HAPPY THURSDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at rbeitsch@digital-release.thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@digital-release.thehill.com or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin.
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TRUMP TO VISIT LAURA DAMAGE: President Trump said Thursday he plans to visit the Gulf Coast region damaged by Hurricane Laura, probably as soon as this weekend.
Trump also told reporters that he considered postponing his keynote speech to the Republican National Convention — scheduled for Thursday evening — to visit storm-ravaged areas but that he didn’t need to once the storm weakened.
“I was actually prepared to postpone the speech tonight and make it on Monday,” Trump told reporters during a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) briefing on the hurricane, saying he was planning to travel to Texas, Louisiana and possibly Arkansas.
“But now it turned out we got a little bit lucky. It was very big and it was very powerful but it passed quickly, and so, everything is on schedule,” he continued.
The president said he would be touring storm damage “very shortly,” likely either on Saturday or Sunday.
Laura made landfall in Louisiana on Thursday morning, weakening from a Category 4 to a Category 2 hurricane. The storm brought damaging winds, heavy rain and flooding, causing hundreds of thousands of people to lose power.
And, many have been left without power as a result…
About 600,000 people are without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, according to Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.
Brouillette also said that he’d be approving a request from a utility to provide emergency power later on Thursday.
He told reporters that there has been some damage to oil and gas infrastructure, but noted that based on initial assessments, he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the damage is minor.
“There is some damage to some of the facilities but it appears to be somewhat light. It is not significant in nature, meaning that the operations of these facilities will probably continue in very short order,” he said.
The Colonial Pipeline, the largest refined products pipeline in the country, never lost power and doesn’t seem to be damaged, he said, meaning that it will continue to carry energy “up to the Northeast and we shouldn’t see too much in terms of shortages.”
The storm comes at a time of decreased oil demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, government and industry officials didn’t express concern about supply.
“We’re still in a period of depressed demand as a result of COVID so the inventories are still high across the industry,” Brouillette said. “I’ve not been made aware of any shut-ins as a result of the lack of refining capacity due to the hurricane passing through Louisiana, so I think at the moment everything seems to be steady.”
Read more about the president’s trip here and read more about the impacts to the energy sector here.
OPENING THE HATCH: The National Park Service (NPS) is in hot water with ethics watchdogs for a slickly produced video promoting President Trump along with its plans to host a fireworks spectacle after his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.
Trump is slated to give his convention speech on Thursday from the White House South Lawn, followed by fireworks at the nearby Washington Monument on Park Service property. Those plans come on the heels of an NPS video publicly praising the president for his involvement in legislation providing more funding to parks.
The two instances are leading to allegations that federal employees are engaging in political activity while at work — a violation of the Hatch Act.
“Federal appropriations laws make it clear government dollars are meant to be used to serve the American public, not to help political office holders remain in power, and that appears to be what this video and what this event on the Mall is designed to do,” Donald Sherman, deputy director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told The Hill.
Trump has repeatedly pushed for fireworks displays near national monuments for various events, such as this year’s Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore. But ethics experts say timing this week’s fireworks with a major prime-time campaign speech is the most clear cut example yet that Trump seeks political benefits from using government property as a backdrop.
“Enlisting the Park Service to put on a show for the Republican National Convention is another deviation, even from his own past practice, and a bridge too far in using federal resources for political activity,” Sherman said.
The Republican National Convention has said it will reimburse the NPS for the costs of the display, but a heavily redacted copy of the permit makes it unclear what those expenses are and how they were calculated.
The agency did not respond to questions on the total cost or the ethical issues raised.
Any group can apply to have a First Amendment event at a national park that doesn’t otherwise fit within the park service’s mission. Ethics experts say it’s very difficult for career NPS officials to refuse a request, from the White House or any other entity.
“The blame for politicizing these spaces lies with the president and the folks asking the Park Service to do this kind of stuff,” said Delaney Marsco, an ethics expert with the Campaign Legal Center.
“There’s a reason no other president has given a campaign speech in the Rose Garden. There is a reason no other president has given a campaign speech at the Lincoln Memorial. When we say no other president has done X, Y or Z, there is a reason why. It’s because they know it’s wrong,” she said.
Ethics watchdogs have raised concerns about other aspects of this year’s GOP convention, particularly Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem while on official business.
Critics say Trump’s desire to use public lands for his campaign goes beyond fireworks displays. A video from the Interior Department released this month praises the president for the recently passed Great American Outdoors Act, a bill that provides extra funding to parks that Trump has proposed cutting in each annual budget since he took office.
The video shows hikers, park rangers and scenic national parks with the text: “President Trump called on Congress to protect our national parks and federal lands.”
The video later uses quotes taken out of context from The Hill and Politico praising the bipartisan legislation.
One quote, calling the bill “the legislation of a generation,” is used as if it is a statement from The Hill, when it is a statement from an op-ed published in The Hill that was authored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is running for reelection in a tight race.
“You shouldn’t have a federal government agency putting out a video that’s essentially a very loosely disguised campaign spot,” Marsco said. “My sense is that this administration doesn’t particularly care about respecting the line between political and official business, and that’s the problem. They’re willing to use agencies and public lands for political purposes.”
Interior said the video was cleared by its ethics office and legal counsel.
“It’s unfortunate and sad to see uninformed special interest groups attack the integrity of the Departmental Ethics Office and such a historic and bipartisan legislative achievement that will ensure generations of Americans can enjoy national parks and public lands,” Interior spokesman Ben Goldey said in a statement.
CREW argues the video violates the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which states, “No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other act shall be used directly or indirectly, including by private contractor, for publicity or propaganda purposes.”
Read more about the ethics criticism here.
TREE UP: The U.S. is officially participating in a global program that aims to plant 1 trillion trees worldwide, something that Republicans, including President Trump, have latched on to as a way to combat climate change.
The U.S. chapter of the One Trillion Trees program, launched Thursday, aims to plant at least 855 million trees by 2030.
The goal of the initiative is to try to pull carbon out of the air through reforestation, though scientists have said planting trees isn’t a panacea and that the U.S. will also have to significantly reduce its emissions to mitigate climate change impacts.
As of its launch, 26 nonprofit organizations, cities and companies in the U.S. have committed to participate in the program. They include the cities of Detroit and Dallas and companies Mastercard, Microsoft and Bank of America, as well as organizations like the American Forest Foundation.
The global One Trillion Trees Initiative was launched through the World Economic Forum, and Trump announced in January that the U.S. would join.
This is one of the few initiatives supported by the Trump administration that actually seeks to limit climate change. It also has sought to reduce emissions caps on vehicles, power plants and the oil and gas sector, steps likely to exacerbate climate change.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt celebrated the news on Thursday, tweeting that the department would partner with the organization to “restore & conserve our forests.”
Asked for more details, Interior spokesperson Ben Goldey said in an email that the department is “setting goals to increase our focus on conservation and land health” but did not provide specifics.
Read more about the U.S. joining the Trillion Trees Initiative here.
RNC RECAP: Both Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) hit Democratic candidate Joe Biden on energy and environment issues.
Pence repeated the president’s frequent false claim that Biden would end fracking, one method of extracting oil and gas. Biden’s climate plan does not call for a ban on the practice, but the candidate would end new permits for extracting oil gas from publicly-owned lands and waters.
“Where this president achieved energy independence for the United States, Joe Biden would abolish fossil fuels, end fracking and impose a regime of climate change regulations that would drastically increase the cost of living for working families,” Pence said.
Ernst praised the Trump administration’s rollback of regulations for small bodies of water, which the Obama administration argued should be protected to prevent pollution from reaching larger water sources. The rule was unpopular among farmers, many of whom thought it was too far-reaching in protecting the small bodies that run through their property,
“We scrapped Obama and Biden’s punishing Waters of the United States rule, which would’ve regulated about 97 percent of land in Iowa, in some cases, even puddles. It would’ve been a nightmare for farmers,” Ernst said.
She also claimed that Democrats would “eliminate gas powered cars.” Biden’s plan doesn’t call for getting rid of cars that use gasoline, but he has supported accelerating the deployment of electric cars and setting tighter fuel economy standards.
DO WE HAVE CHEMISTRY? On Monday, August 31, The Hill will hold a virtual event titled Science & American Advancement. Science and advancement go hand-in-hand. However, the way science works, not by straight lines, but sometimes by accident, can frustrate strict timelines and investment efforts. Why is continued scientific investment so important? Can science overcome many of the challenges it faces today in order to lead us to a brighter future? The Hill will bring policy-makers and thought leaders together to look at the historical contributions science has made to American advancement and the status of the scientific community today, featuring Former National Science Foundation Director France Córdova, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN), Energy Department Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar and more. RSVP today: https://bit.ly/2FT87wT.
ON TAP TONIGHT:
President Trump is slated to speak during the final night of the Republican National Convention.
OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY:
Oil exploration risks unleashing explosives hidden along Atlantic Ocean floor, Florida Today reports
Chemical fire reported in Louisiana following Hurricane Laura’s landfall, Nola.com reports
Judge refuses to dismiss EPA from federal Flint water crisis lawsuit, MLive.com reports
ICYMI: Stories from Thursday (and Wednesday night)…
Court finds EPA skirted air laws with ‘pernicious loophole’
Green groups fight EPA rollback limiting states from blocking projects
North Carolina sues federal government over approval of seismic tests for oil and gas
NOAA allegedly halts scientific integrity probe on endangered whale conservation
Trump says he will tour damage from Hurricane Laura
US officially joins global trillion tree planting initiative
Park Service under fire for role in GOP convention
Hurricane Laura makes landfall as Category 4 storm
About 600,000 without power after Hurricane Laura, Energy secretary says
FROM THE HILL’S OPINION PAGES:
Think the pandemic is bad? We’re setting ourselves up for a lot worse, writes Philip B. Duffy, the president of the Woodwell Climate Research Center.