PETERS WEIGHS IN ON WESTERMAN NEPA BILL: Rep. Bruce Westerman ’s draft proposal to amend the National Environmental Policy Act is set to be discussed in the House Natural Resources Committee tomorrow. But a number of observers have noted that Democratic Rep. Scott Peters is not on the bill, despite reports of the duo working together on a bipartisan permitting reform proposal.
Zoom in: We caught up with Peters Monday night to ask why he hasn’t backed the bill. While he said that he likes a lot of what’s in it, he mentioned that there are portions of the bill that are “counterproductive.”
Specifically, Peters said he has an issue with provisions that would limit the scope of NEPA to the jurisdiction of a certain agency, arguing that it “provides more things to fight over in litigation.”
What he wants to be considered in the bill: Peters said that he wants to have decisions be based on one singular environmental impact statement, rather than having multiple EISs that could conflict on a project. He also mentioned that he wanted to speed up the litigation process, noting that when a case on a project heads to court, it usually takes several years to resolve.
“When it gets to court, it takes too long, and I think we haven't tackled that yet,” Peters told Nancy in an interview. He noted there are litigation reforms in his forest restoration permitting bill with Westerman that he would like to see included in the new NEPA bill.
Why this matters: Peters and Westerman have been working together on a compromise permitting reform effort for some time, but have yet to reach a deal. Westerman said his draft bill could be seen as a complement to the Senate proposal introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso .
While Peters, who’s not a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, isn’t slated to appear at tomorrow’s legislative hearing (he told us he has other committee priorities, but did ask to get waived on) he attended a meeting between the four major permitting heads – Westerman, Manchin, and Barrasso – last night, Westerman told us. The House Natural Resources Committee chairman said the quad discussed timelines on each of the chambers’ efforts. Westerman also mentioned that a mark-up of the bill is to be expected later this month.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment writer Nancy Vu ( @NancyVu99 ). Email nancy.vu@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here . If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
GROWING MOVEMENT TO MANDATE AIR CONDITIONING IN RENTAL UNITS: Officials and tenants’ rights groups are seeking to advance requirements for air conditioning in a growing number of cities, Bloomberg reports .
Why this is happening: The number of heat-related deaths has risen in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and some cities have seen worsening heat waves.
What is being proposed: A proposal in New York City would mandate that landlords install air conditioning and keep temperatures below 78 degrees Fahrenheit during hot summer nights. Los Angeles has taken steps toward an ordinance mandating a “safe maximum temperature threshold” for rental units. Some Canadian cities are pursuing similar measures. Some cities already have similar requirements, including Houston and Dallas.
Of note, landlord groups have generally opposed the measures, saying that they would be forced to raise rents in response.
DEMOCRATS PRESS OIL EXECUTIVES ON $1B REQUEST FROM TRUMP: Top congressional Democrats demanded further responses from oil executives to questions about the reported solicitation of $1 billion in campaign donations from Donald Trump , saying that the answers provided thus far have been “woefully inadequate.”
Who is doing the asking: The questions were posed in letters sent by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse , chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; Sen. Ron Wyden , chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; and Rep. Jamie Raskin , ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. All three had previously sought answers from the industry figures regarding the April event at which Trump reportedly made the ask – just one of several lines of investigation by congressional Democrats of the oil industry.
The lawmakers said that none of the executives so far has refuted the accuracy of the reporting about Trump’s request. They demanded more information, writing that they have the “right to investigate and regulate the cold-cash commodification of government process.”
Who is being asked: Letters were sent to executives at Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Continental Resources, Chesapeake Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Venture Global LNG, Cheniere Energy, EQT Corporation, and the American Petroleum Institute.
THE POPULARITY OF IRA SOLAR INCENTIVES : Nearly 90% of American voters support the clean energy tax incentives in Democrats’ climate bill – including 78% of 2020 Trump voters, a new poll shows.
The poll – released by the Solar Energy Industries Association, along with polling organizations Global Strategy Group and North Star Opinion Research – found that clean energy incentives were largely popular across political lines. So popular, in fact, that it could play a factor in downballot races, the poll outlines.
According to the report, when a congressional ballot is reframed between a Democrat who wants to keep clean energy incentives and a Republican who wants to repeal them, the Democrat leads by 17 points. The survey compared this to a generic ballot asking if voters would vote for a Democratic or Republican candidate, with Democrats leading the GOP candidate by three points – marking a 14 point net increase.
However: The survey did not test for how salient energy issues were in comparison to other issues, such as abortion or the border.
Why this matters: Data highlighting the popularity of the clean energy incentives among voters in both parties could cause some hesitation among GOP members to repeal portions of the IRA, as Trump has pledged to do if he were to win the White House. Trump, however, has been mum on his views on solar, compared to his explicit opposition to technologies such as EVs.
Eighteen House GOP members have warned against repealing the clean energy incentives within the IRA – potentially splitting the party if Republicans win a governing trifecta next year.
UN CLIMATE CONFERENCE UNDER CRITICISM FROM TOP DEMOCRAT: Senior Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin took aim at Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s global climate conference also known as COP29.
International leaders are scheduled to gather in Baku in mid-November, nearly one year after the nation between Asia and Europe was selected as the host.
Some background : Azerbaijan has been repeatedly criticized for hosting the climate conference, particularly for its economy’s dependence on oil and gas production and its burning of fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency estimates that oil and gas make up around 90% of Azerbaijan’s export revenue, supporting around 60% of the nation’s federal budget. Azerbaijan has defended its oil and gas production, even saying it hopes to raise funds from fossil fuel producers for green projects. However, critics have blasted this as “green washing.”
The latest : The Maryland senator criticized Azerbaijan for failing to recognize “freedoms of speech and assembly,” pointing to the imprisonment of Armenian and environmental activists as well as members of the press.
“Hosting a major international conference like COP29 should come with responsibilities and expectations that host countries allow frank discussion of information and issues, which requires recognizing freedoms of speech and assembly,” Cardin said. “Azerbaijan has not done so.”
He called on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to release the activists he said were detained after protesting poor labor practices and environmental impacts of operations in the Chovdar gold mine. Cardin has called on the nation to release the detainees before November.
RUNDOWN
E&E News Harris sticks to broad strokes on energy policy
Politico Europe’s new normal: High energy bills, fading industry and one chance to fix it
Associated Press As warming threatens polar bear tourism, a Canadian town adapts and thrives
The Guardian How China and a tariffs row cast a shadow over booming US solar power
Joseph Lawler and Callie Patteson contributed to this newsletter.
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