| | | | | |  | | By Kelsey Tamborrino | Presented by the Bipartisan Policy Center & U.S. Chamber of Commerce | With help from Eric Wolff, Alex Guillén, Anthony Adragna and Zack Colman Editor's Note: Morning Energy is a free version of POLITICO Pro Energy's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | | | | | | — Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) gets her confirmation hearing this week, setting up a clash between Republicans who've already rejected her and tribes who say the opposition goes beyond the normal Washington political rhetoric. — The Energy Department has begun a review of Trump-era energy efficiency rules, starting the process for potentially undoing or revising the regulations for shower heads and dishwashers. — Congressional Democrats are calling for several investigations into the power catastrophe that spurred Texas' blackouts last week. WELCOME BACK! I'm your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. Big thanks to Alex, Annie and Zack for filling in for me while I was away. Grayling's MJ Marshall gets the trivia win for identifying Mike Trout and Tim Salmon: The two fish-named players for the Angels franchise who have won the Rookie of the Year award. For today: Who was the first American to orbit Earth? Send your tips and trivia answers to ktamborrino@politico.com. Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. | | A message from the Bipartisan Policy Center & U.S. Chamber of Commerce: We cannot wait any longer to update our nation's power grids. Congress must act now and make investments that modernize America's energy infrastructure and ensure reliable power grids. Get the facts. | | | | | | TRIBES SEE FAMILIAR PATTERN IN OPPOSITION TO HAALAND: Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) will appear this week before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for her confirmation hearing. But several Republican senators have already signaled they plan to oppose her nomination, complaining of the New Mexico Democrat's "extreme views" on fossil fuels and use of federal lands. But multiple Native Americans told Pro's Anthony Adragna and Ben Lefebvre that the sharp critiques of Haaland, before she's had a chance to address the concerns, remind them of the stereotyping and dismissiveness that tribes have long experienced in dealings with the U.S. government. Her supporters add she's facing a level of criticism above and beyond the normal fiery political rhetoric. "Being a minority person and being a person of color, it makes you wonder if she would get this treatment if she wasn't a person of color, if she wasn't Indian and if she wasn't a woman," said Montana state Sen. Shane Morigeau, a Democrat and a member of the Salish and Kootenai tribes. "She became an easy target because we haven't gotten to this place in our country where we give — especially women and people of color — a fair shot." | 
Nominee for Interior secretary, Rep. Deb Haaland , speaks after President Joe Biden announced his climate and energy appointments at the Queen theater on Dec. 19, 2020. | Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images | Leading the opposition to Haaland's appointment are Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, white lawmakers from states with sizable American Indian populations, Anthony and Ben report. Lummis blasted Haaland's "extreme views," while Daines and Barrasso called her "radical" — and Daines suggested he would attempt to block her nomination altogether. Daines spokesperson Katie Schoettler said his opposition has nothing to do with Haaland's Indigenous background and came after a one-on-one meeting. "This is about the Congresswoman's radical views that are completely out of touch with Montana and the nation," Schoettler said in an email. An aide for Lummis said the senator opposes Haaland "for one reason and one reason only: her radical statements and positions on lands and energy issues," while Barrasso's office did not respond to a request for comment. But several tribal members said the reflexive GOP opposition is impossible to separate from the federal government's actions over many generations that marginalized and isolated tribal communities. Other critics said the Senate Republicans are making Haaland a scapegoat in a proxy fight against President Joe Biden's early executive orders revoking a necessary permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and giving priority to clean energy projects. Haaland "is going to shift a worldview on how we'll be managing water, land and natural resources in the future," said Julia Bernal, director of Pueblo Action Alliance and a member of the Sandia Pueblo in New Mexico. "Change is disconcerting to some folks. It's a paradigm shift." | | | | NEW - "THE RECAST" NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are changing. "Influence" is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Don't miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | | DOE STARTS PROCESS FOR WITHDRAWING TRUMP EE RULES: The Energy Department issued a memo to the Office of Management and Budget on Friday that it would begin the process of rescinding, revising or suspending 13 separate Trump-era energy efficiency rules. The move takes action on Biden's Jan. 20 executive order that called for a review of over 100 energy and environment-related rules across the federal government. What made the cut? The list includes former President Donald Trump's most controversial energy efficiency rollbacks, including rules that create separate categories of inefficient furnaces and water heaters as well as fast-cycle washers, dryers and dishwashers. And it targets rules that made it harder to create new efficiency rules, and test procedure rules that allowed companies to create their own efficiency tests as long as DOE did not stop them. The list also includes a regulation that would allow shower head manufacturers to combine multiple efficient shower heads into a single, inefficient fixture and still meet water efficiency requirements, a rule intended to satisfy Trump's complaints about weak water flow. JUDGE WON'T PAUSE NEPA LITIGATION: The Biden administration has generally found success is freezing litigation over Trump-era rules it wants to revisit — but a judge on Friday declined to pause a lawsuit over the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA rule (Reg. 0331-AA03 ) for 60 days. The suit brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center, one of several filed around the country, argued it is causing harm now, and Judge James Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia agreed there is no reason to delay. "Of course, as the parties surely anticipate, it will take me some time to rule on the pending motions for summary judgment once briefing is completed," he wrote. "But adding lengthy additional delay to my decision would not be appropriate, in my judgment." It's not exactly clear what will happen next; the White House did not return questions over the weekend about its plans. The final briefs are due March 17 and Jones could schedule a hearing not long after, leaving little time for executive action. (SELC told ME it does not expect the Biden administration to defend Trump's rule.) Reminder: CEQ nominee Brenda Mallory, who is still awaiting a Senate hearing, was most recently director of regulatory policy at SELC. ANWR LATEST: Seismic testing in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge hit a new roadblock this weekend when the Interior Department announced the company that sought to conduct the seismic testing missed a key deadline. Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation's request to conduct seismic activity was contingent on the completion of three polar bear den detection surveys of the project area by Feb. 13 — a deadline Interior said the company missed. "This week, Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation confirmed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials that three aerial den detection surveys, required as part of their request for an Incidental Harassment Authorization of polar bears, were not conducted by the Feb. 13, 2021, deadline," said Interior spokesperson Melissa Schwartz in a statement. "The company was advised today that their request is no longer actionable, and the Service does not intend to issue or deny the authorization." BIDEN LISTS NORD STREAM 2 SHIP: In a new report to Congress, the State Department late Friday identified the Russian ship Fortuna and its owner as helping to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in violation of U.S. prohibitions, Bloomberg reported. The report also listed entities that were exempt from sanctions since they are unwinding work on the project. It comes as the Biden administration has resisted pressure to slap sanctions on the pipeline, as POLITICO Europe's America Hernandez reports. GOP Sen. Jim Risch said the Senate's foreign relations committee received the State Department report meant to list all companies actively involved in Nord Stream 2 — and found it lacking. "Congress has passed multiple bipartisan laws regarding this project, and specifically broadened the mandatory sanctions to include the types of pipe-laying activities occurring right now. The administration's decision to ignore these activities demands an immediate explanation," Risch said. | | | |   | | | | | | TEXAS POWER BACK — NOW THE FALL OUT: Texas' grid operator announced Friday that it was no longer calling on customers to conserve power, and while this doesn't mean the lights are back everywhere — there are downed power lines all over the state — it means most places have heat and power after five days for many in the cold and dark. But with millions of Texans under boil their water orders through the weekend, homeowners coping with burst pipes, and a food and fuel shortages everywhere, the toll of the crisis is only just starting to emerge. Let the investigations begin! FERC and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. announced a joint investigation into the power problems even before the state had begun to recover, but congressional Democrats plan to make hay out of the crisis. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday called on FERC and NERC to home in policies advanced by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for failing to ensure the grid was ready for another cold snap, and Energy Chair Joe Manchin said last week he would hold a hearing into the crisis. Five Energy and Commerce Democrats led by Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) sent Abbott a letter demanding information on the rolling blackouts, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who chairs the Environment Subcommittee of House Oversight, said Friday he would launch his own investigation, Pro's Eric Wolff reports. (And yes, ME appreciates the irony of a Californian leading the investigation into Texas power problems.) Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith also called on federal regulators over the weekend to probe potential price gouging of natural gas. Not just Dems, either: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, sent demands for information to ERCOT and 11 utilities and generation companies on Friday. "I'm using the full scope of my Constitutional powers to launch an investigation into ERCOT and other entities that grossly mishandled this week's extreme winter weather," Paxton said in a statement. "We will get to the bottom of this power failure and I will tirelessly pursue justice for Texans." Read: Texas and California built different power grids, but neither stood up to climate change | 
Electric power lines run through a neighborhood on Feb. 19, 2021 in Austin, Texas. | Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images | SOUNDING OFF: Texas Rep. Michael McCaul defended his state's independent power grid Sunday, telling CNN's Dana Bash that "we're not used to this type of weather" and pointed to a decade-old report on winterization as the way forward, POLITICO's Eleanor Mueller reports . Power-sharing, McCaul acknowledged, "would [also] have been helpful." The Texas Republican described a 2011 report from the state's Legislature that contained recommendations "as to how to winterize our operations," which was never properly implemented. "That's what we're going to taking a look at moving forward," he said, "so this never happens again." Related: Biden approves disaster declaration for Texas | | | | JOIN US TUESDAY TO MEET THE FRESHMEN: The freshman class of the 117th Congress took office just three days before an armed mob stormed Capitol Hill and in the middle of a once per century pandemic, making its first month in office just a bit different from any previous class. Join POLITICO for "Red, Fresh and Blue," featuring live interviews with newly elected members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Huddle newsletter author Olivia Beavers will moderate back-to-back live interviews with Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) and Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.). REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | UNDERWATER: A new flood modeling study suggested 4.3 million homes face average annual losses from flooding amounting to 4.5 times the estimated federal flood insurance premium paid through the National Flood Insurance Program. The study from First Street Foundation underscores how federal flood maps severely underestimate flood risk, resulting in artificially low premiums that act as a subsidy for home ownership in flood-prone areas. Adjusting for true risk would mean flood-prone homes would have some consequences, as properties would "see a reduction in their underlying value," Jeremy Porter, the group's head of research and development, said in a statement. But taxpayers are paying for it in the meantime — low premiums have failed to generate enough coverage for homeowners in the federal floodplain, which has contributed to the NFIP's $20 billion debt. That situation will grow worse as climate change leads to more flood risk, the study noted — up from $20 billion of expected losses this year to $32.2 billion in 30 years, a 61 percent jump. VIRGINIA EXPECTED TO ADOPT CLEAN CAR STANDARDS: The Virginia legislature is poised to adopt California's vehicle emissions standards after the measure cleared the state Senate on Friday, reports the Virginia Mercury . The clean car standards in House Bill 1965 — which won the endorsement of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association and environmentalists — would adopt both California's low-emissions vehicle standards governing gasoline-powered cars as well as its zero-emissions standard setting requirements for electric vehicle sales. The Senate added on a carbon credit trading program that will require re-approval from the House, but the Mercury reports the lower chamber is expected to pass the bill for Gov. Ralph Northam's signature. — This will make Virginia the 14th state (plus D.C.) to join California's standards and the second to do so following the Trump administration's effort to strip the state of its special Clean Air Act authority. Three other states are also working to adopt California's rules: Minnesota, New Mexico and Nevada. | | A message from the Bipartisan Policy Center & U.S. Chamber of Commerce: With an already struggling economy and a D+ rating for our nation's infrastructure from The American Society of Civil Engineers, millions of Americans are now facing the difficult consequences of an aging energy grid.
We must modernize our outdated systems and ensure reliability – now.
Congress must make investing in infrastructure job number one, helping to grow our economy, and improving quality of life for everyone. Learn more. | | | | | | — Former House Energy and Commerce Chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has joined ClearView Energy Partners' advisory board. Walden and his wife currently own MSW Communications. | | | — "NASA doing 'preparatory work' for climate push, acting chief says," via POLITICO. — "His lights stayed on during Texas' storm. Now he owes $16,752," via The New York Times. — " Court rejects latest effort to stop Mountain Valley Pipeline," via The Roanoke Times. — "4 more states propose harsh new penalties for protesting fossil fuels," via Huffington Post. — "Texas freeze led to release of tons of air pollutants as refineries shut," via Reuters. — "'China is going to play them': Trump energy secretary says Biden plan won't work," via Washington Examiner. THAT'S ALL FOR ME! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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