Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
april 2016
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energy
EESI holds webinar on adaptations to the declining coal industry in coal-impacted communities
April 5, 2016
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a webinar entitled, “Can Coal Country Thrive in a Clean Energy Economy?” The speakers were Tara Ritter of the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, Julie Lawhorn of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Brett Schwartz of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation, and Hannah Vargason of The Conservation Fund.
The webinar focused on attempts to build new investment and development opportunities in coal-reliant regions. Ritter indicated that the estimated 120,000 new jobs generated as a result of the Clean Power Plan will come at the cost of 24,000 existing jobs, including many in the coal industry. Lawhorn noted that this decline will add to the 23,000 jobs lost in the Appalachian coal industry from 2011 to 2015. Because the new jobs will not necessarily be in the same regions or industrial sectors as the lost jobs, Ritter emphasized the need for job retraining and financial assistance to support vulnerable areas.
Lawhorn reported that ARC and the Economic Development Administration are providing $65.8 million in funding for communities with coal-related industries to promote economic diversification, workforce development, and job creation. Alongside these efforts, Vargason described how the Natural Capital Investment Fund supports development projects by lending to small businesses, non-profits, and local governments to promote local job creation/retention, economic growth, and environmental stewardship.
Focusing on community building and strategy sharing, Schwartz described the resources provided by NADO to help communities with declining coal industries adapt and transition to new or locally growing industries, such as recycling, drone technology, tourism, healthcare, and outdoor recreation.
Despite the declining coal industry, all four speakers gave practical outlines of how investment on local and regional levels can promote the sustainable (re)development and economic diversification of coal-reliant regions.
A recording of the webinar, including the speakers’ slides, is available on the EESI website.
Sources: Environmental and Energy Study Institute, U.S. Economic Development Administration
Bipartisan energy bill passes Senate, includes provisions for minerals and data preservation
April 20, 2016
The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 (S. 2012) passed the Senate with overwhelming support on April 20. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), is the first piece of comprehensive energy legislation to pass the Senate since 2005.
The bill focuses on improving and modernizing energy efficiency and infrastructure in the United States. If enacted, the bill would update the nation’s electric grid, expedite natural gas exports, provide subsidies for hydropower and geothermal energy, and permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
In addition to energy policy, S. 2012 also includes provisions for critical minerals and data preservation. Subtitle D—Critical Minerals recognizes the need for greater federal investments in minerals science and information, including provisions to strengthen our mineral forecasting capabilities, develop a methodology for criticality, and promote the responsible recycling of mineral materials. Subtitle D also includes a section reauthorizing the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP), which expired in 2010.
The bill had previously been held up due to a series of controversial policy riders, including a proposal to expand offshore oil and gas development and another to provide an aid package to Flint, Michigan.
Members of Congress from both chambers will now go to conference to try to combine S. 2012 with its counterpart in the House, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, (H.R. 8), which passed the House in December 2015.
Sources: E&E News, Congress.gov, Govtrack.us
New House and Senate bills would advance nuclear energy technology
April 29, 2016
Two new bipartisan bills have been introduced in both chambers of Congress in an effort to expand the use of nuclear energy.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (S. 2795) in the Senate on April 13, and Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) introduced the Advanced Nuclear Technology Development Act (H.R. 4979) in the House on April 18.
S. 2795 aims to reform the licensing process for nuclear reactors and restructure funding for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to encourage engagement with early-stage companies that cannot afford current NRC regulatory fees. H.R. 4979 would encourage more collaboration between the Department of Energy and the NRC by making NRC more accountable for developing a licensing framework to create advanced reactors.
At a hearing held for S. 2795, several witnesses from industry testified that NRC’s current licensing process is a huge obstacle for many advanced reactor technologies and must be changed, with which the Senators agreed. NRC Administrator for Region II, Victor McCree, however, shared the agency’s concern that the bill would require more time and resources than NRC had previously allocated.
A hearing for H.R 4979 and the draft Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy Policies Act, sponsored by Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), was held by the House Energy and Commerce committee on April 29. Both bills received bipartisan support from the committee.
Sources: Congress.gov, E&E News, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, House Committee on Energy and Commercerce