Regulatory

Reacting to a federal district court lawsuit settlement finalized last Friday, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has withdrawn its previous approval of a plan to drill five natural gas wells in the Gunnison National Forest in Colorado.

President Obama devoted several minutes of his penultimate State of the Union address to climate change Tuesday night, giving only two brief nods to domestic oil and gas production and only a passing reference to Congress working on a bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, despite his threat of a veto.

The U.S. Justice Department is calling expert witnesses to the stand in New Orleans this week to bolster its case that BP plc should pay the maximum penalty for its role as operator and owner of the Macondo well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, whose fatal explosion in April 2010 led to an environmental disaster that roiled the Gulf Coast.

The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon passed a bill that would establish a set deadline for federal and state agencies to approve pipeline applications, despite objections from the Democratic minority and a veto threat from the Obama administration.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee last Tuesday proposed establishing a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, estimating that it could generate $1 billion annually in state revenue and help fulfill his climate change mitigation goals along the lines of California’s approach.

Governors of western states have asked for clarification from U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on the federal agency’s efforts to save the greater sage grouse in the face of congressional action to delay a federal listing decision on the bird.

Democrat Tom Wolf’s inauguration as Pennsylvania’s 47th governor on Tuesday could mark a new, if uncertain, beginning for the state’s natural gas producers.

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday voted to advance to the House floor a bill that would establish a set deadline for federal and state agencies to approve pipeline applications, despite a veto threat issued by the White House.

At his first meeting leading the five-member California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Michael Picker set a new tone Thursday, emphasizing more internal focus on safety and the regulatory agency’s organization. Only one relatively minor energy item was on the agenda.