Wrap Up

GHG Monitor
4/10/2015

IN CONGRESS

The House Subcommittee on Energy and Power will hold a hearing April 14 to review Chairman Ed Whitfield’s (R-Ky.) “Ratepayer Protection Act.” The bill is aimed at preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing proposed carbon emissions standards for coal-fired power plants, under which the EPA would set state-specific emissions reduction goals and requires states to develop and submit action plans to meet those goals through whatever means the state finds most appropriate. Under Whitfield’s bill, states could not be required to submit a state plan or become subject to a federal plan if the governor of that state determines that implementation would have “a significant adverse effect” on ratepayers or on the reliability of a state’s electricity system. 

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The U.S. Capitol dome framed by trees with an overlay of paper currency, symbolizing federal budget appropriations.

WIPP batteries earmarked for NIOSH mine fire research

Three large Lithium-Ion batteries from the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), near Carlsbad, N.M., are being shipped to Pittsburgh where government researchers will study potential mine-fire risks. DOE and WIPP prime Salado Isolation Mining Contractors have reached an Inter-Agency Agreement with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The batteries […]