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— Donald Trump emerged as the top target last night as 10 Democratic presidential contenders touted how they’d tackle climate change.
— A senior official at the Energy Department’s National Energy Technology Laboratory is again pressing FERC to link power plant fuel security to the goals of the Trump administration’s rejected coal and nuclear support proposal.
— The Senate passed sweeping targets for toxic PFAS chemicals in its annual defense bill.
WELCOME TO FRIDAY! I’m your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. Natural Resources Defense Council’s Ed Chen gets the trivia win for knowing that CBS News’ Howard K. Smith moderated the first ever televised debate in 1960. For today: Who is the only Senate pro tempore to later become president? Send your tips, energy gossip and comments to ktamborrino@politico.com.
POLITICO’s 2020: The Issues is the most comprehensive guide anywhere to the issues shaping the Democratic presidential primary, driven by dozens of expert journalists in the nation’s most robust newsroom covering policy and politics.
DEMOCRATS CLIMATE PLAN: BEAT TRUMP: The climate questions came and went again last night, and while some Democratic candidates used the time to tout their policy plans, President Donald Trump emerged as the top talking point.
“What the president of the United States should do is not deny the reality of climate change,” said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, “but tell the rest of the world that instead of spending a trillion-and-a-half dollars on weapons of destruction, let’s get together for the common enemy, that is to transform the world energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden pushed back on host Chuck Todd’s assertion that former President Barack Obama never made headway on climate during his administration, pointing out his success in driving the Paris climate agreement (which Trump has promised to exit).
“You are so underestimating what Barack Obama did. He is the first man to bring together the entire world — 196 nations — to commit to deal with climate change,” he said, before adding, “The first thing I would do is make sure that we defeat Donald Trump. Period.” Biden also called for building 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S.
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper knocked the Green New Deal — the first reference to the proposal in either debate — saying its call to guarantee jobs for everyone was a socialistic policy, and that he would seek compromises with the energy industry that he pursued in Colorado.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigeig called attention to soil management in rural America. “Rural America can be part of the solution instead of being told they are part of the problem,” he said. And California Sen. Kamala Harris said the climate crisis “represents an existential threat to us as a species.”
“The fact that we have a president of the United States who has embraced science fiction over science fact will be to our collective peril,” she added.
Green groups like the youth-led Sunrise Movement cheered responses like the one from Harris, but again complained the questions did not dig deep enough. Sierra Club National Political Director Ariel Hayes in a statement called the climate sections of both nights “insufficient,” though they proved Democrats were willing to discuss the issue.
“First, the Democratic candidates are prepared and eager to have the deep, substantive discussion on tackling the climate crisis which we critically need. Second, the DNC’s strategy of relying on TV networks to make that happen without a dedicated time and space is simply not going to work,” she said.
— Related: Hours before taking the debate stage, Biden signed on to the “No Fossil Fuel Money” pledge, swearing off money from oil executives, lobbyists or PACs. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet also signed the pledge this week.
NOPR FIGHT NOT OVER: At FERC’s annual technical conference Thursday, Peter Balash, associate director for systems engineering and analysis at NETL, told the regulators should “recognize the spirit” of DOE’s failed 2017 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to support struggling power plants by ordering a study of whether utilities keep enough fuel on site to maintain grid reliability, Pro’s Gavin Bade reports.
If FERC were to follow through on that request, Balash contended, it could shed more light on whether federal intervention is necessary to prevent aging coal and nuclear plants from retiring in the face of competition from cheap natural gas and renewable energy.
“To the extent that you retire coal and nuclear you increase stress on the natural gas system,” Balash added. “If you retire those units because of these short-term pressures you will put a lot of stress on the system should a repeat of the 2018 [cold snap] occur.” (Balash has made this case before.)
But Democratic Commissioner Rich Glick took issue with the idea, saying he did not see evidence to support enhanced concern about on-site fuel supplies or higher payments for plants. “The commission voted 5-0 to reject the DOE NOPR, and we didn’t believe there was sufficient evidence to support what the Department of Energy proposed,” he said. “Where’s the evidence on reliability? Because I’m still waiting to see it.”
I’LL BSEE-ING YOU: Doug Morris, Interior’s top offshore drilling safety regulator, has left the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, according to an internal email seen by Pro’s Ben Lefebvre. Morris had worked at BSEE since November 2011 and will be replaced with Stacey Noem as the Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs chief, according to the email BSEE Director Scott Angelle sent to staff Thursday. The one-paragraph email gave no indication as to exactly when or why Morris left the job.
CONFIRMED: Before heading out of town for the July Fourth recess, the Senate confirmed by voice vote Robert Wallace to be assistant Interior secretary for fish and wildlife and parks and Lane Genatowski to be director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy at DOE.
— Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on the nomination of Peter Wright to run EPA’s Superfund office. Wright was re-nominated earlier this year, after Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) torpedoed a deal in which EPA would have made several policy concessions in order to get Wright confirmed in 2018 as part of a year-end package of nominees, as POLITICO reported.
EPA RESPONDS: EPA officials responded to a letter from the Society of Environmental Journalists that called the agency’s rule to consolidate all FOIA requests into a central office “unlawful.” EPA refuted the letter, writing: “The Agency’s updated regulation does not grant political officials’ additional authority to review or withhold FOIA documents, their authority will remain consistent with the authority granted to them under the past regulation.”
SENATE PASSES PFAS PROVISIONS: The Senate put into motion Thursday new standards on toxic PFAS contamination for both the military and EPA. The chamber passed the National Defense Authorization Act, S. 1790 (116), that includes a host of provisions to tackle the toxic chemicals, your ME host reports.
The Senate’s package includes compromise legislation from the Environment and Public Works Committee that would require EPA to set an enforceable drinking water limit within two years for the chemicals PFOA and PFOS — the two best-studied chemicals in the PFAS class, as well as a three-year phaseout of the military’s use of toxic PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam.
Now the focus shifts to the House, where several proposed amendments to its NDAA would also address PFAS, including a top environmental priority that was left out of the Senate’s bill: an amendment from Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell that would require EPA to list PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under Superfund.
— WHAT ELSE? The Senate’s NDAA also included EPW Chairman John Barrasso‘s bipartisan bill, S. 383 (116), to support the development of carbon capture and sequestration technology. Backers of the bill say it would help fight climate change while making the economics of carbon capture projects less daunting.
In a statement, Christopher Guith of the Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute said the USE-IT Act’s inclusion is a “meaningful step towards a real-world climate solution,” and he added optimistic comment: “Perhaps more importantly, it demonstrates that climate legislation can be bipartisan.”
STATES TAKE PFAS TURN: Michigan’s PFAS Action Response Team unveiled “health-based values” for seven PFAS compounds Thursday that, if enacted, would become some of the toughest drinking water limits for the chemicals in the nation.
The recommendations were issued amid growing frustration in the state with the Trump administration’s torpid pace in addressing the chemicals — and after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer directed state agencies in March to set their own enforceable drinking water limits for the chemicals. Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy will host public hearings and take public comments on the proposed standards, with a final rule expected by April 2020.
— Not just Michigan: Vermont named chemical-makers 3M Company, DuPont and other companies in two lawsuits for the manufacturing and distribution of PFAS chemicals in the state, Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced Thursday. The lawsuits seek damages for harm to the state’s drinking water and natural resources, with one of the lawsuits focusing specifically on firefighting foam.
— “Philadelphia Energy Solutions stopped buying biofuel credits ahead of closure: sources,” via Reuters.
— “House Dems accuse EPA of withholding documents in Harvey probe,” via Houston Public Media.
— “U.N. report on 1.5C blocked from climate talks after Saudi Arabia disputes science,” via Climate Home News.
— “U.S. senators look to end nuclear waste stalemate,” via Associated Press.
— “Florida’s red tide killed at least 174 dolphins,” via Wall Street Journal.
THAT’S ALL FOR ME!
