OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senate confirms Haaland to lead Interior | House Republicans pitch nuclear, natural gas as ‘cleaner’ energy future | Congress investigating ‘clean coal’ tax credit | SEC to weigh requiring further climate disclosures to investors

Probably just a case of the Mondays. Welcome to Overnight Energy, your source for the day’s energy and environment news. 

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THIS LAND IS HAALAND: Senate confirms Haaland to lead interior

The Senate on Monday voted to confirm Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) to lead the Interior Department, making her the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary. 

The Senate voted 51-40 to confirm Haaland. Nine members missed the vote.

Haaland’s opposition to a controversial method of fossil fuel extraction called fracking, participation in a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline and support for the Green New Deal have made her a favorite among progressives, but drawn ire from some Republicans. 

Republican senators who opposed: GOP Sens. Steve Daines (Mont.) and Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) had placed holds on her nomination, with Daines invoking Haaland’s positions on pipelines and fossil fuels and Lummis invoking President Biden‘s pause on new leasing for oil and gas development on federal lands. 

During her confirmation hearing, Daines specifically pressed Haaland on her stances on fracking and pipelines in general, and particularly Biden’s decision to revoke a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as his leasing suspension.

Four Republicans back confirmation: Republicans Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) voted with Democrats to support Haaland’s confirmation.

Read the details of Haaland’s confirmation here.

 

CLEAN BREAK: House Republicans pitch nuclear, natural gas as ‘cleaner’ energy future

House Republicans on Monday touted a plan they’re pitching as a way to secure “cleaner American energy,” highlighting existing legislation that seeks to advance the use of nuclear and natural gas. 

A press release packages the legislation together as the House GOP’s agenda for a cleaner energy future that moves toward gaining a “global competitive edge.” Democrats released a sprawling plan of their own earlier this month aiming to get the country on track to carbon neutrality by 2050. 

The details of the plan: Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) said in a joint statement that their plan will “help modernize our infrastructure and ensure America continues to lead the world in reducing emissions — while keeping the lights on and energy costs low.”

“Rather than Green New Deal-style regulations and job-crushing actions like canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, we urge Democrats to join us in a bipartisan way to advance these real, workable solutions. Our plan is a much better agenda to protect the environment, jobs, and our national security than their unworkable pie-in-the-sky mandates,” they said, taking a shot at Democrats.

The Democratic alternative: The Democrats’ earlier proposal, called the CLEAN Future Act, seeks to set a standard requiring electricity to come from clean sources by 2035, increase the deployment of electric vehicles and set energy efficiency targets for buildings.

Read more about the proposal here.

 

BURNING QUESTIONS: Congress investigating ‘clean coal’ tax credit

A congressional watchdog is investigating reports that some recipients of a tax credit for “clean coal” production increased rather than cut pollution.

The multibillion-dollar subsidy has gone to numerous major firms over the years, including financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs Group, drugmaker Mylan, and DTE Energy Co, the main utility for Detroit, according to Reuters. The IRS awards the subsidy based on lab results rather than real-world emissions, Reuters first reported Monday.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has launched the investigation following a Reuters investigation indicating some firms awarded the subsidy saw higher levels of pollution. A GAO official confirmed to The Hill that it is investigating the subsidy based on a congressional request.

Origins of the probe: A 2018 Reuters special report found that Duke Energy, another recipient of the tax credit, produced nitrogen oxide emission rates between 33 percent and 76 percent higher at a North Carolina facility from 2012 to 2014, the first three years it received the subsidy.

Read more here.

 

ADMIT IT: SEC to weigh requiring further climate disclosures to investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will seek public comment on whether to require companies to make more extensive disclosures to investors about climate-related risks, acting Chairwoman Allison Herren Lee said Monday.

In remarks at the liberal think tank the Center for American Progress, Lee noted that investor demand for such information has substantially increased over the last decade. As that demand has increased, she said, it has given rise to more questions about whether current climate disclosures provide sufficient information.

In May, an SEC committee signed off on recommendations for an update to the guidelines as pertaining to “material, decision-useful environmental, social, and governance … factors.”

The committee’s Environmental, Social and Governance Subcommittee issued a preliminary recommendation for the SEC to require standards for climate disclosure that December.

Read more here.

 

ON TAP TOMORROW:

• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on research for transportation technology, including to reduce emissions

 

BIDEN NAMES DOE VET TO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL DIVISION

President Biden will nominate Todd Kim as assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, the White House announced Monday.

Kim currently serves as the Department of Energy’s Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation, and Enforcement. He has also worked as an appellate lawyer with the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. He previously served as Solicitor General for the District of Columbia and clerked for Judge Judith Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

 

WHAT WE’RE READING:

Homeowners in an Outer Banks town face a tax increase of nearly 50 percent to protect against the impacts of climate change, The New York Times reports

Understaffed chemical safety board ripe for revamp as probes lag, Bloomberg Law reports

The end of border wall construction on a border wall through California’s Jacumba Wilderness leaves uncertainty in the future, according to The Desert Sun

Warrant issued, Bundy arrested after failing to appear in a Boise courtroom for trial, The Idaho Statesman reports