Washington Recap - (Week of July 11)

Overview 

Efforts to produce an agreement that would allow the Nation’s debt ceiling to be raised intensified, with daily discussions between the President and Congressional leaders; so far, the main protagonists in the debate seem unwilling to compromise – the President insisting on a “balanced” approach that includes both spending cuts and new revenues and House Republicans vowing to block any deal that includes new taxes. By most accounts, a breakthrough will need to occur by the end of this week to allow the time necessary to draft, debate and pass a measure by August 2. As negotiators continue searching for a magic formula this week, the House will be debating their “Cut, Cap and Balance” bill, legislation that among other features would require that a balanced budget constitutional amendment be submitted to the states for ratification and a super majority vote in Congress be obtained for any tax increase. 

Elsewhere, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s special task force investigating the nuclear emergency at Fukushima Daiichi released its so-called 90-Day Report last week. The report, while noting the continued safe operation of U.S. reactors, nonetheless termed the existing regulatory regime as “patchwork” and made several recommendations for regulatory changes that are likely to spark debate on Capitol Hill. Congressional Committees were busy on energy policy matters last week: the House Appropriations Committee cleared a spending plan for FY ’12 that would delay action on a number of regulatory initiatives by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including any rules pertaining to section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act; the House Energy and Commerce Committee reported legislation that establishes an interagency panel to study the combined economic impact of pending EPA air regulations and a second bill that establishes a regulatory regime for coal combustion residuals that prohibits EPA regulation of such material as a hazardous waste; the House Natural Resources Committee reported legislation that promotes offshore wind energy development; the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reported several bills, including legislation that establishes a new entity to provide financing for clean energy projects; and two House hearings examined pipeline safety issues, as well as a new draft bill to reauthorize the federal pipeline safety regulatory program.  

Some Details 

Initial reaction to the NRC task force report has been muted, likely due to the educational effort involved in understanding the potential implications of a report that proposes a number of new regulatory initiatives. We should begin to get a better sense of Congressional reaction to the report in the coming weeks. Chairman Jaczko is scheduled to appear at a monthly “newsmakers” luncheon hosted by the National Press Club this coming Monday; the full Commission will be briefed by the task force during a meeting on Tuesday morning; an afternoon stakeholders meeting is scheduled for July 28; and Senator Boxer (D-CA) indicated last week that she will hold a hearing on the report on August 2. 

Of the measures advanced in various Committee actions last week, two especially noteworthy items are the coal combustion residual (CCR) bill and the so-called TRAIN Act, both of which achieved healthy bi-partisan votes. During consideration of the TRAIN Act (which establishes an interagency group to review the cumulative impact of certain EPA regulations), the Committee adopted an amendment by Rep. Whitfield that would delay both the Utility MACT and Cross-State Air Pollution Rule by 18 months. Due to Committee jurisdictional issues, the revised TRAIN Act does not include regulations under 316(b) of the Clean Water Act among those subject to review. The CCR legislation generally establishes a state administered program for regulating coal ash and prohibits regulation as a hazardous waste. 

One short take: 

• EPA has extended the comment period on its proposed 316(b) cooling water intake structure regulation until August 19. The move follows meetings between agency staff and staff for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Clean Water Act.