Climate science, policy, politics, and action
The purpose of this hearing is to examine the Federal response to escalating wildfires and to evaluate reforms to land management and wildland firefighter recruitment and retention.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement will hold a hearing on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET. The hearing, “The Border Crisis: Is the Law Being Faithfully Executed?,” will examine the Department of Homeland Security’s policies that, according to the Republican majority, “violate the law and encourage illegal immigration.”
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Hearing on the horticulture title of the Farm Bill.
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Hearing of the Committee on the Budget to consider: “Cultivating Stewardship: Examining the Changing Agricultural Landscape”
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Full committee hearing on ecosystem restoration projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Joint subcommittee hearing on ESG compliance.
Witnesses:
On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials will hold a hearing entitled “Clean Power Plan 2.0: EPA’s Latest Attack on Electric Reliability.” The hearing will examine preliminary observations concerning the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed greenhouse pollution standards for the power sector and the reliable delivery of electricity.
Witnesses:
Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, EPA issued on May 11, 2023, an omnibus proposed rulemaking that would limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for fossil fuel-fired power plants, including from both new and existing natural-gas-fired plants and from existing coal-fired plants, pursuant to Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
The May 11, 2023, proposal for fossil-fuel fired power plants would set limits for new gasfired combustion turbines, certain existing gas-fired combustion turbines, and existing coal, oil, and gas-fired steam generating units. The proposed standards are based on technologies including carbon capture and sequestration/storage (CCS), low-greenhouse-gas (GHG) hydrogen co-firing, and natural gas co-firing, which can be applied directly to power plants that use fossil fuels to generate electricity.
The proposed rules are part of a larger, comprehensive suite of regulatory actions for power plants. EPA Administrator Regan announced this suite of actions, known as the EGU (for “electric generating unit”) strategy, to address climate, health, and environmental burdens from power plants. These regulatory actions include the Interstate Transport Rule, Regional Haze, Risk and Technology Review for the Mercury Air Toxics Rule, effluent limitations, and a legacy coal combustion residue rule.
In February 2023, the nation’s largest grid operator, the PJM Interconnection, released a report noting that the current pace of retirements of dispatchable generation, mainly coal- and gas-fired generation, may outpace the addition of new resources onto the bulk power system. The PJM report cites three specific EPA policies that are leading contributors to this challenge, coal combustion residuals regulation, effluent limitations, and the Interstate Transport Rule, as key drivers in the loss of some 23 GW generation.
On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold an oversight budget hearing titled “Examining the impacts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s proposed changes to the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule.”
Witnesses:
The North Atlantic right whale (right whale) is an endangered large whale species. The right whale’s name originates from the fact that, as early as the 11th century, whalers considered right whales the “right” whale to hunt. Right whales migrate seasonally along the east coast, spending summer and fall in New England and Canadian waters. During winter months, right whales migrate to the southeastern United States for calving. Protections for right whales began in 1935 with the ratification of the League of Nation’s Convention for Regulation of Whaling. While the 1935 Convention was criticized for being ineffective, it paved the way for the establishment of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC was established by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in 1946 as the global body responsible for the management of whaling and conservation of whales. This included: catch limits by species and area, designating specified areas as whale sanctuaries, protection of calves and females accompanied by calves, and restrictions on hunting methods. Currently, the IWC has 88 signatory governments, including the United States. In 1986, the IWC adopted a global moratorium on commercial whaling due to the depleting whale stocks. In the United States, right whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA). In fact, right whales were considered endangered in 1970, before the enactment on the ESA. Due to population concerns, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed a species recovery plan in 1991 and updated the plan in 2005. Recovery strategies focus on: reducing death and injuries from vessel strikes and commercial fishing operations, identifying important habitat, monitoring the health of the stock, conducting studies on potential threats, and assessing the population. In 2017, NOAA declared an unusual mortality event (UME) for the right whale due to the number of mortalities and serious injuries in the population. While the exact cause of the UME is unknown, vessel strikes and entanglements with commercial fishing gear continue to be considered the leading causes of whale mortalities and injuries.
In 2008, to address vessel strikes, NOAA proposed speed restrictions for vessels over sixty- five feet in length when going through seasonal management areas. In 2013, NOAA made the speed restriction rule permanent. NOAA’s speed restriction rule also stated that NOAA would publish and seek comment on a report evaluating the conservation value and economic and navigational safety impacts of right whale vessel speed regulations, including any recommendations to minimize the burden of such impacts. In January 2021, NOAA released the assessment and initiated a public comment period until the end of March 2021. The assessment made several recommendations, including increasing enforcement, modifying the safety deviation provision so it could not be used as frequently, and expanding the speed restrictions to small vessels. NOAA received over thirty comments. Notably, the American Pilots’ Association, one of the Republican witnesses at today’s hearing, provided comments expressing concerns with requiring “contemporaneous electronic notification” to decrease the number of vessels using the speed restriction exemption to maneuver safely. In addition, their comments strongly opposed expanding the speed restriction rule to vessels smaller than 65 feet, stating that “could be dangerous for our member pilots and the crews that operate their pilot boats.”
On August 1, 2022, NOAA published the proposed rule amending the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule. The proposed rule extends the applicability of the speed restriction rule to include boats measuring 35 feet and longer, expands the seasonal management areas, makes dynamic management areas mandatory (renamed as dynamic speed zones), and changes how the current safety deviations can be used.
While the proposed rule says the actions are “significant” under Executive Order 12866, something that would normally require review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget, this rule was not reviewed by OIRA. It was determined that NOAA’s draft Regulatory Impact Review estimated that only approximately 15,899 vessels would be affected by the rule and the cost of $46 million per year was not high enough to warrant review.
NOAA is currently reviewing the over 20,000 public comments submitted for the proposed rule. While there is no official timeline, NOAA anticipates a final rule by the end of the year.
Subcommittee hearing to receive testimony on reauthorization of the Weather Act (the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017).
Opening Statements:
Witnesses:
The Committee on Rules will meet Monday, June 5, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET in H-313, The Capitol on the following measures: