** A barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, resulting in an oil spill. The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office told a local news outlet that a giant part of the bridge fell off after the incident occurred. exas A&M University at Galveston said that the Pelican Island Bridge is currently “closed to all traffic …
Category: EPA
Energy briefs
** Demolition experts used explosives Monday to remove part of a collapsed bridge in Baltimore and free a cargo ship that has been trapped since it rammed into the structure in March. ** The White House on Monday gave a Chinese-linked company and its partners 120 days to sell property they had bought near a …
Continental Resources takes on the EPA over methane rules
A challenge by Oklahoma City’s Continental Resources to the new Environmental Protection Agency rule on methane standards for the oil and gas industry contends the EPA illegally expanded its authority beyond what is authorized. Continental was joined by Oklahoma and Texas and 22 other states in taking on the giant agency used by …
Attorneys General oppose government’s new appliance rules
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has joined other state attorneys general in a comment letter opposing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) direct final rule that will prescribe energy conservation standards for appliances, including refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers and freezers. The fight against the Energy Department did not include Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond who has been actively …
Energy briefs
** Former President Donald Trump is more than happy to fulfill the oil and gas industry’s wish list if he’s reelected — but he has an asking price. Trump reportedly solicited top oil and gas executives to give $1 billion for his campaign to return to the White House, vowing in return to undo many of President Joe Biden’s …
Attorney General Drummond keeps his word about challenging the EPA
When Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond went before a House committee hearing this week, he indicated he would not back off his challenges with what he suggested was the EPA’s burdensome rules and regulations. Drummond didn’t wait long to show Congress and the EPA he meant business as he is leading a 14-state coalition in filing …
Energy briefs
** Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Wednesday joined Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) to announce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s new rules on energy permitting, following a pledge Manchin made last week. ** Walmart Inc. now has one Tesla semi-truck on the …
Choctaw Nation gets $5 million Energy grant for storage system in Poteau
A $5 million U.S. Energy Department grant has been awarded the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma to help with construction of a battery energy storage system in Poteau. The Department’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations announced the awarding of the grant as part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program. The …
EPA Administrator grilled by Sen. Mullin about rules resulting in higher food costs
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Maarkwayne Mullin grilled EPA Administrator Michael Regan this week, criticizing the agency’s rules that are adding to the food costs for Americans. “Under Joe Biden, costs have skyrocketed over 17 percent,” said Sen. Mullin. “While Oklahoma families are struggling to put food on the table, Joe Biden’s EPA is regulating entrepreneurs out …
Proposed electrical transmission corridor to run across Oklahoma
The Biden administration unveiled 10 proposed electric transmission pathways to expand the nation’s power grid and one of them runs across Oklahoma. They are formally called 10 potential National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) to accelerate the development of transmission projects in areas that present what Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called “an urgent …