In the news today…
Coal:
- Washington Examiner reports Republicans and Democrats of the House Natural Resources Committee sparred Tuesday morning over the impact progressives’ Green New Deal resolution could have on communities dependent on coal and other fossil fuels.
- Clarksburg Exponent Telegram (WV) carries an op-ed from Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. In the piece, Raney writes about the importance of keeping coal in the energy mix.
- Argus reports a bipartisan group of U.S. senators have revived efforts to support carbon capture utilization and sequestration (CCUS) technology deployment for coal plants.
Clean Water Act:
- E&E Greenwire reports Democratic lawmakers in Congress are asking the Trump administration for more time to comment on its WOTUS regulation. Some lawmakers say 60 days isn’t enough time to review and consider a proposal that would roll back some Clean Water Act protections that have been in place since the Reagan administration.
Climate:
- E&E Greenwire reports the DOE official at the forefront of the Trump administration’s grid reliability efforts offered caution today to the progressive push to reach 100 percent renewable energy within 10 years in response to a question about the “Green New Deal.”
- Associated Press and the E&E Energywire report U.S. officials have again been faulted by a federal judge for failing to adequately consider the potential climate change effects of expanding a massive coal mine in the sagebrush-covered hills of southeastern Montana.
EPA:
- E&E News PM reports the Trump administration’s proposed replacement for the Clean Power Plan won’t work unless accompanied by an overhaul of the New Source Review pre-construction permitting program, EPA air chief Bill Wehrum said today in defending the agency’s controversial bid to meld the two.