Agency

As polluting utilities were preparing to fight a broadEnvironmental Protection Agency emissions-reduction edict issuedlast week, they were hit with an appeals court decision upholdingan earlier EPA order on the same subject — nitrogen oxides (NOx)emissions.

As polluting utilities were preparing to fight a broadEnvironmental Protection Agency emissions-reduction edict issuedlast week, they were hit with an appeals court decision upholdingan earlier EPA order on the same subject – nitrogen oxide (NOx)emissions.

Attorney General Janet Reno and Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) Administrator Carol M. Browner have urged Capitol Hilllawmakers not to approve legislative language that would exemptcoal-fired utilities from legal action for their alleged violationsof the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Michael L. Williams has been named chairman of the TexasRailroad Commission (TRC). He replaces previous chairman TonyGarza. Williams is leading an agency-industry review of thecommission’s regulatory framework. He said, “the world energyindustry is changing dramatically – government needs to change itsapproach as well. With that in mind, the commission can and shouldoperate to allow Texas producers to act faster, operate less costlyand with more flexibility.

The EIA said its “Short-Term Energy Outlook” will reflect netreductions in projections for energy demand due to the agency’sadoption of the National Oceanographic and AtmosphericAdministration’s (NOAA) weather premises of a three-decade longwarming trend. The report is set to be published Sept. 7.

Hoping to solidify the project’s shaky environmental status, Independence Pipeline Co., working with the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB), voluntarily agreed to a set of standards intended to protect Ohio’s environment from the construction and operation of the pipeline. The agreement, which was signed by the OPSB in early June, has been forwarded to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for consideration.

Hoping to solidify the project’s shaky environmental status,Independence Pipeline Co., working with the Ohio Power Siting Board(OPSB), voluntarily agreed to a set of standards last week intendedto protect Ohio’s environment from the construction and operationof the pipeline. The agreement, which was signed by the OPSB inearly June, has been forwarded to the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission (FERC) for consideration.

Funding for natural gas and oil pipeline regulation was the bigwinner in FERC’s budget for fiscal year 2000, according to theagency’s budget request.

Funding for natural gas and oil pipelines was the big winner inFERC’s budget for fiscal year 2000, according to the agency’sbudget request.