Budget & Policy

GHG Daily 1/13/2016 The state of Florida may soon join the ranks of states refusing to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants. Two bills introduced on Jan. 12, a state Senate version and a state House of Representatives version, would prohibit Florida from complying with the regulations, […]

January 12                    State of the Union; 9 p.m. EST; televised/webcast 12                    Public Involvement on EPA’s Clean Power Plan Requirements for New Mexico; Grants, New Mexico; New Mexico State University – Grants, Multi-purpose room #007, 1500 N. Third Street, 12-2 p.m. 13                    Climate Finance in the Paris […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Daily 1/12/2016 States choosing to pursue a market-based compliance system under the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants still have many decisions to make, a panel of experts speaking at the Bipartisan Policy Center yesterday morning said. The regulation in question, the Clean Power Plan, sets […]

GHG Daily 1/12/2016 The White House has remained secretive about the specifics of President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address tonight, but signs point to at least some mention of the administration’s efforts to combat climate change. “Under President Obama’s leadership we have met that challenge and led the international community and world […]

GHG Daily 1/12/2016 On the eve of President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, took the opportunity to raise concern about Obama’s regulatory intentions during his last year in office. “Six of the seven years of greatest regulatory activity have now taken […]

Congress may soon have to decide if it will appropriate money to enable the Department of Energy to pay a multi-million dollar fine to the state of South Carolina for missing a key deadline at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The facility, which would convert 34 metric tons of weapon-usable […]

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GHG Daily 1/11/2016 Surprising nobody, President Barack Obama vetoed two Congressional Review Act resolutions aimed at overturning the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions regulations for new and existing coal-fired power plants. The vetoes came Dec. 18, as Congress headed home for the holidays. The two regulations being threatened require states to develop action plans to […]

GHG Daily 1/11/2016 In developing action plans to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, states may find themselves comparing apples to oranges when it comes to the EPA’s implementation options, according to a report issued Jan. 6 by The Brattle Group. The report says, […]

GHG Daily 1/11/2016 Schlumberger Carbon Services, as a subrecipient of the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, may have been allowed to claim more than $5 million in unsupported or questionable costs from the Department of Energy, according to a Dec. 18, 2015, report by the DOE Office of Inspector General. An IG audit revealed that inadequate […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 1/8/2016 The Hanford Site fiscal 2016 appropriation signed into law is $78.7 million more than requested by the Obama administration and is higher than the fiscal 2015 budget. It totals $2.3 billion. “The federal government has a legal and moral obligation to clean up Hanford, which is why I fight year […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 1/8/2016 An information technology initiative intended to provide the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with network security, identity management, cloud-based computing, and collaboration capabilities is years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General’s Office (IG) found in an audit released last month. The NNSA began implementing […]

An information technology initiative intended to provide the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with network security, identity management, cloud-based computing, and collaboration capabilities is years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General’s Office (IG) found in an audit released last month. The NNSA began implementing its Network Vision (2NV) initiative, […]

The Savannah River Site’s liquid waste work received a slight increase in funding for fiscal 2016 in the federal omnibus budget passed last week. Liquid tank waste stabilization and disposition received nearly $555 million in appropriations, compared to the $547 million appropriated in the last fiscal year. The figure accounts for the largest single appropriation […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 12/18/2015 The congressionally approved omnibus budget for fiscal 2016 would provide nearly $6 billion for remediation of legacy Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities across the nation. House lawmakers voted Friday morning 316-113 to approve the $1.15 trillion spending package, and the Senate quickly followed suit with a 65-33 decision. The […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 12/18/2015 The state of Washington and the Department of Energy each have told a federal judge that the others’ proposal for new consent decree milestones at the Hanford Site would lead to delays in the massive cleanup project. Responses to the sides’ revised proposals were due this week, after U.S. District […]

Staff report RW Monitor 12/18/2015 The Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations omnibus bill adopted by Congress on Friday provides about $990 million for nuclear energy activities. The agreement includes no funding derived from the Nuclear Waste Fund. Legislators opted for a continuation of prior-year funding for the Yucca Mountain repository project, continuing Congress’ nuclear waste impasse. […]

GHG Monitor is happy to announce the launch of a new, restructured product in early January. This exciting new publication will feature expanded daily news coverage of the topics you care about. Watch this space for more information early next year.

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 12/18/2015 Riders and funding limitations threatened for inclusion in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus funding bill appear to have fallen by the wayside as the bill was approved by both houses of Congress Friday. Riders that would have undone or withheld funding for implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon […]

Valerie Insinna Defense Daily 12/18/2015 A group of seven Democratic senators on Tuesday called on the president to cancel the Air Force’s nuclear air-launched cruise missile program, the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) weapon. In a Dec. 14 letter, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 12/18/2015 Back home after weeks in France, key administration officials this week offered their views on the negotiating process leading up to the recently adopted Paris Agreement, the first universal legally binding climate deal in history. The agreement was finalized Dec. 12 at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 12/18/2015 The state of South Carolina threatened to sue the federal government if the Department of Energy doesn’t pay $1 million a day to the state for missing a key deadline at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The facility is a critical part of the nation’s […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 12/18/2015 South Carolina’s senators this week praised the new fiscal 2016 omnibus budget that calls for $340 million to continue construction of the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The facility is a key component of the MOX mission to convert 34 metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium into commercial […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 12/18/2015 The $1.1 trillion federal omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2016 passed today in the House and the Senate provides $12.5 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a $1.1 billion increase from the fiscal 2015 level, including $8.8 billion for weapons activities, a $660 million increase from fiscal 2015. […]