| EPA SOLICITS IDEAS FOR NEW CLIMATE RULE: The Trump administration kicked off the process Monday for considering a replacement for former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notice, known as an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, seeks input on potential provisions for a new rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. It comes more than two months after the EPA formally proposed repealing the Clean Power Plan on the basis that it exceeded the authority Congress gave the EPA under the Clean Air Act. "Consistent with our commitment to the rule of law, we've already set in motion an assessment of the previous administration's questionable legal basis in our proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. With a clean slate, we can now move forward to provide regulatory certainty," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. "Today's move ensures adequate and early opportunity for public comment from all stakeholders about next steps the agency might take to limit greenhouse gases from stationary sources, in a way that properly stays within the law, and the bounds of the authority provided to EPA by Congress." Industry and business groups have advocated for Pruitt to replace the climate rule, arguing that it would give businesses more certainty, particularly if environmental groups or Democratic states sue the EPA to force a rule to limit greenhouse gases from power plants. "Our hope is that today's request for input will begin a true collaboration between the federal government, states, and all stakeholders to develop a more durable and achievable approach to addressing carbon emissions," Karen Harbert, president of the Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute, said in a statement. Environmental groups, meanwhile, have argued that a weaker replacement rule would fall far short of the EPA's responsibilities under the Clean Air Act, and they are likely to sue to stop such a rule. "By slow-walking its legal duty to protect our climate, EPA panders to fossil fuel polluters at the expense of communities around the nation," said Trip Van Noppen, president of Earthjustice. Read more here. PRUITT'S OFFICE SWEPT FOR SURVEILLANCE BUGS: Pruitt had his office at EPA headquarters professionally swept earlier this year to look for surveillance bugs. The EPA paid $3,000 in March to Edwin Steinmetz Associates to do a "sweep for covert/illegal surveillance devices" in Administrator Scott Pruitt's office at the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters, documents provided to The Hill show. The EPA source that provided the documents on the condition of anonymity said the sweep, which came weeks after Pruitt's arrival at the agency, did not uncover any bugs. Like other security measures Pruitt has taken, the EPA defended the surveillance sweep as a response to unprecedented threats against Pruitt, whose aggressive deregulatory agenda has angered environmentalists and many others. "Administrator Pruitt has received an unprecedented amount of threats against him and security decisions are made by EPA's Protective Service Detail," EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said. Lisa Jackson, who was EPA administrator from 2009 to 2013 under former President Barack Obama, also had a similar security sweep undertaken in the office, Wilcox said. Apple, where Jackson oversees environmental initiatives, did not respond to a request for comment. Doug Parker, who worked at the EPA for 25 years, mostly as a special agent in the criminal investigation division, said a bug sweep of the administrator's office is unusual. "It doesn't strike me as completely out of left field, but it's certainly not routine, even in the administrator's office," said Parker, who retired in 2016 and now leads Earth & Water Strategies, a D.C. consulting firm. Read more here. NATIONAL SECURITY PLAN: CLIMATE OUT, ENERGY DOMINANCE IN: President Trump outlined his new national security plan Monday, notably removing climate change from the list of security threats that Obama had listed. The strategy is aimed at delivering on the "America First" theme of his campaign and correcting what he sees as the mistakes of past presidents that damaged the United States' standing in the world. Obama's latest national security strategy mentioned climate about a dozen times, reflecting the importance he put on the issue across his administration. A senior administration official said Sunday that Trump's opinion on climate as it relates to national security is closely tied to why he chose to exit the Paris climate agreement. "It was a very long, thorough speech that explained the rationale for getting out of the deal because it was antithetical to American interests. He expressed a willingness to reenter on better terms or to get into a better deal," the official said. Instead, Trump's plan promotes American "energy dominance." Trump boasted about everything he's done to remove barriers to the production and use of domestic energy resources, and said his security policy "embraces a future of American energy dominance and self-sufficiency." Environmentalists criticized the climate omission. "Trump is not just ignoring science and public opinion about the dangers of the climate crisis, he's ignoring American generals and the Pentagon about what it takes to keep our military and our country safe," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. Defense Secretary James Mattis has previously spoken more forcefully than Trump about fighting climate change, and told senators that he believes climate to be a security threat. Read more here. IEA EXPECTS LITTLE COAL GROWTH: International demand for coal is likely to grow slightly through 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted Monday. The Paris-based intergovernmental group said in its annual medium-term coal report that annual coal demand will increase 0.5 percent for the next five years, to 5.534 billion metric tonnes. Pointing to the minimal growth, IEA declared the 2012 to 2022 time frame a "decade of stagnation" for coal. "The energy system is evolving at a rapid pace all around us, with a more diversifying fuel mix, and the cost of technologies going down," Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA's director for energy markets and security. "But while everything else is changing, global coal demand remains the same." Read more here. PEBBLE MINE GETS NEW POTENTIAL INVESTOR: Alaska's controversial Pebble Mine got a new potential investor Monday. Canada's Northern Dynasty Minerals said First Quantum Minerals agreed to buy an option for a 50 percent stake in the project for $1.5 billion. Under Obama, the EPA sought to stop the massive gold and copper mine before it even applied for a Clean Water Act permit.
But the Trump administration reversed course and is letting the company decide whether to go through the approval process. Pebble, meanwhile, is now eyeing a smaller mine than previously envisioned. First Quantum Chairman and Chief Executive Philip Pascall told reporters that Pebble's new application to state and federal officials is coming soon. AROUND THE WEB: An investigation into claims that the Bureau of Land Management provoked a 2014 standoff at Cliven Bundy's ranch cleared the agency of wrongdoing, OregonLive reports. Operations at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are slowly returning to normal after Sunday's hours-long power outage, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Australia's government released the results of a year-long review of its climate policies, concluding that it should stay the course with current plans, SBS News reports. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Monday's stories ... - EPA chief Pruitt had office swept for surveillance bugs - Lin-Manuel Miranda petition urges government to aid Puerto Rico - Trump EPA floats possible replacement for Obama climate rule - World coal demand forecast to grow slightly through 2022 - Trump to stress 'America First' in national security strategy: report - Week ahead: Arctic drilling measure nears finish line | 
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