Climate science, policy, politics, and action
Riceland Hall – Fowler Center Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR 10:00am EST / 9:00am CST
President Joe Biden will host a virtual leader-level meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) on June 17, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. This will be President Biden’s third leader-level convening of the MEF since taking office.
This meeting of the MEF is a continuation of the President’s efforts to use all levers to tackle the global climate crisis, urgently address rising costs around the world exacerbated by Russia’s war on Ukraine, and put the U.S. and allies on a path to long-term energy and food security. In urging countries to enhance climate ambition, he invited fellow leaders to join the United States in a set of concrete, collective initiatives that will accelerate global action on climate as well as our energy security and food security efforts.
The MEF includes countries representing 80 percent of global GDP, population, and greenhouse gas emissions. Other leaders critical to the global effort to tackle the climate crisis have also been invited to participate.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) invites you to attend one of the virtual public comment meetings it will conduct by telephone on the Line 200 and Line 300 Project draft environmental impact statement.
Driftwood proposes to construct and operate dual 42-inch-diameter natural gas pipelines originating near the town of Ragley in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana southward to a proposed receiver facility near the town of Carlyss in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
The FERC staff concludes that construction and operation of the Project would result in some adverse environmental impacts. Most of these impacts would be temporary and occur during construction (e.g., impacts on land use, traffic, and noise). With the exception of climate change impacts, that are not characterized in this EIS as significant or insignificant, we conclude that Project effects would not be significant based on implementation of Driftwood’s impact avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures, as well as their adherence to our recommendations. Other than the non-significant impacts on environmental justice communities associated with the construction and operation of Meter Station 7 and Meter Station 9, we conclude that the Project would not result in disproportionately high or adverse impacts on environmental justice communities.
Docket Nos. CP21-465-000, CP21-465-001, CP21-465-002
Date, Time, and Call-in Information
Thursday, June 16, 2022 5:30 pm (CST)
Note that the comment meetings will start at 5:30 pm (CST) and will terminate once all participants wishing to comment have had the opportunity to do so, or at 7:30 pm (CST), whichever comes first. The primary goal of these comment meetings is to have you identify the specific environmental issues and concerns that should be considered in the final environmental impact statement. Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a court reporter present on the line. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount of oral comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted, and is in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As a reminder, the Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-3676 or [email protected]. Please carefully follow these instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.
You can file your comments electronically using the eComment feature on the Commission’s website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to FERC Online. This is an easy method for submitting brief, text-only comments on a project; You can file your comments electronically by using the eFiling feature on the Commission’s website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to FERC Online. With eFiling, you can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on “eRegister.” If you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select “Comment on a Filing” as the filing type; and You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to the Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP21-465-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) invite you to a briefing on regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture, or farming in sync with the local environment and climate, produces multiple economic, climate, and societal benefits. Examples of these practices include reducing or eliminating synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use and soil tillage. The briefing will feature findings from NRDC’s new report, Regenerative Agriculture: Farm Policy for the 21st Century, which was informed by conversations with farmers and ranchers from 47 states and Washington, D.C.
As Congress begins to craft the 2023 Farm Bill, the briefing will cover how federal policies can incentivize and invest in regenerative agriculture, including by making reforms to scale up regenerative agriculture stewardship, supporting the next generation of farmers and ranchers, and funding regenerative agriculture research and education programs. Panelists will describe how these steps can lead to a more resilient and productive agricultural system.
Speakers
To learn more about NRDC’s report directly from the farmers involved, view the short video “What is Regenerative Agriculture?” and read the blog post “NRDC Report: Pathways to Regenerative Agriculture.” EESI’s current article series on climate and agriculture also dives into key sustainable agriculture practices, including cover crops, agroforestry, no-till farming, and rotational livestock grazing.
FERC is hosting a scoping meeting for the Cat Creek Energy pumped storage hydropower project in Idaho (docket P-14655-002) from 10am-12:00pm Mountain Day Light Time (MDT) (or 12pm to 2pm Eastern Standard Time).
The virtual meeting is preceded by a virtual site review.
At the scoping meeting, Commission staff will: (1) initiate scoping of the issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions; (3) review and discuss existing information and identify preliminary information and study needs; (4) review and discuss the process plan and schedule for pre-filing activity that incorporates the time frames provided for in Part 5 of the Commission’s regulations and, to the extent possible, maximizes coordination of federal, state, and tribal permitting and certification processes; and (5) discuss the potential of any federal or state agency or Native American tribe to act as a cooperating agency for development of an environmental document. Meeting participants should come prepared to discuss their issues and/or concerns. Please review CCE’s PAD in preparation for the scoping meetings. Directions on how to obtain a copy of the PAD and SD1 are included in this document.
Commission meeting held in Room 2C, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426. Open to the public.
Link to meeting webcast when live
| Meeting agenda | ||
|---|---|---|
| ADMINISTRATIVE | ||
| A-1 | AD22-1-000 | Agency Administrative Matters |
| A-2 | AD22-2-000 | Customer Matters, Reliability, Security and Market Operations |
| ELECTRIC | ||
| E-1 | RM22-14-000 | Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements |
| E-2 | RM22-10-000 | Transmission System Planning Performance Requirements for Extreme Weather |
| E-3 | RM22-16-000 | One-Time Informational Reports on Extreme Weather Vulnerability Assessments |
| AD21-13-000 | Climate Change, Extreme Weather, and Electric System Reliability | |
| E-4 | EL15-70-003 | Public Citizen, Inc. v. Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. |
| EL15-71-003 | The People of the State of Illinois, By Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan v. Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. | |
| EL15-72-003 | Southwestern Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., Dynegy, Inc., and Sellers of Capacity into Zone 4 of the 2015-2016 MISO Planning Resource Auction | |
| E-5 | ER21-2455-000 | California Independent System Operator Corporation |
| ER21-2455-001 | ||
| E-6 | ER21-2460-000 | New York Independent System Operator, Inc. |
| ER21-2460-001 | ||
| E-7 | ER22-707-001 | ISO New England Inc.and New England Power Company d/b/a National Grid |
| E-8 | ER21-56-000 | Guzman Energy,LLC |
| E-9 | ER21-61-000 | El Paso Electric Company |
| E-10 | ER21-58-000 | TransAlta Energy Marketing (U.S.) Inc. |
| E-11 | ER17-910-003 | Pacific Gas and Electric Company |
| ER17-1509-003 | ||
| ER17-2181-003 | ||
| ER18-1102-002 | ||
| E-12 | RD22-3-000 | North American Electric Reliability Corporation |
| E-13 | ER22-1247-000 | NSTAR Electric Company and ParkCity Wind LLC |
| GAS | ||
| G-1 | RP21-1001-008 | Texas Eastern Transmission, LPHYDRO |
| H-1 | P-3063-023 | Blackstone Hydro Associates |
| H-2 | P-619-164 | Pacific Gas and Electric Company and City of Santa Clara |
| H-3 | P-2004-302 | City of Holyoke Gas and Electric Department |
| H-4 | P-2107-047 | Pacific Gas and Electric Company |
| H-5 | P-3777-011 | The Town of Rollinsford, New Hampshire |
| CERTIFICATES | ||
| C-1 | CP20-312-000 | Equitrans, L.P. |
| RP21-882-000 | ||
| C-2 | CP22-167-000 | Roaring Fork Midstream, LLC |
Witnesses:
On Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. ET, in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building and via Cisco WebEx, the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife will hold a hybrid legislative hearing on the following bills:
Witnesses:
FERC is hosting a scoping meeting for the Cat Creek Energy pumped storage hydropower project in Idaho (docket P-14655-002) from 7:00pm -9:00 pm Mountain Day Light Time (MDT) (or 9:00pm to 11:00pm Eastern Standard Time).
The virtual meeting is preceded by a virtual site review.
At the scoping meeting, Commission staff will: (1) initiate scoping of the issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions; (3) review and discuss existing information and identify preliminary information and study needs; (4) review and discuss the process plan and schedule for pre-filing activity that incorporates the time frames provided for in Part 5 of the Commission’s regulations and, to the extent possible, maximizes coordination of federal, state, and tribal permitting and certification processes; and (5) discuss the potential of any federal or state agency or Native American tribe to act as a cooperating agency for development of an environmental document. Meeting participants should come prepared to discuss their issues and/or concerns. Please review CCE’s PAD in preparation for the scoping meetings. Directions on how to obtain a copy of the PAD and SD1 are included in this document.
Chair Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.)
The FY 2023 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture is $195.9 billion, $31.1 billion for discretionary programs and $164.8 billion for mandatory programs.
Steps are being taken across USDA to improve adaptation and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change, including identifying agency vulnerabilities. Within the Office of the Secretary, $4.5 million is requested to coordinate such activities across the Department. In addition, the Office of the Chief Economist is requesting $6 million for research and analysis necessary to assist stakeholders in implementing climate smart agriculture and forestry practices and oversee the production of the Department’s resilience and climate change adaptation plan. The Budget includes an increase of $39 million above the 2021 enacted for the Forest Service to invest more in research related to climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, including expanding the scope and scale of research and program delivery related to reforestation, carbon sequestration, carbon accounting, and fire and fuels research. The Budget includes $6 million for Forest Service and $8 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for climate hubs.
Within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the agency has requested $6 million to work with cooperators to enhance detection and response to invasive species. These plants, pathogens, and animals can have strong detrimental effects on agriculture. Through this work, APHIS will contribute to the protection of the biodiversity our rural communities are reliant upon. The Budget also seeks to improve the health and resilience of our national forests, prioritizing forest restoration, forest health, and climate smart land management. This includes a $70 million investment to help support post-wildfire restoration work necessary for improving watershed and landscape conditions for areas impacted by catastrophic wildfire). This additional funding to rehabilitate burned areas would prevent having to choose between rehabilitation of burned areas and other natural resource management priorities. Focusing on collaborative, science-based restoration of priority forest landscapes, the Budget requests a $26 million increase from 2021 enacted for work on Forest Health Management, Landscape Scale Restoration, and Forest Stewardship to support performance measures for the America the Beautiful initiative and other climate resilience outcomes.
The Budget requests $300 million in new funding for rural electric utilities to support the transition to carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035. Additional funding of $15 million is also requested to increase coordination between USDA, Department of Energy, and Department of Interior to support the creation of the Rural Clean Energy Initiative to achieve the President’s clean energy goals. A $261 million funding request for construction, preservation and rehabilitation under Rural Housing Service will target projects that promote clean energy or address climate resilience by improving energy or water efficiency, and energy saving features. The Budget includes more than $134.8 million for the USDA Agriculture Buildings and Facilities account, of which $25 million will provide for the hire and purchase of motor vehicles and the transformation of vehicle fleet to provide hybrid, alternative, and/or electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The USDA modernization of the South Building continues to be the top priority for the Agriculture Buildings and Facilities, Building Operations and Maintenance account in 2023. Additionally, the Budget requests $21 million to support key climate priorities within the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), including establishing a soil health monitoring network that will include a network of soil sampling sites, integrating soil carbon monitoring into the conservation planning process, and efforts to increase the internal capacity of NRCS staff regarding key soil carbon and climate smart activities.
The Budget includes $2.7 billion to mitigate wildfire risk, an increase of $751 million from 2021 enacted. This includes $321 million for hazardous fuels reduction, an increase of $141 million from the 2022 annualized CR level. This builds on the over $300 million in hazardous fuels funding the Forest Service will receive through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2023, a significant investment to prioritize and target landscape treatments across multiple jurisdictions. In 2023 the agency projects that it will be able to mitigate wildfire risk on 3.8 million acres in high priority and high-risk areas, important progress towards implementing its 10-year Fire Risk Reduction Strategy. The strategy entails working with partners to restore fire resilience across multiple jurisdictions. In addition, the Hazardous Fuels program will move from the National Forest System account to the Wildland Fire Management account in 2023 in keeping with the intent of Congressional direction to restructure the agency budget for increased transparency.
The Budget includes $2.4 billion for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to protect up to 27 million acres of environmentally sensitive cropland and grassland. In addition, $2 billion is included for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, $1 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program, $450 million for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and $300 million for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The budget proposes $20 million for the Healthy Forests Reserve Program to enroll private lands and acreage owned by Indian Tribes for the purpose of restoring, enhancing, and protecting forestland to enhance carbon sequestration, improve plant and animal biodiversity, and promote recovery of endangered and threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Of note, an increase of $41 million for NRCS will expand staffing capacity to keep pace with increased mandatory programs.
The budget proposes to enhance the Equity Conservation Cooperative Agreements, begun in 2021, with an additional $50 million, bringing total funding for this initiative to $100 million. The Agreements are two-year projects that expand the delivery of conservation assistance for climatesmart agriculture and forestry to farmers and ranchers who are beginning, limited resource, historically underserved and/or veterans