** Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he will lead a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to undo the Biden administration’s final rule on permitting announced Tuesday morning. The Energy Department rule alters the permitting process to streamline categorical exclusions, or those that are considered not to have enough of an environmental impact to require a full review.
** The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of methylene chloride, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems.
** Florida, perhaps the most vulnerable state to sea-level rise and extreme weather, is on the verge of repealing what’s left of a 16-year-old law that lists climate change as a priority when making energy policy decisions. Instead, the state would make energy affordability and availability its main focus.
** At the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, crews plan to refloat and remove the grounded Dali container ship within roughly the next 10 days, allowing more maritime traffic to resume through Baltimore’s port.
** When regular gas prices in Seattle blew past $5 last month, it appeared to play into the hands of conservative activists and politicians who say the surefire way to bring down fuel prices is repealing Washington state’s most ambitious climate policy: a cap-and-trade program.
** Alberto, Beryl and Chris lead off the list of storm names for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially gets underway June 1. A tropical storm gets a name when its sustained winds reach 39 mph; it becomes a hurricane when its winds reach 74 mph.
** New Jersey is seeking a new round of proposals to build wind energy farms off its coastline, forging ahead with its clean energy goals even as local opposition and challenging economics create blowback to the effort.
World
** A Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth on Tuesday with three astronauts who completed a six-month mission aboard the country’s orbiting space station.
** A Portuguese-flagged container ship came under attack by a drone in the far reaches of the Arabian Sea, corresponding with a claim by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that they assaulted the ship there, authorities said Tuesday.
