QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I’ve seen those headlines. ‘We’re stealing Venezuelan oil.’ Of course, that’s not true at all,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters in Caracas this week. 

“The resources, the oil in Venezuela, is indeed owned by the people of Venezuela. All of the production contracts of the private companies, including the one the United States government is participating in, they’re all agreements with the government of Venezuela on certain revenue splits for the production,” Wright continued. 

“Private companies are bringing the money to produce the oil, but the benefits, the royalties, and the taxes all go to the government of Venezuela and the people of Venezuela. No change in that,” he said. “All we’re doing is taking an idle underground asset that isn’t doing anything for Venezuelan people and bringing the money, the technology to develop it so that it benefits Venezuela and benefits the world.”

MORE TIME, MORE COMMENTS FOR EPA’S WOTUS RULE 

The Environmental Protection Agency is opening another round of public comment for its revision of the Waters of the United States rule, pushing back its timeline to finalize the regulation. 

The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it would issue a supplemental notice seeking public input on additional options for defining “relatively permanent” and “continuous surface,” and including a new proposed definition for “perennial.” The comment period will be open for 30 days once it is published in the Federal Register. 

EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer told reporters on a call yesterday that the supplemental notice is meant to help the agencies “consider a wide range of additional options” as they work to develop a final rule. 

Kramer said that the EPA would move as “expeditiously as possible” on finalizing the rule.

As a reminder: The EPA last November proposed to narrow the definition of WOTUS to comply with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v EPA, which reduced the scope of bodies of water subject to federal oversight. WOTUS is a regulation that determines which streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands fall under federal oversight. 

Kramer said the EPA received more than 220,000 responses for its proposed rule, for which the public comment period closed in January.

The WOTUS rule has been caught in a legal and regulatory back-and-forth for more than 50 years.

“We would like to be the administration that ends the … whiplash that the regulated community has been in for decades,” she added. 

Jeff Porter, a partner at Holland & Knight, told Maydeen via email that, “Whatever EPA and the Corps do in response to those comments, EPA’s and the Corps’ proposal will most certainly be the subject of more than one court challenge just like the dozen or so Waters of the United States rules that have preceded it during both Democrat and Republican Administrations.” 

He added that the most effective way to resolve the long-running uncertainty surrounding WOTUS may be for Congress to step in and provide clarity, but that “has been true for over thirty years.” 

IT’S OFFICIAL – DIESEL PRICES HAVE REACHED NEW HIGHS: 

Diesel prices hit an all-time high of $5.85 per gallon today, with repercussions for key economic sectors from transportation to agriculture.  

The previous record was set in June 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when prices reached $5.81 per gallon. For context, the national average price of diesel was $5.29 per gallon last month and $3.70 a year ago, according to AAA. 

Diesel in particular has been affected by the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine squeezing the global supply. 

For instance, Russia earlier this summer paused exports of diesel, with plans to extend the ban through September and maybe to the end of the year. Russia is responsible for one in 9 barrels of diesel produced globally, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan. Russian refineries have also been damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes.

Refineries across the Middle East have also sustained damage, and the war in Iran has disrupted fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

At the same time, refineries at home have ramped up production of diesel to ease disruptions, operating at nearly 97% capacity. 

Diesel prices impact: Diesel is key to powering trains, trucks, and other heavy machinery. It is also essential to the agricultural sector, which has been enduring a difficult year due to input costs and trade tensions. 

Missouri Farm Bureau president Garrett Hawkins told Maydeen in a statement that high diesel prices are just another blow to farmers already dealing with tariffs and tight margins. He noted that fuel impacts every part of a farm operation from running a tractor to hauling grain. 

Diesel fuel accounts for 3% to 5% of the costs for U.S. farmers producing wheat, corn, and other major crops.

“Farmers are price takers. We don’t get to simply pass higher fuel, fertilizer, seed and equipment costs along to our customers. Those expenses come directly out of the farm’s bottom line,” Hawkins wrote. 

“At a time when many farmers and ranchers are already facing significant economic pressure, another increase in a critical input like diesel only adds to the uncertainty facing farm families across the country,” he added. 

De Haan wrote that diesel prices have a much broader impact on inflation and business costs. 

He noted that the impact goes beyond the transportation sector, adding that prices could be felt by consumers when “purchasing groceries, household goods, deliveries, and countless other products Americans rely on every day.”

All the rest

TREASURY SECRETARY BETS ON $40 OIL POST-WAR: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said oil prices could drop as low as $40 per barrel after the Iran war is concluded. 

Bessent said in an interview with Steve Bannon that “We’re going to get on the other side of this Iran conflict, and I expect that oil will come down.” 

“We’re going to be very much oversupplied in the oil market after this. We can see $50, $40 crude maybe, just because there’s so much coming online,” he said.

Oil prices remain in the $90 per barrel region. This afternoon, West Texas Intermediate was sitting at $91.49 a barrel and Brent crude is at $96.23 a barrel. Oil prices have risen in recent weeks due to the resurgence in military strikes between the U.S. and Iran. 

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that oil prices will drastically drop once the war in Iran concludes. 

LAWMAKERS ASK USDA TO NOT RESCIND THE ROADLESS RULE: A group of 164 lawmakers sent a letter yesterday to the Department of Agriculture, asking it to abandon its efforts to roll back decades-old protections for nearly 45 million acres of national forests. 

The USDA last month proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, calling it a “one-size-fits-all restriction.” The administration argued that the rule has restricted wildfire prevention in the national forests.  

The letter: Lawmakers are asking the department to halt its efforts and instead focus on effective implementation of the 2001 roadless rule. The letter was led by Democratic Reps. Andrea Salinas of Oregon and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, as well as Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Ruben Gallego of Arizona. 

“The enduring support for the Roadless Rule is rooted in its clear and measurable benefits,” lawmakers wrote. “Over the past 25 years, the rule has helped protect watersheds, biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity by limiting road construction and large-scale logging in undeveloped areas.”

“Forest Service data show that watersheds within roadless areas are far more likely to be in ‘properly functioning’ condition compared to those outside of them, which are more often classified as ‘at risk’ or ‘impaired.’”

Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania was the only GOP member to sign the letter. 

Some background: The 2001 roadless rule was enacted during the Clinton administration, prohibiting road building and logging on roughly 44.7 million acres of national forest land. The majority of the roadless areas are in 10 western states, which have experienced increased wildfire threats due to extreme droughts and heatwaves. 

UNITED KINGDOM MOVES TOWARD NORTH SEA DRILLING UNDER TRUMP PRESSURE: The United Kingdom will authorize new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea as early as next week, according to The Guardian, in a step that could help placate Trump. 

Trump has pushed for North Sea drilling over the course of months. Most recently, he said yesterday that the U.K. is “on the edge of disaster” because of high energy prices. 

Specifically, the U.K. is set to approve the Jackdaw field off the coast of Aberdeen, and ministers are also exploring ways to ensure that revenues from the separate Rosebank project would go toward clean energy. 

DRILL, BABY, DRILL NUMBERS: The number of U.S. oil rigs was unchanged this week at 588, according to Baker Hughes. The rig count is up 51 from a year ago. 

Meanwhile, the jobs report numbers released today show a slight pause in the attrition in oilfield employment. Oil and gas extraction jobs were up very slightly in August, but are down almost 5,000 during Trump’s second term. Likewise, the category of support activities for mining, which includes a lot of oilfield jobs, recovered a bit in the month but is down more than 7,000 since January of last year. 

THE WEST COAST AND HAWAII BRACE FOR TROPICAL WEATHER: Hawaii is facing a new hurricane threat this weekend, while California will be bracing for tropical moisture and heavy rain. 

Hawaii: The islands of Niihau and Kauai are bracing for high winds and heavy rain from a currently Category 3 Hurricane Lowell, which could bring winds of 125 mph today. Heavy rain is expected across much of the state, possibly bringing up to 10 inches of rain on Kauai and the Big Island into next week. 

Democratic Hawaii Gov. Josh Green yesterday declared a state of emergency to prepare for the incoming storm as it approaches late Monday. It is unclear whether the hurricane will make a direct landfall on Hawaii. 

California: Hurricane Marie is expected to stay far offshore from Southern California, but will still bring high surf, coastal flooding, and potential rainfall. The hurricane is currently a Category 2 with winds of 100 mph. 

The El Niño effect: Meteorologists from AccuWeather said the super El Niño is fueling storms in the Pacific. There have been 15 tropical depressions and storms in the eastern and central Pacific, including five hurricanes this year. 

RUNDOWN 

The Associated Press The Trump administration halted a Great Lakes project. Then Whitmer called Trump

Canary Media Solar-plus-storage is having a global growth spurt

Inside Climate News Underserved Communities Again Ask Courts to Restore Justice Grant Funding