BLM'S 2013 THROWBACK: The Bureau of Land Management signed a record of decision Monday restoring the management of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to the plan set by the Obama administration. The decision to revert the leasable land back to the 52 percent level set in 2013 comes after the Trump administration had green-lit oil and gas drilling across about 82 percent of the reserve. The decision ensures the NPR-A will be managed consistent with the 2013 plan "while including certain more protective lease stipulations and operating procedures for threatened and endangered species," BLM said in its announcement. Kristen Miller, conservation director for the Alaska Wilderness League, called returning to the 2013 management plan "the right move in the near term," which will restore protections to critical areas like Teshekpuk Lake. But Kristen Monsell of the Center for Biological Diversity said the move was not enough "at a time when we desperately need to end Arctic oil leasing." Monsell added: "Addressing the climate emergency means ending new fossil fuel extraction, and we can't keep going in the opposite direction." HOWE OUT: The White House on Monday withdrew the nomination of Amanda Howe to run EPA's Office of Mission Support. The White House and EPA did not return questions about the withdrawal. Howe, a longtime Democratic official in Virginia and New York City, sailed through committee in December in part because OMS is primarily an administrative branch of EPA, not a regulatory one. But she has not advanced since then. Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) have placed holds on all pending EPA nominees over policy spats with the agency, preventing Howe from securing a quick confirmation. FERC GETS MORE FEEDBACK ON GHG POLICY: Comments trickled in Monday afternoon as various groups — again — gave FERC their thoughts on its proposed pipeline policy statements that would update how the agency permits fossil fuel infrastructure. Industry groups maintained that FERC's proposed rule changes discourage investment in gas infrastructure and inject uncertainty into the natural gas market at a time when the U.S. needs to strengthen domestic energy production. EPA, meanwhile, expressed support for the proposals, arguing the new guidance "better aligns" the independent agency with its statutory authorities. States were also split on the proposal, with utility regulators in Ohio and Louisiana largely echoing the concerns of industry, and New York and New Jersey environmental and ratepayer offices supporting stronger standards. "The status quo isn't working for frontline communities and the planet," said Moneen Nasmith, senior attorney at Earthjustice, in a statement. In their comments, Earthjustice, NRDC, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund and Food and Water Watch called on FERC to provide regularity certainty, legal durability and protect vulnerable communities. FERC initiated another comment period during its March meeting when it decided to change both its policy statements to drafts and solicit more feedback before applying new guidance to the industry. The decision followed weeks of blowback from industry and lawmakers after the rules were first proposed in February. NO LNG PASS FOR FERC: Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen is challenging a FERC decision to not exercise regulatory authority over a small liquefied natural gas terminal in Florida, arguing the commission erred in finding the facility is not subject to federal oversight. FERC in March agreed with the project's argument that it did not fall under the agency's jurisdiction because it's located about a quarter mile from the point of LNG export, and doesn't directly transport the fuel for export. Instead, its fuel is loaded onto a truck which then transports the LNG to the cargo ships that would export the resource. But Public Citizen argues FERC has no discretion on when it can exercise its authority over LNG export terminals. "Congress has defined LNG terminals subject to the Commission's exclusive authority so expansively the Commission has no choice but to regulate any onshore facility (that is, one on land) engaged in the export of natural gas, regardless of whether it is liquefied, processed, or transported in boxes of Cracker Jack," the group wrote in its request for rehearing on the order. Public Citizen plans to bring the case to a federal appeals court if FERC doesn't "completely reverse themselves," which seems "unlikely," according to Tyson Slocum, the group's energy program director. "We're really shocked at how sloppy the FERC order is. They messed just about everything up," he said in an email. ADD ANOTHER LAWSUIT TO THE PILE: Friends of the Earth becomes the latest environmental group to file a freedom of information lawsuit stemming from the Interior Department's oil leasing program report. FOE's suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia targets the White House's Council of Environmental Quality, saying the agency hasn't responded to requests for "information concerning potential political interference" in Interior's November 2021 report. The lawsuit joins the one that Center for Biological Diversity and other groups filed in March seeking a first draftof the report that Interior sent to the White House. Environmental groups have criticized Interior's final report, saying that it did not go far enough to stop oil and gas drilling on public land. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: EPA will finalize its proposed renewable volume obligations by no later than June 3 under a consent decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Your ME host has the details for Pros.
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