Since it’s been such a busy week in the news, we thought we’d round up some of the many worthwhile pieces that probably flew under your radar.
InsideEPA brings us some good news/bad news about coal and cars. The good news is that a federal court put a coal mine on hold because the Department of Interior approved it without considering the climate impacts. This means that despite the Trump administration's opposition to the social cost of carbon, courts still consider it a necessary step in project approval, as per the National Environmental Policy Act.
The bad news is that the auto industry seems to have the ear of the EPA in its review of efficiency standards, as documents indicate the EPA will take industry-requested questions into account. Specifically, the auto industry wants the EPA to factor in “consumer acceptance, affordability and economic impacts” when determining fuel efficiency standards for 2022-2025. Though these may sound reasonable, obviously the industry isn’t going to try and do anything but water down the standards.
A couple stories also recently ran in the trade publication (not the TV show) SNL that deserve notice. First, the Clean Power Plan replacement is looking like it will be limited to “inside the fence” changes, meaning that coal plants will need to make efforts be more efficient (about that “clean coal”...), as opposed to getting replaced by actual clean energy. Speaking of undeserved handouts for coal, another SNL piece analyzed how West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s proposal for a government coal bailout would benefit his coal company, to the tune of millions of dollars.
Sadly, this proposal may now have a friend at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), with newly minted interim Chairman Neil Chatterjee suggesting coal plants should be compensated for the value they add to the grid. Also on FERC, DeSmog reports that disclosure forms show the new Commissioner Robert Powelson received compensation for appearances at energy conferences and NFL tickets from energy companies during his tenure as a Pennsylvania regulator.
Meanwhile at the EPA, E&E’s Sean Reilly got ahold of an unsigned directive that puts a political appointee in charge of reviewing grants, a significant politicization of what was once the purview of apolitical career staffers. Instead of an actual scientist or policy expert reviewing what gets funded, it will be left to John Konkus, a former congressional staffer, media consultant and Florida campaign coordinator for Donald Trump.
In other staffing news, E&E’s Umar Irfan (who’s joining Vox in September) points out that two Department of Energy nominees gave identical answers in response to questions from Congress about climate change. They both provide the scientifically spurious but politically correct answer that “believe the climate is changing. Some of it is naturally occurring," and both “believe a strong, vibrant economy is the best way to mitigate any impacts from climate change."
Odd, isn’t it, that the party vociferously opposed to political correctness requires an incorrect answer to appease politicians?
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