** Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) poured cold water on the idea of suspending the federal gas taxes as a way to reduce the costs of higher gas prices for consumers. ** Ruby Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline joint venture between Kinder Morgan and Pembina Pipeline , filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its debt. Kinder Morgan will continue to operate …
Category: EPA
US and World energy headlines
** President Joe Biden is preparing to order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve, according to two people familiar with the decision, in a bid to control energy prices that have spiked as the U.S. and allies have imposed steep sanctions on Russia …
Energy Department announces first recipients of Local Energy Action Program
The Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska is among 22 inaugural communities that the Department of Energy announced this week to be chosen as part of the Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP), a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to help energy-overburdened communities take direct control of their clean energy future. The 22 communities will receive direct support …
EPA reverses Enlist decision
Complaints from Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas and others in Congress as well as the agricultural community, the Environmental Protection Agency reversed its decision on two herbicide products. The EPA rescinded its Enlist One and Enlist Duo registration and expanded its use in all of Oklahoma counties according to an announcement by the congressman. …
More energy headlines
** Senate Democrats who are part of the chamber’s Climate Change Task Force are calling for a multi-step strategy to achieve energy independence by transitioning to renewable energy over the next 500 days. At a meeting of the task force Tuesday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) outlined a series of reforms that he said would achieve the goal without increased reliance …
Additional energy headlines
** The fiscal year 2023 request unveiled Monday by President Biden would boost government-wide spending on climate and clean energy programs to almost $45 billion, the White House said. ** U.S. new vehicle sales could fall to the lowest first-quarter volume in the past decade as chip shortages and the Ukraine crisis squeeze inventories and rising prices push …
Study critical of polluted water in Oklahoma and other states
A new report by an environmental group contends that half of US water is too polluted for swimming, fishing or drinking and that includes parts of Oklahoma’s waterways and lakes and reservoirs. The report was released by the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit created by former Environmental Protection Agency attorneys. They published a report that …
Lucas fights new EPA pesticide restrictions
Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) joined fellow House Republicans voicing frustrations towards the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency’s actions of issuing restrictive registrations on Enlist One and Enlist Duo. The Agency has also recently proposed a new registration process for new pesticide active ingredients that could severely limit producers’ access to important pesticides. “I am deeply …
Other energy headlines
** Environmentalists urge the U.S. Interior Department to block a ConocoPhillips Arctic drilling project, saying it doesn’t mesh with the Biden administration’s conservation goals. ** Environmental groups sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying oil and gas development is driving a California lizard to extinction. ** California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes an $11 billion gasoline-price relief package that would include a …
More energy headlines
** The Biden administration has asked U.S. oil and gas producers to drill more as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed gasoline prices higher. But, at the same time, it has taken a somewhat hostile tone, blaming the industry for not bringing prices down quickly enough. ** Should oil prices explode to $200 a barrel as some …
