Overnight Energy: Trump vows to bring ‘American energy dominance’

by Timothy Cama - 06/29/17 5:59 PM ET

DEPARTMENT OF DOMINANCE: President Trump brought his “energy dominance” pitch to the Department of Energy’s headquarters Thursday, along with some actions aimed at boosting nuclear energy and fossil fuels.

“The golden era of American energy is now underway. And I’ll go a step further: the golden era of America is now underway, believe me,” Trump told the fossil fuel industry executives, workers, lawmakers and others assembled.

“Our country is blessed with true energy abundance, which we didn’t know of even five years ago and certainly 10 years ago,” he continued.

“With these incredible resources, my administration will seek not only the American energy independence that we’ve been looking for so long, but American energy dominance.”

{mosads}Trump came prepared with a handful of minor policy announcements that he said would bring the United States further to his “energy dominance” goal.

The biggest of the announcements was that he is seeking a review of federal policies to see what is standing in the way of a thriving nuclear power industry.

“We will begin to revive and expand our nuclear energy sector, which I’m so happy about, which produces clean, renewable and emissions-free energy,” he said.

“A complete review of U.S. nuclear energy policy will help us find new ways to revitalize this crucial energy resource.”

It’s unclear how much Trump could do to help nuclear. Utilities have announced plans to close numerous plants in recent years, falling victim to competition from cheap natural gas and renewable power.

Nonetheless, nuclear’s supporters welcomed the announcement.

Trump’s Interior Department is also kicking off the process to expand offshore oil and natural gas drilling.

“Under the previous administration, so much of our land was closed to development. We’re opening it up. The right areas, we’re opening it up,” Trump said.

“America will be allowed to access the vast energy wealth located right off our shores.”

The action kicks off a multistep process of writing a new five-year plan for federal sales of offshore drilling rights. The Obama administration, which left the Atlantic and Arctic oceans out of its lease plan for 2017 to 2022, took around two years to write its plan.

Read more here.

‘Right under the wall’: Among Trump’s energy announcements was the State Department’s approval of a new petroleum products pipeline to Mexico, which the president said would go “right under” the border wall he wants to build.

“My administration has just approved construction of a new petroleum pipeline to Mexico, which will further boost American energy exports,” Trump said.

“And that’ll go right under the wall, right?”

“Have it go down a little deeper in that one section, you know. A little, like this,” he said, pantomiming a dipping motion with his hand. “Right under the wall.”

Trump was referring to the Burgos Pipeline, a joint venture between NuStar Logistics and an affiliate of Petróleos Mexicanos that would cross the border between McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Read more here.

Throw in some ‘fake news’: Even a focused speech at the Energy Department isn’t immune from Energy Week’s non-energy distractions.

Trump took a moment out of his speech to attack the news media, labeling CNN as “fake news.”

Trump spoke about decades-old fears the U.S. was running out of oil, saying “it was fake.”

“Don’t we love that term, fake? What we’ve learned about fake over the last little while. Fake News. CNN — fake,” Trump said. “Whoops, their camera just went off.”

Read more here.

COURT OVERTURNS EPA COAL JOBS DECISION: A federal appeals court early Thursday overturned a lower court’s decision that had required that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) write a report on how its regulations have affected coal industry jobs.

The Richmond, Va.-based Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the legal provision at issue does not allow for lawsuits to force the EPA to conduct coal job studies.

A West Virginia federal judge ruled last year that the EPA has to write a report on how Clean Air Act regulations impact coal-industry jobs. Coal mining company Murray Energy Corp. had sued to force the study, citing a Clean Air Act provision requiring ongoing job evaluations.

But the appeals court said that the section of the Clean Air Act allowing for lawsuits does not cover the coal jobs requirement.

“This statutory language, in our view, does not impose on the EPA a specific and discrete duty” subject to lawsuits, the three-judge panel, all of whom were nominated by former President Obama, wrote in its opinion. “Rather, Section 321(a) — when read as a whole — imposes on the EPA a broad, open-ended statutory mandate.

“A court is ill-equipped to supervise this continuous, complex process.”

Read more here.

SENATE ENERGY BILL RETURNS: The Senate’s broad energy reform bill came back from the grave Thursday.

The legislation from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has few changes from a bill the upper chamber passed last year.

The bill, dubbed the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017, has a wide variety of provisions, centered on energy efficiency, infrastructure and cybersecurity, as well as federal land management and sportsmen’s access.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fast-tracked the bill late Wednesday by putting it on the floor calendar.

McConnell would still need to formally bring up the bill with a separate action in order for the Senate to vote on it, an action he has not announced yet. But putting it on the calendar allows it to skip through committee consideration.

Read more here.

METHANE LAWSUIT?: Fifteen Democratic attorneys general are threatening the Trump administration with a lawsuit for not regulating methane emissions sufficiently.

The attorneys general, led by New York’s Eric Schneiderman, told EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that they intend to sue the EPA if it does not move forward to limit methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry.

The EPA under former President Barack Obama wrote a regulation last year limiting methane emissions from new oil and gas wells. But the Trump administration is working to repeal that.

The planned lawsuit from the attorneys general argues that the Trump administration is obligated now to regulate methane from existing wells.

The Obama administration had planned to write such rules, but didn’t finish before Trump’s inauguration.

“Again and again, the Trump administration puts the interests of polluters before the health and safety of New Yorkers. But we’ve made clear: we won’t hesitate to fight back,” Schneiderman said in a statement.

“EPA has a clear legal obligation to control methane pollution. It’s continued failure to do so is not only illegal, but undermines public health and our environment, while squandering annual savings of over $100 million.”

AROUND THE WEB:

Oregon lawmakers are refusing to fund Gov. Kate Brown’s (D) effort to reduce air pollution, the Oregonian reports.

An area in northern China is experiencing its worst drought on record, The New York Times reports.

Rocky Mountain Power made filings Thursday to expand wind power in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, the Deseret News reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Thursday’s stories …

– Trump approves US-Mexico pipeline: ‘That’ll go right under the wall’

– Trump vows to create ‘American energy dominance’

– Senators introduce new bipartisan energy bill

– Germany’s Merkel ready to confront Trump over Paris climate deal

– Appeals court overturns decision requiring EPA coal jobs report

– Trump taps Dem Senate aide for energy commission