Monthly Archives: September 2018

Coal:

• Washington Examiner reports EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited Montana on Friday, with a visit to a Superfund site, as well as meetings with stakeholders about its proposed coal plant regulation.

• New York Times reports in reconsidering a rule on mercury pollution from coal plants, the Trump administration could de-emphasize the value of life and health when evaluating environmental regulations. Legal experts say the review of a costly but effective coal-plant restriction is part of a broader strategy to rethink the way the E.P.A. calculates the benefits of its rules.

• E&E Greenwire reports Millennium Bulk Terminals sued Washington regulators again yesterday for denying key permits to a Columbia River project that has become a national political flashpoint.

• UtilityDive reports the Electric Reliability Council of Texas will have slightly lower capacity in the fall, in part due to the temporary shuttering of a 470 MW coal unit which officials plan to bring online when energy prices are higher.

• S&P Global Platts reports North American railroads have begun to invest in improving rail efficiency and better infrastructure due to in part to increased demand from coal.

EPA:

• E&E News PM reports EPA has announced it will host a single public hearing on its proposed replacement for the CPP. The all-day hearing will be held Oct. 1 at the Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building in Chicago, the home of EPA’s Region 5 headquarters, according to a Federal Register notice published last week.

• InsideEPA reports environmentalists are dropping their early appeal of a district court order that blocked enforcement of the Obama administration’s Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule in 11 mostly southern states, signaling that they will not push to expand the list of 26 other states that are now subject to the revived rule after a judge scrapped EPA’s delay.

Power Grid:

• Wall Street Journal reports California Democrats want to ban all fossil fuels from the state electrical grid, which progressives aim to export nationwide. California requires that 50% of power be generated from renewables such as solar and wind by 2030. Democrats recently passed legislation establishing a 100% requirement for 2045.

Energy Policy:

• The Hill reports a carbon tax backed by some big businesses and former Republican officials has the support of most voters, a survey commissioned by the Climate Leadership Council found. The group’s goal is to present a climate plan that Republicans can get behind, even if it can’t be enacted in the immediate future.

In other news:

• Argus reports mineral producers in Wyoming owe $55M in back taxes, according to a report released by a local conservation group as the state considers reviving legislation to address the issue. That figure has risen from $42mn owed to Wyoming counties at the beginning of the year, according to the Powder River Basin Resource Council. The report did not break down how much of that was owed by coal companies.

In the news today…

Coal:

• Associated Press carries a piece on President Trump’s plan to roll back Obama-era pollution controls on coal-fired power plants.

• S&P Global reports a slate of potential policy changes that would advance U.S. coal exports is being completed for U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry by a council primarily consisting of representatives of the coal industry. Perry directed the National Coal Council, to prepare the report in January and to propose what could be done to increase export opportunities for U.S. coal.

• UtilityDive reports Georgia Power is “completely excavating” and closing two coal ash ponds at its Branch and Bowen coal plants, the utility announced Thursday, part of its larger plan to close 29 such facilities across the state.

• Penn Live reports coal could be coming out of the ground as early as next month at what is described as the largest current development in the Pennsylvania’s anthracite region. Blaschak Coal Co., based in Mahanoy City, is in the process of reopening an old surface mine north of Route 61 between Mount Carmel and Centralia in Columbia County.

EPA:

• POLITICO Pro reports a coalition of environmental groups and Democratic attorneys general today urged a federal court to issue its ruling in a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, even as EPA takes comment on a replacement carbon rule for power plants.

• E&E Climatewire reports on rapid succession, the Trump administration last month took aim at a trio of President Obama’s biggest air pollution and climate change rules. Earlier in August, EPA moved to dismantle both the Obama-era clean car rules and the CPP.

• Bloomberg reports the EPA made last-minute deletions of over 500 words highlighting the consequences of climate change from the regulatory impact analysis for its ACE rule proposal, which would replace the CPP, according to internal government documents recently released online. Agency spokeswoman Molly Block acknowledged the revisions but did not explain the rationale.

• InsideEPA reports federal appellate judges are questioning whether environmentalists have standing to challenge a district judge’s order that blocked enforcement of EPA’s 2015 Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule in 13 states, giving opponents of the order just two weeks to address their doubts or face the risk of having the appeal dismissed.

White House:

• E&E Climatewire reports William Happer, a physics professor and vocal critic of mainstream climate science, has joined the White House as a top adviser. Happer, 79, told E&E News in email that he began serving yesterday on the National Security Council as the senior director for emerging technologies.

EVs:

• E&E Energywire reports Tesla Inc.’s lead in battery technology gives it a cost advantage that may last for several years and help the U.S. electric-car maker face down an onslaught of new competition, according to new research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Batteries made by the U.S. manufacturer and its Japanese partner, Panasonic Corp., require less cobalt, the metal whose price has shot up with demand for electric cars.

Mining:

• Argus reports the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) will soon be without enough members to act, leaving it unable to weigh in on disputes surrounding federal mine health and safety laws. The body will be down to two commissioners tomorrow after the six-year terms of acting chairman William Althen and commissioner Robert Cohen Jr expire.