E2-Wire

A proposed rule intended to cut pollution from automobiles is to be published Tuesday in the Federal Register, nearly two months after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) detailed the draft regulations. 

The House will vote Wednesday on legislation that would expedite construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline’s northern leg.

The Northern Route Approval Act, H.R. 3, is likely to pass with overwhelming GOP support. Republicans expect at least 20 Democrats to support it as well.

The bill would eliminate the need for pipeline builder TransCanada Corp. to get a cross-border permit from President Obama to complete the Canada-to-Texas project.

Bloomberg reports that natural gas futures prices rose after the Energy Department approved a U.S. export terminal.

The Associated Press reports on the U.S. Coast Guard’s investigation of how a Royal Dutch Shell offshore drilling rig ran aground in Alaska in December.

AP also has the latest on gasoline prices.

The Wall Street Journal reports on a big move within the natural gas industry’s executive ranks.

“Chesapeake Energy Corp. has plucked a 46-year-old executive from a rival oil-and-gas company to succeed its co-founder, Aubrey McClendon, as chief executive of the nation's second-largest natural-gas producer,” the paper reports.

The Boston Globe reports that a Massachusetts Institute of Technology experiment with nuclear fusion will soon shut down unless Congress steps in.

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) said climate change has factored into recent increases in allergies, asthma and tropical diseases.

Congressional Republicans charge the Environmental Protection Agency gives preference to environmental groups on information requests.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Action Fund named a new interim executive director on Friday.

Andy Buchsbaum will lead the environmental organization’s political arm while continuing to serve as regional executive director for NWF’s Great Lakes Regional Center.

The Energy department approved a proposal to send 1.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas overseas. 

Sen. Ron Wyden wants the attorney general to probe whether alleged price manipulation spilled into the United States.

A federal judge in Arizona declined to reconsider an earlier ruling affirming the Interior Department’s authority to block new hard-rock mining on public lands.

U.S. District Judge David Campbell shut down a request for a rehearing by mining industry groups on Thursday. They’re protesting whether the federal government can unilaterally withdraw public lands from mining claims, according to The Associated Press.

At issue is an action by former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in which the ex-Interior chief banned mining on more than 1 million acres of uranium-rich land near the Grand Canyon.

The House will vote next week to allow construction of the northern portion of the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline.