| BRACING FOR PRUITT'S HOUSE APPEARANCES: Embattled Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt is due this Thursday to testify twice in front of House subcommittees. The hearings before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's environment subpanel and the House Appropriations Committee's subpanel for EPA will be the first time Pruitt faces lawmakers since the seemingly endless barrage of scandals over the last few weeks. We're expecting lawmakers from both parties to hammer Pruitt with tough questions regarding his spending of taxpayer money on expenses like a soundproof booth, raises for aides, a new SUV, bulletproof vests, bringing his security detail on personal trips and more. Also expect ethics questions over his $50 per night rental from an energy lobbyist's wife and reports that he allegedly punished employees for questioning his spending and other decisions. The Energy and Commerce panel planned its hearing back in March -- when many of the controversies had not yet come to light -- to hear about Pruitt's fiscal 2019 budget request for the EPA. The Appropriations hearing is a standard springtime practice, also for the budget request. We'll also be watching for how Pruitt handles the questions. To date, he has only spoken to a handful of conservative media outlets to respond to the scandals, and his strategy has focused on the argument that his opponents, angry about his successes at executing the Trump agenda, have drummed up the controversies to punish him. Lawmakers will only have five minutes at a time to question Pruitt, but they're not likely to be pleased if he tries to avoid questions. Adding to the anticipation for Thursday's hearings, Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and other Democrats formally asked Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) Thursday to put Pruitt under oath for the hearing, a request Walden has not yet responded to publicly. Energy and Commerce and many other committees don't usually swear witnesses in. It is a crime to lie to Congress, whether sworn in or not. EPA CONFIRMS PLAN TO CUT DOWN ON ENFORCEMENT AGAINST POLLUTERS: EPA confirmed Friday that its Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is working to create a new pilot program that would ease burdens on oil and gas polluters seeking to self audit. The new EPA pilot program will at first focus solely on offering more audit alternatives to the oil and gas industry and will first focus specifically on companies bought recently and audited by the new owner, according to the EPA source. Bodine says the new program will be mirrored after an audit policy agreement negotiated in 2017 with Range Resources, a Texas based natural gas company, after it acquired a business in Louisiana. "EPA is exploring whether the Range Resources agreement can serve as a model for the development of a New Owner Audit Policy for the Oil and Gas Sector. We view this as an opportunity to achieve prompt and cost-effective return to compliance. EPA will be conducting outreach and seeking feedback from industry and other stakeholders as we develop the program," Bodine told The Hill in a statement Friday. According to an EPA case study of the Range Resources negotiation dated March 2018, the natural gas company said one of its biggest "challenges and issues" with the current audit policy was the short timeframe made available after they self disclosed their noncompliance. "Although extensions are not generally given up front; you can submit a proposed corrective action schedule and hope that it is accepted. Again, if not accepted, you remain potentially subject to enforcement. EPA has a track record of providing reasonable extensions, but there are no guarantees," the Range Resources wrote. Range was ultimately given three years to complete audits for all of its 390 acquired facilities. The default corrective action period under the current audit is 60 days from discovery of a violation. Why it matters: The policy change falls in line with the administration's push to ease burdens on fossil fuel companies and address regulation compliance outside of the legal system. In a letter that Bodine wrote to staff in in early February, she highlighted the EPA's new approach to polluters. The memo was sent days before the agency released its annual enforcement data, which showed a distinct drop in lawsuits brought and filed against polluters under the Trump administration. Read more here. TRUMP TWEETS ON OPEC, OIL FALLS: Trump slammed the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this morning on Twitter, spurring oil prices to fall. "Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea, Oil prices are artificially Very High!" the president wrote. "No good and will not be accepted!" West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell as much as 1 percent after the tweet, erasing the day's gains, but have mostly recovered since then. OPEC and Russia are showing signs that they might be willing to cooperate on production cuts, which has been pushing prices up to three-year highs in recent days. Read more here and here. OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: The Globe and Mail provides a helpful explainer of the current controversy surrounding Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline, and the ensuring fight between British Columbia and Alberta. Three liquefied natural gas tankers transited the Panama Canal in one day this week, a new milestone, Bloomberg reports. California officials announced that eight major proposed dam projects qualify for funding available as part of a new drought policy, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Friday's stories ... -Top Pruitt aide requested backdate to resignation letter: report -Trump told Pruitt to 'cool it' amid controversies: report -NJ governor signs bill to block offshore drilling -Oil prices drop after Trump tweet criticizing OPEC -Top Interior official key to delaying protection for an endangered species -Trump blasts OPEC for 'artificially very high prices' on oil -EPA to unveil policy aimed at avoiding legal action over oil and gas polluters: source | 
沒有留言:
張貼留言