In the news today…
EPA:
· POLITICO Pro reports the Trump administration has postponed its public hearing on its rewrite of the WOTUS rule and its formal publication in the Federal Register, thanks to the partial government shutdown.
· Inside EPA reports Acting EPA Administrator Wheeler has pledged to review and in some cases revise key programs governing new and existing chemicals the agency is seeking to create under the reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), commitments that helped win 11th-hour Senate confirmation for the agency toxics chief, Alexandra Dunn.
Coal:
· E&E News PM reports a Navajo Nation energy company studying the purchase of a coal-fired plant on the reservation says it’s now looking into the mine that supplies it too. The energy company says it wants to keep the plant and Kayenta mine open for at least 10 more years.
· Casper Star Tribune reports Wyoming’s largest utility, and owner of many of its coal-fired power plants, will delay an update to the depreciation rate of its assets as it studies the changing economics of coal.
· CNN reports more coal-fired power plants have closed in Trump’s first two years in office then in Obama’s entire first term.
· Washington Examiner reports U.S. coal exports surged last year in Honduras, which has been the target of barbs from the president related to immigration and border security.
Climate:
· The New York Times reports U.S. carbon dioxide emissions increased by 3.4 percent last year – their highest increase in eight years, according to preliminary projections from the research firm Rhodium Group LLC using federal and industry data. The increase, the group said, was driven in part by the weather and from strong manufacturing output.
· Axios reports the Copernicus Climate Service (C3S), an EU-funded program, has concluded that 2018 was Earth’s 4th-warmest year on record — with the past 4 years serving as the hottest years the planet has seen since instrument records began in 1880 (and likely well before that).