CLIMATE XCHANGE Policy Roundup: Scott PRUITT under pressure—MA officials address CLEAN PEAK concerns— OFFSHORE WIND delayed

HAPPY MONDAY- Welcome Back! Will the northeast see snow this week? Most likely not, with Friday expected to have highs in the 60s.

Have a news story, suggestion, feedback, or any other info for the CXC Policy Roundup? Email: tim.cronin@cabaus.org.

-Are Pruitt’s Day’s Numbered?: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt may be the next top Trump official to step down as pressure mounts following multiple recent scandals. This includes flying first-class using taxpayer money, spending an unprecedented $3 million of EPA funds on personal security, re-assigning staff that spoke out against his spending choices, and renting an apartment from the wife of a prominent oil and gas lobbyist for well below market value.

This has caused some GOP lawmakers to openly question Pruitt’s ability to lead the EPA, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine. This comes after reports that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly advised Trump to fire Pruitt last week. If President Trump does fire Pruitt, odds are it’s via tweet sometime this week.

-Testimony Draws Large Crowd: On Tuesday hundreds packed two State House hearing rooms to witness testimony on Governor Baker’s Environmental Bond bill (H.4318). Twenty-four testified, commenting on everything from the bill’s adaptation provisions to its clean peak standard to provisions relating to animal control.

-Baker Officials Claim Clean Peak Not a “Trojan Horse” for Natural Gas: In his opening comments, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matt Beaton addressed concerns over the so-called clean peak standard. Critics, including a number of those testifying at the hearing, raised concerned that clean peak could be used as a back door tactic to expand natural gas infrastructure in Massachusetts.

Testifying, Beaton remarked, “Some have interpreted [clean peak language] to include infrastructure for natural gas capacity. That is so far from the intent of that language. Clean energy resources do not include natural gas. They’re giving us too much credit to think we could trick the legislature into thinking we wanted to call natural gas a clean energy resource.”

Despite his assurances, Senate Committee Chair Anne Gobi (D) pressed Secretary Beaton on the need to include, “specific language defining that natural gas will not be allowed as a clean energy source.”

For more on the clean peak standard, and what it means for Massachusetts, see this recent CABA policy piece.

-Mass. Offshore Wind Decision to be Delayed After Northern Pass: Local news outlets have reported that Massachusetts regulators are likely to delay choosing a winning bid for the state’s 1.6 MW offshore wind RFP. Originally slated for April 23rd, Secretary Matt Beaton cited manpower constraints as the reason for the delay. In recent weeks Beaton’s agency has scrambled to salvage a separate 1.2 MW RFP after a key New Hampshire committee denied the original project (Northern Pass) the necessary permits.

-Will CA, EPA Strike a Deal On Clean Car Standards?: Last week Trump EPA officials announced plans to roll back Obama era clean car standards. Put in place in 2010, these tailpipe emission and fuel efficiency standards have widespread positive effects on jobs, the economy, and efforts to reduce transportation emissions.

The NYtimes has since revealed that California and EPA officials are in secret negotiations to preserve the stricter California clean car standards. If allowed, the over two-dozen states that follow the California standards, including Massachusetts, would see little change in the overall amount of car and truck emissions.

-“Ballot Initiative Replaces Legislative Bill in Effort to Pass Carbon Pricing In Washington” by August Granath, Climate XChange: A broad coalition of businesses, environmentalists, unions, and citizen groups are pushing a ballot initiative to place a fee on carbon in Washington State. Last month a carbon pricing bill before the state legislature, backed by Governor Jay Inslee (D), was narrowly defeated. The current ballot initiative incorporated language to satisfy critics of the fee, including an exemption when fuels are used for agricultural purposes. Read more about what’s in the initiative here.

-Mass. DOER Schedules Stakeholder Meeting for SMART: This Friday Massachusetts regulators are holding a stakeholder meeting to discuss ideas for how to integrate solar + storage into its new SMART solar program. The first of its kind solar program aims to use a declining block structure, subsidy adders, and a capacity auction to set prices. Details can be found by emailing the DOER: DOER.SMART@state.ma.us.

-Spilka, Chandler Make Deal on Mass. State Presidency: The behind the scenes leadership battle in the State Senate appears to have ended with a compromise. Acting President Senator Harriette Chandler and Senator Karen Spilka (Chandler’s likely successor) agreed to transfer power on July 23rd of this year. This is a step in the right direction for Massachusetts’ embattled upper house.

-Baker Announces New ‘Energy Scores’ for Mass. Homes: Last Tuesday MA Governor Charlie Baker announced a proposal that would create an easily understandable energy score for homeowners. The score would be used to help improve home energy efficiency and help buyers make better decisions before buying a home. If passed, the scores would be required on all real estate transactions starting in 2021.

-State Attorneys General sue EPA for not enforcing pollution controls: Last week Massachusetts joined more than a dozen states (and the city of Chicago) in suing the EPA over methane emission regulations. The lawsuit is intended to compel EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to comply with the Clean Air Act and establish guidelines for limiting methane emissions from sources in the oil and gas industry, which he delayed in doing,

-Local Bag bans put pressure on lawmakers to act: So far at least 67 cities and towns have enacted restrictions and bans on plastic bags, with dozens more considering similar action. Advocates are arguing that Massachusetts is approaching a tipping point as support for a statewide ban also expands.

“Mass. Can Learn From The Business Community’s Clean Energy Leadership” by Bill Ravenesi, Anne Kelley, & Elizabeth Henry: “It comes as no surprise that a growing number of companies are investing in the rapidly growing clean energy sector and powering their operations with renewable energy and energy efficiency… Massachusetts must do its part to keep pace and strengthen the Commonwealth’s clean energy policies this legislative session.”
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CLIMATE XCHANGE PODCAST EPISODE: This week the Cooler Earth podcast team is exploring how climate change and plastic pollution is affecting our aquatic world in complex and disproportionate ways. They are joined by special guest, Daisy Kendrick, Founder of Ocean Generation, who shares the ways her organization is spurring younger generations to take action.

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FOR MORE CONTENT from us subscribe to the Climate XChange Newsletter (Fridays, bi-weekly) or our Climate Action Business Association Newsletter (Fridays).

Have a news story, suggestion, feedback, or any other info for the CXC Policy Roundup? Email: tim.cronin@cabaus.org.