In the news today…
EPA:
- POLITICO Pro reports a federal court Wednesday said it will not extend a Friday deadline for EPA to file a key brief in a mining-related lawsuit because of the ongoing government shutdown. The denial is at least the second time a court has rejected EPA’s request for delay until the shutdown is over, after a different court on Monday told EPA it could not have more time in an unrelated case on coal ash permitting.
- E&E News PM reports at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, acting EPA Administrator Wheeler downplayed the potential impact of a plan to strike the legal underpinning for the Obama-era limits on emissions of mercury, arsenic and other toxic pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants.
- The Daily Herald reports Democrats pressed Wheeler about his work as a lobbyist helping an influential coal magnate meet with Trump administration officials before his nomination to the EPA and his moves on deregulation and on what they said was his inattention to the growing dangers of climate change.
- Argus reports the EPA’s proposed plan for reducing CO2 emissions would extend the life of a handful of coal-fired power plants that otherwise are in danger of closing in coming years, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
Emissions:
- E&E Climatewire reports everything that uses fossil fuels, like power plants, cars, aircraft, ships and industrial infrastructure, would need to be replaced with zero-carbon alternatives at the end of its life span, says a study published yesterday in the journal Nature Communications.
- The Wall Street Journal carries an op-ed from a group of economists, in which they argue for taxing carbon emissions, nixing other regulations and returning the tax revenue to consumers with recurring dividend checks.
Coal:
- Argus reports coal-fired generation in the PJM Interconnection and Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) rose to the highest level in nearly a month this past week, as a snow storm blanketed the region.