Communication
Bob Hyland Associate Professor University of Cincinnati
DAY 2 – Thursday, March 10, 2022 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS
Grand Ballroom Salon E
10:00 a.m.–-11:00 a.m.
What’s in My Neighborhood? How Communities Can Use EPA’s TRI Toxics Tracker to Identify Industrial Sources of Toxic Chemical Releases and Other Waste Management Activities.
EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program provides a detailed, multimedia dataset covering annual releases and other waste management activities from over 20,000 facilities in the United States for hundreds of different toxic chemicals. EPA makes these data available to the public, which can help inform decision-making by government agencies, community groups, companies, and other stakeholders. This training workshop will provide users with a basic introduction to the TRI Program and what types of data and information are collected by the EPA, as well as a live demonstration of the online TRI Toxics Tracker tool. TRI Toxics Tracker can be used to answer a variety of questions all in one place, such as what toxic chemical releases are occurring in a particular community with EJ concerns and which facilities might be contributing to disproportionate releases potentially affecting nearby residents.
T.J. Pepping Abt Associates
11:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
Pragmatic Approaches: Reaching Students in Areas with Limited Broadband to Access College Education
Lack of broadband access is a limiting factor to academic advancement of a remarkable number of youths in rural areas in America and worldwide. It has been documented that in rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the population – 14.5 million people lack access to this service. In tribal areas, nearly one-third of the population lacks access. Even in areas where broadband is available, approximately 100 million Americans still do not subscribe (FCC 2022). Consequently, an outreach was conducted in a rural area (Marion) of South Carolina with ineffective or no access to broadband. Parents and their high schoolers were invited. During this event, we had on board from Allen University, officials from the admission office, financial aid office, the university counsellors, a faculty and one junior student from Allen University.
Application forms were already printed out and handed over to high schoolers during this outreach. Seven high school students completed the application form on the spot. The financial aid officer succeeded in assisting one of these seven students to complete her FAFSA right on the spot using our personal hotspot internet access provided at the outreach site. Application forms were given to the high school students that attended with the promise to share with their friends. It is uber-important for colleges to make concerted efforts in reaching suburbs with limited broadband access. Such that youths in these areas will not be left behind. This workshop intends to shed more light on pragmatic approaches employed to forestall bottlenecks encountered during the outreach.
Oluwole Ariyo, PhD Principal Investigator, Environmental Justice Institute Allen University
2:00 p.m.—4 p.m.
EJ & NEPA Workshop: Considering Cumulative Effects and EJ in the NEPA Process
Increasingly, decisionmakers are recognizing the importance of looking at projects in the context of prior impacts and developments within the community or region. Direct effects continue to be most important to decisionmakers, in part because they are more certain. Nonetheless, the importance of other environmental stressors requires the need to address cumulative impacts on environmental justice (EJ) populations. The purpose of the workshop is to increase understanding of cumulative effects consideration of environmental justice (EJ) populations in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. The specific focus is the importance of understanding cumulative effects are caused by the aggregate of past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions that, for many EJ populations, may last for many years beyond the life of the action that caused the effects. The goal is to provide an understanding of the principles of a cumulative effects analysis within Environmental Justice (EJ) communities.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published their Phase 1 revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Regulations which focused on a narrow set of changes to the 2020 regulations that restores some of the regulatory provisions from the 1978 NEPA Regulations. One of the changes restores the definition of “effects,” including use of the terms “direct,” “indirect,” and “cumulative” and removed potential limitations on effects analysis.
The NEPA Subcommittee of the White House Interagency Environmental Justice Council (WHEJAC) formally known as the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG), produced the “Promising Practices for EJ Methodologies in NEPA Reviews” (Promising Practices Report) and address various methodologies for addressing effects within an EJ analysis and will be utilized in this session.
The workshop is designed to address the changes in NEPA regulations, provide expectations for cumulative effects analysis and provide case study examples for cumulative effects.
Denise C. Freeman Co-chair, NEPA Committee, WH EJ Interagency Council Senior Advisor/Communications Liaison Office of Legacy Management U.S. Department of Energy
Jomar Maldonado Director for NEPA Council on Environmental Quality Executive Office of the President
Carolyn L. Nelson, P.E. Co-chair, NEPA Committee, WH EJ Interagency Council Sr. Project Development/Environmental Specialist Office of Project Development and Environmental Review USDOT-Federal Highway Administration