ECA Update: July 11, 2013
Published: Thu, 07/11/13
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$30B energy, water spending bill passes House, 227-198
Pete Kasperowicz, The Hill
July 10, 2013
LINK
Pete Kasperowicz, The Hill
July 10, 2013
LINK
The House late Wednesday approved the third of 12 annual spending bills for 2014, passing the Department of Energy (DOE) and water projects spending bill in a 227-198 vote.
Democrats have argued throughout the week that the $30.4 billion spending bill cuts too deeply into renewable energy and science research. Those complaints led all but eight Democrats to oppose the bill in the final vote.
President Obama has also threatened to veto the bill because of these cuts, and Senate consideration of a bill that spends more means the House version is not likely to survive the upper chamber. Still, House passage allows Republicans to set down a marker on their priorities if and when a final 2014 spending agreement is reached.
Republicans admitted that the legislation focuses on what they see as the nation's top priorities -- maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile, and maintaining U.S. waterways. But even national security-related funding is cut by nearly $400 million compared to 2013 levels.
Non-security funding is cut even more, by $2.5 billion. That includes a $100 million cut to civil works programs in the Army Corps of Engineers, another $100 million cut to the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation, and a $2.1 billion cut to the Department of Energy.
Democrats took several shots during the week at restoring that funding, but they were rejected by the Republican majority. In particular, Democrats sought to restore funding to the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program, which was gutted by an 81 percent cut to just $50 million in 2014.
The House did agree to one amendment from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to restore $20 million to ARPA-E, but other proposals failed.
Republicans also took a few shots at reducing spending further than the 9 percent cut already in the bill. One of these was from Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) to save $1.5 billion by eliminating DOE's renewable energy program, but the House defeated that proposal.
Near the end of the debate, dozens of funding limitation proposals were made, many of which were included in the bill. One of these, from Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), would prohibit DOE from enforcing federal light bulb standards, language that was also included in the 2013 spending bill.
Hastings Adds $22 Million for Nuclear Waste Cleanup to House Bill
Congressman Doc Hastings
July 9, 2013
Washington, D.C., Jul 9 - The House of Representatives today approved an amendment authored by Congressman Doc Hastings that adds $22.5 million for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Environmental Management program. The amendment is aimed at boosting funds for the Richland Operations Office at the Hanford site next year.
While speaking on the House floor, Hastings noted that his amendment would "restore a portion of the reduction for the Environmental Management (EM) program that would so greatly impact the Richland Operations Office, and help enable cleanup to move forward safely, efficiently and in a timely manner."
Hastings' increase for the nuclear waste cleanup is offset by reducing funds within a DOE Administration account that largely funds Washington, D.C. bureaucracy and by maintaining funds for weatherization assistance at the Fiscal Year 2013 level.
"This increase will put RL cleanup in a stronger position as Congress continues working toward a final bill to fund the federal government next year," said Hastings.
Hastings also helped lead efforts to defeat an amendment offered by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) that would have cut EM funding by $1.7 billion. The Johnson amendment failed by a voice vote.
The amendments were considered as part of the Fiscal Year 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The House of Representatives is expected to continue consideration of this bill tomorrow.
Amendment supporting cleanup of nuclear waste at West Valley site passes house
Congressman Tom Reed
July 10, 2013
A Rep. Tom Reed amendment to restore millions in funding for nuclear cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project site passed the House of Representatives Tuesday evening in a bipartisan vote, ensuring cleanup efforts are able to continue at the local site.
"Providing adequate funding for nuclear cleanup is positive news for the health and safety of the local community, the care of the environment, and taxpayers who would otherwise see added costs in future years," Reed said. "Rather than allowing more taxpayer dollars to disappear into D.C. bureaucracy, this common sense amendment is fair to taxpayers and directs help to the sites where it is needed most and I am pleased to partner with fellow New York Member Rep. Brian Higgins once again on this important amendment."
"Cleanup at West Valley isn't a question of 'if' but 'when' and delaying what needs to be done only costs more in the long run," said Congressman Higgins. "If this radioactive waste makes its way into the Great Lakes, the environmental and economic implications would be devastating. By working jointly to get this done Western New York wins."
With bipartisan support, the House passed Reed's amendment to the 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations bill to provide funding for Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup. The bipartisan amendment was introduced by Reps. Tom Reed, Brian Higgins (D-NY), Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Jim Matheson (D-UT).
Making an investment now in nuclear site remediation will save taxpayers millions of dollars in the coming decades. "Taxpayers simply cannot afford higher taxes in coming years because Congress failed to act when it had the chance," Reed continued. "We must make sure this cleanup project continues on schedule to avoid any delays that would increase public safety risk and cost. The better we are able to carry out nuclear cleanup efforts now, the better off taxpayers will be down the road."
Without Reed's amendment, cleanup projects like the West Valley Demonstration Project would have seen an $18 million reduction from last year. Rep. Reed has been a vocal advocate for West Valley cleanup, working closely with the West Valley Citizen Task Force and the Department of Energy, and sponsoring similar successful amendments in recent years defending local nuclear waste cleanup.
Obama waves veto pen at House Energy Dept. spending bill
Ben Geman, The Hill
July 8, 2013
The White House is threatening to veto House Republicans' Energy Department spending bill, citing its sharp cuts to green energy programs.
President Obama's advisers would "recommend" that he veto the fiscal year 2014 spending bill if it reached his desk, the White House Office of Management and Budget said late Monday afternoon.
The $30 billion measure, which is slated to reach the House floor Tuesday, funds the Energy Department, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Interior Department water programs.
"The bill drastically underfunds critical investments that: develop American energy sources to build a clean and secure energy future; develop and commercialize the emerging technologies that create high-quality jobs and enhance the Nation's economic competiveness; and improve resilience against current and ongoing climate impacts that threaten our economy, public health, and natural resources," the White House said.
The "statement of administration policy" bashes an array Energy Department cuts in the bill, including its proposed cut for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
The White House notes that the $746 million that House GOP lawmakers want to provide EERE is 73 percent less than the administration has requested and would be the "lowest enacted level of funding in real terms for EERE in the history of the Department."
"Funding reductions are disproportionately taken in EERE, dramatically cutting the current level of critical Federal investments in innovative clean energy research and development at a time of significant global competition and progress," the White House said.
That's one of numerous White House criticisms of the GOP-crafted bill.
Elsewhere, the statement takes aim at provisions that would limit the reach of regulators under the Clean Water Act.
The bill would "prevent the use of funds to address known deficiencies and regulatory uncertainties related to Clean Water Act regulations in order to protect important aquatic resources while supporting economic development," the White House said.
Finding EPA Grant Funding Webinar
Office of Legacy Management
Office of Legacy Management
As part of the Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group (EJIWG), the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management is passing along the following information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For more information contact EPA.
Finding EPA Grant Funding Webinar
Summary: This webinar will provide past and present CARE grantees with the opportunity to learn about other EPA grant opportunities. Presenters, Elizabeth January and Lauren Lovett, from EPA's Office of Grants and Debarment, will provide participants with an overview of the competition process, how to find EPA grant funding, and tips on applying for competitive grants. Participants will come away with knowledge about current EPA funding opportunities/programs and a wealth of knowledge about the competition process.
Date: Thursday, July 11, 2013
Time: 2 pm - 3 pm (Eastern Time)
Conference Number: 1-866-299-3188 and CODE 202-564-1668 (NOTE: Please join this webinar using the URL above and call via this conference number.)
SRS announces work force change
Rob Pavey, The Augusta Chronicle
July 8, 2013
The U.S. Department of Energy is preparing a "workforce restructuring plan" designed to lessen the impact of potential layoffs to Savannah River Site contractor employees and the surrounding community.
Under the plan, the department would provide varying levels of assistance to displaced workers, including voluntary and involuntary separation programs; policies for retraining and rehiring; and outplacement services to help workers find new jobs.
The number of workers at the site has varied from year to year based on funding, missions and other factors, and the largest contractors are Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Savannah River Remediation and security provider Wackenhut Services.
Although unrelated to the new restructuring plan, the threat of layoffs has also loomed for workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration's mixed oxide fuel facility, where surplus plutonium would be blended into commercial reactor fuel.
Congress is reviewing the administration's proposal to scale back work on the project, which is 60 percent complete, while less expensive options are studied.
If proposed cuts are adopted, workforce reductions could be necessary within Shaw Areva MOX Services, the contractor on the MOX project, which has about 2,100 employees at the site.
The Savannah River Site Workforce Restructuring Plan will be completed at the end of the public comment period and after comments have been resolved, DOE said in a news release Monday.
Comments will be accepted until July 22 and can be sent to:
Joe Da Via, Contract Industrial Relations Specialist, U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Operations Office, Office of Acquisition Management, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 29802-0000; or e-mailed to Joe.DaVia@srs.gov.
The world's energy supply isn't getting any cleaner
Brad Plumer, Washington Post
July 10, 2013
We've seen plenty of charts over the past few years showing that wind and solar power are growing at astronomical rates -- not just in the United States, but around the world. That seems like an encouraging sign for efforts to tackle global warming.
But here's a sobering counterpoint. Roger Pielke, Jr., an environmental studies professor at the University of Colorado, has charted data on the share of carbon-free energy as a fraction of the world's overall consumption.
When you look at things this way, the share of clean energy around the world has actually stagnated over the past 20 years:
It's true that carbon-free sources like wind and solar and hydropower and geothermal have been growing rapidly. But fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas have also been growing rapidly in the past two decades -- particularly in China and India. The result is a stalemate of sorts. The world's energy supply isn't any cleaner than it was in the 1990s.
(By the way, fans of nuclear will note that the share of carbon-free energy grew most quickly 1965 and 1999 -- a period, Pielke notes, when "nuclear power increas[ed] by a factor of 100 and hydropower by a factor of 6.")
Another way to look at the same phenomenon is to measure the "carbon-intensity" of the world's energy sector -- that is, how many tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere for each unit of energy that's generated. This takes into account improvements in efficiency and the fact that natural gas is a cleaner fossil fuel than coal.
Here, too, there's been a real stagnation over the past few decades. Check out that gray line:
This chart comes from a report this year by the International Energy Agency, which notes that since 1990, the carbon-intensity of the global economy has improved by a mere 1 percent -- despite all the concern and all the conferences on climate change.
If that trend continues, the IEA says, global carbon-dioxide emissions will keep rising sharply and climate models suggest the Earth could heat up by as much as 6°C (10.8°F) over the long term. That's what the purple line represents. By the way, the World Bank isn't sure that humanity will be able to adapt to even 4°C of warming. So 6°C isn't exactly ideal.
Now, alternatively, if the world wants to avoid that balmy fate and keep global warming below 2°C, then carbon intensity will have to improve dramatically -- far more dramatically than we've seen over the last four decades. That's what the blue line represents.
Is the blue line actually possible? That's the trillion-dollar question. The full IEA report, "Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2013" (pdf) has a slew of ideas on how to clean up the world's energy sector. For instance, global coal use would have to peak before 2020; power plants and factories would have to get a lot more efficient; things like nuclear power and renewables would have to expand at an even faster rate.
For now, though, the world's not on track.
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