Energy/Environment

The drilling method is enabling a U.S. oil and gas production boom but bringing fears of water and air pollution.

The nation's nuclear watchdog wants to issue new rules on transporting radioactive material to bring the United States in line with international standards.

The changes to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) rules would meet 2009 revisions to regulations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear energy organization, as well as 2011 regulations from the Department of Transportation.

A Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing quickly turned into a referendum on energy development on Indian lands on Wednesday.

As Republicans on the panel pressed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to encourage Indian tribes to develop more oil and natural gas resources, the department chief reiterated the administration's commitment to developing renewable energy alongside fossil fuels.

In her prepared testimony, Jewell said "the Department is committed to assisting tribes in expanding on Indian lands renewable, low cost, reliable and secure energy supplies as well as safe and responsible oil and gas development in accordance with tribal objectives."

On some Indian reservations, claimed Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), "oil and gas and coal reserves held in trust by the United States for the tribe, for its members, represent by far the number one best opportunity for prosperity for that tribe in that location."

The Obama administration wants to do more studies about the impact that genetically engineered crops have on the environment.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will prepare environmental impact statements to "better inform decision-making" about corn, soybean and cotton crops genetically engineered to resist two herbicide varieties.

The USDA's office of animal and plant inspections believes the regulation "may significantly affect the quality of the human environment," and is preparing the statements to determine whether the crops affect the natural world. It claimed on Friday that the statements will "further assist the Agency in evaluating any potential environmental impacts before we make a final determination regarding the products' regulatory status."

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At a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Republicans warned of executive overreach; Democrats accused Interior of caving to industry pressure.

The oil and gas industry is accusing the Obama administration of side-stepping its procedural rules and rushing a regulation on auto emissions.

In the letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent on Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) accused the watchdog of violating portions of the Clean Air Act that require new rules to be published in the Federal Register, the government's official ledger for regulations and notices, before accepting comments from the public and holding public hearings. 

A second Senate committee has expressed interest in the West, Texas, incident that killed 14 and injured 200.

Members of Congress joined outdoor recreation executives on Tuesday to call for more flexibility in rules governing private companies' operations on public lands. 

Legislators blamed a combination of excess regulations and high insurance requirements for restrictions on guides that lead hikers, horseback riders rafters and off-roaders through national parks and forests.

The House's Natural Resources subcommittee on public lands and environmental regulation heard from members of the outdoor industry who pressed for streamlined government oversight of operations in public parks and forest areas. 

A pair of Democrats is putting pressure on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for deciding against regulating methane emissions from coal mines.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) criticized EPA's April 30 decision to deny environmental law firm EarthJustice's petition to regulate the heat-trapping emissions at coal mines.

In a Tuesday letter to acting EPA Administrator Bob Perciasepe, the lawmakers said the EPA erred in choosing not to regulate the nation’s fourth-largest source of methane emissions and that its reason — financial issues — was not sufficient.

The fertilizer plant in Texas that exploded last month sought exemptions from federal safety regulations, according to a new report.

The Center for Public Integrity found that the West Chemical and Fertilizer company, which owns the plant, appears to have applied a 20-year-old provision.

The regulatory loophole says facilities that process fertilizer and sell to the ultimate consumer — usually farmers — are subject to less-rigorous worker safety and environmental regulations.