Democrats revive environmental justice bill

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: House and Senate Democrats reintroduce the Environmental Justice for All Act, aimed at addressing how racist policies have left minority communities more vulnerable to environmental dangers. (Grist)

CLIMATE:
• The EPA relaunches a webpage devoted to climate change after the Trump administration took it and other global warming-related resources down. (Washington Post)
• Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee encouraged federal regulators to increase their oversight of climate risks to the financial system in a hearing, while Republicans continued to reject more requirements. (The Hill)
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission evaluates a natural gas pipeline project’s climate impact for the first time, after years of Republican board members limiting analysis to only direct emissions. (E&E News, subscription)

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TRANSPORTATION:
• Progressive senators and House members introduce a $500 billion bill to electrify transportation systems, including major investments in public transit. (Bloomberg)
• Colorado lawmakers are set to introduce a $4 billion transportation plan that includes new gas and road-usage fees starting July 2022, aiming to improve air quality and fund infrastructure projects. (Colorado Sun, CRPR News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The U.S. Department of Commerce held a closed-door meeting yesterday with American miners and battery makers to discuss expanding Canadian production of materials needed for electric vehicles. (Reuters)
• Amazon has begun testing its Rivian electric delivery vans in San Francisco. (TechCrunch)
• A shareholder lawsuit claims Ohio EV startup Lordstown Motors defrauded investors by making claims about pre-orders and production progress. (Associated Press)

WIND:
• Northeastern states have enough wind potential to generate four times the amount of power they consumed in 2019, according to a new report, which found that the U.S. as a whole has enough offshore wind potential to power most of the country by 2050. (NJ Spotlight)
• Federal researchers study multiple scenarios for building out U.S. wind energy capacity showing potential constraints from local development restrictions. (Inside Climate News)
• Rhode Island regulators are set to review an application for an undersea cable and land-based infrastructure for the 704 MW Revolution wind offshore project. (Energy News Network)

GRID:
• Energy experts encouraged a House committee to take federal action to bolster the nation’s energy grid, revitalizing discussions about an $829 million grid security research and development bill introduced last year. (Dallas Morning News, E&E News, subscription)
• The scramble to keep the power on amid last month’s winter storms revealed a regulatory blind spot in Texas: utilities’ failure to keep up with paperwork. (Texas Tribune)
• An Iowa utility is ​“picking up the pace” on burying power lines to improve reliability and reduce customer costs. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

COAL: Methane leaks from planned coal mines around the world could pose a bigger climate risk than current carbon emissions from U.S. coal plants, a report suggests. (Reuters)

NUCLEAR: Federal data shows nuclear power plants in the U.S. generated more electricity than coal in 2020 for the first time ever. (E&E News, subscription)

COMMENTARY:
• ​“This Congress must go big on climate change,” implementing ​“market-based incentives” to get Republicans onboard with Democratic regulation and spending plans, an editorial board writes. (Washington Post)
• Former climate advisers to Democratic governors suggest three first steps for President Joe Biden to ​“better engage state, tribal and local governments” in climate action. (The Hill)
• Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s ​“ethics, her passion and her record of advocacy on behalf of Indigenous peoples” signal ​“a great new era in our history,” an Akwesasne Mohawk columnist writes. (Indian Country Today)
• President Biden needs to go beyond pausing new oil and gas leases to ​“reconsider and fix our broken system of leasing on public lands and federal waters,” an advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council writes. (NDRC)