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With help from Annie Snider, Anthony Adragna, Alex Guillén and Daniel Lippman
Quick Fix
— Lawmakers are looking beyond the defense reauthorization bill to find a legislative home for sweeping PFAS provisions.
— The fight over the nomination of William Perry Pendley for director of the Bureau of Land Management got a bit nastier, with Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock filing a lawsuit Monday evening.
— The House is expected to finish up debate today on the defense bill, including on the tussle over public lands amendments.
GOOD MORNING! IT IS TUESDAY. I'm your host, Kelsey Tamborrino, and congratulations to Cheniere's Khary Cauthen for knowing voters in 35 House races split the ticket in the 2016 election — 12 of which elected a Democratic representative and Donald Trump as president, while 23 districts voted for a Republican representative and Hillary Clinton. For today: Nebraska's capital city was named after Abraham Lincoln, but what was the city's original name? Send your tips, energy gossip and comments to [email protected].
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Driving the Day
TRY, TRY AGAIN: After a bid to attach the House's sweeping PFAS regulatory measure, H.R. 535 (116), to the National Defense Authorization Act was stymied late Friday over a budgetary point of order, its advocates may now be eying the Interior-EPA funding measure as a potential vehicle. That bill is slated for floor consideration later this week as part of the first appropriations minibus to move.
"We are brainstorming and I am a woman that never says never. … There are other bills moving and we are not going to give up," Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), the measure's lead sponsor, told ME, noting that she has the full support of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
A number of PFAS amendments have already been filed to the appropriations minibus ahead of House Rules Committee consideration Wednesday afternoon. Among them: A pair of bipartisan amendments from Dingell, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) to require EPA to study the relationship between PFAS exposure and Covid-19 susceptibility, and an amendment from Dingell to increase EPA's funding by $2.5 million to complete a Superfund designation for PFOA and PFOS.
Around the Agencies
PENDLEY FIGHT HEATS UP: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock sued Monday to enjoin William Perry Pendley from exercising his authority as the director of the Bureau of Land Management. The complaint, filed within Bullock's capacity as governor, alleges that Pendley's appointment violates both the Constitution and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. "I'm taking this action today not just to block William Perry Pendley's further illegitimate oversight of the Bureau, but also to ensure that this unconstitutional abuse of executive powers does not become commonplace under any administration in the future," Bullock said in a statement.
Pendley was recently nominated for permanent director of BLM, but has exercised the authority of director for months through a series of reappointments and an updated succession order. Under the FVRA, when someone is nominated to a Senate-confirmed position they usually cannot also serve in that position in an acting capacity, though as ME has highlighted before there is one exception. The complaint also argues that actions taken by BLM under Pendley threaten Montana's economic and environmental interests, including the sage grouse habitat.
"This is a frivolous and politically motivated claim that has no legal standing," the Interior Department responded in a statement to ME. "Governor Bullock should do a little legal research before wasting everyone's time with this nonsense." The department has maintained there are no issues raised by the FVRA when it comes to Pendley's work, and that he has never been acting director of BLM.
But Pendley's nomination, as POLITICO reported last week, is putting a trio of western Republicans in a tough spot. Bullock is running to unseat one of those senators, Montana Sen. Steve Daines. In the complaint, Bullock writes that Pendley's nomination "is likely to languish in the Senate for months," therefore extending his tenure as acting director through the remainder of Trump's first term.
NO DEAL ON OZONE FOR EPA, NEW JERSEY: EPA is unable to reach a deal with New Jersey, New York and other states on how quickly to issue federal clean-up plans for upwind ozone pollution, according to a Monday court filing. A judge last week said he plans to rule in favor of the states seeking EPA action, but asked the two sides to agree on a schedule rather than him setting the deadlines. But in the filing yesterday, EPA maintained that "it is impossible" to act before the 2021 ozone season, while the states said they are owed action before next summer since it will play a role in determining whether they have met the 2008 standard — leaving the next step in the judge's hands.
STATES SUE OVER MATS REVISIONS: A coalition of 20 states led by Massachusetts has sued over EPA's revisions to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, which did not count the co-benefits of regulating as part of the cost-benefit analysis and thus concluded the rule was not appropriate and necessary. "This rule is an assault on critical regulations that protect our most vulnerable residents — who are already dying from Covid-19 at disproportionate rates — from toxic substances and harmful air pollutants," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. The states were joined by D.C., the cities of New York, Chicago and Baltimore, and Erie County, N.Y. Other lawsuits have already been filed by a coalition of environmental groups and a coal company that is expected to seek to overturn the numerical limits based on EPA's finding.
STATES, GREENS WANT COURT ORDER ON COAL LEASING: Four states and a coalition of environmental groups are seeking a court order to block the Interior Department from issuing new coal mining leases on federal lands, Pro's Alex Guillén reports. The legal challenges, filed Monday, argue that the Bureau of Land Management wrongly limited the scope of an environmental assessment concluding that the resumption of leasing would have little environmental effect. The challengers asked the court to reinstate an Obama-era coal leasing moratorium.
On the Hill
NDAA CHUGS ALONG: The House continues to move through its National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 6395 (116), debate today after passing an amendment by voice vote Monday expanding sanctions on the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The chamber also passed an amendment barring nuclear weapons testing in fiscal 2021, but kicked votes on closely watched public lands provisions until today. Among the measures expected to get a vote: a hybrid amendment protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of Colorado lands and barring uranium mining and further energy development near the Grand Canyon.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate is resuming consideration of its defense bill, S. 4049 (116). The chamber will vote this afternoon on an amendment from New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen that would increase funding for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study on PFAS chemicals in drinking water by $5 million.
LUCKY SEVEN: The House will take up a seven-bill spending package, H.R. 7617 (116), next week including the $49.6 billion Energy-Water bill. Read a division-by-division summary.
GRIJALVA PRAISES 'STRONG' BIDEN CLIMATE PLAN: House Natural Resources Chair Raúl Grijalva told ME he was impressed with Joe Biden's climate announcement last week. "There was an urgency to it," the Arizona Democrat said. "There was a timeline to it. I generally thought it was a good announcement and a strong announcement." Grijalva said Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is focused on the "serious repair work that needs to be done" at EPA and Interior, and that public lands can play a major role in governmental action to combat climate change. "Down the road that's something I would like to explore with his administration," he said.
HOUSE QUIETLY PASSES CFATS EXTENSION: The House passed a three-year extension, S. 4148 (116), of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program on Monday by unanimous consent, Pro's Anthony Adragna reports. The current authorization of the program, which aims to protect more than 3,300 facilities around the country from terrorist attacks, is slated to lapse on Thursday.
HOUSE REPUBLICAN PUSHES FOR LANDS BILL DELAY: Rob Bishop (R-Utah), the Natural Resources Committee's ranking member, wants Democrats to delay a vote on the Great American Outdoor Act, H.R. 1957 (116), which is expected to pass the chamber on Wednesday, calling it "ludicrous" to move forward with an unstable revenue source. The bill would permanently provide $900 million in annual appropriations to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling to pay for a host of projects on public lands.
Bishop — who has been a critic of the LWCF — points to a new Congressional Research Service report that said Interior's Office of Natural Resources Revenue reported offshore oil and gas royalty collections of $100 million in May, marking a decline of 84 percent from royalty collections compared with May of last year. "The core provisions of H.R. 1957 rely upon unobligated receipts from energy development on federal lands and waters, and the CRS has just confirmed that these revenue streams have evaporated due to the pandemic," Bishop said in a statement Monday.
DataPoint
DOWN THE PIPELINE: Fossil fuel pipelines have faced major setbacks in federal court this year, despite President Donald Trump's push to fast-track them. Pro's Catherine Boudreau, Nancy Vu and Patterson Clark have a new DataPoint graphic today breaking down the controversial crude oil and natural gas pipelines currently operating, as well as those canceled or delayed.
View the full DataPoint graphic. Want to add DataPoint to your POLITICO Pro account? Learn more.
2020 Watch
IT'S OFFICIALLY THE GENERAL: LCV Victory Fund and Priorities USA Action are out this morning with three new ads highlighting the differences between Trump and Biden on environmental issues. The spots contrast the two on climate change and drinking water protections, while a third calls for a Biden presidency to "get back on track." It's part of an ongoing $14 million effort aimed at swing voters on environmental issues. The ads will air in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Beyond the Beltway
SENDING UP A FLARE: Global gas flaring in 2019 increased to levels not seen in a decade, according to a new report today from the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership. Gas flaring, or the burning of "associated" natural gas from oil extraction, rose to 150 billion cubic meters globally in 2019. That's about the same as the total annual gas consumption of Sub-Saharan Africa and marks a 3 percent rise from 2018. The increase largely came from three countries: the U.S. — which saw a 23 percent jump, outpacing the 20 percent rise in oil production — Venezuela and Russia. Russia, Iraq, the United States and Iran remain the top gas-flaring countries, accounting for 45 percent of all global gas flaring, according to the tracker.
Movers and Shakers
— Dan Schneider started on Monday as vice president of communications at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. He most recently was associate director for communications at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
— William Keyser is now a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP's Energy Group in the firm's Washington, D.C., office.
The Grid
— "Rich Americans spew more carbon pollution at home than poor," via The Associated Press.
— "Chevron to buy Noble for $5 billion in stock, biggest oil deal since price crash," via Reuters.
— "Global warming is driving polar bears toward extinction, researchers say," via The New York Times.
— "Corporations seek tax-credit cash-out in next coronavirus relief plan," via The Wall Street Journal.
— "While Indiana coal and gas firms received millions in loans, clean energy was left behind," via Indianapolis Star.
THAT'S ALL FOR ME!
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