Energy & Environment

Thirty-six sunken ships in U.S. waters could pose a coastal “oil pollution threat,” and about half of them should undergo further evaluation and potential efforts to retrieve the fuel, a new federal report finds.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is providing the data to the U.S. Coast Guard to help it plan, as possibly help determine the source of “mystery” oil sightings, among other uses.

“This report is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the potential oil pollution threats from shipwrecks in U.S. waters,” said Lisa Symons, resource protection coordinator for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in a statement Monday.

The Atlantic Coast has the highest concentration of the 17 wrecks that deserve the most attention. “The distribution of vessels is skewed heavily to World War II casualties in the Battle of the Atlantic,” NOAA states in a summary.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is expanding its campaign against a proposed Alaskan mine that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says would damage a thriving sockeye salmon population.

The NRDC launched a six-figure advertising effort Monday that features Bristol Bay, Alaska, residents who oppose the proposed Pebble Mine. The green group is beginning with advertisements in publications both inside and outside the Beltway.

“We want policymakers here inside the Beltway to see the places and see the faces of people who will be severely impacted if Pebble Mine is allowed. The mine — as anybody in these ads can tell you — will be utterly devastating to this irreplaceable region, its people and its wildlife,” Bob Keefe, an NRDC spokesman, told The Hill in an email.

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.

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.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, didn't pollute groundwater near an Arkansas well, according to a new study. But the geology there might make the area more resistant to pollution, The Associated Press explains.