WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy October, Daily on Energy readers! It’s officially spooky season – skeletons are soon to come out, pumpkins are set to be carved, and the government is…shut down.
Despite the shutdown, Washington, D.C., is buzzing and a top Republican in the Senate is set to introduce a new bill seeking to address damages to federal lands caused by illegal immigrants. Keep reading for the Daily on Energy exclusive.
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Today’s newsletter also takes a closer look at how National Parks and some federal programs will be affected by the federal funding lapse. Plus, we also reveal which sector in the energy industry has been granted a carve-out to continue federally related activities.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
EXCLUSIVE – LEE INTRODUCES BILL TO ADDRESS DAMAGES TO FEDERAL LANDS BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: Daily on Energy has obtained text of a bill Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee plans to introduce to address the environmental damage to federal public lands caused by illegal immigration.
The bill being introduced tomorrow, the Border Lands Conservation Act, is aimed at illegal immigration-related trash accumulation, abandoned vehicles, prohibited roads, and wildfires.
The details: The bill requires collaboration between the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Homeland Security to inventory existing roads and create navigable road infrastructure aimed at deterring illegal entry across both the southern and northern borders.
It proposes to amend the Wilderness Act to allow DHS to conduct operations within wilderness areas. The bill also requires the DOI and the Forest Service to identify all roads and trails impacted by illegal immigration and to coordinate with DHS to prevent unlawful entry into the United States.
Furthermore, it establishes the Border Fuels Management Initiative to address wildfire risks along the southern and northern borders. The DOI, the Forest Service, and the Government Accountability Office will be tasked with reporting on safety issues and the loss of access to federal land due to illegal immigration. Finally, the bill prohibits providing housing for illegal immigrants on federal land.
As of this afternoon, Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi are cosponsoring the bill.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: Congress yesterday failed to prevent a government shutdown that started at midnight on Tuesday, resulting in the furlough of thousands of federal workers.
Now, what does that mean for environmental-related federal agencies?
National Parks: Most national parks will remain open, according to the National Park Service contingency plan that was released yesterday evening.
“Park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors,” the NPS plan reads. Despite the parks remaining open, the NPS will still furlough a significant amount of workers needed to maintain national parks.
NPS said at least 9,296 employees will be let go during the shutdown. The total number of employees working at the agency before the shutdown was 14,500.
The department’s effort to keep the national parks open during a time where it is limited with staffing has raised concerns about maintenance and safety at parks.
Former superintendents of national parks sent Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum a letter earlier this week, arguing against keeping the parks open during a government shutdown.
“As stewards of these American treasures, we urge you to prioritize both conservation and visitor safety and protect our national parks during a potential shutdown, and into the future,” they wrote.
“If sufficient staff aren’t there, visitors shouldn’t be either,” the former superintendents added.
Read more by Maydeen here.
Federal programs: Amid the shutdown, agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency are forced to cease some activities that are not deemed essential. In years past, this has allowed administrations to prioritize programs and activities directly aligned with their agenda – such as halting new oil and gas leasing as former President Barack Obama did or increasing drilling activity under the first Trump administration.
Nearly 90% of the EPA’s staff will not be working while the shutdown continues, meaning the agency will be unable to complete most enforcement inspections, issue new guidance or conduct new environmental research. Plus, if the shutdown lasts several weeks, funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund could run out – which has been repeatedly targeted by the Trump administration in its efforts to shift disaster management to state governments.
Other environment-related programs like the National Flood Insurance Program are also at risk as funding for NFIP lapsed Tuesday as lawmakers failed to agree on a new government budget. This means the program will be unable to issue new policies or renewals, potentially leaving homeowners without flood insurance for a prolonged period of time.
PLUS…FOSSIL FUELS BROADLY EXEMPT FROM SHUTDOWN DELAYS: While the federal funding lapse is expected to cause delays in a slew of government sectors, oil and gas projects have been granted a carve-out to continue activities and receive federal approvals. The move aligns with President Donald Trump’s effort to slow the deployment of wind and solar projects while accelerating the build out of oil and gas.
The details: The Interior Department, which is planning to furlough thousands of employees, revealed in its contingency shutdown plan that it will still process oil and gas permits and leases, as well as coal energy leases, during the shutdown. The Bureau of Land Management’s contingency plan describes these activities as essential to “protect human life and federal property and address the National Energy Emergency.”
BLM will also continue to carry out inspections and enforcement for oil and gas and logging operations as well as permitting for transmission and other energy production activities – excluding renewables.
Similarly, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will continue to process and review exploration and development plans for oil and gas projects and issue permits. All offshore renewable energy activities will cease, however, the agency will have personnel available to respond to “renewable energy incidents that pose a threat to human life and/or federal property.”
JANE GOODALL, CONSERVATIONIST AND CHIMPANZEE EXPERT: Renowned conservationist and chimpanzee researcher Dr. Jane Goodall died this morning at age 91. The Jane Goodall Institute confirmed in a post to social media that the environmental activist died from natural causes while in California on a speaking tour.
“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” the statement read.
Goodall was most well known for her research and work with chimpanzees, who she had studied and engaged with since her mid-twenties. Goodall first visited Tanzania to research the animals when she was 26, fully immersing herself in the chimpanzees’ habitats.
Goodall closely studied social interactions and communications between chimpanzees, and was the first to document tool-use by the primates, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
She was an activist for chimpanzees and wildlife her entire life, founding the Jane Goodall Institute to further chimpanzee research as well as conservation and sanctuary science.
POPE LEO CALLS FOR STRONGER CLIMATE REGULATIONS: Pope Leo XIV is following in the footsteps of his predecessor by calling for increased regulations aimed at tackling climate change.
The details: Leo’s urgings came during the Raising Hope conference in Italy, which marked the 10th anniversary of the late Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on the environment. Leo praised the writings of Francis and warned that the challenges written about 10 years ago are more relevant today in a religious, spiritual, and political nature.
While he echoed Francis’ belief that effective solutions to tackling climate change will not come from individual actions, he called on all people to take on a more substantive role in encouraging more involvement.
“Everyone in society, through nongovernmental organizations and advocacy groups, must put pressure on governments to develop and implement more rigorous regulations, procedures, and controls,” he continued. “Citizens need to take an active role in political decision-making at national, regional, and local levels. Only then will it be possible to mitigate the damage done to the environment.”
Read more from Callie here.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TAKES STAKE IN LITHIUM AMERICAS: The Energy Department yesterday evening announced it would take a 5% stake in Lithium Americas in an effort to boost domestic critical mineral production.
Specifically, the deal would give the government a 5% equity stake in Lithium Americas, as well as a 5% ownership in the private company’s Thacker Pass lithium project joint venture with General Motors. Thacker Pass, located in Nevada, is the largest lithium deposit in the United States.
Lithium is a key mineral for manufacturing batteries, nuclear applications, electric vehicles, and other energy materials.
Yesterday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement, “Despite having some of the largest deposits, the United States produces less than 1% of the global supply of lithium. Thanks to President [Donald] Trump’s bold leadership, American lithium production is going to skyrocket.”
The Trump administration has made an effort in recent months to take stakes in critical economic sectors. In July, the Department of War made a multibillion-dollar investment in the rare earths producer MP Materials.
Read more by Washington Examiner’s Emily Hallas here.
REPEALING TAILPIPE EMISSIONS STANDARDS MAY COST DRIVERS BILLIONS, STUDY SUGGESTS: The EPA’s proposed repeal of Biden tailpipe emissions regulations could end up costing Americans upwards of $310 billion, a new study now claims.
The details: The study, released today by climate and energy research firm Energy Innovation, finds that Americans will be forced to shell out billions more due to higher gasoline prices – as much as $0.45 more per gallon by 2045. Overall, the firm estimated that households will be spending as much as $400 more on gasoline by the 2040s.
The study also estimates that repealing the regulations will increase the annual number of premature deaths from higher levels of pollution, slash the cumulative U.S. GDP by $710 billion, and lead to an average of 110,000 job losses each year for the next 25 years.
“Repealing tailpipe pollution standards would deeply damage the country beyond just making America’s energy affordability crisis worse,” the firm said today.
Quick reminder: The EPA is moving to eliminate tailpipe emissions rules issued under the Biden administration that set strict limits on the level of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants released into the atmosphere by light-duty and medium-duty vehicles. Republicans have blasted these regulations as overbearing and restrictive on the automotive industry, likening them to an “electric vehicle mandate.”
The EPA has sought to roll back these regulations completely by reversing the 2009 Endangerment Finding. This bedrock finding deems that greenhouse gases from vehicles pose a threat to public health and welfare, and allowed the EPA to regulate emissions.
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