Several US States Likely Withheld from Offshore Drilling Plan
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has hinted to at least six coastal states that he will keep their waters out of a looming plan to expand U.S. offshore drilling, telling some they lack enough oil to be included anyway, according to state officials and transcripts from public hearings.Zinke's comments are the clearest indication to date that the Trump administration’s initial proposal to open nearly all U.S.
Fight over Alaska Arctic Drilling has Just Begun
Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, won a decades-long battle on Wednesday to open part of an Arctic wildlife reserve in her state to oil and gas drilling, but Democratic senators and conservationists vow the war has only begun. The tax bill passed by Congress contains language pushed by Murkowski and supported by President Donald Trump to hold two lease sales in the 1.5 million-acre (600…
Arctic Oil Expansion Panned by Scientists
A group of 37 U.S.-based scientists whose research focuses on Arctic wildlife asked two U.S. senators in a letter on Thursday not to open the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, according to a copy seen by Reuters. The scientists, including several retired former officials from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S.
Trump's Interior Pick Expected to be Confirmed
President Donald Trump's pick to head the Interior Department is expected to be confirmed easily by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning as the White House seeks to increase fossil fuel production from federal lands. U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke said in his confirmation hearing last month he would consider an expansion of energy drilling and mining on federal lands but would ensure that sensitive areas were protected.
Trump's Energy Pick Perry Softens Stance on Climate Change
Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the U.S. Energy Department, said during his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday that global warming caused by humans is real, but that efforts to combat it should not cost American jobs. The comment marks a shift for the former Texas governor who had previously called the science behind climate change "unsettled" and a "contrived, phony mess".
Trump Interior Pick to Clarify Stance on Federal Land Development
A U.S. Senate committee will grill President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of the Interior, Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday that was likely to focus on how he would balance development and conservation on America's vast public lands. The former Navy SEAL commander, an avid hunter and angler, emerged as a surprise pick to head the department…
Trump Interior Pick to Discuss Federal Land Policy
A U.S. Senate committee will grill President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of the Interior, Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana, during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday that is likely to focus on how he would balance development and conservation on America's vast public lands. The former Navy SEAL commander, an avid hunter and angler, emerged as…
US DoE Unfairly Criticized: Kemp
The U.S. Department of Energy has become a lightning rod for criticism in parts of the Republican Party and the fossil fuels industry unhappy about the Obama administration's energy and climate policies. Presidential candidate Rick Perry promised to abolish the Department of Energy along with the Departments of Commerce and Education during a debate in 2011. Perry's…
U.S. Senate Starts Debate on Broad Energy Bill
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday began debate on the country's first major energy bill in over eight years, featuring measures aimed at protecting the electric power grid against cyber attacks and speeding the export of liquefied natural gas. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican chair of the Senate energy committee and Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, its ranking Democrat…
Obama Prodded on Coal Carbon Costs
Democratic U.S. senators on Monday urged the Obama administration to reform the federal coal mine program to include costs of the fuel's carbon emissions and potentially raise royalties paid by companies that mine the fuel on public lands. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the senate energy panel, and seven other senators asked Interior Secretary…
US Senators Introduce Bill to Limit Offshore Drilling
A group of U.S. Senators on the West Coast have introduced a bill Wednesday aiming to prohibit offshore drilling on the outer continental shelf of California, Oregon and Washington. First introduced in 2010, the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently block drilling off the U.S. The legislation was introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)…
US Senate Democrats Unveil Climate-focused Energy Bill
Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled energy legislation focused on cleaner energy production, manufacturing and vehicles that they say would slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 34 percent by 2025, surpassing the goal pledged by the Obama administration for U.N. climate talks. The bill, announced by Senate Democratic party leaders and the energy committee's chair…
White House Does Not Back US House Bill to Repeal Oil Export Ban
The White House said on Tuesday it does not support a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exports of crude oil. "This is a policy decision that is made over at the Commerce Department, and for that reason, we wouldn't support legislation like the one that's been put forward by Republicans," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a briefing.
US Sen. Murkowski Plans Bill to Kill Oil Export Ban
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Thursday she will unveil a bill next week to reverse the U.S. oil export ban in an effort to build support for killing the 1970s-era restriction that drillers say threatens to choke the domestic energy boom. Murkowski, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she will unveil the bill on Tuesday, although it was uncertain when the measure would get a vote in her committee.
North Dakota's Train Safety Rules Inadequate
New regulations to cap vapor pressure of North Dakota crude fail to account for how it behaves in transit, according to industry experts, raising doubts about whether the state's much-anticipated rules will make oil train shipments safer. High vapor pressure has been identified as a possible factor in the fireball explosions witnessed after oil train derailments in Illinois and West Virginia in recent weeks.
Senators Murray, Cantwell Introduce American Port Legislation
U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell introduced today The Maritime Goods Movement Act for the 21st Century, new legislation that would support the American trade economy and significantly strengthen American ports. The legislation would replace the outdated Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), which is designed to fund the operation and maintenance of American ports, but currently incentivizes shippers to bypass American ports and move U.S.
Senator to Introduce Oil Spill Prevention Legislation
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has state that she intends to introduce legislation to reduce the risk of an oil spill in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca by, among other things, doubling the tug escort requirement for all oil tankers over 5,000 gross tons operating in Puget Sound and Prince William Sound; requiring a permanent rescue tug at Neah Bay; and providing financial support for the Washington State Oil Spill Advisory Council.
