** The Biden administration turned down a request for federal disaster assistance from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in the aftermath of the train derailment in the state earlier this month that led to a large release of toxic chemicals. ** Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shifted part of the blame for the recent derailment of a train carrying toxic …
Category: EPA
Briefs of other energy stories
** Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally issued a statement on the train derailment (which has since developed into a toxic chemical environmental disaster) in Ohio on Monday evening — but as his statement came a full ten days after the derailment occurred, critics were less than impressed with his response. ** A report from nonprofit group Local Solar for …
Energy briefs
** The Biden administration confirmed Feb. 13 that the U.S. Energy Department (DOE) will be selling 26 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an attempt to counter forthcoming Russian oil production cuts — and to provide preventive relief for another potential summer gas price surge. ** Ford Motor Tuesday said it’s pausing …
Sen. Mullin gets assignments on Environment and Public Works Committee
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin learned his Senate Environment and Public Works Committee assignments this week. He not only succeeded retired U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe in winning last November’s election, but Mullin also replaced Inhofe on the Environment and Public Works Committee he once chaired. Sen. Mullin, who is now the state’s freshman Senator, …
Court rules against New Mexico in its fight against nuclear waste storage site
New Mexico’s legal challenge to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to grant a license to store nuclear waste in the state was thrown out by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. A three-judge panel ruled New Mexico had no legal standing or jurisdiction to bring its lawsuit under the Hobbs Act and …
Senators target Biden EPA and its new anti-trucking emissions rule
“Yeah, we definitely got the front door, good buddyMercy sake’s alive, looks like we got us a convoy” The lyrics from C.W. McCall’s 1967 hit song “Convoy” might best describe the fight Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford and Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska are taking to the White House over EPA regulations on heavy-duty vehicle …
Headlines
** California Governor Gavin Newsom called for federal energy regulators to investigate a recent hike in natural gas prices that has resulted in sky-high utility bills. Newsom, a Democrat, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a letter to look into whether market manipulation, anticompetitive behavior or other activities have driven up the cost of …
Energy headlines
** The National Fire Protection Association believes firefighters are at greater risk responding to electrical vehicle fires than typical vehicle fires, in part due to a general lack of understanding. ** Senator Joe Manchin accused US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen of “not following the law” on electric vehicle tax credits as automakers push the …
Kansas to sue Biden administration over lesser prairie chicken decision
The Biden administration’s plans to list the lesser prairie chicken as a “threatened” species prompted Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach to say he will file suit over the move. Kobach contends the administration’s move is not only illegal but potentially devastating to landowners and businesses in Kansas reported the Kansas Reflector. The decision by …
Energy headlines
** The U.S. EPA confirms it’s investigating claims that Texas regulators aren’t doing enough to enforce clean air and water rules. ** A bipartisan group of senators are introducing a bill aimed at limiting the sales of oil from the country’s emergency supply to entities controlled by China. The bill was put forward Wednesday and spearheaded by Sens. …