Biden went big on highway removal. Now it’s in jeopardy.

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Aug 05, 2024 View in browser   By Mike Lee Presented by  Drivers navigate the Inner Loop expressway of Rochester, New York, on April 29, 2022. | Ted Shaffrey/AP The presidential election could decide the fate of one of the Biden administration’s most audacious transportation plans: to rebuild neighborhoods divided by a highway construction boom in the 1950s and 1960s. Congress created a $1 billion grant program in 2021 to help tear out old freeways and reconnect neighborhoods that had been split and in some cases demolished by the interstate construction boom. A lot of those freeways divided Black and inner-city neighborhoods in the name of urban renewal, often bulldozing homes in the process. Congress put up more money through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law, for projects that help rebuild and green neighborhoods divided by highways. The Biden administration’s effort marks the first time the federal government has dedicated funds for taking down freeways built in a different era. “There is racism physically built into some of our highways,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in 2021. That was good news for cities like Rochester and Syracuse in upstate New York. Rochester, which tore out a section of its Inner Loop freeway in 2014, helped spawn the freeway removal movement. The city is considering using one of the federal grants to help tear out a second section of the Inner Loop. Syracuse is already pulling down a section of Interstate 81 that tore through one of the city’s Black neighborhoods, and it obtained a $180 million federal grant to help pay for parks, trails and other amenities in the area. As I report today, a second Trump administration would likely put some of those plans in jeopardy. Unlike most highway funding, which is doled out to the states, discretionary grants are distributed based on funding agreements with local governments. If those agreements aren’t finalized, or “obligated” in government-speak, a new administration could conceivably claw back the money or repurpose it. That likely wouldn’t keep local governments from pursuing the freeway removal projects. But it could remove funding for amenities to help rebuild neighborhoods once the freeways are gone. Losing the amenities would be “an epic fail,” according to the Rev. DeCarto Draper, whose church sits a few blocks from the aging freeway in Syracuse. So far, a little more than 3 percent of the funds set aside in the 2021 infrastructure law and the IRA have been fully obligated. The Department of Transportation is trying to streamline the process, and it expects to sign several project agreements in the next few months. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has embraced the freeway removal program. In April, she visited Atlanta to promote a $158 million grant that will pay to put a paved cap over a freeway in the city’s downtown — reconnecting a historic Black neighborhood to the business district and creating 14 acres of space for new development. During the Trump administration, the Department of Transportation repurposed an innovation grant fund mostly to help build rural roads. Late in his term, he talked about diverting federal funds from “anarchist jurisdictions” like New York City and Seattle.   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Mike Lee. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jkirkland@eenews.net.   During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Ry Rivard breaks down the legal battles ahead for New Jersey's environmental justice law.   A message from Williams: As clean, reliable energy demand increases at historic rates, one company is uniquely positioned to accelerate America forward: Williams. We have 116 years of experience in powering the nation, handling 1/3 of its natural gas—and we’re ready to help the country take the next step. Learn how we’re changing America’s future for the better in our latest Sustainability Report.   Power Centers Reliability concerns are being raised by New York's grid operator. | Charlie Riedel/AP EPA Trump 2.0 Veterans of the Environmental Protection Agency and environmentalists who formed a group called the Environmental Protection Network as Donald Trump entered his first term in office are preparing for a potential second round with the former president, Robin Bravender reports. It would be “in some ways a return to the roots of the Environmental Protection Network,” said Jeremy Symons, a senior adviser at the network and a former EPA official. During the Trump years, the group was concerned his appointees wouldn't follow the agency's mission to protect public health. They distributed information to journalists, Capitol Hill staffers and advocacy groups on the impact of Trump policies. Trump has said he'd like to slash EPA’s size and scope. As president, he proposed steep budget cuts to the agency, although his efforts were largely blunted by Congress. “One of the things that is so bad for us is the environmental agencies. They make it impossible to do anything,” Trump said in a June interview. Raking in profits Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips topped analysts’ expectations for second-quarter earnings, Shelby Webb and Heather Richards report. Most of the billions of dollars in company earnings came from oil and gas production, and executives said they would be spending more on new exploration projects in the future. Exxon said oil and gas production in its upstream business grew by 15 percent quarter to quarter. Much of that was the result of record production in both the Permian Basin and the South American country of Guyana. Help for butterflies The Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to add the two subspecies of a large butterfly known as the regal fritillary to the list of threatened and endangered species, Michael Doyle reports. Twelve years after receiving a petition from WildEarth Guardians, the federal agency announced the plan to list the eastern subspecies of the regal fritillary as endangered and the western subspecies as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.   A message from Williams:   In Other News Keep it cool: Some states are enacting laws to prevent utilities from shutting off residential power during heat advisories as deaths related to extreme heat occur. Cold weather, hot solution: Alaska and Maine are using an infusion of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to deploy efficient heat pumps.   A message from Williams: Williams has been powering our nation’s growth since 1908—and we’re ready to power the next 100 years of clean energy innovation, with sustainability goals based on five pillars: 1. Providing Clean, Reliable and Affordable Energy We’re leveraging 116 years to accelerate our contributions to sustainability. 2. Minimizing Our Footprint We’ve reduced emissions intensity by 26% since 2018, while increasing energy throughput by 47%. 3. Protecting People and Strengthening Infrastructure Our Pipeline Integrity Program utilizes the latest innovations to keep our employees and communities safe. 4. Building an Empowered Workforce Our Employee Resource Groups enable a culture of understanding across our entire company. 5. Strengthening Our Communities In 2023 alone, we donated over $13.1 million to 2,142 organizations across 47 states and Washington, D.C. Read how we’re powering a better future for all Americans in our latest Sustainability Report.   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. The luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity is anchored outside Nome, Alaska, in the Bering Sea. | Mark Thiessen/AP Climate change is making the Arctic more hazardous for shipping, as melting ice sheets create more floating ice and chokepoints. Leticia Reis de Carvalho, a Brazilian oceanographer, will lead the International Seabed Authority, which has been weighing whether to adopt rules on mining seafloors for minerals that are essential for electric vehicle batteries. The possible use of a utility-scale battery over a fossil fuel plant as part of New York's plan to determine energy costs could trigger a bitter battle. That's it for today, folks! 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