Federal Independent Agencies
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from federal independent agencies.
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TVA: Sequoyah Nuclear Unit 1 Begins Scheduled Refueling, Maintenance Outage
SODDY-DAISY, Tennessee, April 13 -- The Tennessee Valley Authority issued the following news release:
The Tennessee Valley Authority's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Unit 1 started a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage early Saturday morning after generating over 13.5 billion kilowatt-hours of carbon-free energy in 494 days of operation.
"This scheduled outage allows us to complete necessary work to ensure we continue delivering reliable, low-cost, carbon-free electricity to the people and businesses we serve," said Tom Marshall, TVA Sequoyah site vice president. "The team will load 85 new nuclear
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SODDY-DAISY, Tennessee, April 13 -- The Tennessee Valley Authority issued the following news release:
The Tennessee Valley Authority's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Unit 1 started a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage early Saturday morning after generating over 13.5 billion kilowatt-hours of carbon-free energy in 494 days of operation.
"This scheduled outage allows us to complete necessary work to ensure we continue delivering reliable, low-cost, carbon-free electricity to the people and businesses we serve," said Tom Marshall, TVA Sequoyah site vice president. "The team will load 85 new nuclearfuel assemblies and perform key maintenance activities that can only be safely completed with the unit offline."
According to Marshall, preparations for these refueling outages begin years in advance. Planning for this outage began more than three years ago, in December 2017, as part of the site's standard work management practices to ensure all work can be completed safely and as scheduled.
"We know that reliability matters, and Sequoyah's highly-skilled workforce is making the most of this opportunity to ensure Unit 1 continues to operate safely and reliably until its next refueling outage about 18 months from now," added Marshall.
Over 10,000 work activities are planned, including loading new fuel assemblies, performing inspections of reactor components, maintenance of plant equipment and installing unit enhancements.
In keeping with safe work practices and COVID-19 conditions, Sequoyah continues to take multiple and significant steps to help protect the health and well-being of employees and supplemental workers, including health screenings with the use of thermal scanning devices at plant entrance points, face-mask requirements and social distancing.
Sequoyah Unit 1 is one of seven operational TVA nuclear reactors across the Valley. TVA's nuclear fleet is the third largest in the nation, safely and reliably providing more than 40% of all electricity used by nearly 10 million people in the Tennessee Valley.
New York Fed: New Member Appointed to Fintech Advisory C
NEW YORK, April 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued the following news release on April 12, 2021:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today announced the appointment of a new member to its Fintech Advisory Group, effective immediately. The Fintech Advisory Group provides New York Fed leaders with a high-level platform to establish clear points of contact with senior representatives and thought leaders from the financial and technology industries.
The primary goal of the Advisory Group is to present views and perspectives on the emerging issues related to financial technologies,
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NEW YORK, April 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued the following news release on April 12, 2021:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today announced the appointment of a new member to its Fintech Advisory Group, effective immediately. The Fintech Advisory Group provides New York Fed leaders with a high-level platform to establish clear points of contact with senior representatives and thought leaders from the financial and technology industries.
The primary goal of the Advisory Group is to present views and perspectives on the emerging issues related to financial technologies,the application and market impact of these technologies, and the potential impact on the New York Fed's ability to achieve its missions.
The new member is Matt Harris, a partner at Bain Capital Ventures. He was appointed in advance of the Fintech Advisory Group's next meeting on April 13.
Fintech Advisory Group members are selected based on their expertise across the breadth of issues relevant to financial technologies. Members will participate on a rotational basis.
New York Fed: Consumers' Inflation, Home Price and Spending Expectations Keep Rising
NEW YORK, April 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued the following news release:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data released the March 2021 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows a continuation in the recent upward trend in inflation, home price and spending growth expectations. In particular, expectations about home, gas, and rent price changes all reached new series highs in March. Labor market expectations continued to recover with higher expectations about job security and improved unemployment expectations. Finally, households were more
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NEW YORK, April 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued the following news release:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data released the March 2021 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows a continuation in the recent upward trend in inflation, home price and spending growth expectations. In particular, expectations about home, gas, and rent price changes all reached new series highs in March. Labor market expectations continued to recover with higher expectations about job security and improved unemployment expectations. Finally, households were morepositive about their current and expected financial situation and their ability to access credit.
The main findings from the March 2021 Survey are:
Inflation
* Median inflation expectations at the one-year and three-year horizons both increased 0.1 percentage point in March to 3.2% and 3.1%, respectively. Inflation expectations at both horizons have increased steadily over the past five months and they are now at their highest since mid-2014. Our measures of disagreement across respondents (the difference between the 75th and 25th percentile of inflation expectations) decreased slightly at the one-year horizon and remained unchanged at the three-year horizon. Both measures of short and medium-term inflation disagreement remain elevated compared to their pre-COVID-19 levels.
* Median inflation uncertainty--or the uncertainty expressed regarding future inflation outcomes--increased at the medium-term horizon and remained unchanged at the short-term horizon. Both measures remain well above the levels observed before the outbreak of COVID-19.
* Median year-ahead home price change expectations increased 0.8 percentage point to 4.8% in March, a new series high. The increase was driven mostly by respondents who live in the "West" and "Midwest" Census regions.
* The median one-year ahead expected change in the price of gas and in the price of rent increased by 0.3 and 0.2 percentage point in March to new series highs at 9.9% and 9.3%, respectively. The median expected change in food prices remained unchanged in March, while the median expected change in the cost of medical care and in the cost of a college education decreased by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage point to 9.3% and 5.6%, respectively.
Labor Market
* Median one-year ahead expected earnings growth decreased 0.2 percentage point in March returning to 2.0%, the level at which it remained between July 2020 and January 2021.
* Mean unemployment expectations--or the mean probability that the U.S. unemployment rate will be higher one year from now--decreased from 39.1% in February to 34.4% in March, the lowest level since the start of the pandemic.
* The mean perceived probability of losing one's job in the next 12 months decreased from 14.2% in February to 12.8% in March, the lowest reading in almost three years. The decrease was more pronounced among respondents with lower household income (less than $50,000). The mean probability of leaving one's job voluntarily in the next 12 months also decreased in March, from 17.7% to 16.7%. The decrease was more pronounced among respondents with lower education (no more than a high school degree) and those with lower household income (less than $50,000).
* The mean perceived probability of finding a job (if one's current job was lost) decreased slightly from 48.8% in February to 48.7% in March and remains roughly 10 percentage points below its pre-pandemic readings.
Household Finance
* The median expected growth in household income increased by 0.4 percentage point to 2.8% in March, the highest level since January of last year.
* Median household spending growth expectations rose for the third consecutive month from 4.6% in February to 4.7% in March. This is the highest reading for the series since December 2014.
* Perceptions of credit access compared to a year ago improved in March with fewer respondents finding it harder to obtain credit now than a year ago. Expectations about future credit availability improved as well, with fewer respondents expecting it will be harder to obtain credit in the year ahead.
* The average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months declined 0.5 percentage point to 9.6% in March, below its pre-COVID-19 level.
* After increasing for four consecutive months, the median expectation regarding a year-ahead change in taxes (at current income level) decreased by 0.4 percentage point to 4.2% in March. Nevertheless, the reading remains substantially higher than its 2020 average of 3.0%.
* The mean perceived probability that the average interest rate on saving accounts will be higher 12 months from now increased for the fifth consecutive month to 29.4% in March from 27.9% in February.
* Perceptions about households' current financial situations compared to a year ago improved slightly in March with fewer respondents reporting being worse off than they were a year ago. Respondents were also more optimistic about their households' financial situations in the year ahead with more respondents expecting their financial situation to improve a year from now.
* The mean perceived probability that U.S. stock prices will be higher 12 months from now increased by 1.3 percentage points to 41.2% in March.
About the Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE)
The SCE contains information about how consumers expect overall inflation and prices for food, gas, housing, and education to behave. It also provides insight into Americans' views about job prospects and earnings growth and their expectations about future spending and access to credit. The SCE also provides measures of uncertainty regarding consumers' outlooks. Expectations are also available by age, geography, income, education, and numeracy.
The SCE is a nationally representative, internet-based survey of a rotating panel of approximately 1,300 household heads. Respondents participate in the panel for up to 12 months, with a roughly equal number rotating in and out of the panel each month. Unlike comparable surveys based on repeated cross-sections with a different set of respondents in each wave, our panel allows us to observe the changes in expectations and behavior of the same individuals over time.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: Fed Views Publishes April 8 Edition
SAN FRANCISCO, California, April 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco issued the following April 8 edition of Fed Views by Vice President Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau:
* * *
Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau, vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, stated his views on the current economy and the outlook as of April 8, 2021.
* Progress continues on containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of new cases in the United States has declined rapidly since January peaks and remains low, recently averaging 68,000 people over 14 days. Rates for hospitalizations and deaths due to
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SAN FRANCISCO, California, April 13 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco issued the following April 8 edition of Fed Views by Vice President Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau:
* * *
Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau, vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, stated his views on the current economy and the outlook as of April 8, 2021.
* Progress continues on containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of new cases in the United States has declined rapidly since January peaks and remains low, recently averaging 68,000 people over 14 days. Rates for hospitalizations and deaths due tothe virus have also declined. Coupled with an acceleration in the vaccine rollouts and number of administered doses averaging 3 million per day over the past seven days, prospects for immunizing the majority of the population by the end of the year have improved significantly.
* Real GDP growth is off to a strong start in 2021 with continued support from accommodative fiscal and monetary policy. Consumer spending in particular, supported by the latest rounds of fiscal relief, is becoming more brisk. Overall, we expect a very strong second quarter of 2021, and for year-on-year GDP growth to reach 6.6% this year. We project real GDP to gradually return to its pre-pandemic trend over 2022 and 2023.
* The U.S. economy added a higher-than-anticipated 916,000 jobs in March, further supporting a positive outlook for the year. Job growth was widespread, led by 280,000 new workers in leisure and hospitality, as large parts of the United States somewhat relaxed virus-containment measures and limits on in-person business activities. The unemployment rate fell from 6.2% to 6% in March and is expected to continue declining gradually over the next few years.
* Inflation has rebounded somewhat from the low reached in April 2020, but still remains below its pre-pandemic levels. Headline personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation rose in February, to 1.6% on a 12-month basis. By contrast, core PCE inflation fell slightly, registering 1.4% on a 12-month basis. We expect inflation to remain below the 2% goal into 2023 after a transitory rise in 2021 due to a roll-off of the pandemic shock's initial downward effect on prices.
* Chair Powell, during public remarks following the March 2021 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, reiterated the stance of monetary policy would remain accommodative until conditions in the labor market are consistent with the committee's views on full employment, and inflation has run above 2% for some time. And while yields on long term assets such as 10-year Treasuries have increased notably recently, the increases likely reflect optimism over the prospects for U.S. economic growth being further supported by accommodative fiscal and monetary policy.
* Business closures and voluntary consumer behavioral changes made in response to the spread of the virus hit sectors and occupations employing lower-skilled workers and minorities the hardest. Employment in low-wage jobs, with earnings less than $15 an hour, remains 14% below pre-pandemic levels. This contrasts with high-wage jobs, with earnings more than $40 an hour, where employment has grown 9% over the course of the pandemic.
* The onset of the pandemic and massive disruption to economic activity affected women to a greater extent than men. Following sharp declines in April 2020, labor force participation rates for prime-age men and women (individuals between ages 25 and 54 ) had recovered half of their earlier declines by midsummer. Since then, their participation has failed to make further gains toward pre-recession rates, with women still faring worse than men.
* These gender differences are driven by the differential impacts of the pandemic on parents. The initial impact of the pandemic was much more pronounced on mothers' participation in the labor market than on that of fathers. And while mothers' participation partially recovered during the summer, it reversed course with the start of the new school year, falling back to April 2020 lows. This contrasts with the participation patterns of women and men without children: nonparents experienced similar declines at the onset of the pandemic, and their participation was slightly below pre-pandemic rates in December, alongside fathers.
* The disparate gender and parental labor market impacts of the pandemic are amplified across the household income distribution. Mothers in the lowest income group, households with annual income below $50,000 per year, exited the labor force at a rate four times that of mothers in the highest household income group with incomes above $100,000 per year. Specifically, participation for mothers in low-income households declined nearly 9%, while mothers in high-income households fell a little under 2% below their pre-pandemic participation rate.
* Racial and ethnic minorities typically fare worse in more severe recessions and the pandemic recession is no exception. The initial sharp decline in participation was more pronounced among Black and Hispanic mothers: participation between February and April 2020 fell twice as much for Black and Hispanic mothers, relative to white mothers. In addition, a robust recovery for Black and Hispanic mothers during the summer months was all but undone with the start of the school year.
See chart here: https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/fedviews/2021/april/april-8-2021/
EPA Resumes Lead-Contaminated Soil Cleanup at Residential Properties in Lyons, Illinois
CHICAGO, Illinois, April 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
Next week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will resume the lead-contaminated soil cleanup at residential properties in Lyons, between 45th Street to the north, Fisherman's Terrace to the east, 47th Street to the south, and the 7900 blocks of 45th, 46th and 47th streets on the western edge.
These properties are near the former Taracorp Industries site, 7753 West 47th Street, in McCook, Illinois.
In 2020, EPA completed cleanup at four residential properties. EPA anticipates cleanups will
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CHICAGO, Illinois, April 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
Next week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will resume the lead-contaminated soil cleanup at residential properties in Lyons, between 45th Street to the north, Fisherman's Terrace to the east, 47th Street to the south, and the 7900 blocks of 45th, 46th and 47th streets on the western edge.
These properties are near the former Taracorp Industries site, 7753 West 47th Street, in McCook, Illinois.
In 2020, EPA completed cleanup at four residential properties. EPA anticipates cleanups willcontinue into 2022.
The cleanup process includes removing lead-contaminated soil, replacing excavated soil with clean soil, and placing seed or sod on the properties.
The former Taracorp Industries property was a secondary lead smelter from the mid- 1960's until the early 1980's. In November 2017, Illinois EPA referred the site to EPA due to elevated lead levels. EPA sampled properties from June 2018 through November 2019 and began the residential cleanup in fall 2020.
For more information: https://response.epa.gov/TaracorpIndustriesSoils.
EPA Proposes Settlement With Arrow Midstream To Resolve Produced Water Releases on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota
DENVER, Colorado, April 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed Clean Water Act (CWA) settlement with Texas-based Arrow Midstream Holdings, LLC (Arrow Midstream) in which the company has agreed to pay $106,500 for alleged Clean Water Act violations associated with two releases of produced water from pipelines into tributaries of Lake Sakakawea near Mandaree, North Dakota on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
EPA alleges that Arrow Midstream violated Section 301 of the CWA by unintentionally
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DENVER, Colorado, April 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed Clean Water Act (CWA) settlement with Texas-based Arrow Midstream Holdings, LLC (Arrow Midstream) in which the company has agreed to pay $106,500 for alleged Clean Water Act violations associated with two releases of produced water from pipelines into tributaries of Lake Sakakawea near Mandaree, North Dakota on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
EPA alleges that Arrow Midstream violated Section 301 of the CWA by unintentionallyreleasing produced water from two pipelines into tributaries of Lake Sakakawea in 2019. These incidents included a September 19-20, 2019, release of approximately 962 barrels of produced water from the Two Shields Butte 9-8-7 Well Pad and a September 28-30, 2019, release of approximately 3,917 barrels from the Moccasin Creek 8-26 Well Pad. Produced water from oil wells contains high levels of dissolved salts that can degrade water quality and are toxic to aquatic life.
"Due to the harm produced water spills can cause to public health and the environment, every effort must be made to prevent these spills and to clean them up promptly once they occur," said the EPA Region 8 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director Suzanne Bohan. "EPA is committed to ensuring compliance with Clean Water Act requirements that safeguard our rivers, lakes and streams and protect Tribes."
Arrow Midstream reported the incidents to the National Response Center and worked with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to contain and clean up the releases. The company has also taken action to reduce the likelihood of similar releases in the future, by removing the pipeline material involved in the releases from other pipelines on the Reservation.
The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into waters of the U.S. without a permit. For more on the Clean Water Act's prohibition against discharges of pollutants into waters of the U.S., visit: https://www.epa.gov/compliance/clean-water-act-cwa-compliance-monitoring#wastewater.
This proposed Consent Agreement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final approval by the EPA's Regional Judicial Officer. The public comment period began March 30th and ends on April 29th. To access and comment on the Consent Agreement, visit: https://www.epa.gov/nd/opportunity-comment-proposed-consent-agreement-arrow-midstream-holdings-llc-alleged-violations
Connect with EPA Region 8 on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/eparegion8
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EPA Begins Final Thermal Treatment Phase of Soil Cleanup at Velsicol Superfund Site in St. Louis, Michigan
CHICAGO, Illinois, April 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on April 12, 2021:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy today began the last phase of in-place thermal treatment of contaminated soil at the Velsicol Chemical Corp. Superfund site at 500 N. Bankson St. in St. Louis. EPA anticipates this work will be completed in late 2021.
Special equipment is being used to heat the soil and the groundwater, capture contaminants, and treat them on-site. When this is completed, EPA will begin a
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CHICAGO, Illinois, April 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on April 12, 2021:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy today began the last phase of in-place thermal treatment of contaminated soil at the Velsicol Chemical Corp. Superfund site at 500 N. Bankson St. in St. Louis. EPA anticipates this work will be completed in late 2021.
Special equipment is being used to heat the soil and the groundwater, capture contaminants, and treat them on-site. When this is completed, EPA will begin anew cleanup phase to excavate the soil and dispose of it off-site. A groundwater treatment system will also be installed.
This is the second treatment phase of Area 2 at the site. The first phase of soil treatment began in October 2019 and removed more than 180,000 pounds of contaminants. Area 1 treatment was completed in October 2018, during which 56,000 pounds of contaminants were removed.
Velsicol produced fire retardant polybrominated biphenyl and the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly referred to as DDT, from 1936 until 1978 when the plant shut down. The chemicals polluted the groundwater, soil, and Pine River that bordered the plant. In the 1980s, the factory was demolished, but elevated levels of benzene and 1,2 dichloroethane remain in the groundwater beneath the site.
To learn more about this site: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/velsicol-chemical-michigan.
