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The Big Story
Pipeline backer asks Supreme Court to overturn ruling halting construction
The company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline asked the Supreme Court to intervene after a U.S. circuit court ordered a halt to construction on a segment.
The pipeline operator is urging the Supreme Court to get involved after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., last week ordered a stay in response to a lawsuit from the Wilderness Society.
The operator argues the Richmond court doesn’t have jurisdiction after the deal to raise the federal debt ceiling earlier this year — which included approval for the pipeline — removed the Fourth Circuit’s authority in the case.
That legislation, which transferred jurisdiction to an appellate court in Washington, D.C., “unambiguously deprives the Fourth Circuit of jurisdiction over the petitions for review by withdrawing statutory jurisdiction to review challenges to the agency actions at issue in these cases,” Mountain Valley attorneys wrote.
“Those provisions could not be more clear, and no party disputes that, if the statute is applied by its terms, these petitions for review must be dismissed,” the request added.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
The National Weather Service is warning an “extremely dangerous heat wave” is expected to continue over the Southwest this week and is expected to start spreading eastward Monday.
Meteorologists struggled to explain “Smokeageddon,” the acrid campfire haze that settled over the East Coast and Midwest last month, and with good reason: It was unprecedented.
A California bill that could allow more homes to be quickly built in coastal areas has sparked a fierce legislative battle, as the state contends with a chronic housing shortage. The bill, which would …
News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:
For decades, South Caroline farmers have fertilized fields with sludge. It could be having toxic impacts (The State)
For Florida’s Hurricane Ian survivors, extreme heatis a ‘second disaster’ (The Washington Post)
Chicago’s Deep Tunnel can’t handle storms fueled by climate change (The Chicago Tribune)
Texas oil wells are leaking toxic waste, and no one wants to pay to clean it (The Houston Chronicle)
Environmental Groups Ask EPA to Shield Public From Abandoned Lead Cables (The Wall Street Journal)
On Tap Tomorrow
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
A Department of Energy official on Tuesday is slated to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in a hearingon regulations for appliances.
The House Financial Services panel will hold a hearing related to ESG regulationsslated to feature officials from the Federal Reserve Board, FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee‘s Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will hold a hearing titled “American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Updating Policies for Efficient, Predictable Licensing and Deployment.”
The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing July 18 concerning the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.
Upcoming Event
The Hill’s Clean Energy Permitting Reform: The Path Ahead — Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 8-10 a.m. ET | National Press Club
Join The Hill on July 26 as we convene lawmakers, clean energy experts and executives to discuss renewable energy infrastructure deployment, reaching clean energy goals and the outlook for greater reforms.
Guests include:
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), member of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee
Maria Robinson, director, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy
Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), vice chair of the Energy, Climate & Grid Security Subcommittee and vice chair of the Federal Lands Subcommittee
Xan Fishman, director of energy policy & carbon management at the Bipartisan Policy Center
Shannon Baker-Branstetter, senior director, domestic climate & energy policy, Center for American Progress
Heather Reams, president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES)
Jesse Simons, co-founder & chief commercial officer at SOLARCYCLE
Republican senators say they’re worried that conservative populism, though always a part of the GOP, is beginning to take over the party, becoming more radical and threatening to cause them significant political problems heading into the 2024 election. Read more
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing fierce backlash over his claims that the COVID-19 virus was manipulated to target white and Black people while avoiding Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. Read more
