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TRUMP ASSURES GOP HIS ETHANOL DEAL IS GOOD FOR FARMERS: After voicing a lot of “frustration” about Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, the Senate’s top Republican ethanol supporters now say they feel confident President Trump has ethanol’s back.

Even though Trump said a deal had been won last month between oil refiners and the renewable fuel industry, Iowa Republican Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley were not completely satisfied.

• Trump calls: But after back-and-forth talks on the phone with Trump over the last several days, Ernst and Grassley are expressing optimism that the deal will help, not hurt, ethanol producers.  

• Loves the farmers: Ernst tweeted Tuesday night that Trump “has said he ‘looovves the farmers!’ #Iowa is feeling that love today, as the President just assured me he ‘won’t sign a deal that’s bad for farmers!’”

• Pruitt problems: Earlier Tuesday, Ernst appeared on a panel blasting Pruitt’s attempts to undermine the deal by granting dozens of waivers to refiners, exempting their smaller facilities from having to meet the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard blending requirements.

Pruitt “is about as swampy as you get,” Ernst said.

• Drain Pruitt’s swamp: “I am hopeful that the president will just recognize that Mr. Pruitt is breaking our president’s promises to farmers, and at some point he will say, ‘It’s time for you to go.’”

“But that’s up to the president to make that call. I will remain highly critical of Administrator Pruitt,” Ernst said.

• Across-the-board problems: She told John in a recent interview that her criticism of Pruitt extends beyond his mismanagement of the ethanol mandate. She has concerns across the board regarding his use of federal funds, lavish travel and security expenses.

• Apples to zebras: Meanwhile, the ethanol industry has problems with Trump’s initial deal, which included using ethanol credits from the export of the renewable fuel. That is supposed to help refiners manage the cost of buying the credits to comply with the RFS.

“The U.S. ethanol industry’s support for growth and exports have zero to do with allowing exported RINs to count toward RFS compliance,” Rachel Gantz, spokeswoman for the Renewable Fuels Association, tweeted Tuesday night. “It’s like comparing apples to a zebra. Allowing exported RINs to count for a domestic program would lead to further demand destruction.”

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PRESIDENT GETS BRIEFING ON HURRICANE SEASON: Trump will spend part of his Wednesday afternoon touring the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he will receive an update on what to expect from the 2018 hurricane season.

This year’s season is projected to be one of the worst, with experts calling for updating the storm categories to add a Category 6.

CALIFORNIA BOARD WANTS MEETING WITH OMB ON FUEL STANDARDS: The California Air Resources Board, which regulates tailpipe emissions in the state, requested a meeting with the White House Office of Management and Budget Tuesday night seeking a deal on fuel-efficiency standards.

Officials in the Golden State are concerned that the Trump administration may try to revoke the state’s waiver that allows it to produce its own tough standards.

• Roll it on back: Last week, the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent to OMB its proposal to change strict national fuel efficiency standards set by the Obama administration for model years 2022-2025. The agencies are expected to propose weakening the standards.

• ‘Years of litigation’: Steven Cliff, deputy executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, argues revoking the state’s waiver would violate federal law and “run counter to core federalism principles.”

“We are concerned that NHTSA and EPA’s position will result in significant harm to public health and the environment, as well as years of litigation and uncertainty for regulated industry and the public,” Cliff wrote in a letter to Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at OMB.

Cliff notes that automakers say they prefer the Trump administration not challenge California and other states that have tougher standards, because they worry about having to produce different products to comply with different rules.

• Lack of transparency: He says the board is frustrated that in several meetings with the White House, and federal agencies, including EPA officials, the Trump administration has not “been given any specific proposals to respond to.”

The board hopes to get more clarity by meeting with OMB.

ENERGY STORAGE IS NOT JUST ABOUT SOLAR AND WIND: “We think there’s a great pathway to get to 35 gjgawatts [of storage] by 2020 … it’s not about only supporting renewables, but about supporting the entire grid.”

That was a quote from Kelly Speaks-Backman, the CEO of the Energy Storage Association, speaking at Tuesday’s 2018 annual meeting of the Edison Electric Institute, the investor-owned utility industry’s lead trade group.

Thirty-five gigawatts is a lot to be sure, given that just one GW can power 700,000 homes. That also could help shore up the grid as coal and nuclear plants retire in the next three years.

• Opposing Trump: Speaks-Backman also slammed the Trump’s administration’s call for keeping struggling coal and nuclear plants running. She is part of a large industry coalition opposing Trump’s order for Energy Secretary Rick Perry to save the plants.

• Order could harm new tech: “Any action that undermines market stability to support new entrants like energy storage – resources that enhance grid resilience and reduce costs to consumers – will erode opportunities to create a more reliable and resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable grid,” she said.

EEI APPOINTS DUKE ENERGY CEO AS CHAIRMAN: Lynn Good, CEO of Duke Energy, one of the largest coal-fired utilities in the nation, was named chairman of the Edison Electric Institute on Wednesday morning.

• Turning away from coal: Good has been outspoken in her push to transition the utility giant from coal to one based on natural gas and solar energy.

• Opposite of Trump: The day that Trump ordered Perry to begin enacting policies to save coal and nuclear plants, Duke Energy was holding a party for a new state-of-the-art natural gas power plant, which was built on the site of a closed coal plant.

SPECIAL COUNSEL: RYAN ZINKE DID NOT VIOLATE LAW IN MIXING BUSINESS WITH POLITICS: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has been cleared of several potential violations of federal rules governing political activity by government officials.

• Love letter: A May 31 letter obtained by the Associated Press Tuesday from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel exonerated Zinke of violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits Cabinet officials from participating in political activities.

• He follows the law: Zinke’s spokeswoman, Heather Swift, was quick to point out that the secretary has always worked with ethics professionals to follow the law.

“As the Inspector General pointed out in the report earlier this year, the secretary always works with career ethics professionals and has followed all laws, rules, and regulations related to his travel,” Swift wrote in an email to John.

EPA DID NOT VIOLATE LAW WITH TWEET CRITICIZING DEMOCRATS: The EPA did not violate the federal Hatch Act, which prevents government agencies from being overtly partisan, when it appeared to criticize Democrats after the confirmation vote for the agency’s deputy administrator, the, U.S. Office of Special Counsel says.

• Twitter fight: A post in April from EPA’s official Twitter account chided Democrats who opposed Wheeler’s nomination.

“The Senate does its duty: Andrew Wheeler confirmed by Senate as deputy administrator of @EPA. The Democrats couldn’t block the confirmation of environmental policy expert and former EPA staffer under both a Republican and a Democrat president,” the tweet said.

• In the clear: The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said in a letter obtained by the Washington Post Tuesday that there is no evidence Pruitt wrote the tweet or directed anybody to. The letter said the tweet didn’t violate the law because “it was not aimed at the electoral success or defeat of a political party or candidate for partisan political office.”

EPA DISCOVERS COMPANY VIOLATED LEAD PAINT RULE BY WATCHING HOME REPAIR SHOW: The EPA is cracking down on lead contamination risks that were first revealed on the popular HGTV home renovation series “Fixer Upper.”

The EPA and Magnolia Waco Properties reached a settlement to resolve possible violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act and rules for lead paint after it was revealed that proper protections were not made on a televised segment of the show.

PRUITT TELLS AIDE TO SET UP TALKS WITH CHICK-FIL-A ABOUT FRANCHISE FOR WIFE: Pruitt had his executive scheduler email the president of Chick-fil-A to arrange a meeting to discuss a “potential franchise opportunity” for his wife.

Pruitt’s directive led to scheduler Sydney Hupp arranging a call, which was later canceled, according to the Washington Post.

Pruitt eventually spoke with someone from the fast-food chain’s legal department to discuss his wife, Marlyn, becoming a franchisee.

LAVA FROM HAWAII VOLCANO DESTROYS HUNDREDS OF HOMES: Lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano destroyed what officials said may be hundreds of homes Tuesday.

Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County, said officials believe hundreds of homes in the Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland areas were destroyed overnight, adding to a confirmed toll of 117 homes from Monday.

“Nobody knows what comes next as far as the lava goes,” Snyder told The Washington Post.

Hawaii officials warned about the presence of laze in the air, which is a toxic mix of hydrochloric acid, steam and glass particles.

CHINA OFFERS TO BUY U.S. ENERGY PRODUCTS TO PREVENT TARIFFS: China has offered to buy $70 billion of U.S. products, including natural gas, crude oil, and coal, to stop the Trump administration from imposing tariffs.

Trump is pressing China to reduce the $375 billion U.S. trade deficit by $200 billion, and buying American energy could be key to meeting that target.

The U.S. is the world’s leading producer of natural gas thanks to the shale boom, and the Trump administration is focused on exporting fossil fuels abroad.

MOODY’S PUTS A SHINE ON BOB MURRAY AFTER TRUMP’S COAL ORDER: As stocks soared in Bob Murray’s coal company in the wake of the president’s Friday order to save the power plants he fuels, Murray Energy announced some debt refinancing Tuesday.

Credit giant Moody’s was quick to add some perspective to Murray Energy’s latest refinancing bid, chalking it up to a limited loan default.

• Cash flow up: “Murray Energy’s proposed financing transaction improves the company’s expected cash flow by reducing interest expense by almost $40 million and extends maturities for most of the company’s debt,” Moody’s said Tuesday.

• Default is usually a bad word: However, the transaction likely will be considered a “Limited Default,” it said, which means it will not likely “immediately impact” the company’s Caa1 credit rating.

• It’s all good for Bob: The designation of Limited Default “is intended to capture events whereby issuers fail to meet debt service obligations outlined in their original debt agreements, even though the company’s credit quality will improve modestly from the proposed transactions,” Moody’s said.

Murray is a close confidante of Trump who has lobbied heavily for the Energy Department to issue emergency orders to keep financially struggling coal plants working to keep his miners employed.

API STARTS NEW OFFSHORE OIL INITIATIVE: The American Petroleum Institute Wednesday announced a new coalition supporting offshore oil and natural gas drilling.

The coalition, called Explore Offshore, includes community organizations, associations, businesses and local leaders from Southeast states: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

• Uphill battle: The push for offshore drilling comes as most coastal states are pressuring the Interior Department to scale back a proposal to expand oil and gas drilling into nearly all federal waters.

Most officials from states represented in API’s coalition oppose drilling off their shores, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, has not taken a position on the drilling plan, but has ordered state agencies to study the pros and cons.

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING ON PUERTO RICO GRID RECOVERY: The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing this summer on the slow recovery of Puerto Rico’s power grid after Hurricane Maria, Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said Tuesday.

• Focus on death toll: Democrats have pressured the committee’s Republicans to call a hearing over concerns that the official death count from Hurricane Maria is higher than the Puerto Rican government has said. The Democrats have criticized the Trump administration for claiming 64 deaths resulted from the storm, which was Puerto Rico’s initial tally in the first few days of the storm. But a recent Harvard study said 4,645 deaths can be attributed to the storm and its aftermath.

• Power focus: Bishop said the death count may be addressed at the hearing, which is expected to be held before July 4, but the main focus will be the island’s struggling power grid. Walter Higgins, the new CEO of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, the island’s bankrupt, state-run utility, said last week that more than 11,000 customers remain without power.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PROBE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP’S WORK IN CHINA: Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee are investigating the Natural Resources Defense Council’s climate and environmental activities in China.

Bishop and Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., sent a letter Tuesday to the president of the NRDC, Rhea Suh, seeking documents related to the group’s relationship with China.

• Probing foreign ties: The lawmakers said the environmental group may need to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires individuals or groups that work on behalf of a foreign government to register with the Justice Department. The Republicans cited the NRDC’s frequent meetings with Chinese officials and its praise of China’s effort to continue compliance with the Paris climate change agreement.

“The committee is concerned about NRDC’s role in aiding China’s perception management efforts with respect to pollution control and its international standing on environmental issues in a way that may be detrimental to the United States,” the letter said. “The NRDC’s relationship with China has many of the criteria identified by U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement as putting an entity at risk of being influenced or coerced by foreign interests.”

• ‘Proud of our work’: NRDC spokesman Bob Deans rejected the allegations.

“As the most populous country on Earth, China has much to do with the kind of world the next generation will inherit, in our country and around the world,” he told the Washington Post. “We’re proud of our work, in China and elsewhere, helping to create a more sustainable future for everyone, and we look forward to discussing that work with Chairman Bishop and the committee.”

RUNDOWN

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