The House of Representatives voted 241-178 to pass an amended version of the Senate’s Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016, tacking on drought relief aid for California, among other provisions. The passage means the House can now enter a conference with the Senate to reconcile the two versions.
“This has been a multiyear, multi-Congress effort, and a lot of work has gone into making sure that the bill we put forward to support the future of American energy is truly comprehensive,” Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said.
The House’s version would make it more difficult for the federal government to use endangered fish species protections to increase the flow of water from California’s dams into the sea. Republicans say this practice wastes precious fresh water for humans in the drought-plagued state, while Democrats say the provision would damage fisheries.
More: The Hill
Obama Proposes Emissions Rules for Contractors
The Obama administration has put forward new rules that would mandate federal contractors disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.
The White House’s Federal Acquisition Regulation Council filed the proposals in the Federal Register requiring contractors to say if they disclose emissions numbers, if they have reduction goals and what effect climate change will have on business operations.
“We’ll be able to better assess supplier greenhouse gas management practices, manage direct and indirect greenhouse gas emission, address climate risk in the federal government’s supply chain and engage with contractors to reduce supply chain emissions,” White House officials said.
More: The Hill
Trump Vows to Undo Environmental Regulations
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, vowed to end President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, of which the Clean Power Plan is the centerpiece, within his first 100 days in office if he’s elected.
“Any regulation that’s outdated, unnecessary, bad for workers or contrary to the national interest will be scrapped and scrapped completely,” he said. “Any future regulation will go through a simple test: Is this regulation good for the American worker? If it doesn’t pass this test, this rule will not be under any circumstances be approved.”
Trump also said he would kill EPA’s Waters of the United States rule, “cancel” the Paris Agreement and ask TransCanada to apply again for the Keystone XL Pipeline.
More: Morning Consult
DOE: Keep Funding International Fusion Effort
An Energy Department official said the U.S. should continue funding an international attempt to develop fusion technology, despite the project’s overruns and delays.
Franklin Orr, undersecretary for science and energy, says the U.S. government should increase its support for ITER, a magnetic fusion device being built in France and initiated by President Ronald Reagan in 1985. The department says the U.S. contribution needs to be $230 million in 2018, or $105 million more than it has budgeted.
If successful, ITER would be the first device to maintain fusion for long periods of time and develop more energy than it consumes. Thirty-five nations are now contributing to the project, whose price has escalated dramatically over decades of development.
More: Science
NRC Sets Sliding Fee Scale For Small Modular Reactors
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission finalized rules that set a sliding fee scale for small modular reactors, aimed at encouraging development of the technology.
The annual fee for light water SMRs will be set according to how much heat they generate, according to the commission. The rules set a minimum fee, a variable fee and a maximum fee.
The commission said applying the same fee to smaller reactors that is applied to large reactors would be unfair, as smaller reactor designs pose a “lower regulatory oversight burden.”
More: Bloomberg
NRC Approves La Crosse License Transfer
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the transfer of the license of the shuttered La Crosse Nuclear Plant in Genoa, Wis., to La Crosse Solutions, a subsidiary of radioactive waste disposal specialist Energy Solutions.
Dairyland Power Cooperative retired the plant in 1987 and filed with the commission last year to transfer the decommissioning and fuel storage license to La Crosse Solutions, which will lease the above-ground structures and assume decommissioning responsibility.
Energy Solutions has a similar arrangement with Exelon’s retired Zion nuclear plant in Illinois.
More: Nuclear Street
Environmental Groups Call for End to FERC Pipeline Review
New Jersey opponents to the $1.2 billion PennEast natural gas pipeline project urged FERC to halt its review, contending the developers have failed to provide required information on the project.
The organizers of the 118-mile project, which would deliver 1 Bcf/d from the Marcellus Shale region in northeastern Pennsylvania primarily to New Jersey utilities, say they have provided all necessary information. “As PennEast moves through the FERC process, PennEast will continue to provide application information to FERC,” a company spokeswoman said.
The project has aroused organized opposition, especially in New Jersey, where opponents say 70% of the property owners along the proposed path refused to allow PennEast to survey their land, and municipalities have passed resolutions opposing it.
More: NJ.com
FERC Fines Coaltrain $37.5M For Sham UTC Trades
FERC last week fined Coaltrain Energy and its owners $37.5 million for fraudulent up-to-congestion trades in PJM.
It also demanded the company disgorge $4.1 million in unjust profits. (See Traders Deny FERC Charges; Seek Independent Review.)
Coaltrain attorney Ken Irvin, of Sidley Austin, said the order “reflects the flawed process FERC uses and reiterates the need for our judicial system to impose the rigors due process provides. With ample transparency and cooperation on our part, we have shown compliance with the market rules and regulations. Our confidence remains that we have proven our case before FERC and will prove it in court too.”
More: IN16-4