** The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a rule Tuesday that could strip protections from the majority of U.S. wetlands, saying the Supreme Court forced its hand. EPA Administrator Michael Regan called the amended Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule necessary to comply with the court’s May Sackett vs. Environmental Protection Agency decision. ** …
Category: EPA
Headlines
** In a record-breaking year of disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is announcing nearly $3 billion for communities to build resiliency against climate change-fueled extreme weather. ** Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. announced the ‘Galactic 03’ flight window will open September 8, 2023, continuing a monthly cadence of spaceflights. This would be the Company’s fourth spaceflight …
Quick reads
** An Idaho company that sold tens of thousands of emissions defeating devices on diesel trucks has been fined $1 million by the EPA. GDP Tuning and Gorilla Performance pleaded guilty and agreed to pay the fine. ** According to a survey of 5,000 Tesla Model 3 owners, the top reason that they are selling …
Energy news headlines
** An oil and gas industry trade group, the state of Louisiana and Chevron on Thursday sued the Biden administration over its decision to withdraw acreage from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico to protect an endangered whale. The suit is the latest dispute between the oil and gas industry and …
Quick energy stories
** The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will scrap its current assessment of federal smog standards and start over, a move environmental advocates called an unnecessary delay. ** A group of Virginia-based environmental and conservation groups sued the state Monday over Virginia’s withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon-capping agreement encompassing several other East Coast …
EPA hits Colorado’s Suncor Refinery with $300,000 order
Colorado’s Suncor refinery just can’t seem to avoid the headlines. The latest is a $300,000 punishment from the EPA for alleged violations of toxic chemical regulations during a 2019 release. The EPA announced Friday it had ordered the refinery to spend more than $240,000 on emergency response eqipment to improve the South Adams County …
Energy headlines
** The Biden administration on Monday continued its push toward internet-for-all by 2030, announcing about $667 million in new grants and loans to build more broadband infrastructure in the rural U.S. ** Following the unexpected loss of thermal generation and due to extreme temperatures, ERCOT is asking Texans to reduce electricity use when it is …
Energy fast reads
** Three survivors of the deadly wildfires that ravaged Maui said Wednesday that when the inferno erupted, the main escape route out of town was partly blocked by Hawaiian Electric trucks clearing downed lines and replacing busted power poles. ** U.S. natural gas trade groups are opposing federal pipeline regulators’ proposed methane leak detection rules to …
Texas spars with EPA over air pollution haze at National Parks
Texas remains in a fight with the EPA over its plan to reduce haze from air pollution at National Parks. The Environmental Protection Agency a few months ago overruled the Texas plan for the haze reduction, adding fuel to critics who said the state plan to cut sulfur emissions at coal plants a “do …
Energy briefs
** The Biden administration on Wednesday celebrated the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law President Biden signed in 2022. ** Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Wednesday said he will keep up his battle against the Biden administration and officials who seek to “undermine” the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of their …