OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senate confirms Michael Regan as EPA chief | Biden delays Trump changes to lead and copper drinking water rule | Trump FWS faulted for lack of opinions 

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REGAN TO BEGIN: Senate votes to confirm Michael Regan to lead the EPA

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Michael Regan as the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), putting him in charge of an agency that will play a key role in implementing President Biden’s climate agenda.

The Senate voted 66-34 in favor of Regan’s nomination. He will be the first Black man to lead the EPA.

Regan, who became North Carolina’s top environmental regulator in 2017, will now take the reins of an agency that rolled back dozens of environmental protections under former President Trump. The Biden administration is expected to restore many of those regulations.

Supporters say: “Under Donald Trump, the EPA weakened environmental protections, fudged the science [and] completely ignored climate change to potentially disastrous effect, unfortunately,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) “It’s high time the Senate confirmed someone like Michael Regan, who has made environmental protection the cause of his career, to lead the agency and set it back on its proper footing.”

But opponents think that experience isn’t necessarily a good thing:  “He and the administration are plainly prepared to put that experience behind the same far-left policies that crushed jobs and prosperity in states like Kentucky throughout the Obama Administration,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“The Clean Power Plan? Back on the table. The absurd Waters of the United States rule? Back on the table,” he added, referring to the power plant rule and a rule that sought to give Clean Water Act protections to small bodies of water.

Read more about Regan’s confirmation here.

 

TAKING THE LEAD: Biden delays Trump changes to the Lead and Copper rule

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it is delaying the implementation of a Trump administration update to a rule governing lead and copper in drinking water. 

Why it matters: The rule in question is expected to quicken the speed at which cities need to notify people who may have been exposed to lead but gives utilities a longer timeline to replace lead-tainted service lines. 

A new statement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that it is extending the date that the rule becomes effective, delaying it until at least June 17. It was originally expected to go into effect next week. 

The EPA said that it will also take public comment on an action that would extend the effective date until Dec. 16. 

The deets on the rule: The Trump administration’s rule would require monitoring for lead at primary schools and child care centers. It would also require cities to notify residents of potential lead exposure within 24 hours. 

However, the rule extends the amount of time utilities have to replace the lead service lines that connect homes to the water supply. Critics argue that the extension could allow lead-tainted pipes to remain underground for another 30 years.

Read more about the delay here.

 

WHAT’S GAO-ING ON TODAY: Fish and Wildlife Service under Trump faulted for lack of opinions

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) did not provide an opinion on the majority of consultation requests reviewed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), despite a requirement in the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA), according to a report released Wednesday by the GAO.

CBRA requires FWS to consult with federal agencies ahead of any major projects likely to affect federally protected coastal zones.

Not opinionated: However, of 31 projects in fiscal 2018 and 2019 analyzed by the GAO, FWS did not provide an opinion for 18, according to the report.

In 2019, the Interior Department issued an opinion expanding the FWS’s capacity to grant exemptions to the consultation requirement.

Read more about the GAO’s report on FWS consultations here. 

 

THE CHIMES, THEY ARE A’CHANGING: Climate change will have ‘far-reaching’ impacts on electric grid

Climate change will have “far-reaching” impacts on the electric grid that could cost billions of dollars, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO). 

The report, released Wednesday by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), comes after power outages related to a winter storm in Texas last month brought renewed attention to the issue. 

The GAO reviewed reports to determine that climate change, which has been linked to extreme weather events, is expected to impact “all aspects” of the electricity grid including electricity generation, transmission and distribution to users. 

Read more about the report on climate and the grid here.

 

ON TAP TOMORROW:

• The Senate will hold a procedural vote on Deb Haaland’s nomination
• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will vote on whether to advance the nomination of David Turk to be second-in-command at the Energy Department
• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will also have a hearing on electricity reliability, resiliency, and affordability
• The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee will have a hearing called “Farmers and Foresters: Opportunities to Lead in Tackling Climate Change”

 

WHAT WE’RE READING:

High Levels Of ‘Forever Chemicals’ Detected In Northern Virginia Drinking Water, DCist reports

In new oversight role, Katie Porter targets oil industry, E&E News reports

Gen Z’s high-speed rail meme dream, explained, Vox reports

Kerry wants world’s biggest polluters to pledge real change, The Associated Press reports

The UN warns governments are failing to fulfill talk of green Covid recovery, The Guardian reports

 

ICYMI: Stories from Wednesday (and Tuesday night)…

Schumer moves to break GOP holds on Haaland

Pentagon announces climate working group

Climate change will have ‘far-reaching’ impacts on electric grid, watchdog says

Former EPA head says agency must ‘re-establish a commitment to sound science’

Bipartisan bill seeks to raise fees for public lands drilling