Congress

 

Senate

 

Manchin Backs Supreme Court Plea To Revive Mountain Valley Pipeline — “West Virginia’s senior senator on Tuesday took his support for a contentious natural gas pipeline to the nation’s highest court. In a friend of the court brief, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin, a Democrat, said he ‘strongly supports’ a Supreme Court appeal by developers of the Mountain Valley pipeline to toss out two orders issued by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that temporarily froze construction on the project. Manchin pointed the justices to a provision in the debt ceiling agreement that expedited approvals for the 303-mile pipeline. The provision — known as Section 324 — also included language saying no court has jurisdiction to review federal authorizations and approvals ‘necessary for construction and initial operation at full capacity of the Mountain Valley pipeline.’ The deal was signed into law last month by President Joe Biden. ‘This vital energy infrastructure project has been put on hold by the Fourth Circuit despite the new law clearly stating that the Fourth Circuit no longer has this authority,’ Manchin said in a statement. Earlier this month, the federal appeals court halted construction in a national forest in parts of West Virginia and Virginia.” [E&E News, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

Manchin Backs Mountain Valley Pipeline Bid For SCOTUS To Lift Construction Pause — “Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined the Mountain Valley Pipeline in asking the Supreme Court to strike down a lower court ruling that froze construction on the project for at least several weeks. Manchin, an avid backer of the pipeline that will stretch through his home state, argued that the debt ceiling law he helped pass vacates the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit’s authority over the pipeline and asked the high court to vacate the lower court’s ruling. The West Virginia senator’s intervention in the case is the latest showing of his strong interest in the project, which he wedged into the law earlier this year. Details: Manchin argued in his ‘friend of the court’ brief filed Tuesday that language in the debt ceiling law ‘supersedes’ the permitting concerns the 4th Circuit raised in its order last week and instead directs all relevant agencies to complete the authorizations necessary to finalize the project — effectively removing all jurisdiction from the federal appeals court. Manchin has previously accused the 4th Circuit of ‘targeting’ the pipeline, and in a statement reiterated the law’s intention to strip the court of its authority over the project.” [Politico, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

Cassidy Challenges Biden On Offshore Drilling — “Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is introducing legislation today requiring the Interior Department to hold two offshore oil and gas lease sales in 2024 and 2025, his office shared early with ME. The Biden administration last year proposed an offshore drilling plan that could have anywhere from zero to 11 lease sales, as it balances competing pressures to ensure energy security and combat high energy prices, while also placating environmental groups looking to move off fossil fuels. But it has delayed the finalization of the 5-year plan and is targeting December of this year to finish it, which Cassidy argued in a statement violates federal law. Because environmental reviews for an offshore lease sale can take up to two years, Cassidy said the earliest an offshore oil and gas lease sale is likely to occur is in 2026. Cassidy’s push for offshore drilling in the oil-and-gas rich Gulf of Mexico comes as House Republicans are also pushing for mandatory onshore and offshore lease sales as part of the annual appropriations process.” [Politico, 7/19/23 (=)]

 

House

 

Panel Spotlights ESA Costs As Prelude To Overhauling Law — “House Republicans on Tuesday commemorated the Endangered Species Act’s 50th anniversary more with side-eye than champagne. In an afternoon hearing pointedly subtitled ‘The Destructive Cost of the ESA,’ GOP lawmakers repeatedly assailed the landmark environmental law, at least as it is currently being put into practice. The complaints outnumbered specific legislative fixes, though those are reportedly coming. ‘After 50 years of the ESA, and untold billions of expenditures, paid many times by small communities and families, and not the nation, and with questionable benefits, it is definitely time to come up with a better plan,’ said Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.). Bentz, who chairs the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, said ‘soon we will introduce amendments to the act that will improve its protection of the species, without destroying people and communities, without costing more money than we can possibly find.’ Bentz convened the afternoon hearing to lay the groundwork with a litany of familiar criticisms that have previously prompted repeated failed Republican efforts to significantly rewrite the 1973 law.” [E&E News, 7/19/23 (=)]

 

House GOP Looks At Reforming Landmark Environmental Law That’s Been The Bane Of Landowners For Decades — “Two House Republicans announced that they will form a working group to consider reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, according to The Washington Post. Republican Reps. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas and Dan Newhouse of Washington will lead the working group, which seeks to modernize the ESA despite staunch Democratic opposition to any rollbacks, The Washington Post reported. Conservatives allege the act allows federal regulators to obstruct mining, logging and drilling development projects by citing the perceived need for species preservation, the outlet reported. ‘The working group will focus on improving the Endangered Species Act and supporting common sense changes that increase transparency, save taxpayer money, ensure local involvement in species conservation and the designation process,’ Republican Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, a member of the working group, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.” [The Daily Caller, 7/18/23 (-)]

 

Fight Over Pride Flag, LGBTQ Rights Lands At National Parks — “Pride flags could not be flown at any facilities operated by the Interior Department or EPA, including the 424 sites owned by the National Park Service, under a spending bill by House Republicans that’s set for a committee vote on Wednesday. The bill, which also calls for deep spending cuts for the agencies, would only allow ‘official flags,’ including U.S. flags, POW/MIA flags and those that represent a state, tribe or agency. The measure cleared a subcommittee on a voice vote Thursday and now heads to the full House Appropriations Committee. While the rider does not specifically mention Pride flags, Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree, the top Democrat on the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, said ‘it’s clear that the intent of this language is to halt the celebration of LGBTQ+ Americans.’ ‘I am strongly opposed to any effort to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community and as ranking member I intend to fight this provision,’ Pingree said in a statement to E&E News. If approved by the full Congress, the bill could force Stonewall National Monument, an NPS site in New York dedicated to telling the story of the gay rights movement, to take down its Pride flags.” [E&E News, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

 

Department of the Interior (DOI)

 

National Park Service (NPS)

 

Bison Attack Visitors In North Dakota And Wyoming National Parks — “A bison severely injured a Minnesota woman on Saturday in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the National Park Service said in a statement on Tuesday. Park officials reported she was in serious but stable condition after suffering ‘significant injuries to her abdomen and foot.’ The woman was taken to a Fargo hospital after being transported by ambulance to a hospital in Dickinson, about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) east of Painted Canyon, a colorful Badlands vista popular with motorists, where she was injured at a trailhead. The attack is under investigation; exact details are unknown. Park Superintendent Angie Richman did not immediately respond to an email requesting information. On Monday, a bison charged and gored a 47-year-old Phoenix woman in Yellowstone National Park. She sustained significant injuries to her chest and abdomen and was taken by helicopter to an Idaho Falls hospital.” [Associated Press, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

 

Golden Paintbrush Joins List Of ESA Success Stories — “The Fish and Wildlife Service today polished up the golden paintbrush for the Endangered Species Act trophy case, proclaiming the Western plant as recovered after more than a quarter-century of federal protections. A flowering plant native to southwestern British Columbia, western Washington state and western Oregon, the golden paintbrush was listed as threatened in 1997. Since then, it has rebounded so admirably that the Fish and Wildlife service has made final an ESA delisting proposed in 2021. ‘At the time of listing, there were 10 known golden paintbrush populations: eight in Washington and two in British Columbia. No golden paintbrush populations were known from Oregon at the time of listing,’ the Fish and Wildlife Service noted today. Now, the distribution and abundance of the short-lived perennial herb have ‘increased significantly’ as a result of seeding and planting efforts, the Fish and Wildlife Service reported, adding that ‘during the last rangewide assessment, a minimum of 48 populations were documented.’ The agency estimated there were approximately 11,500 flowering plants in 2011. That jumped to more than 560,000 flowering plants in 2018, falling to 325,320 in 2019.” [E&E News, 7/18/23 (+)]

 

Feds Finally Plan Critical Habitat For Green Sea Turtles — “Three years after conceding tardiness in a court battle with environmentalists, the Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries on Tuesday proposed a complex and sprawling array of critical habitats for the imperiled green sea turtle. The multifaceted critical habitat proposal spans hundreds of pages and covers 11 distinct populations of the wondrously large turtle that when unmolested can live for upward of 100 years. ‘Designating critical habitat for green sea turtles will help us effectively carry out our mission of protecting and recovering the species,’ Assistant Interior Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz said in a statement. Weighing in at between 240 and 420 pounds, green sea turtles were originally listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1978. In 2016, FWS and NOAA Fisheries refined the listing to identify three populations as endangered and eight as threatened. The agencies then missed a one-year deadline for critical habitat action designation, prompting a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Sea Turtle Oversight Protection and the Turtle Island Restoration Network.” [E&E News, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

 

States & Local

 

Alaska

 

This National Park Is So Wild, It Has No Roads. Now Some Want To Mine Outside Its Gates. — “From the peak of a mountain here, you can see the past and possible future of one of the largest protected parks on Earth. This is the Brooks Range, roughly 50 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Sweeping green and golden ridgelines tower over lush valleys, which give way to wide, glacial blue rivers. The landscape is completely undeveloped. There is no road or other infrastructure in sight. Looking east is Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Looking west is Kobuk Valley National Park. And looking straight down: the site of a potential open-pit mine. There’s roughly $7.5 billion worth of copper under this mountain that the mining venture Ambler Metals wants to extract, which could help build the wind turbines and batteries needed to address climate change. But that bounty — and others like it across the United States — have created a dilemma for Washington. President Biden wants more domestic minerals production to support his climate agenda, but his aides are struggling to find domestic mine sites that don’t risk damaging wildlands and sacred natural treasures.” [The Washington Post, 7/19/23 (+)]

 

California

 

California Will Cap Hundreds Of Orphaned Oil Wells, Some Long Suspected Of Causing Illness — “California state regulators announced on Tuesday their plans to cap orphaned oil wells across the state, including wells in a South Central residential neighborhood near USC that caused health complaints from residents for years. The effort is part of a new push to close problem sites that have posed health risks to communities across the state, oftentimes disadvantaged neighborhoods in close proximity to oil drill sites. California Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked $100 million in the state budget to address the issue. California has identified 5,300 wells that are orphaned, or likely orphaned, meaning they are deserted or do not have an operator who is financially viable or compliant, according to the California Geologic Energy Management Division. Improperly abandoned wells can leak methane and potentially leak harmful chemicals into the groundwater. State regulators will target more than 370 wells in their first phase of the new push, which will cost about $80 million, according to CalGEM.” [Los Angeles Times, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

Scorching Days, Searing Nights: Not Even Death Valley Is Immune To Climate Change — “It was 10 p.m. and 116 degrees as a brutal wind whipped through the darkness. Here in Death Valley National Park — dubbed the hottest place on Earth — intrepid tourists waded into a hotel swimming pool seeking what little relief they could find. Park temperatures had soared to 126 degrees that afternoon, just a few degrees shy of the daily record. ‘I never knew such temperatures before,’ said Nicolas Combaret, 40, who was visiting Death Valley from France with his wife and 5-year-old son. It was one of several stops on their tour of the Southwest. ‘When we saw on the news that the temperature would be 125, 126, we thought, ‘Wow, that’s impressive — it will be a good experience to live that, to feel the hottest ever here.’” [Los Angeles Times, 7/19/23 (+)]

 

AP | Death Valley Approaches Global Heat Record As US Reels From Extreme Weather — “Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point on Sunday on a record warm summer that is baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said. Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada, reached 128F (53.3C) on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said. The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134F (56.7C) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 130F (54.4C) have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley.” [The Guardian, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

In 128-Degree Death Valley, A Man Dressed As Darth Vader Ran A Mile — “The get-up is elaborate: A balaclava. Thermal underwear and a compression shirt. A Halloween-store Darth Vader costume complete with a helmet. Jon Rice tries to make his near-annual ‘Darth Valley’ run as difficult as possible. He waits for the hottest day in the weather forecast, dons his multilayered outfit and sets out for Death Valley, where he runs a mile as fast as possible at the hottest time of day. Want to know how your actions can help make a difference for our planet? Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday. It’s exhausting. It’s exhilarating. It’s also, Rice freely admits, incredibly stupid. ‘I don’t agree with anybody else doing this,’ he said, adding: ‘I don’t even really agree with me doing this, particularly.’” [Los Angeles Times, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

VIDEO: Tourists Flock To Death Valley Hoping To Experience Heat Record — “Death Valley, California, hit a US record of 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56.6C) in 1913. One hundred years later tourists are tracking to the desert to be there when a new record breaks. But not everyone is in a mood to celebrate.” [BBC News, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

VIDEO: 'Heat Seekers' Revel In Death Valley's Record Temperatures — “The ongoing heat wave isn’t stopping tourists from flocking to California’s Death Valley, the hottest place on earth. KSNV’s Brett Forrest reports.” [NBC News, 7/18/23 (+)]

 

Nevada

 

9th Circ. Upholds BLM's Nevada Lithium Mine Approval — “The Ninth Circuit upheld Monday the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the Thacker Pass lithium mine project, rejecting arguments by environmentalists, a Native American tribe and a Nevada rancher that the government hasn’t properly considered the environmental and cultural impacts of what could be the nation’s largest lithium mine. In an 11-page unpublished opinion filed in three separate appeals, a unanimous three-judge panel affirmed a lower court’s decision in favor of the federal government and found that the federal agency took a ‘hard look’ at the project’s impacts before approving it. ‘The BLM’s approval of the project was not arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with [the National Environmental Policy Act],’ the opinion says. The site for the open-pit lithium mine at Thacker Pass is owned by Vancouver-based Lithium Americas Corp.’s subsidiary Lithium Nevada Corp., and it is located in Humboldt County, Nevada, near the Oregon-Nevada state line, roughly 200 miles northeast of Reno.” [Law360, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

Oregon

 

A Second U.S. Appeals Court Affirms Expansion Of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument — “Timber companies faced another blow in court this week, after a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Southern Oregon. The decision on Tuesday rejects claims by the timber trade group American Forest Resource Council that expansion of the monument in 2017 conflicts with laws requiring the government to set aside land for timber production. The ruling is a win for environmental groups, that have sought to protect this incredibly diverse region from logging. The monument lies on the intersection of the Cascade, Siskiyou and Klamath mountain ranges. This court ruling is similar to another decision by the 9th Circuit Court in April. That lawsuit was filed by the Oregon-based timber company Murphy, which made similar arguments. In both cases, the courts said the government is well within its power to protect these lands from timber harvesting. The appellate judges stated that under the 1916 Oregon and California Lands Act, the government isn’t solely required to use O&C Lands for timber harvest. And that the act allows the government to use such public lands for ‘protecting watersheds, regulating stream flow, and contributing to the economic stability of local communities and industries, and providing recreational facil[i]ties.’” [Jefferson Public Radio, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

Utah

 

A Proposed National Monument In Arizona Impacts Utah Ranchers, Energy — “A possible 1.1 million-acre monument designation in northern Arizona is being sought by Native American tribes and conservation organizations, but it has potential to impact a significant number of Utah ranchers who can only access winter range within its boundaries. And mining uranium — which is critical for a carbon free future according to the Biden push for next generation nuclear technology — would be off limits. The proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument is only in Arizona, bordering the nearby Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in the Kane County area but also encompassing lands south of Washington County, potentially impacting Hildale, which straddles the border of Arizona and Utah. A listening meeting by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service was held Tuesday in Flagstaff, where the Utah Farm Bureau officially submitted comments voicing its opposition.” [Deseret News, 7/18/23 (=)]

 

 

 

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