President’s Message: Vote FOR Propositions 2, 3, 4 and 5

TCC President & CEO    Hector L. Rivero

TCC urges its members to vote in favor of four proposed constitutional amendments on the November 3rd ballot: three amendments (Propositions 2, 3 & 5) impact the state’s property tax appraisal system, and the fourth (Proposition 4) will help emerging public universities to attain Tier 1 status and secure additional federal and private funding for research at Texas universities.

Appraisal Reform
Our current property tax appraisal system has grown out‐of‐control for both residential and business property owners, and fairness and equity must be brought back into the system.

Aimed at reforming the appraisal system, the Texas Legislature passed three constitutional amendments – Propositions 2, 3 and 5 – that will save both residential and commercial property owners hundreds of millions of dollars on appraisals, while bringing more accountability and equity to the system. These reforms will result in a much fairer appraisal process throughout the state, and a reduction in both appraisal and litigation costs in Texas:

Proposition #2 provides that the property tax of a residence homestead be solely based on the property's value as a residence homestead ‐ regardless of whether the residential use of the property is the highest & best use. This proposal is a response to residence homesteads being appraised based on what a person’s homestead would be worth if it were converted to commercial property. The amendment and legislation would apply only to residential homesteads and not to second homes or investment properties.

Proposition #3 provides for uniform property tax appraisal standards and procedures to be used by County Appraisal Districts. Currently, property tax appraisal practices and procedures vary widely across the state. This proposition would protect homeowners and property owners from county-by-county geographic appraisal discrimination.

Proposition #5 makes it easier to form appraisal review boards for protest hearings. This proposition would allow two or more adjoining county property tax appraisal districts, if they so opt, to consolidate appraisal review board functions. The voluntary ability to consolidate smaller county appraisal review boards would help speed up and make more convenient the protests of property tax appraisals in lesser-populated areas of Texas.

National Research University Fund
Proposition #4 would convert a now-dormant state fund to function as a National Research University Fund, a fund that will be made available to seven emerging public universities to help them attain Tier 1 status.
 
Becoming a Tier 1 university is an honor earned by achieving several benchmarks, some of which necessitate heavy investment on the part of the institutions.  The National Research University Fund will be made available to those institutions willing to make the investments.

According to some estimates, Texas leaves more than $3.7 billion in federal research and venture capital dollars on the table because we do not have enough top-tier research universities to attract these investments.  This lack of academic capacity is also creating a “brain drain” as more than 10,000 Texas high school students leave the state every year to attend doctoral degree-granting institutions.  In some cases, this is due to a lack of suitable academic options in Texas.  Proposition 4 will help make more options available for students wishing to study in the Lone Star State.

While Proposition 4 will help improve the academic climate in Texas, the long-term effects are more than academic.  One of the features of a Tier One university is its spending on research, and increased research spending can result in as much as a 226 percent return on that investment.  Today’s investments will increase the quality of our state’s universities, the quality of our state’s graduates, and the quality of our economy as research spending creates jobs, add wages to the economy, and generates tax revenues.

There will be 7 other proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution for consideration by Texas voters on the November 3rd election. TCC encourages its members to be informed voters about all 11 proposed constitutional amendments.

The House Research Organization – a nonpartisan source of impartial information on legislation and issues considered by the Texas Legislature – has published a guide to the constitutional amendments: click here.  The Texas Legislative Council – which provides bill drafting, computing, research, publishing, and document distribution services to the Texas Legislature and legislative agencies – has also published a guide: click here.

Texas AG Greg Abbott Speaks at TCC/ACIT Annual Meeting

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, speaking at the TCC/ACIT Annual Meeting in Houston

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott was the guest speaker at the 2009 TCC/ACIT Annual Meeting Luncheon on October 15th in Houston. Abbott addressed taxes, tort reform, abuses by labor union and energy advancements while speaking to more than 200 industry leaders and local and state elected officials at the event.

“A recession is a horrible time for increased taxes and increased spending, but that is exactly what the federal government, and some states are doing.” said Abbott.  “California is issuing IOUs, and cannot pay for all the promises it has made to its citizens,” he added.

Abbott also stated that “not too long ago, Texas was the lawsuit abuse capitol of the United States, but recent tort reforms have restored the balance between the rights of consumer and business’ ability to both survive and thrive.”

Citing the rise and fall of Detroit with the demise of the auto-manufacturing industry and a declining population, Abbott warned of abuses by labor unions and the federal card check legislation, that would prohibit secret ballots in union elections.  He noted that Texas is a “right to work” state, which means that requiring membership in a union to work is illegal.

Finally, Abbott said that advancements in innovation would begin a new energy revolution, so that Houston and Texas can maintain the “Energy Capitol of the World” designation.  He said Texas has become home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state it has embraced business-friendly policies and that the state’s future is its people, not the government.

“The American dream is success from opportunities, whatever your origins,” said Abbott.

General Abbott was first elected as the 50th Attorney General of Texas in 2002. Prior to his election as attorney general, Abbott served as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court and as a State District Judge in Harris County.

Prior to the Luncheon, General Abbott was the featured guest at a private FREEPAC Reception for TCC and ACIT Board Members, invited elected officials, and Platinum, Gold, and Silver Members of the TCC/ACIT FREEPAC (the TCC/ACIT Political Action Committee).

More photos from the event can be found here.

Comments Due Nov. 23rd on EPA Proposed Rules to Disapprove Three Key Aspects of Texas SIP Revisions

Comments to EPA proposed rules that disapprove key revisions of the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) are due later this month.  The 60-day comment period ends on November 23, 2009, addressing three TCEQ programs: Flexible Permits, Qualified Facilities and New Source Review (NSR) reform.

To view the full version of these three proposed rules, click on the following link: EPA Federal Register Notices

TCC staff is developing comments to submit to EPA, and invites member input.  If you would like to submit comments, please contact Christina Wisdom at (512) 646-6403 or via email at wisdom@txchemcouncil.org.

National Academy of Sciences Report Recommends Dramatic Changes in Chemical Toxicity Evaluations

A recent report from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) – Science and Decisions: Advancing Risk Assessment recommends that EPA dramatically change the way the agency currently evaluates the toxicity of chemicals. 

Advancements in Sports Safety Through Innovations in Chemistry

Today, our favorite sports have excellent safety and protection as a result of innovations like new field turf and improved head protection and padding for players resulting from modern advancements in chemical industry materials.

Early football helmets were made of padded leather and had no facemasks.  While AstroTurf™, the first large-scale artificial turf installation at Houston’s Astrodome, felt and performed much like harsh, green carpet and led to more injuries as a result of the strong grip and lack of shock absorption.

Modern Helmets and Equipment
Today’s football helmets are made of rigid polycarbonate plastic and vinyl-coated steel alloy facemasks.  Since 2000, helmet models have pad systems designed to reduce the number and severity of concussions.  Studies show that these new helmets reduce the number of concussions by 31%.  And major league baseball has announced a new professional baseball helmet designed to absorb the shock from 95 mph + fastballs.

Other protective sports equipment – shoulder pads, hip, tailbone, thigh and kneepads – are all made of synthetic materials like foam rubbers, elastics, and durable, shock-resistant, molded plastic.  And foam neck rolls covered in vinyl fit around the back part of the football jersey’s neckline to protect the head from being pushed too far backward and lessen the blow if the head is snapped back.

Synthetic Field Turf
During the past decade, many sports turf managers have chosen 3rd-generation artificial turf systems over natural grass fields.  The new turf is of higher quality and durability.  Reduced maintenance cost and injury prevention are two big reasons why synthetic fields have become so popular among professional sport teams – 21 out of the NFL’s 32 teams play on FieldTurf.

But these new synthetic fields are not just for the pros. In Texas alone, more than 125 colleges and public school districts have installed FieldTurf synthetic turf during the past dozen years for their football, soccer and baseball fields, including recent installations at the football and baseball stadiums for one of the nation’s top sports programs at the University of Texas in Austin.

Today, most synthetic turf systems are made from either polyethylene fibers or from a polypropylene/polyethylene blend, made by the chemical industry.  The infilled system, the most widely used turf system, consists of fibers that are tufted into a porous backing for drainage and are held in place with an infill of granulated rubber.  The rubber granules are a key component giving the turf a realistic feel and superior shock absorption for hard falls and tackles.

Recycled tire rubber is cryogenically frozen, shattered into smooth, clean, rounded particles, sized and shaped.  The rubber is then spread to provide uniform playing surface, without dangerous grass obstructions like holes and sprinkler heads.

A field’s shock-absorption characteristics, drainage, and traction, are all areas that must be considered when installing synthetic turf.  Most important is shock absorption, as it relates directly to injury prevention.  Fields that have too much shock absorption can lead to early leg-muscle fatigue, while a hard, rough fields can lead to cartilage-related injuries.

Installation of a synthetic field eliminates the use of pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides, and removes up to 40,000 tires from landfill sites.  They require no mowing, reseeding or watering – a typical grass football field can use between 2.5 million and 3.5 million gallons of water each year.  And maintaining artificial turf fields produce no pollutants from lawn mowers or other equipment.  Coupled with reduced labor costs related to maintenance, many programs report a reduction in maintenance costs of $30,000 to $60,000 per field, per year.

The chemical industry is proud to be integral part of these high-tech innovations.  Advancements in sports equipment and playing surfaces are proving to be a winning combination in providing improved safety and protection for our youth, allowing them to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle through recreational and competitive sports.

Sen. Boxer Pushing Climate Bill for Quick Committee Mark-up

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Senate Democrats are aiming for a committee mark-up on climate change legislation during the first week of November, despite Republican calls for a slower pace on the sweeping measure. 

“That's my plan,” Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) told reporters when asked about a possible markup next week on S. 1733. “That's my hope.”

Boxer's continued push to move the bill came as Republicans James Inhofe of Oklahoma and George Voinovich of Ohio complained during last week’s hearings that they have not had enough time to study the proposal to establish a cap-and-trade program that curbs major industrial sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

“This is a big bill, we need to really get at it, but if you jam this thing through here, it's not going to be good,” Voinovich said of the 923-page proposed bill.

Inhofe cited the two-year buildup that led to a tie 9-9 vote on former President George W. Bush's "Clear Skies" initiative, which would have overhauled the Clean Air Act without setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Republicans held a narrow Senate majority during the Clear Skies debate, but Inhofe as EPW Committee chairman could not convince then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) or any Democrats to vote for the bill, including then-Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Inhofe argued that the Bush-led EPA produced more than 10,000 pages of analysis on the air pollution bill, but he still postponed the March 2005 markup several times as Democrats pushed for more information. “All of a sudden, it's outrageous for us to ask for even two months of the same thing,” Inhofe said of the current Democratic push to move the climate bill. He added that the panel's seven GOP members have not decided yet if they will follow through with threats to boycott a markup.

Responding to the Republican complaints, Boxer insisted that she is holding “an unprecedented number of legislative hearings” on the climate bill, with more than 50 witnesses who have been asked to offer their comments after reading the proposal.

“We have an analysis that I'd say is one of the most thorough ever done,” Boxer said. The California Democrat said U.S. EPA took two weeks to study her proposal, and she also lumped in the five weeks that the agency took this spring to analyze H.R. 2454, the House bill written by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA).

Voinovich and Boxer got into an argument over the quality of EPA's work, with the Republican citing EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's testimony earlier this week acknowledging the agency did not do a specific set of modeling runs on the Senate bill. “It's not a complete analysis,” Voinovich said. “The head of the department said it's not a complete analysis.”

Jackson told the Senate committee on Tuesday that it would take five more weeks for EPA to do a specific review of the Boxer bill.

Boxer also said she is “working hand in glove” with the Congressional Budget Office to ensure the bill is deficit-neutral, the other major demand that Republicans have said they want met before the markup.

Democrats need two GOP members to attend the session to report the bill, and Boxer pleaded during today's hearing for cooperation. “I hope we don't see a boycott of a landmark bill,” she said. “That would be tragic, in my mind.”

Meanwhile, refining and petrochemical officials warned that climate change bills pending in Congress would devastate their industries.

In testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last week, Cal Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), warned that the Senate bill “truly jeopardizes our ability to compete globally, will cost US jobs and lead to higher net global greenhouse gas emissions as manufacturing production shifts to higher-emission countries.”

He said that a federal cap-and-trade mandate – which is the core of both House and Senate climate bills – would force US electric utilities to switch from coal to natural gas to fuel their generators and consequently lower their costs for emissions permits or allowances.

“Because chemistry companies rely on natural gas for heat and power and as a raw material or feedstock, we will pay more for allowances, fuel and feedstock,” Dooley said. “This ‘triple whammy’ of higher costs will make us significantly less competitive with producers overseas, costing US jobs and increasing global emissions,” he added.

Valero chief executive Bill Klesse warned that cap-and-trade climate measures under consideration would be “devastating for the American people and for the American refining and petrochemical industries”.

Klesse, testifying as chairman of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA), said that the House and Senate climate bills would raise energy and other operating costs for US refiners. “One of our chief concerns is that this legislation provides foreign refiners and petrochemical operations a competitive advantage to American businesses,” Klesse said.

He cautioned that the legislation would impose costs and limit fossil energy resources before alternative and renewable technologies would be commercially able to make up the difference.

“This legislation attempts to raise oil product prices so that other less economic energy sources look better by comparison,” he said.  “Is this really fair to the American consumer or to our industry?”

EPA Chief Seeks Clean Air Act Authority for CO2

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told Senate lawmakers last week that she may want Congress to preserve some authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases even if a climate bill is passed.

Some legislators say that in order for a climate bill to get the votes necessary to be approved by the full Senate, it would have to preempt EPA authority.

But Administrator Lisa Jackson told the Environment and Public Works Committee that the agency may still need powers to regulate emissions such as carbon dioxide beyond what is in climate legislation.

“The cap in this bill is actually not entirely economy wide,” Jackson told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at a hearing considering the landmark climate bill. “There are important carbon-emission sources that can be addressed through Clean Air Act regulations,” she said.

Jackson also pointed to the Clean Air Act's new source review rules, under which the EPA can require that the best available technology be used.  “It allows for, when significant investments are being made or new sources are coming on, for us to reset the playing field, if you will, to say, ‘No, listen, no matter what pollution allowances are calling at that point, we need to think about the fact whether we need to be investing anymore in a community’,” she said.

For example, if a coal-fired power plant was only achieving its emissions-reductions target by purchasing pollution credits from the market, the EPA would still have the authority to require technology for planned major upgrades that would achieve certain low emission rates.

EPA spokeswoman Adora Andy later said Jackson was only referring to conventional, non-greenhouse gas air pollutants in regards to maintaining new source review authority. Legislators aren't seeking to preempt EPA Clean Air Act authority over conventional air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, but are only focusing on greenhouse gases.

Adora said one example the administrator would like to maintain its Clean Air Act mandate for greenhouse gas emissions is for the transportation sector. The EPA, along with the Department of Transportation, recently proposed new emission rules for light duty vehicles, and officials say they also want to target other mobile sources such as trucks.

Jackson reiterated the administration's position that the most cost-effective way to put a price on carbon and transition the U.S. to a clean energy economy is through a cap-and-trade proposal such as the one the Senate's considering.

Several Democratic Senators have said they may be unwilling to vote for a bill that doesn't preempt the EPA’s Clean Air Act regulatory authority over carbon dioxide.

Pennsylvania Democrat Arlen Specter said he’s willing to work with the EPA to legislate some of the powers the agency's seeking to preserve. But he also warned against the uncertainty that could be created for investors in energy infrastructure by giving the EPA too much flexibility to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

Regulation Through PSD, Title V
In separate news, EPA recently announced its intention to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources through the PSD and Title V programs under the federal CAA.  The rule focuses on large facilities emitting over 25,000 tons of GHG a year, and proposes to amend the thresholds in the Clean Air Act that trigger the applicability of PSD and Title V permitting requirements. 

•  Under the Title V operating permits program, EPA is proposing a major source emissions applicability threshold of 25,000 tons per year (tpy) of carbon dioxide (CO2e) for existing industrial facilities.  Facilities with GHG emissions below this threshold would not be required to obtain an operating permit.  
• Under the PSD portion of New Source Review, EPA is proposing a:
• 1. Major stationary source threshold of 25,000 tpy CO2e. This threshold level would be used to determine if a new facility or a major modification at an existing facility would trigger PSD permitting requirements.
• 2. Significance level between 10,000 and 25,000 tpy CO2e. Existing major sources making modifications that result in an increase of emissions above the significance level would be required to obtain a PSD permit. EPA is requesting comment on a range of values in this proposal, with the intent of selecting a single value for the GHG significance level.

ACC Gives U.S. Chemical Industry Positive Economic Rating

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) gave the U.S. chemical industry its most positive economic rating for the first time since February 2008 – as companies have resumed restocking, the trade group said last month.

Indeed, many industries have started restocking following a massive liquidation that occurred during much of the year. As such, chemical companies are increasing production. Utilization rates rose to 72.3% in September, compared with a low of 67.2% in December 2008. U.S. chemical production rose by 0.6% in September versus August, according to the group.

Year-over-year comparisons continued to improve – although the September production figure was still off 8.8% when compared with September 2008. Worldwide, global production in the chemical industry rose for the sixth time in the last seven months, suggesting that a sharp recovery has started.

However, the recovery in the U.S. and western Europe continues to lag behind the world’s, said Kevin Swift, chief economist for the ACC. The recovery, though, is still taking place, and the ACC gave the business of chemistry a green flag. That is the most optimistic of the group's three ratings. The ACC also gave the general economy a green flag.

The group made its comments in a weekly economic report, issued just as chemical companies have started releasing their third-quarter earnings. Dow Chemical reported third-quarter sales that fell 22% year over year but rose 6% over the second quarter. DuPont posted a net profit of $409m, up from $367m in the same period last year, which included net hurricane-related charges of $146m.

Deutsche Bank said U.S. chemical firms would likely report third-quarter earnings that exceed estimates from analysts. Prices and raw material costs have remained more less stable while sales volumes have increased throughout the year, Deutsche Bank said.  In fact, operating margins could exceed expectations.

While, the decline in the U.S. housing market is slowing down, Deutsche Bank said, automobile production could actually increase in the fourth quarter.

Upcoming conference calls will focus on whether producers can maintain cost savings and if they can maintain pricing power if raw material costs increase.

For the fourth quarter, Deutsche Bank expects U.S. GDP growth to drop to 2.5% from 4.0% in the third quarter. Export demand would likely decline after peaking in the third quarter, due, in part, to new capacity coming on line in the Middle East.

ACIT Houston Ship Channel Golf Tourney Draws 180 Players

The ACIT Houston Ship Channel region held a golf tournament on October 8th at the Timber Creek Golf Club in Friendswood, Texas.  The 180-plus players raised more than $3,000 in contributions to FREEPAC, the TCC/ACIT Political Action Committee. Sponsors included:

ACIT Houston Ship Channel Golf Tournament

Aggregate Technologies
Bayer MaterialScience
Bray Sales Texas
Bridge Water Events
DeLane’s Ad Specialties
ExperTox, Inc.
Houston Embroidery Works
Hunter Buildings
Industrial Safety Training Council – Beaumont
Industrial Safety Training Council – Baytown
Kaneka Texas
Miken Specialties
Modular Process Control
Oates Metal Deck & Building Products
Pala-Interstate, LLC
Republic Services
RMT, Inc.
The Infinity Group
The Mundy Companies
Turner Industries

More photos from the event can be found here.

ACIT South Texas Revs Up with its Motorcycle Fun Run

The ACIT South Texas Region hosted its Motorcycle Fun Run on October 10th at the VFW Hall in Corpus Christi.  Industry participants joined with a local Harley Davidson riding club for the event.  There were several fun competitions including best bike. ACIT thanks our event sponsors:

ACIT South Texas Motorcycle Fun Run

AIV
Allied Fittings
American Piping Products
Bray Sales Texas
CC Gasket & Fastener
CITGO
Dixie Pipe Sales
Gulf States, Inc.
Hagemeyer NA
Hose of South Texas
Ray West Warehouses
Repcon, Inc.
Southern Cycles
The Eads Company
Valves Unlimited
Westbrook Manufacturers
Wilson Supply

More photos from the event can be found here.

TCC Hosts NEP Meeting in La Porte on December 3rd

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in July its chemical National Emphasis Program (NEP) that establishes policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that are covered by OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) standard.

The Chemical NEP, a one-year pilot program, outlines an approach for compliance officers who conduct site inspections. The program's inspection process includes asking detailed questions designed to gather facts related to PSM requirements and verifying that employers' written and implemented PSM programs are consistent.

The intent of the NEP is to conduct quick inspections at a large number of facilities that will be randomly selected from a list of worksites likely to have highly hazardous chemicals in quantities covered by the standard.

In anticipation of this program, TCC’s Occupational Safety Committee is planning a training seminar on December 3rd at the DuPont Clubhouse in La Porte that would address the following:

Upcoming TCC & ACIT Events

December 3 – ACIT Houston Ship Channel Economic Outlook Breakfast, Brady’s Landing in Houston.  Details will be sent to the membership soon.
 
December 9 – ACIT South Texas Economic Outlook Luncheon, Flint Hills Resources in Corpus Christi.  For registration information, click here.
 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE 2010 EHS SEMINAR
June 7 – 10, 2010 – TCC/ACIT EHS Seminar, Moody Gardens, Galveston.  Call for Presenters: click here. Look for more exhibit information in January, 2010, and registration information in March, 2010.