TGIF! Welcome to Overnight Energy, your source for the day’s energy and environment news.
Please send tips and comments to Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin. Reach Zack Budryk at zbudryk@digital-staging.thehill.com or follow him at @BudrykZack.
Today we’re looking at a move to reverse a Trump-era rule on showerheads, the latest opposition to Tracy Stone-Manning, and Greenland putting an end to oil drilling.
SHOWER CORRUPTS: Biden moves to drop Trump showerhead rule
The Biden administration is moving forward with a plan to drop a Trump-era rule that sought to loosen restrictions on showerhead water flow — something the former president was known to complain about.
The Energy Department announced on Friday that it is taking a step toward reversing the Trump administration’s move in order to tighten showerhead efficiency regulations.
Officials said they will propose a rule reinstating the 2013 definition of “showerhead,” which the Trump administration changed. The Trump rule from late last year sought to bypass a requirement allowing no more than 2.5 gallons to flow through a showerhead per minute.
The story so far: In products containing multiple showerheads, each is considered separately under the Trump-era rule, while the Biden proposal would once again classify them all as the same showerhead to restrict the amount of water flow.
The department also said it didn’t expect its action to have a significant impact on the current marketplace, saying it has not found any new showerheads that have been introduced to the market under the Trump-era definition.
When that rule was put forward, environmental and consumer groups objected because such showerheads were expected to require the use of more energy and water.
Read more about the decision here.
LAND DISPUTE: McConnell calls for withdrawal of Biden public lands nominee
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is joining a chorus of Republicans calling on the White House to withdraw President Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management over a decades-old tree spiking incident.
Tracy Stone-Manning’s nomination has drawn GOP scrutiny because of a letter she sent in 1989 threatening tree spiking. She has denied further involvement.
“We now know that President Biden’s nominee to run the Bureau of Land Management lied to the Senate about her alleged participation in eco-terrorism,” McConnell said in a statement to The Hill, apparently referring to a Senate questionnaire in which she said she did not believe she was ever the target of a law enforcement investigation.
“The White House should immediately withdraw her nomination,” he added.
What’s the issue?: In the 1990s, Stone-Manning testified in court that she retyped and sent the tree-spiking letter after an activist told her to do so.
She said at the time that she was unaware that the tree-spiking had occurred before she was handed the letter that she retyped, and that she ultimately decided to send it because she didn’t want anyone to be injured.
“This letter is being sent to notify you that the Post Office Sale has been spiked heavily. The reasoning for this action is that this piece of land is very special to the earth,” the message in question said. “You bastards go in there anyway and a lot of people could get hurt.”
Read more about McConnell’s opposition here.
GOING GREEN: Greenland suspends oil exploration, says it takes ‘climate change seriously’
Greenland’s government announced on Thursday that it would stop issuing licenses for oil and gas exploration, saying the autonomous Danish territory takes “climate change seriously.”
“The Greenlandic government believes that the price of oil extraction is too high. This is based upon economic calculations, but considerations of the impact on climate and the environment also play a central role in the decision,” the government said in a news release.
“Against this background, Naalakkersuisut has decided to cease issuing new licenses for oil and gas exploration in Greenland. This step has been taken for the sake of our nature, for the sake of our fisheries, for the sake of our tourism industry, and to focus our business on sustainable potentials,” the government continued.
According to The Associated Press, the decision was made on June 24 but publicized Thursday.
Greenland’s history with drilling: Since the 1970s, companies such as ExxonMobil and Shell have tried to drill for oil in Greenland but mostly failed in their efforts, Reuters reported. However, the government said that a recent Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland study said there may be 18 billion derisked barrels on the island’s west coast.
Some officials were hopeful that Greenland would find oil so that the revenue generated could provide some economic independence from Denmark, the AP reported.
Read more about the announcement here.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
Climate wreckage along Chesapeake fuels courtroom reckoning, E&E News reports
Biden, Merkel fail to resolve differences about Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Reuters reports
Could the World’s Largest Green Energy Hub Redefine How Companies Work With Indigenous People?, TIME reports
Pennsylvania fines Energy Transfer $1 million for 2018 natural gas pipe blast, Reuters reports
New Zealand farmers stage huge protest over environmental rules, The Guardian reports
ON TAP NEXT WEEK:
On Tuesday:
– The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold hearings to examine 21st century communities focusing on climate change, resilience and reinsurance
– The House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the United States will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 442, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act, and H.R. 3496, the Urban Indian Health Providers Facilities Improvement Act
– The House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands will hold a hearing examining the potential for a Civilian Climate Corps
On Wednesday:
– The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on cybersecurity threats to infrastructure
– The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing on the role of the Small Business Administration in climate solutions
– The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on environmental justice
– The House Science, Space & Technology will hold a hearing on extreme heat in the U.S.
– The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Proposal for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
On Thursday:
– The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on issues adversely affecting environmental justice populations
ICYMI: Stories from Friday (and Thursday night)…
McConnell calls for withdrawal of Biden public lands nominee
Greenland suspends oil exploration, says it takes ‘climate change seriously’
Biden moves to drop Trump showerhead rule
At least 69 dead amid flooding in Western Europe
US and Germany launch climate partnership
2,000 people displaced in southern Oregon as wildfires ravage West
OFF-BEAT AND OFFBEAT: Trash bear summer