In the news today…
EPA:
- E&E Greenwire reports on EPA’s public hearing on MATS, noting the majority of speakers were in favor of keeping MATS.
- PoliticoPro and E&E News PM report a bipartisan group of senators asks EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to not change MATS rule.
- InsideEPA reports a coalition of at least 23 states says EPA lacks Clean Air Act authority for its proposal to scrap MATS rule because the law generally bars reconsideration of such findings and the agency’s justification for the rollback fails to meet the requirement for reversal. NMA is mentioned.
- PoliticoPro reports EPA won’t extend the public comment period for its proposal to sharply restrict the number of streams and wetlands that receive Clean Water Act protections.
Budget:
- E&E News PM reports the Trump administration plans to cancel $287 million at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy to close out the program by 2022. Research slashed includes carbon capture and storage research.
Coal:
- The Gillette News-Record reports the U.S. Secretary of Labor is touring coal mines in Wyoming, such as Peabody Energy Corp.’s North Antelope Rochelle coal mine.
- Argus reports U.S. thermal coal producer Cloud Peak Energy may file for bankruptcy as it delayed making a $1.8 million interest payment to evaluate its options.
- The Columbus Dispatch reports Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget would restore $5 million for a coal-mining reclamation fund that had been raided in 2017.
- The Casper Star Tribune reports a new study from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis warns of continued hard times for coal mining in Wyoming.
- The Washington Examiner carries an op-ed by Mark Perry, AEI scholar and professor at University of Michigan Flint, in which he connects the decline of coal with impending power shortages due to coal’s reliability.
Energy:
- E&E Climatewire reports rural electric cooperatives have sharply increased their solar capacity in recent years as they transition from coal contracts
- The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis reports last year natural gas generation surpassed coal-fired generation for the first time.