Energy

Joe Manchin takes center stage


With help from Anthony Adragna

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— West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, incoming Democratic chair of the Energy Committee, has a clear message as his party takes control of the chamber and pushes an aggressive agenda: I’m sticking with bipartisanship.

— President-elect Joe Biden unveiled the first part of his two-part rescue and recovery coronavirus relief plan on Thursday.

— Biden added several climate change policy experts to fill out the new White House climate office.

WELCOME TO FRIDAY! I’m your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. Joseph Stanko at Hunton Andrews Kurth gets the win: Alan Keyes ran against Barack Obama for the U.S. Senate back in 2004. A bit of geography to close out the week: What is the easternmost U.S. state capital? Send your tips and trivia answers to [email protected].

Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today’s episode: The most important man in the Senate

THE OTHER INFLUENTIAL JOE IN WASHINGTON: As incoming chair of the Senate Energy Committee, Joe Manchin — an appropriator and the most moderate Democrat in the chamber — will have outsize influence over the scope of legislation as Democrats seek to deliver on Biden’s call for massive new investments in clean energy and aggressive action on climate change.

Manchin spoke to Pro’s Anthony Adragna, where he said he’ll pursue investments for communities like those in his state that have lost jobs amid the transition to new energy sources, adding that many West Virginians “feel like returning Vietnam veterans” as the country moved off coal. The West Virginia Democrat also stressed that rather than wielding the legislative tool of budget reconciliation, which allows some measures to move with a simple majority, he has long preferred “a bipartisan way” of governance — and his approach has not changed.

Manchin discussed Biden’s $2 trillion climate plan and the idea of a clean energy standard, telling Anthony: “We should be looking at everything that we’re using now to make it cleaner and everything that we’ll use in the future to make sure it’s clean. But also be realistic: It’s an all-in energy policy. Just don’t throw one away for the other because it’s aspirational.”

Manchin said he has spoken to Biden’s nominees for both the Energy and Interior departments, but he has not yet scheduled hearings for the picks. “I’m going to work with [ranking member] John Barrasso to make sure that we’re on the same page and try to get that done as quickly as possible. We have most of our nuclear arsenal under the Department of Energy. I think it’s imperative to get a secretary of Energy in quick.”

He also discussed the role he’ll play in Congress, since many see him as the most powerful man in the Senate right now, given his centrist position. “Well, let me just tell you about power: I’ve been around long enough — state legislator, I’ve been secretary of state of my state, governor of my state, now senator for 10 years,” he said. “I’ve watched people that either had power or thought they had it and abuse it. One thing about power is how you use it. And I can tell you, whatever position I’m in, people know me. Nothing’s gonna change. I am who I am.”

RULE RUSH: The Trump administration released a bevy of regulatory actions on Thursday in its final days. The Interior Department finalized a rule changing how companies calculate royalty payments for oil, natural gas and coal extracted from federal lands, which the Trump administration says will save the industry $28.9 million a year, Pro’s Alex Guillén report.

The Energy Department will publish a final rule today that creates new classes of water heaters and home furnaces to allow cheaper, less efficient products to remain on the market, as Pro’s Eric Wolff reports. By creating a separate class for products that do not recapture waste heat, future administrations will have a high legal bar to meet to force these products to become more efficient.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also finalized a rule preventing big banks from denying loans and other services to entire industries like energy or private prisons, ignoring criticism from lenders, consumer groups, Democrats and even some conservative groups, Pro’s Lorraine Woellert and Victoria Guida report.

EPA proposed extending 2019 and 2020 compliance deadlines under the Renewable Fuels Standard. In a proposed rule published today, the agency called for extending the deadline for 2019 biofuel blending obligations to Nov. 30, 2021, and the corresponding deadline for submission of attest engagement reports until June 1, 2021. It also proposed extending the 2020 compliance deadlines to Jan. 31, 2022, and June 1, 2022. Though EPA was looking to issue some small refinery exemptions before President Donald Trump’s term had ended, the agency appears to have backed off that position. The proposed rule said that due to ongoing litigation, the agency would “take no position” on the availability of small refinery exemptions for the 2019 compliance year.

TRUMP KEEPS UP MEXICO ENERGY DISPUTE: In its waning days, the Trump administration is keeping up its dispute with Mexico over the country’s preferential treatment of its state-owned energy companies, triggering concerns that could threaten U.S. agricultural exports. In a letter dated Jan. 11 obtained by ME, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote to their counterparts in Mexico that “recent regulatory actions by the Mexican government have created significant uncertainty about Mexico’s regulatory processes, especially regarding the energy sector, and have damaged Mexico’s overall investment climate,” pointing to reports of a memo and meeting last year where regulators were “allegedly instructed to block permits for private sector energy projects and to exercise their regulatory authority to favor state-owned energy companies.” If true, the secretaries warned, it would be “deeply troubling and raise concerns regarding Mexico’s commitments” under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The letter won’t likely be well-received in Mexico City, where Reuters reported this week that Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier said the country could “raise concerns over potential barriers to its agriculture exports to the United States” in future negotiations over the Mexican government’s energy policy. The dispute is likely to be an early test for the Biden administration as it seeks to work out the kinks of the trade deal.

GREENS SUE OVER FLORIDA PERMITTING TRANSFER: Environmental groups sued EPA Thursday for its Dec. 17 decision to transfer federal wetlands permitting to the state of Florida, arguing that the agency violated federal law by failing to follow proper procedure, Pro’s Bruce Ritchie reports.

TOYOTA TO PAY $180M: Toyota will pay $180 million to settle allegations that it violated Clean Air Act requirements to report emissions-related defects for a decade, Alex reports. Federal law requires automakers to alert EPA if more than 25 vehicles in a model year have a defective emissions control part, but the complaint filed in federal court in New York on Thursday says that Toyata delayed filing 78 such reports between 2005 and 2015, when it reported its noncompliance to the government. Those reports could have affected millions of vehicles. Toyota also failed to alert EPA to 20 voluntary recalls for emissions-related components.

TRUMP DELIVERS RECISSIONS PACKAGE: Trump has sent lawmakers a sweeping package of spending cuts to consider before he leaves office, according to the document obtained by POLITICO. The $27.4 billion rescission request is a purely symbolic move, as POLITICO’s Caitlin Emma, Daniel Lippman and Meridith McGraw report, since there is no chance that Congress actually acts on the request.

The package targets a swath of federal departments, smaller agencies and foreign aid programs, hitting pots of funding that enjoy broad bipartisan support, the trio reports. Among the cuts, it would nix billions for scientific research, including $2 billion for the research and development of renewable energy and energy efficient technology. And, it would cut $181 million for climate research programs at NOAA; the full $2 million appropriated for the Army Corps Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation program administrative expenses and the $12 million for its Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation program credit subsidy; and $9 million of the $12 million appropriated for EPA’s environmental justice program.

NEW GOP TO E&C: House Energy and Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Thursday announced eight new members to the panel: Reps. Kelly Armstrong, Dan Crenshaw, John Curtis, Neal Dunn, John Joyce, Debbie Lesko, Gary Palmer and Greg Pence. The picks must still be formally ratified by the full Republican conference.

NEW COALITION ON THE BLOCK: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Bipartisan Policy Center have joined forces to launch a new coalition Thursday aimed at passing an infrastructure package by the Fourth of July. As part of the effort, the coalition is calling for comprehensive legislation that will update and repair U.S. infrastructure, address climate change and promote “fiscally and environmentally responsible” policies. The coalition is comprised of nearly 200 business, policy and labor organizations, including the North America’s Building Trades Unions, the National Wildlife Federation, and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

BIDEN UNVEILS COVID-19 RELIEF PLAN: Biden is proposing a massive, $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to prop up states’ vaccination efforts and boost coronavirus testing. The plan, which Biden unveiled from Delaware on Thursday, includes a proposed $5 billion to cover home energy and water costs for struggling renters through programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Biden pitched his plan in two steps: rescue and recovery. He laid out the first part of that plan Thursday, but said he would unveil the recovery portion next month during his first remarks before Congress. The second part, dubbed his Build Back Better plan, will make “historic” investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, research and development and clean energy, he said Thursday.

“Imagine historic investments in research and development to sharpen America’s innovative edge in markets where global leadership is up for grabs, markets like battery technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean energy,” Biden said during his remarks. “Imagine confronting the climate crisis with American jobs and ingenuity leading the world.”

BIDEN TAPS CLIMATE EXPERTS: Biden built out his climate team further on Thursday, announcing a handful of experienced climate change policy experts to the new White House climate office, which will be headed by former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, and to handle environmental justice at the Council on Environmental Quality, Pro’s Zack Colman reports.

David Hayes will be special assistant to Biden on climate policy. He was deputy Interior secretary during the Obama and Clinton administrations and currently serves as executive director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center. Maggie Thomas was named chief of staff for the domestic office. She was political director for the climate-focused group Evergreen Action and a former climate adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee. Thomas also served on the Biden transition team.

Sonia Aggarwal, who co-founded the think tank Energy Innovation, will be senior adviser for climate policy and innovation. Jahi Wise was named senior adviser for climate policy and finance. He was the policy director for the Coalition for Green Capital. And, Cecilia Martinez will be senior director for environmental justice at CEQ. Martinez, who leads the CEQ transition team, is the co-founder of Minnesota-based environmental justice group Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy.

COMING IN FOR LANDING: The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, a group composed of former and current employees of the National Park Service, is out with a national parks and public lands roadmap today calling on Biden to establish a cooperative agreement with FERC and NPS regarding proposed development of electricity, natural gas and oil transmission facilities within the national parks system. It also calls for returning funding for a NPS Climate Change Response Program and ensuring the full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund will go toward the highest-priority land acquisition needs.

Michael LaRosa was named first lady-elect Jill Biden’s press secretary. LaRosa was her traveling press secretary and chief spokesperson during the campaign and transition. He previously was communications director for the Senate Energy Committee under former ranking member Maria Cantwell.

— “2020 was hottest year on record by narrow margin, NASA says,” via The Guardian.

— “Flint water prosecutors focus on Legionnaires’ deaths in charging Snyder, eight others,” via MLive.com.

— “Gov. Charlie Baker vetoes sweeping climate change bill,” via Associated Press.

— “Top official steps down from DOJ’s environment, civil divisions,” via Bloomberg Law.

— “Mining company to pay New Mexico $11 million for toxic Gold King spill,” via Santa Fe New Mexican.

— “Green groups sue after Trump administration lifts protections for gray wolf,” via The Hill.

THAT’S ALL FOR ME!



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