The week ahead: EPA cement, boiler rules under fire in House

The House is expected to vote this week on two separate bills aimed at delaying key Environmental Protection Agency air-pollution regulations.

It’s the latest assault on EPA regulations by House Republicans, who argue that the rules will impose a massive burden on the economy. But the EPA, along with environmental and clean-air groups, note that the rules will reduce pollution that harms public health.

H.R. 2681, the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act, would require EPA to issue new regulations for cement-plant emissions in 15 months and delay the compliance period for the rules.

H.R. 2250, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, would likewise require EPA to issue new rules for air emissions from industrial boilers in 15 months, and delay the compliance period for the regulations.

The House Rules Committee will meet Monday on the bills, and a floor vote is possible as early as Tuesday.

Also this week, the House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing Thursday to examine a report by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Interior Department that faults BP and its contractors for last year’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Over in the Senate, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will examine on Tuesday a report by a panel of Energy Department advisers on shale-gas development.

The report focused on a natural-gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” that has drawn criticism from environmental groups and others who have raised concerns that the process could contaminate groundwater.

Fracking involves high-pressure injections of water, chemicals and sand into rock formations, which opens cracks that enable trapped gas to flow.

Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, and Kathleen McGinty, senior vice president and managing director at Weston Solutions, are among those who will testify at the hearing.

There are a number of other congressional hearings of interest this week:

On Tuesday, a subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing called “Nutrient Pollution: An Overview of Nutrient Reduction Approaches.”

The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the administration’s national oceans policy.

A House Science Committee panel will hold a hearing Tuesday called “Quality Science for Quality Air.”

On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigative panel will conduct a “line-by-line” review of President Obama’s budget request.

Off Capitol Hill, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet Monday to discuss the results of its inspection of the North Anna Nuclear Power Station, which shut down and was knocked offline as a result of an August earthquake.

The Alliance to Save Energy is holding an energy-efficiency summit Tuesday featuring remarks from Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and others.

The National Journal is hosting a discussion Wednesday with Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko.

The State Department will hold its latest public hearing to get feedback about TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry Canadian oil sands from Alberta to refineries in Texas.

The controversial pipeline proposal faces major opposition from environmental and public-lands group, while Republicans and the oil industry support the project, arguing it will create jobs and boost the economy.

The meeting will be held Friday at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.