WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! The Department of Health and Human Services released a strategy report today that outlined several policy changes by federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. We take a look at the details of the report and what agency changes the EPA will be making.
In other news, House lawmakers are examining energy efficiency policies at a time when the Trump administration and Republicans have pushed to roll back energy standards for home appliances.
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EPA RESTRUCTURING TO ADDRESS CHILDREN’S HEALTH: The Trump administration released its Make America Healthy Again strategy this afternoon, which called on a number of federal agencies to take action to improve children’s health.
As part of the strategy, the Environmental Protection Agency will undergo restructuring, with the newly announced Office of Applied Sciences and Environmental Solutions focusing on research and providing better support to other agencies, as well as offering technical assistance to states.
The EPA will also utilize new staff in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and the Office of Water to expedite reviews, leveraging advanced technology and science to inform decisions.
The strategy highlighted the partnership between the EPA and Department of Agriculture to promote farming solutions to better soil health and stewardship of the land like reducing pesticides. The report also noted the agencies would look to improve water quality regarding PFAS, or Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, also known as “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to serious health problems.
ENERGY AND COMMERCE HEARING ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing today to examine home energy efficiency policies and building codes.
The hearing comes at a time when Republicans and the Trump administration have rolled back a number of efficiency standards for home and building appliances.
Republicans said in the last several years the Department of Energy has issued a number of regulations for appliances or equipment that have not saved consumers on energy or costs. They noted that the DOE has proposed standards that discourage the use of natural gas in favor of electric appliances.
Committee chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky said the Biden administration issued nearly 30 energy efficiency regulations, which he said have cost the economy billions of dollars.
“American ratepayers are seeing the impact of these misguided policies reflected in their utility bills already as more strain is placed on the grid and baseload sources like natural gas are restricted,” Guthrie said.
Republicans via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act terminated a number of tax credits that homeowners can receive for updating to energy efficiency appliances.
Committee ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey said, “we’re likely to hear Republicans misrepresent the facts around energy efficiency, conservation standards and building codes.”
Pallone added that energy efficiency discourages natural gas products but the law “prohibits” the DOE from eliminating products based on fuel source.
“Republicans’ ‘big, ugly bill’ is projected to raise electricity prices by an astonishing 61% over the next decade, costing Americans nearly $300 more each year and Trump ran on a promise to cut energy costs in half in his first year,” he said.
DOE STANDS BY COMMITMENT TO HANFORD SITE CLEANUP: The Department of Energy is pushing back against reports that the Trump administration is threatening nuclear waste cleanup efforts at the Hanford site in Washington state.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright put out a statement this afternoon saying the agency has made “no changes to its longstanding commitment to the environmental cleanup of the Hanford site.”
“DOE is continuing to examine testing and operations of the DFLAW site to ensure waste disposal options are safe, cost-effective, and environmentally sound,” Wright continued. “Across the entire Department, we are actively working to improve the safety and efficacy of the important work we do each and every day.”
Recent firing: The statement comes just one day after E&E News reported that DOE had fired a top official overseeing the cleanup of the Hanford site. A source with knowledge of the event told the outlet that DOE fired Roger Jarrell, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Environmental Management, over Wright’s desire to go in a “different direction” for the cleanup.
The source said they believed that DOE leadership wanted to get rid of the agency’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project at the site, which is estimated to cost up to $30 billion and has taken nearly 30 years to build. The facility is expected to process and stabilize much of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored at the Hanford site.
Worries in Congress: Democratic Sen. Patty Murray quickly spoke out against the alleged shift in focus, saying she would not allow the Trump administration to upend the project.
“Hanford is the largest nuclear cleanup site in our country; it is not only dangerous, but it is more costly in the long run to try to do nuclear waste cleanup on the cheap,” the Washington senator said in a statement.
“We are so close to turning nuclear waste into glass at Hanford, with the Waste Treatment Plant literally slated for hot commissioning next month—I will not stand by and let the Trump administration kneecap the Hanford cleanup mission and violate the legally-binding Holistic Agreement because they are ignorant and corrupt,” she added.
TRUMP ADMIN SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENTS TO IMPROVE NATIONAL PARKS EXPERIENCE: The National Park Service is looking for advice from the general public on how to improve visitor services at national parks across the country, in an effort to support the president’s agenda to “make America beautiful again.”
The NPS will be accepting comments from the public through Oct. 9 for any recommendations on how the agency can more efficiently offer visitor services. These services include educational, experiential, and interpretive programs offered at park locations, as well as the maintenance of physical resources like bathrooms, campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails and much more.
Members of the public can submit any comments related to the request here.
FOSSIL FUEL FIRM GOING GEOTHERMAL: Oilfield service firm Baker Hughes is chugging along on the clean energy train, as it plans to collaborate on a massive geothermal project in California.
The details: Baker Hughes is partnering with geothermal and critical minerals company Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) to advance the development of one of the world’s largest geothermal energy projects.
CTR has been developing its Hell’s Kitchen Project in Imperial County, California, for more than 10 years. The site is expected to support both geothermal power production as well as the extraction of critical minerals like lithium. The project was selected to be covered by Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, also known as FAST-41, to accelerate its permitting process.
Baker Hughes will be coming in to deploy high-temperature drilling technologies, field services, and power systems traditionally used in the fossil fuel sector in order to help deploy around 500 megawatts of geothermal energy.
“Baker Hughes has built its reputation on delivering world-class services and is blazing a trail to advance geothermal development in the United States,” said Rod Colwell, chief executive of CTR. “Their proven technologies and disciplined execution are game changers for our growing industry, and combined with CTR’s development expertise at the Salton Sea, we are setting new benchmarks for reliable and resilient power infrastructure.”
PLUS SUPPORT ON WALL STREET: Advancements in geothermal tech are also catching the eye of investors on Wall Street. Salim Samaha, head of transition fund at BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, said earlier today that the firm believes both geothermal and nuclear energy can provide major returns for its clients.
When considering future investments, BlackRock’s GIP is weighing clean fuels, decarbonization, a “circular economy,” and electrification, Samaha said during Hong Kong Green Week, according to Bloomberg. As a result, clean baseload resources like geothermal and nuclear have “enormous, enormous opportunity,” he said.
BlackRock’s GIP currently only lists one geothermal focused company in its portfolio: California-based Terra-Gen Power. Given the public support from executives like Samaha, the firm’s portfolio will very likely expand.
LESS MONEY AT THE PUMP, MORE IN YOUR WALLETS: The Energy Information Administration estimated today that U.S. drivers are set to spend the smallest share of their disposable income on gasoline in roughly 20 years.
In its September Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA forecast that drivers will spend less than 3% of personal disposable income at the pump – the lowest share since 2005 (excluding 2020).
“The good news for consumers is that we are generally seeing lower prices at the pump, and we expect gasoline prices to keep trending lower through next year,” EIA Acting Administrator Steve Nalley said.
The EIA is still expecting global oil and gas prices to continue to fall this year and through 2026, with International crude benchmark Brent hitting nearly $50 per barrel next year. For prices at the pump, EIA forecasts that the average retail prices for regular grade gasoline will sit at around $3.10 per gallon for 2025, and drop to $2.90 per gallon in 2026.
CHINA’S RISE IN RENEWABLE ENERGY WILL DRIVE DOWN GLOBAL FOSSIL FUEL USE: China’s adoption of renewable energy sources like solar and wind is leading to a decline in global fossil fuel use, according to a report by the think tank Ember.
China’s rapid adoption of renewable energy sources like wind and solar has resulted in a 2% drop in fossil fuel generation for the first half of this year. China is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions but has been leading in the renewable energy transition.
“China accounted for two-thirds of global fossil fuel demand increase during the decade from 2012 to 2022,” the report said. “Falling demand in China, combined with accelerating uptake of clean electro- technologies worldwide, looks set to create the conditions for global fossil fuel demand to decline.”
Ember said China’s wind and solar generation more than doubled between 2021 and 2024. Battery deployment has tripled in the last three years, with China adding more than the U.S. and European Union combined, the report said.
EXXON MOVES FORWARD INTO THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE SECTOR: Exxon Mobil will acquire a production facility, research center, and other assets from Chicago-based Superior Graphite, the New York Times reports, as it aims to directly produce graphite as part of a larger effort to supply materials used in electric vehicles.
Graphite is an essential material for building EV batteries. Exxon is planning to start commercial-scale production in 2029. The company is also working on drilling in Arkansas for lithium, another key component of EV batteries.
“Like in any market, there are fluctuations in the near term,” Dave Andrew, Exxon’s vice president of new market development, told the New York Times. “But we fundamentally see the demand for batteries and electric vehicles and, increasingly, in large-scale energy storage solutions, increasing over the longer term.”
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