American Chemistry Council News

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to confirm veteran government trade lawyer Katherine Tai as the first woman of color to serve as U.S. Trade Representative, putting her to work enforcing trade deals, confronting China’s trade practices and patching up ties with U.S. allies.The rare 98-0 vote for Tai, a Yale and Harvard-educated daughter of immigrants from Taiwan, reflects support from pro-labor Democrats, traditional free-trade Republicans and China hawks from both parties.Tai…

American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) named Mark K. Knoy as its president and chief executive officer in August 2011. Prior to joining ACBL, he was vice president of American Electric Power’s (AEP) Fuel, Emissions and Logistics Group and president of AEP River Operations, having joined AEP with its 2001 purchase of MEMCO Barge Line. From 1984 to 1994, he was owner/operator of The Mark Twain Towing Company and Delmar Marine, Inc., Pekin, Illinois. He began his career in 1973 working aboard towboats on the inland waterways as a deck hand and then as a captain.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) and The American Chemistry Council (ACC) have renewed for three years a Memorandum of Agreement to promote environmental, health, safety and security performance through ACC's Responsible Care and AWO's Responsible Carrier Program. This agreement was originally executed in 2006, and subsequently renewed in 2010 and 2013. The MOA extends cooperation and collaboration between chemical shippers and carriers and provides ACC's Responsible Care Partner companies in the marine sector the option of using AWO's Responsible Carrier Program audit system to meet ACC's Responsible Care certification requirements. Chemicals account for roughly 10 percent of total barge traffic, with 70 million tons moved by barge in 2014.

On June 20, a diverse coalition of 58 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of leading business, maritime and labor organizations signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) urging that the committee mark up and approve S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform, science-based national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens.

On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, and urging swift Committee consideration and approval. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly one-quarter of the Senate.

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared closely divided on Monday as it weighed whether the administration of President Barack Obama exceeded its authority when crafting the nation's first greenhouse gas emissions regulations. Justice Anthony Kennedy could hold the swing vote on the nine-member high court, with conservative justices skeptical of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) approach and liberal justices generally supportive. It is possible the court could opt for a compromise in which the EPA loses the case but retains most of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the specific program at issue in the case. Such a move could potentially win the support of some liberal justices.

Craig E. Philip, Chief Executive Officer, Ingram Barge Company, today announced several changes and promotions for the Marine Group. Dave O’Loughlin has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Vessel Operations and Strategic Sourcing, reporting to Kaj Shah, President, Ingram Barge Company. Mr. O’Loughlin will head up vessel operations and oversee a strategic sourcing team comprised of the external services and purchasing departments. He most recently served as Vice President of Dry Cargo Customer Service. Mr.

International experts have met in London to review the growing problems in the marine environment caused by micro-plastics – tiny pieces of plastic or fibers which may act as a pathway for persistent, bio-accumulating and toxic substances entering the food chain. The experts form a key working group (WG-40) under the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), an advisory body that advises the United Nations (UN) system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the Administrative Secretariat of GESAMP, which has, to date…

Today, Waterways Council, Inc.’s (WCI) Board of Directors unanimously elected Mike Toohey as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Toohey will assume his duties effective August 14. With more than 30 years of federal government expertise, Toohey most recently served as Consultant with The Livingston Group’s Transportation, Shipbuilding, Shipping and Ports practice area. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Government Affairs for Ashland Inc., a chemical, energy and construction company.

Washington, DC – It was announced today that Mike Toohey has been selected to become President and CEO of Waterways Council, Inc. by the organization’s Search and Executive Committees. A special meeting of the WCI Board of Directors has been called for August 2, 2011 to formally consider his election to the organization’s presidency. With more than 30 years of federal government expertise, Mr. Toohey most recently served as Consultant with The Livingston Group’s Transportation, Shipbuilding, Shipping and Ports practice area. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Government Affairs for Ashland Inc., a global chemical, energy and construction company. During his 19 years with the Ashland, Mr.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and American Waterways Operators (AWO) signed a three-year extension of their 2006 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to promote environmental, health, safety and security performance through ACC’s Responsible Care and AWO’s Responsible Carrier Programs. The MOA extends cooperation and collaboration and provides Responsible Care Partner companies in the marine (barge) sector the option of using the Responsible Carrier audit system to meet their Responsible Care certification requirements. With a volume of approximately 70 million tons, chemicals account for roughly nine percent of total barge traffic.

American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) announced that its Transportation Services Division has been named as one of 42 new members of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Environmental Performance Track program. Membership is awarded to private and public facilities that have a strong record of environmental compliance, set three-year goals for continuous improvements in environmental performance beyond their legal requirements, have internal systems in place to manage their environmental impacts, engage in community outreach, and consistently report results. ACL is the first marine transportation company to obtain membership in the program.

In another step to enhance the safety of transportation of chemicals by water, the American Waterways Operators (AWO) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) recently finalized their joint ?Barge Assessment Complement.? The Complement is a tool designed to help chemical companies assess the safety and quality performance of barge carriers transporting chemicals. The Complement is completely voluntary and has been distributed to all AWO liquid carrier members for use as a safety assessment tool. It has also been made available as a safety management tool to all ACC members utilizing barge transportation. AWO adopted the Responsible Carrier Program (RCP) as a condition of membership in 1998 in an effort to improve the safety of the tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

In another step to enhance the safety of transportation of chemicals by water, the American Waterways Operators (AWO) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) recently finalized their joint "Barge Assessment Complement." The Complement is a tool designed to help chemical companies assess the safety and quality performance of barge carriers transporting chemicals. The Complement is completely voluntary and has been distributed to all AWO liquid carrier members for use as a safety assessment tool. It has also been made available as a safety management tool to all ACC members utilizing barge transportation. AWO adopted the Responsible Carrier Program (RCP) as a condition of membership in 1998 in an effort to improve the safety of the tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

American Commercial Lines Inc.has established an environmental and regulatory consulting service to include environmental compliance auditing, regulatory training, and general consulting in environmental and safety management. The company also announced that ACL was recently accepted for membership in the Responsible Care Partnership program of the American Chemistry Council. Responsible Care Partnership is a global chemical industry performance initiative and is the largest and most comprehensive environmental, health, safety, and security initiative in American industry. Since 1988, members of the American Chemistry Council have significantly improved their environmental, health, safety and security performance through the Responsible Care initiative.

On October 23, the FBI issued an intelligence update warning state and local law enforcement of recent reporting that Al Qaeda is targeting the U.S. railway and petroleum sectors. Information from debriefings of Al Qaeda detainees as of mid-October indicates that the group has considered directly targeting U.S. passenger trains. The U.S. U.S. economic interests. containers. Recently captured Al Qaeda photographs of U.S. threat. against the global petroleum sector. including oil facilities and nuclear power plants. In addition, the U.S. financial sector and government facilities and installations. physical protections. enhanced rail security measures. well as Amtrak. implementation of enhanced security measures. measures. Administration have implemented additional security measures as well.