OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Comment period for EPA’s climate rule closes

by Laura Barron-Lopez and Timothy Cama - 12/01/14 6:03 PM ET

TIME’S UP: Close of business Monday was the deadline for formal comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) landmark climate rule for power plants.

While many groups appeared to wait until the last minute to click “send,” comments published earlier than that offered a glimpse into the arguments being presented to the EPA.

{mosads}The Partnership for a Better Energy Future wrote that the rule “is incompatible with numerous practical and technical aspects of America’s electricity system and would represent a vast expansion of the agency’s regulatory reach into the authority held by states and other federal regulatory agencies.”

On the other side are groups like the Sierra Club, which welcomed the rule, but pushed for it to be stronger.

“The urgency of the climate crisis and the imperative for the U.S. to lead global efforts to reduce climate pollution demands stronger action,” it said.

Read more here about the more than 1.6 million comments that EPA officials now have about six months to read.

ON TAP TUESDAY I: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will consider the Super Pollutants Act of 2014, which will target non-carbon greenhouse gas emissions. The bipartisan legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

ON TAP TUESDAY II: An Environment and Public Works subcommittee will hold a hearing on innovative ways treatment facilities can manage wastewater and water supplies

Rest of Tuesday’s agenda…

Corporate sustainability group Ceres will hold a press briefing Tuesday with some of its members to discuss its support for the EPA’s climate rule. Guests will include executives from Nestlé Waters North America, real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, National Grid and Burton Snowboards.

Resources for the Future and the Electric Power Research Institute will host a webinar exploring the various cost estimates of the EPA’s climate rule for power plants, including the ones included in its own regulatory analysis and ones from outside groups.

The Woodrow Wilson Center will host a program with the World Bank to discuss a report on how to tackle the “new climate normal.” Jorge Familiar, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank, will participate.

WHILE YOU WERE EATING TURKEY…

You probably were busy eating lots of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce, and for good reason, this past week, so here is a refresher:

The EPA released its long-delayed proposal to regulate ground-level ozone, a smog-causing pollutant. The administration wants to cut the allowable threshold for ground-level ozone to between 65 and 70 parts per billion, down from the current 75 parts per billion.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced it wouldn’t cut production after a meeting last week. The move caused oil prices to plummet even further on Friday, dropping 7 percent to $68 a barrel.

And The Hill explored the five major actions greens would like to see from Obama before he leaves office and the five threats to the EPA’s climate rule.

AROUND THE WEB:

Indian leaders are likely to announce a pledge to curb carbon emissions during President Obama’s visit there in January, Business Standard reports.

Florida slashed green energy goals for the state’s electric utilities, citing costs, the Tampa Tribune reports.

Some towns in Texas are looking to follow in the footsteps of Denton, a north Texas city that voted last month to ban hydraulic fracturing within its limits, the Associated Press reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Monday’s stories…

— EPA flooded with climate rule comments

— Oil CEO loses $10B from price tumble

— EPA: Climate rule input is ‘top priority’

— Reps enlist Reagan to sell gas tax

— Fuel manufacturer threatens to sue EPA over 2015 fuel mandate

— Comments on EPA climate rule top 1.6M

— Industry wants Clinton to be ‘voice of reason’ on coal

— Over 190 nations meet in Lima to talk climate

— Oil price hits five-year low

— Week ahead: EPA hits homestretch on climate rule