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OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Obama, Canadian PM meet under Keystone pipeline cloud
State of play: President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will meet at the White House Wednesday, where they are expected to unveil a border security and trade agreement.
But the meeting comes amid tensions between the friendly neighbors over the Obama administration’s decision to put off action on the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline until after the 2012 elections.
Canadian officials say they will seek to export oil sands to Asian markets in the absence of an agreement to expand pipeline access to U.S. markets. And on Friday Harper appeared to take a shot at the Obama administration over the pipeline delay.
“It is not in this country's interest that we are a captive supplier of the United States, of energy products, especially when we see some of the politics that are going on south of the border,” he said Friday, according to press accounts.
The White House has denied the delay of the pipeline permitting decision was motivated by politics.
The pipeline is tricky terrain for the White House — green groups bitterly oppose the project, while a number of unions support it.
NEWS BITES:
House panel to examine plan to funnel spill penalty money to Gulf
A House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee panel will hold a hearing Tuesday on legislation to steer billions of dollars in fines from last year’s massive BP oil spill to Gulf states in an effort to restore the region.
The legislation, which would direct 80 percent of the penalty money to Gulf states rather than to the federal government, has won the support of a slew of Republicans and Democrats from the Gulf of Mexico. Obama administration officials have also said they support sending a portion of the penalty money to the states.
The hearing comes as Gulf Coast lawmakers are working behind the scenes to secure a Senate vote on the bill.
“The co-sponsors are talking one-on-one with senators right now to build enough support to get a vote before Christmas, and we are getting very good support. Slow and steady,” Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a lead sponsor of the bill, told The Hill last week.
The hearing will include testimony from U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center Director Craig Bennett; Tony Penn, deputy chief of the Assessment and Restoration Division in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Response and Restoration; and Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana Chair Garret Graves.
Graves served as vice chairman of a federal-state task force that called on Congress to pass legislation mandating that a “significant portion” of the penalties imposed on BP and the other companies deemed responsible for the spill be funneled to Gulf Coast states.
BP and the other companies deemed responsible for the spill face billions of dollars in fines for their role in the oil spill. If BP is deemed negligent under the Clean Water Act by the courts, the company will have to pay $1,000 for every barrel of oil spilled into the Gulf. If the courts find that BP was grossly negligent, the company will have to pay $4,200 per barrel.
Last year's spill spewed about 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf. That means BP could face fines ranging from $5.4 billion to $21.1 billion.
Rep. Miller: DOJ should pursue criminal charges over mine disaster
A top House Democrat called on the Obama administration to bring up Massey Energy executives on criminal charges in light of a federal report released Tuesday that said the company could have prevented the 2010 West Virginia coal mine disaster that killed 29 men.
“I think now the burden shifts to the Department of Justice to give very serious consideration to criminal prosecution of the people of the previous Massey Corporation who were involved in this behavior that led to the death of 29 workers,” California Rep. George Miller, the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee and the sponsor of mine safety legislation, told reporters in the Capitol Tuesday afternoon.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with Alpha Natural Resources, which merged with Massey Energy earlier this year, for the mining company to pay $209 million in connection with the April 5, 2010, explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine.
The agreement absolves Alpha from further liability in the case, but it leaves open the possibility that former Massey executives could be brought up on criminal charges.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis praised the agreement Tuesday, but vowed to continue working with the Justice Department to address criminal wrongdoing by Massey executives.
“While this agreement covers corporate prosecution, my department will continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice to address any individual criminal wrongdoing uncovered by ongoing federal investigations," she said. "Anyone determined to have violated a criminal statute in connection with Upper Big Branch should be brought to justice.”
Markey presses Halliburton, Interior on BP evidence allegation
Rep. Edward Markey wants answers from Halliburton — which performed the cement work on BP’s ill-fated Macondo well — over allegations that Halliburton has destroyed cement-testing evidence.
Markey, in a letter to Halliburton, asks a series of questions, including whether the company has tampered with, destroyed or withheld any evidence sought by Congress or the Interior Department related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
“If these allegations are true, they would raise serious and troubling questions. It is imperative that the Congress and the American people are able to get full and complete information and answers about what led to this spill and it is essential for Halliburton to be cooperative and forthcoming about its role in the disaster,” Markey, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in the letter.
He also sent a letter Tuesday to the Interior Department — which formally investigated the Deepwater Horizon disaster with the Coast Guard — asking if officials have any indication that Halliburton destroyed evidence, and whether any of the companies involved in the disaster have withheld information.
BP accused Halliburton of destroying the evidence in a court filing this week, according to The Associated Press.
ON TAP WEDNESDAY:
Obama to address UN climate event
President Obama will speak via video Wednesday to an event on deforestation that’s occurring on the sidelines of the United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa. More on that here.
Boxer to take on climate ‘deniers’
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will hold a press conference to discuss climate change and the “need for international cooperation.”
Boxer will also “address claims made by climate change deniers.” The event comes during the United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa.
House panel to review critical materials
A House Science, Space and Technology Committee panel will meet Wednesday for a hearing titled “Energy Critical Elements: Identifying Research Needs and Strategic Priorities.” Witnesses will include David Sandalow, the assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the Department of Energy. More here.
Forum to promote renewable power
Wednesday brings the American Council on Renewable Energy’s Phase II National Policy Forum. Speakers will include several lawmakers. More here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
Here's a quick roundup of Tuesday's E2 stories:
— Mine safety bill stalled in Congress
— Obama to address climate conference
— Huntsman shifts stance on climate change
— Feds: Mine operator could have prevented 2010 W.Va. explosion
— Mining company agrees to pay $209M for Upper Big Branch disaster
— Gingrich: There is 'evidence on both sides of the climate change argument'
— Study: Shale-gas production will be boon to economy
— BP chief: Oil prices threaten US economic recovery
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