 GREENS SUE OVER TRUMP COAL ASH ROLLBACK: Environmental groups are suing the Trump administration for rolling back parts of a major regulation governing how companies store coal ash. The groups, led by Earthjustice, filed their lawsuit Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The original 2015 rule from the Obama administration was the first national regulation regarding disposal of coal ash, a black sludge left over from burning coal that contains concentrated levels of heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium and chromium. Coal ash storage ponds are often adjacent to waterways, since coal-fired power plants need cooling water. The amendments, rolled out in July, give more time for coal plant owners to clean up certain coal ash ponds that are leaking, and gives states new power to exempt companies from certain pollution monitoring requirements. "The risk that legacy impoundments and insufficiently lined coal ash ponds pose is too great to let another hurricane season go by without addressing the problem," Thomas Cmar, the lead Earthjustice attorney in the case, said in a statement. "The dam breach at the Sutton Plant that spewed toxic coal ash into the Cape Fear River in the wake of flooding from Hurricane Florence should make it clear that there's no time to waste," he said, referring to an incident last month in which flood waters moved an unspecified amount of coal ash from a closed power plant into a North Carolina river. State tests later found that pollutant levels in the river had not exceeded state maximums. "Throughout the country, in the absence of adequate regulation by EPA, coal ash has been irresponsibly disposed of," said Larissa Liebmann, staff attorney at the Waterkeeper Alliance, another party to the case. "This leaves communities and waterways vulnerable to long-term contamination, as well as spills like we saw in North Carolina with Hurricane Florence. EPA needs to stop catering to industry and start protecting the public." The administration's side: An EPA spokesperson declined to comment. But in rolling out the changes in July, acting EPA head Andrew Wheeler said they would provide necessary "flexibility" for states and companies. "These amendments provide states and utilities much-needed flexibility in the management of coal ash, while ensuring human health and the environment are protected," he said. "Our actions mark a significant departure from the one-size-fits-all policies of the past and save tens of millions of dollars in regulatory costs." Read more. What's next: The D.C. Circuit Court will soon make a briefing schedule. Those briefs will give the litigants a chance to fully flesh out their arguments. On a separate track, the EPA is planning further revisions to the 2015 coal ash rule. The agency said last week in the latest administration-wide regulatory agenda that it will write a rule by June that would allow alternative performance standards for compliance and address issues raised in a previous lawsuit. And then, by the end of next year, the EPA could write another revision to address the remaining issues that industry raised with the 2015 rule. Happy Monday! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill's roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com, and Miranda Green, mgreen@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @mirandacgreen, @thehill. CLICK HERE to subscribe to our newsletter. TRUMP DECLARES U.S. HAS 'CLEANEST AIR IN THE WORLD': President Trump tweeted this afternoon that the United States has "the Cleanest Air in the World - BY FAR!" The tweet included a map from the World Health Organization (WHO) that appeared to show areas around the world with fine particulate matter concentrations above the WHO standard, with none in the United States. For one thing, the data at issue are from 2016, before Trump even took office. Trump has made variations on this claim before. When he made it in August, the Associated Press declared that "The United States does not have the cleanest air on Earth. Not even close." The AP looked at five databases and found numerous countries with lower air pollution concentrations, not just in fine particulate matter, but also in ozone. The EPA's Wheeler retweeted Trump on Monday from his official account. Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said Trump doesn't deserve any credit for improving air quality. "Trump is responsible for the most serious attacks on clean air by any president ever, and his tweets will do nothing to prevent kids from getting sick from his big polluter handouts and clean air rollbacks," he said. "Trump is taking credit for the progress achieved by the exact same clean air safeguards other presidents put in place that he is now trying to throw out." AUSTIN RESIDENTS TOLD TO BOIL THEIR WATER: Residents in Austin, Texas, are being urged to boil water in the aftermath of last week's historic storm. Copious flooding that inundated the city caused riverbeds to overflow in areas and fill up the region's water supply lakes with silt, prompting concerns from city health officials over the state of the local water. Portions of regional water treatment plants also had to be shut down to clean their filters as a result of the storm surge. Officials placed a water boil notice in the region Monday due to the limited water treatment options. "The high level of debris, silt and mud requires extended filtration that slows the process of getting treated water into the system," Austin Water Utility said in a press release. "To provide necessary water pressure for fire protection, plants must distribute water at treatment levels not typical of the utility's high standards for consumption." Rainfall in the region last week totaled 13 inches in some areas and led to widespread flooding. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) declared 18 central Texas counties in a state of disaster from the storm. Last month was the wettest September on record in the state. Read more. OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: A new study found that deaths related to air pollution fell by about half between 1990 and 2010, Science Daily reports. Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) made a secret trip to Spain to meet with the owner of a Maine utility company, the Portland Press-Herald reports. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to announce Tuesday how Canada's federal government will impose carbon taxes in provinces that don't do their own carbon-pricing policies, CBC News reports. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out stories from Monday and the weekend ... - Trump administration to make Iran oil waivers harder to get - Merkel moves to open up Germany to US gas imports after Trump's push: report - Austin residents ordered to boil water following historic flooding - Greens challenge Trump's rollback of coal ash standards - Saudi energy minister: 'No intention' of 1973-style oil embargo - Hurricane heading toward Mexico strengthens to Category 4 | 
