E2-Wire

Four Republican-authored bills to give states more authority over environmental regulation passed through a House subcommittee with little opposition on Thursday and will now head to the full panel.

The Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Environment and the Economy approved three of the bills by a voice vote, including legislation allowing states to regulate the ash produced by power plants that burn coal, instead of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One bill to give states a larger role in the Superfund process passed by a vote of 11 to 7.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said she hasn’t heard many complaints from the oil-and-gas industry about the Obama administration’s draft hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, rule.

“I’ve met with a lot of representatives of the oil industry and I don’t hear a lot of objections to the rule. We’re talking about a minimum standard for federal land,” Jewell told reporters Thursday following a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.

Jewell’s comments came after she announced the Interior Department would extend the comment period on the proposed Bureau of Land Management rule by 60 days.

The administration is slowing down implementation of new oil and gas fracking rules on public lands.

Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has become a partner and law firm WilmerHale.

Salazar will open a Denver office for the firm, which Salazar told The Denver Post was one of about 20 companies that sought his services.

He said he was drawn to WilmerHale because of its penchant for social justice — it has represented former South African president and civil rights leader Nelson Mandela — and the quality of its lawyers.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz’s first few weeks on the job have been filled with good hair days.

When asked about how much attention his gray mop has received since stepping into his new role, Moniz said, “I think it’s absolutely excellent!”

Summer natural gas prices are headed for a bump, The Wall Street Journal reports. Read more...

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell makes her first appearance before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee since being confirmed.

Organic watercress and black bean sliders will soon sit beside hot dogs, ice cream and other less healthy fare at concession stands in national parks around the country, under a new set of standards unveiled Wednesday.

Conservative outside group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is launching a six-figure advertising campaign pressing vulnerable Democrats to oppose a carbon tax.

The month-long online effort will span 15 states and cost $175,000. It will target three Democratic senators up for reelection in 2014 — Sens. Mark Begich (Alaska), Mark Udall (Colo.) and Kay Hagan (N.C.) — as well as 10 House members.

“Carbon taxes are bad for American industry and jobs,” AFP President Tim Phillips said in a statement. “They drive up utility bills and the cost of gasoline for American families and businesses, all while hurting job growth and driving business overseas. Deliberately driving up energy prices is a bad approach that slows economic activity.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that climate change is “new and different than anything we’ve ever tackled” in the farming industry.

Vilsack said farmers are experiencing the fallout from more severe storms, invasive species, drought, flooding and wildfires that he said are occurring at a more rapid clip than ever before.

“So the fact is, across America, farmers and ranchers and forest landowners are seeing the beginning chapter of what will be a long-term challenge posed by a changing climate. This problem is not going to go away on its own. That's why America must take steps now to adapt,” Vilsack said at a Washington, D.C., event hosted by the National Press Club.