In the news today…
Minerals:
- Washington Post reports House Republicans pressed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland yesterday on a central tension surrounding President Biden’s ambitious climate and clean-energy goals: his administration’s blocking of domestic mining for the minerals needed to achieve those targets.
- E&E Greenwire reports former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his fellow Republicans pointedly confronted current Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on energy production and critical minerals during a hearing Tuesday that showcased policy differences that could dominate the coming budget season.
- New York Times reports lawmakers on Tuesday issued a sharp rebuke of a limited trade deal the Biden administration reached with Japan, saying that it should have been made available to Congress and the public for review and that it lacked important protections for the environment and workers.
- Bloomberg reports the European Union and the US are nearing an agreement on critical minerals that would provide EU companies access to some of the massive green subsidies offered in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Energy:
- E&E Energywire reports the nation’s largest power grid operator is facing pushback from environmental groups, which say the findings of a recent report paint an alarmist picture of the shift to cleaner energy.
- E&E Energywire reports New Mexico’s largest electric provider wants the state’s highest court to overturn a 2021 decision by regulators who rejected a proposal to transfer its shares in a coal-fired power plant to a Navajo energy company.
Permitting:
- E&E Greenwire reports the Bureau of Land Management says it is set to significantly advance commercial-scale renewable energy development on federal lands across the West over the next three years.