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OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Nuclear power — and safety allegations — in focus
Something to watch: whether she addresses allegations that regulators are burying important safety information.
The half-day conference arrives a few days after the revelation that an NRC engineer believes the commission has withheld documents showing reactor sites downstream of dams are vulnerable to flooding.
The whistleblower, who co-authored a July report on flood preparedness, said those documents would have revealed reactors downstream of dams were at greater risk than previously understood.
NRC spokesman Eliot Brenner said the agency would not comment on why it redacted certain documents from the report.
Svinicki, a Republican, has previously expressed concerns that the NRC’s five-year timetable for implementing safety reforms is too aggressive.
Those new rules are based off lessons learned from the March 2011 events at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, in which an earthquake and resulting tsunami caused a reactor meltdown.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is hosting the event, along with the Bipartisan Policy Center, Idaho National Laboratory and think tank Third Way.
Quote of the Day: “I’m disappointed with the news, but believe Shell has made the right decision, keeping safety paramount.” — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), after Shell announced that it’s scrapping its push to drill into oil-bearing zones off Alaska’s coast this year
The oil giant made the announcement after a crucial piece of spill-containment equipment was damaged during testing.
Quote of the Day II: “This series of blunders inspires anything but confidence in the oil industry’s ability to safely drill in the Arctic.” — the environmental group Oceana, responding to Shell’s announcement
NEWS BITES:
Gas prices above $4 in 10 states — but not WH battlegrounds
There’s good news and bad news for President Obama on gasoline prices.
The bad news is that they remain high by historical standards, averaging $3.86 per gallon nationwide, according to AAA. That breaks the record for Sept. 17, albeit by fractions of a penny.
Ten states now have average regular gasoline prices above $4 per gallon for the first time since April 6, AAA said.
The good news: Of the 10 states where average prices are above the $4, none of them are swing-states in the Obama-Romney match-up, with the possible exception of Michigan.
And prices have also been dropping for the last three days, AAA said in its weekly report. “AAA continues to expect that pump prices will trend lower heading into the end of the year,” the group said.
Group urges policy jolt for electric cars
The U.S. electric vehicle market will be stuck in neutral unless the federal government revamps tax incentives and helps states do the same, according to a think tank report released Monday.
Though projections show electric vehicles could make up as much as 33 percent of the U.S. new vehicle market between 2020 and 2030, the federal government can do more to make that a reality, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report said.
The government should change a tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles into a rebate, the report said. The current system favors wealthier people because credits only offset tax liabilities, the report said.
The federal government also should boost grants and loans to industry, add vehicle charging infrastructure and increase basic research funding in academia and at the national laboratories, the report said.
The report also argues the federal government should work more closely with states that incentivize and have a large concentration of electric vehicles. It also said the federal government should target electric vehicle policies in regions with lower carbon emissions from generating electricity.
Obama administration delays gas export decision
Reuters reveals that the Obama administration has postponed release of a report on natural-gas exports, “further delaying decisions on the potentially contentious issue of sending U.S. gas abroad.”
“The delay means any decision on natural gas exports will likely be made by the victor in the November 6 presidential election — either President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney,” Reuters reports.
Check out the whole story here.
Canadian ambassador takes stage amid Keystone battles
Gary Doer, Canada’s ambassador to the United States will likely make the case for the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline on Tuesday.
Doer is speaking at an event hosted by Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Check out these stories that ran Monday on E2-Wire ...
- Nuke group likes chances for waste progress in next Congress
- Markey: GOP climate bill revision evokes Orwell
- Nuclear engineer accuses regulators of safety cover-up
- Shell scraps effort to hit Arctic oil this year
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