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Oil lobbyists trying to sap strength of pipeline bill [1]

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Date: 2023-09

Oil lobbyists trying to sap strength of pipeline bill Presented by

With help from Esther Whieldon and Alex Guillén

OIL LOBBYISTS TRYING TO SAP STRENGTH OF PIPELINE BILL: Oil industry lobbyists are laboring to weaken a bill to reauthorize the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration now before the House of Representatives. As Pro’s Andrew Restuccia and Elana Schor report, the bill presents a rare opportunity for members of both parties to work together: Democrats have long advocated for a strong PHMSA, and the reauthorization push has the enthusiastic participation of Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, who’s district suffered a high-profile oil spill in 2010. Industry is unhappy with a Senate reauthorization passed earlier this month, and it doesn’t much like the House versions under consideration, either. “It’s really kind of bad in a bunch of different ways,” GOP lobbyist Mike McKenna said. The Energy and Commerce panel is “in full-on, ‘I want to pass something that gets signed by the president’ mode.”

The big worries: The oil industry is concerned about two proposals that could make their way into the final bill, and a key provision in the Senate bill. They would allow citizen lawsuits to force PHMSA to write required rules, allow Congress to see unredacted versions of emergency response plans, and expand PHMSA’s emergency response authority.

The schedule: The Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to pass a version of the pipeline safety bill before the end of March, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which also has jurisdiction over PHMSA, is expected to act on its own reauthorization bill later this month, with a floor vote on a combined bill anticipated before August.

HAPPY THURSDAY! I’m your host Eric Wolff, and I remember when they said programming a computer to even *play* Go was going to require quantum computing. Now a computer beat a Go master? Do you think our robot overlords will need morning newsletters? If you have any tips on surviving the robot apocalypse, or any tips, quips, or comments on energy, send them to [email protected], or follow us on Twitter @ericwolff, @Morning_Energy, and @POLITICOPro.

OBAMA AND TRUDEAU LIKELY TO PRESENT METHANE CUT PROMISES: President Barack Obama will welcome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House today, where they will likely make a show of support for slashing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, among other climate-focused commitments. State Department climate envoy Todd Stern told reporters Wednesday to expect an announcement regarding a shared goal on methane.

Cantwell asks for updated Columbia River Treaty: Sen. Maria Cantwell is sending a letter today to Trudeau asking him to appoint a Canadian team to renegotiate the Columbia River Treaty, a 55-year old treaty which governs water flows on the Columbia River through dams and for flood control. “Given the growing impact to our climate, natural environment and economy, we must find a mutually beneficial path forward to modernize the treaty.”

REPUBLICANS GET A NEW CHANCE TO TALK CLIMATE AT FLORIDA DEBATE: Tonight’s Florida debate will give Republican presidential candidates a chance to cover a subject they have generally disdained: climate change. With Florida’s coastal economy and residents directly threatened by sea level rise, a group of 21 mayors sent a letter to moderators to put climate change questions to the candidates, especially Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Up till now the candidates have generally agreed that human-caused climate change doesn’t exist or that it’s not a problem worth tackling, but the debate could give them an opportunity to differentiate themselves on the issue.

ME’s hopes aren’t up: When Republicans debated in Detroit, moderators asked one question about Flint’s water crisis, and only Rubio addressed it.

Rubio on climate change: Speaking at a town hall Wednesday night, Rubio said, “The climate is always changing — what man’s contribution is to it, that’s what people are arguing about all the time. Most scientists say man is contributing, but they can’t agree what percentage.”

DEMS DIVIDE ON CLIMATE POLICY: A question on climate change at Wednesday night’s Democratic debate exposed major differences in the potential governing styles between Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Moderator Karen Tumulty asked how each candidate would address climate change given a divided government. Clinton said, “We have to invest in resilience and mitigation. There are certain things the president has done through executive action, I will maintain them and act on them ... and when I talk about resilience, that is something I think we can get bipartisan agreement on.” Sanders returned to his theme of political revolution as essential to enacting a carbon tax and his proposal to move the country to 100 percent clean energy. He said, “You’re looking at the senator who introduced the most comprehensive legislation on climate change,” and he called for a ban on fracking.

FLINT AID NOW HELD UP BY DEMOCRATIC SEN. NELSON: Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is the latest lawmaker to put a hold on a procedural package that would allow votes aid to help Flint and amendments on a bipartisan energy bill. As Pro’s Darren Goode reports, he opposes allowing a vote on an amendment from Sen. Bill Cassidy to raise the revenue sharing cap for states adjacent to existing offshore drilling operations and authorize revenue sharing for potential drilling off the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alaska. The hold comes just as the bill sponsors seemed close to resolving an objection from Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

KERRY: WE’RE GOOD ON CROSS-BORDER PIPELINES, THANKS ANYWAY: Secretary of State John Kerry told the CBC he doesn’t see a need for additional pipelines across the Canada-U.S. border. “We have some 300 pipelines, it’s not as if we’re pipeline-less,” Kerry said in an interview the day before Prime Minister Trudeau visits D.C. “We are now exporting LNG, which nobody would have imagined a few years ago. So things change. Technologies particularly help change things.” The comments must create a sinking feeling in the hearts of Enbridge executives who await a presidential permit to expand the Alberta Clipper pipeline.

NATIONAL CO-LAB-ORATION: The Energy Department will today announce details on a $6.7 million Small Business Vouchers pilot program intended to open access to the national labs. The program will bring in small business partners to work with the national labs in clean energy, water, bioenergy, and other areas.

A message from Gevo: We need low-carbon flight. Now. Advancing toward net-zero emissions in aviation by 2050 requires the use of U.S. biofuels, including ethanol that can be converted into jet fuel. But the future of American-made sustainable aviation fuel hangs in the balance, depending on guidance pending from the U.S. Treasury Department. We believe adoption of Argonne GREET in pending Treasury guidance is essential to ensure biofuel producers can continue to contribute to cleaner flight.

FAHRVERG-NEWS-EN: VW USA CEO RESIGNS: Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, stepped down Wednesday to “pursue other opportunities effective immediately” under a mutual agreement with headquarters in Germany. As ME’s Transportation colleague Lauren Gardner writes, Horn was unable to resolve the company’s U.S. legal troubles stemming from its admission of installing software on its cars that deceived emissions tests.

CLEAN POWER PLAN LAWSUIT UPDATE: Pro’s Alex Guillén is wading through D.C. Circuit filings in 27 states’ challenge to the Clean Power Plan so you don’t have to. Today’s tidbit: The states challenging the rule say they represent 80 percent of the expected carbon emission reductions from the rule, while the 18 states backing the EPA make up 12 percent of the reductions, and include Vermont and Hawaii who aren’t effected at all.

THE WIND TURBINES BENEATH THEIR WINGS: The Fish and Wildlife Service is hawking a new rule regulating how long wind turbines would be allowed to injure or kill eagles unintentionally. The new rule was sent to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday, less than two months after the agency decided to accept a federal judge’s 2015 ruling that the first version violated the National Environmental Policy Act. The first rule extended the period companies could get a permit for eagle takes from five years to 30 years, an acknowledgment of the long lifespans of wind farms. But now the agency is going back to the drawing board. A spokesman said FWS is working on an environmental impact statement “analyzing various alternative approaches to eagle management and proposed revisions to the permit regulations” that will be open to public comment. OMB’s website offers no other clues about the proposal.

COURT SENDS MINERS, PEABODY BACK TO ARBITRATION: A federal appeals court declined to intervene in a lawsuit between the United Mine Workers of America and coal miner Peabody Energy until they complete arbitration. As ME’s Labor colleague Marianne LeVine reports, the complicated suit questions whether Peabody is still bound by a collective bargaining agreement made by a subsidiary that has since been sold. An arbitrator has already found that Peabody is bound by the agreement but has not yet worked out a remedy.

WITH SESSIONS ENDING, STATE LEGISLATURES TRY TO WRAP RENEWABLE MEASURES: Washington, Florida and Utah will end their legislative sessions this week with the fates of several energy bills hanging in the balance. In Washington, lawmakers are unlikely to pass a proposed ballot measure that would create a carbon pollution tax in the state, which means the fate of Initiative 732 will be in the hands of voters this November. The measure stalled in the legislature after the Office of Financial Management found the changes would not be revenue neutral. The grass-roots group backing it, Carbon Washington, contends OFM miscalculated.

The Florida legislature Wednesday voted to put a constitutional amendment on solar panel tax incentives on the August primary ballot instead of the November ballot to prevent voters from confusing that measure with a more controversial one utilities have proposed and recently defended in court on third-party solar rooftop options, Florida Pro’s Bruce Ritchie reports. If voters approve the measure, the legislature would have to create property tax breaks for residents or businesses with solar panels starting in 2018 and ending after 20 years.

Utah has several energy bills that could see action today, including HB 244, which would allow rooftop solar companies to create power purchase agreements with customers under net metering programs.

QUICK HITS

— Twitter Deletes Oil-Data Tweets Following Industry Complaints, WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/1QEH2ce

— Court Orders One of Japan’s Two Operating Nuclear Plants to Shut Down, NYT: http://nyti.ms/1phitti

— Smuggling Probe Focuses on Fuel Tanker’s Trail, WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/1XdX2nj

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THAT’S ALL FOR ME!

Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell

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[1] Url: https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-energy/2016/03/pro-morning-energy-wolff-213138

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