Regulatory

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a five-term Republican and the highest-ranking woman in the GOP leadership, as secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI), according to reports.

A new $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant is helping a cross-disciplinary team of Pennsylvania State University researchers study the possible environmental effects of Marcellus Shale development by examining methane concentrations in the state’s private water wells, rivers and streams.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a five-term Republican and the highest-ranking woman in the GOP leadership, as secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI), according to reports.

Cheniere Energy Inc. has terminated negotiations with the conflicts committee of the board of directors of Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings LLC regarding Cheniere’s previously announced proposal to acquire all of the publicly held shares of Cheniere Partners Holdings not already owned by Cheniere in a stock-for-stock merger transaction. “After more than six weeks of negotiations, and despite raising the offer to an exchange ratio of 0.54 (representing a premium of approximately 10% over the closing price of Cheniere Partners Holdings’ shares based on the closing prices of Cheniere Partners Holdings’ shares and of Cheniere’s shares as of Sept. 29, 2016…Cheniere has determined that no acceptable definitive agreement can be reached with the conflicts committee at this time,” the company said. Cheniere currently owns 80.1% of the issued and outstanding shares of Cheniere Partners Holdings.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has appealed the state Commonwealth Court’s decision last month totemporarily stay parts of the agency’s regulatory overhaul for shale producers so it may consider a lawsuit filed by the industry.

In a move by the Obama administration to suspend pending litigation from conservation groups, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is halting new oil and natural gas leasing throughout the Los Padres National Forest in the southern half of California.

Unbundled retail energy markets have failed to fulfill their promise of competitive rates and development of innovative energy services, particularly those that increase energy efficiency, New York regulators said late last week in announcing hearings and meetings on market reforms.

Two of the top proponents of an omnibus energy bill in the Senate took aim at House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) Wednesday after his office reportedly declared that lawmakers had run out of time to reach a compromise on outstanding issues in the legislation.

Two of the top proponents of an omnibus energy bill in the Senate took aim at House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) Wednesday after his office reportedly declared that lawmakers had run out of time to reach a compromise on outstanding issues in the legislation.