Agriculture

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has unveiled draft legislation that would expand the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and increase the transparency and oversight of all commodity futures markets.

The Agriculture Department’s Forest Service is seeking comments on how the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan should be amended to accommodate the Palomar Gas Transmission LLC pipeline proposed for the Pacific Northwest.

In advance of a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing last Wednesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a report calling on Congress to enact legislative changes giving the agency heightened oversight authority of certain lightly regulated contracts in exempt commercial markets (ECM) that perform significant price discovery for commodities in interstate commerce.

In advance of a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing Wednesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a report calling on Congress to enact legislative changes giving the agency heightened oversight authority of certain lightly regulated contracts in exempt commercial markets (ECM) that perform significant price discovery for commodities in interstate commerce.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) took another step deeper Thursday into California’s manure-to-methane potential in the state’s agriculture-rich central valley, approving a 10-year contract between Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and Microgy Inc. for up to 2.8 Bcf of “renewable natural gas.” (RNG) The vote of the five-member CPUC was unanimous.

The American Public Gas Association (APGA), Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) and more than 30 Iowa public natural gas systems Wednesday called on Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) to press for legislation in the new Congress that addresses a “critical lack of transparency” in the over-the-counter (OTC) gas market.

The House Agriculture Committee Wednesday voted out legislation that reauthorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and, among other things, augments the agency’s oversight of the natural gas market.

The Agriculture Department’s Forest Service has issued a final rule that is aimed at improving the forest management planning of 155 national forests and 20 grasslands. A key part of the rule will allow the government to complete forest planning (i.e. ecological, social and economic issues) much quicker, which would provide more “certainty” to oil and natural gas producers about whether they can drill in these areas, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dan Jiron.

The Agriculture Department’s Forest Service has issued a final rule that is aimed at improving the forest management planning of 155 national forests and 20 grasslands. A key part of the rule will allow the government to complete forest planning (i.e. ecological, social and economic issues) much quicker, which would provide more “certainty” to oil and natural gas producers about whether they can drill in these areas, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dan Jiron.