|
 |
 |
|
OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Rahall plans talks with Upton on climate rules
Welcome back to OVERNIGHT ENERGY, E2’s daily roundup of the energy news you need to know and a look ahead to tomorrow's action. Please send tips and comments to Ben Geman, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Andrew Restuccia, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
STATE OF PLAY: Rep. Rahall seeks ‘common ground’ with Upton on EPA climate rules
A senior coal-state Democrat is planning talks with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) about proposals to halt Environmental Protection Agency rules on greenhouse gases.
“I hope we can find common ground,” Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) told The Hill Wednesday, noting he plans to approach Upton soon. Neither support EPA rules, but they have different views about the best way to block them.
Rahall has floated plans that would delay regulations for power plants, refineries and other stationary industrial plants for two years. Upton, in contrast, wants to nix EPA’s rules outright, or at least put them on hold until challenges by industry groups and states work their way through the courts.
But Rahall — the former chairman of the Natural Resources Committee — noted the Senate last year rejected an attempt to block EPA’s power to regulate emissions outright. “A permanent delay was defeated by the other body, so that is not reality,” Rahall said. “Some would say a court delay is much like a permanent delay because the courts take so long.”
“But I think the two-year moratorium is more do-able,” Rahall added. Across the Capitol, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said recently that he plans to quickly re-launch his bid for a two-year delay of EPA rules in the new Congress.
ON TAP THURSDAY I: Energy Department, GM tout hi-tech vehicle batteries
The Energy Department’s Argonne National Laboratory, General Motors and LG Chem plan to make an announcement about advanced lithium-ion battery technology for electrified vehicles, DoE said in an advisory. They’re holding a conference call in the afternoon. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is a fan of electric vehicles and hopes that advancements in battery technology will allow them to become more than a niche market.
ON TAP THURSDAY II: WRI to highlight green ‘stories to watch’
The World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank, will hold a briefing for reporters on green issues worth watching in 2011.
They range from how far EPA will go in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to how population growth will affect transit options, and lots in between.
NEWS BITES:
Boxer to preview environment agenda
Sen.
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday that she’ll be laying
out her agenda for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at
a press conference Thursday. While Boxer declined to give E2 a preview of
her committee plans, she said she plans to comment on incoming House Energy and
Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton’s (R-Mich.) agenda.
Murkowski mute on energy agenda
Sen.
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is expected to remain in her role as the
ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, isn’t ready to lay out her energy priorities for the 112th
Congress. “Let’s take a little more time to do that,” she told The Hill Wednesday.
Markey reintroduces bill to ban drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Rep.
Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who will be the ranking Democrat on the
House Natural Resources Committee this Congress, reintroduced
legislation Wednesday that would permanently ban drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge by designating it as a wilderness area.
“If we don’t enact permanent protections for the Refuge, oil
companies and their allies in Congress will continue to push for
short-sighted plans to drill our last pristine wild places,” Markey
said in a statement.
Markey's bill lays down a marker for wider battles over oil drilling in the Natural Resources Committee. But it's highly unlikely that such a
bill will move forward, given the Republican majority.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
The
112th Congress got started Tuesday, but there was little talk about
energy policy. Still, E2 was at the Capitol pounding the pavement. We told you about some energy/enviro bills
signed by President Obama, as well as comments by an environmental
lawyer that a decision to allow some drilling companies to expedite
environmental reviews might not apply in some cases.
At the Capitol, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said rising gas prices might be the catalyst
for a revived energy debate; Upton said he’s
still mapping out plans to attack EPA greenhouse gas rules; Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Obama will reject any attempt to block the EPA’s climate authority; and a House Republican said he wants to block the Interior Department’s new wilderness policy.
For good measure, we also reported on one chapter of the oil spill commission’s final report, which blamed "systemic" industry and government failures for the spill.
