This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 10:00 a.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT receives the President’s Daily Brief | Oval Office 12:30 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT arrives at the White House… Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Revival of the Comprehensive Energy Bill Last week, by unanimous consent, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced 11 bills governing energy infrastructure and efficiency. The bills address a range of issues including: skill preparation for energy-related jobs; improvement to hydroelectric licensing; retrofits for schools; increasing energy and water efficiency for federal facilities … Continue Reading
Executive Branch Activity New Guidance Clarifying Energy Executive Order Last week, just four days before federal agencies’ initial plans were due to OMB, the White House issued a memo updating with more specifics as to how President Trump expects agencies to carry out his previously issued energy executive order (Executive Order 13783, “Promoting Energy Independence and … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity WOTUS Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated its plans to solicit comments by June 19 as to how the agency should rewrite the “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule following President Trump’s February 28 executive order (EO) directing the agency to revise the contentious Obama Administration rule. Following the EO, EPA … Continue Reading
Executive Action Waters of the US On Tuesday, February 28, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to revise or rescind the Obama Administration’s controversial “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule which defines the scope of the federal government’s regulatory … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity New Congress As a result of the November 8 elections, we will have a new Administration and Congress taking office on January 20, 2017. For a comprehensive view of what to expect for the energy, environment and natural resources community, click here for our 2016 Post-Election Analysis. WOTUS Also on Tuesday, November 8, … Continue Reading
Legislative Action Energy Bill Last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released a 50-page section-by-section of the recently passed S. 2012 Energy Modernization Policy Act of 2016. Looking forward to a potential conference of the Senate and House energy bills, Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently … Continue Reading
Legislative Action Senate Energy Policy Modernization Act Last week the Senate voted to pass S. 2012 the Energy Modernization Act of 2016 with a strong, almost unheard of bi-partisan vote of 85-12, including numerous amendments impacting a majority of the United States. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has since been … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Expected to Consider Energy-Water Appropriations Act on Floor, MilCon-VA Likely Next The Senate is expected to consider the FY 2017 Energy and Water Development (Energy-Water) Appropriations Act on the floor this week (full text available here), and will likely move on to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act next. … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Last week, pursuant to a request by Congress in 2010, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft report on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing activities on drinking water resources in the United States. The activities covered in the assessment include: water acquisition, chemical mixing, well … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Waters of the U.S. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers announced the issuance of their final rule defining “Waters of the U.S.” However, according to the EPA, the rule could take up two weeks to be published in the Federal Register. Once published, the rule will … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Offshore Wind The Department of Energy has released a request for information (RFI) to better understand challenges facing the offshore wind industry. Responses are due June 22. Legislative Activity Pipelines on Federal Lands On Wednesday, May 20, the House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, will hold a hearing to … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Following the regulatory process, on Friday, April 3, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent its proposed rule concerning the “Definition of the Waters of the U.S” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for interagency review. At that time, EPA also released a statement about the proposed … Continue Reading