Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said that Congress should pass tax credits to incentivize clean-coal projects, preserving coal’s viability as a fuel.

The comments came as Moniz, speaking at the Mid-Atlantic Region Energy Innovation Forum in West Virginia, deflected charges the Obama administration has treated coal unfairly. “Plain and simple, ‘War on Coal’ is not what this administration has as a policy or has done,” he said. “It starts with — make no bones about it — we and the world are heading to a low-carbon future.”

But he still sees coal as an important fuel source going forward. “Getting the tax credits this year would be a very, very big deal,” Moniz said. “And having the tax credits in place in a trajectory for carbon reduction, in my view, is what the investment community needs.”

More: The Associated Press

Senate Passes Water Bill with Coal Ash Amendment

The Senate passed a water resource infrastructure bill with an amendment that would give states more authority over permitting and the enforcement of coal ash disposal.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which authorizes $10.6 billion in water project funding, also adjusts the Solid Waste Disposal Act to give states authorization to institute their own coal ash disposal rules instead of EPA’s rules. The state standards would have to be “at least as protective” as federal standards.

Environmental groups said the new amendment could result in confusion. “The proposed legislation could effectively remove the EPA rule’s federal minimum stands, which could lead to a patchwork of regulatory requirements,” the Environmental Integrity Project and the Waterkeeper Alliance said in a letter.

More: Argus Media

NJ, Fed Agencies File Critical PennEast Comments with FERC

Ahead of Monday’s deadline, several federal and New Jersey government agencies filed comments with FERC last week criticizing the commission’s draft environmental impact statement on the proposed PennEast Pipeline.

Among the federal agencies that filed comments were the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and EPA, the last of which concluded the proposed 118-mile pipeline would cause “significant adverse environmental impacts.” The agencies also said the draft EIS omitted a significant amount of information.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Rate Counsel were also critical, with the latter saying the developers failed to justify the need for the pipeline. The $1.12 billion project, being developed by a consortium of several companies, would deliver shale gas from Northeastern Pennsylvania into New Jersey.

More: NJ Spotlight

House Passes Advanced Nuclear Technology Framework Bill

The House of Representatives last week passed a bill that directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to create a regulatory framework and criteria that would allow for the licensing of advanced nuclear reactors.

The Advanced Nuclear Technology Development Act of 2016, sponsored by Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), requires the Energy Department and the commission to collaborate on the licensing process in order to provide certainty to developers of the technology, which includes molten salt reactors and supercritical water reactors.

“This bill will help provide certainty for innovators and entrepreneurs who are seeking to develop and license the next generation of nuclear technologies,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said. “We should ensure that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the expertise and resources to review and license the latest in advanced reactor technologies, and this bill does just that.”

More: House Energy and Commerce Committee

Tribe Wants Review of Enbridge Settlement

A Michigan Native American tribe said it was never consulted on an agreement between Enbridge and EPA in which the company will pay a $61 million fine and spend $110 million in pipeline upgrades to settle claims relating to the 2010 oil spill in the Kalamazoo River.

Part of the settlement calls for upgrades to Enbridge’s Line 5, which carries crude oil beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, which has fishing rights to the straits under an 1836 treaty, said it was never consulted on the settlement terms.

An attorney representing the tribe said it would have called for a full environmental review of Line 5. Any actions Enbridge takes on that line now are not covered by review requirements. The tribe wants the Kalamazoo spill settlement reopened for review. A Justice Department spokesman said the objection is under review.

More: Inside Climate News