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Energy & Environment
The Big Story
EPA proposes stricter regulations on lead exposure in residential buildings
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new proposed rule to tighten regulations on lead exposure in residential buildings and child care facilities.
The proposed rule would place the threshold to be considered hazardous at any level higher than zero, establishing any amount of lead in a building as a health hazard.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects the new rules would limit 250,000 to 500,000 children’s exposure to lead annually.
Lead has been linked to numerous pediatric health problems in particular, including brain and nerve damage and learning disabilities.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to ensuring that the most vulnerable among us — our children — are protected from exposure to lead,” EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said in a written statement.
“This proposal to safely remove lead paint along with our other efforts to deliver clean drinking water and replace lead pipes will go a long way toward protecting the health of our next generation of leaders,” McCabe said.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
The air in East Palestine, Ohio, had high levels of a chemical irritant in the weeks following the February derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
The wood products industry is massively undercounting its impact on the climate, a new study has found. Through its production of paper, pulp, pellets and lumber, the industry releases at least …
News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:
Crawford Lake shows humans started a new chapter in geologic time, scientists say (The Washington Post)
Large hydropower project proposed in Texas generating opposition even as details still are emerging (The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat)
The nation’s largest dam removal project begins in California, but new concerns arise (The San Francisco Chronicle)
Triple-digit temperatures persist across Southwest as heat dome expands (NBC News)
Climate change is making our oceans change color, new research finds (CNN)
On Tap
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
On Thursday the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “The State Department’s Climate Agenda: A Budget Overview by the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.” U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry is slated to testify.
Upcoming Event
The Hill’s Clean Energy Permitting Reform: The Path Ahead — Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 8-10 a.m. ET | National Press Club
Join The Hill on July 26 as we convene lawmakers, clean energy experts and executives to discuss renewable energy infrastructure deployment, reaching clean energy goals and the outlook for greater reforms.
Guests include:
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), member of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee
Maria Robinson, director, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy
Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), vice chair of the Energy, Climate & Grid Security Subcommittee and vice chair of the Federal Lands Subcommittee
Xan Fishman, director of energy policy & carbon management at the Bipartisan Policy Center
Shannon Baker-Branstetter, senior director, domestic climate & energy policy, Center for American Progress
Heather Reams, president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES)
Jesse Simons, co-founder & chief commercial officer at SOLARCYCLE
MyPillow is auctioning off hundreds of pieces of equipment and subleasing some manufacturing spaces amid what founder and CEO Mike Lindell calls “a massive, massive cancellation.” Read more
Former President Trump is taking a risk in targeting Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), picking a fight with an influential and well-liked figure in the first state on next year’s GOP presidential primary calendar. Read more
Opinions in The Hill
Op-eds related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill:
