SENATE DEMOCRATS, GREENS TRY TO KEEP PRESSURE ON PRUITT: While House Speaker Paul Ryan was announcing Wednesday morning that he will not run for re-election, Senate Democrats were trying to keep the target on the back of Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt.

A press conference led by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., placed big doubts on whether Pruitt will last much longer.

“We would see Pruitt leave in a matter of days,” Udall said.

• What’s the holdup? Udall said Democrats are hearing that a split at the White House on whether Pruitt will go is the only thing delaying his ouster, but that his firing or forced resignation is imminent.

Reports Wednesday, citing administration sources, said the White House is contemplating replacing Pruitt with Andrew Wheeler, who is nominated to be Pruitt’s deputy.

• Wheeler as replacement? Udall is calling for the vote on Wheeler be delayed, so that he can be vetted as though he would be taking over as administrator. If Pruitt leaves, Wheeler could take over, which is “a very serious problem” based on Wheeler’s credentials as a fossil fuel lobbyist, Udall said.

Udall hopes the GOP will agree with him, saying many Republicans are “privately very disturbed” over the Pruitt scandals involving condo deals linked to lobbyists, expensive travel and security expenses, and the use of his position to grant pay raises.

Udall, backed by a number of top Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, is introducing a non-binding resolution saying that Pruitt must go.

• ‘Eviction notice’: Pruitt’s list of “sins” is very long, said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. “He has ignored the law and openly worked against the will of Congress.”

It is time for Pruitt to get an “eviction notice” and the locks at EPA changed, Markey said.

• Greens join in: The liberal think tank Center for American Progress, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and others joined the Democrats Wednesday morning in calling for Pruitt’s ouster.

• Playing defense: EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox hit back at the Democrats, saying Pruitt’s work is focused on providing certainty and advancing the Trump agenda.

“From advocating to leave the Paris Accord, working to repeal Obama’s Clean Power Plan and WOTUS, declaring a war on lead and cleaning up toxic Superfund sites, Administrator Pruitt is focused on advancing President Trump’s agenda of regulatory certainty and environmental stewardship,” Wilcox said.

WHAT THE RESOLUTION WOULD SAY: “Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that — (1) Scott Pruitt should resign immediately from his post as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and (2) the President should appoint to the office of Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency an individual who will be committed to the fulfillment of the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency and who is able to fully and faithfully discharge the public duties entrusted to the office of the Administrator,” according to a draft obtained by John.

Udall will introduce it next week. A similar resolution is also expected to be introduced in the House.

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BARRASSO REJECTS DEMOCRATS’ REQUEST FOR HEARING ON PRUITT’S SECURITY: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso rejected a request from Democrats Tuesday to hold a hearing on Pruitt’s use of round-the-clock security and his heavy spending on his own protection.

Pruitt is the first EPA administrator to have a 24/7 security detail, prompted by multiple death threats he says he has received. The Associated Press last week reported the EPA has spent about $3 million on his security, including travel and overtime pay for Pruitt’s detail.

• Agree to disagree: Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Tom Carper of Delaware sent a letter to Barrasso, R-Wyo., Tuesday morning revealing that they have seen several internal EPA documents, which they are keeping confidential, that found no specific credible security threats to Pruitt.

Barrasso rejected Democrats’ claims and said the senators acted irresponsibly by releasing the information.

“This letter selectively quotes non-public documents,” Barrasso said. “This is exactly why members should not publicly disclose information that relates to the safety of a Cabinet member. It is also why this committee will not hold a hearing on this issue.”

EPA FIRES OFFICIAL WHO WROTE SECURITY MEMO: The EPA on Tuesday dismissed Mario Caraballo, the deputy associate administrator of the Office of Homeland Security who approved the internal report that Whitehouse and Carper referred to.

The move raised eyebrows because Pruitt is already under fire for personnel decisions.

David J. Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, has expressed concern to the EPA about Pruitt’s reported punishing of staff who disagreed with him about spending on travel and security.

• No ‘connection’: EPA officials confirmed Caraballo’s dismissal to the Washington Examiner, but said the decision was unrelated to his role with the report.

“The action today was based on a recommendation by the Office of Administration and Resources Management,” Donna Vizian, EPA’s principal deputy assistant administrator, told the Washington Examiner. “I am not aware of any connection between the personnel matter and the document mentioned in media reports.”

EPA REVIEWS TWITTER THREATS TO JUSTIFY PRUITT’S SECURITY SPENDING: The EPA has been reviewing posts to Twitter and other social media to justify his spending on security, the New York Times reported Tuesday night.

Some EPA officials and Democratic lawmakers say the review has discovered individuals criticizing Pruitt’s leadership and policies, but had found no actionable threat against him.

Suspicious posts have been referred to the EPA’s inspector general’s office, which is investigating the threats.

GOWDY SENDS STAFF TO REVIEW PRUITT TRAVEL RECORDS AT EPA: House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy, of South Carolina, sent his staff to the EPA Tuesday to review records of Pruitt’s first-class travel and security expenses, according to ABC News.

• Extensive probe: Gowdy recently expanded a probe he already was conducting of Pruitt to include his $50-per-night rental housing agreement with the wife of an energy lobbyist.

As part of the original investigation, the EPA provided the committee documents showing Pruitt spent more than $105,000 in first class travel in his first year.

FORGOT ABOUT ZINKE? DEMS ATTACK HIM FOR TRAVEL, SPENDING: Democrats criticized Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for his travel and spending habits as he testified Wednesday morning about his agency’s fiscal 2019 budget before a House Appropriations subcommittee.

“Doors costing $139,000 and extravagant trips have violated trust with this institution and American taxpayers,” said Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “Perhaps your ego has gotten in the way of doing the business of the people.”

• ‘False’ attacks: Zinke, before delivering his opening statement, fought back, calling attacks by Democratic members, “false, misleading, and blatantly untruthful.”

“Every time I travel it is approved by legal folks and career ethics [officials],” Zinke said later.  “I understand we live in a political environment, but in every situation I follow procedures.”

• Ongoing probe: The Interior Department’s inspector general is investigating Zinke over his use of military and chartered flights, and his attendance at political events while on official travel.

For example, Zinke spent $12,000 for non-commercial travel that included speaking to a professional sports team owned by a former campaign contributor.

Most recently, Zinke came under fire for reportedly spending $139,000 on the construction of a door to his office dubbed the “Secretary’s Door.”

ZINKE SUGGESTS HE IS SCALING BACK OFFSHORE DRILLING PLAN: Zinke later assured committee members that he plans to scale back his plan to expand offshore leasing in nearly all federal waters, based on massive local and state opposition.

“States matter, local voices matter, you matter, and governors matter,” Zinke said. “We are shaping our plan. I think I know exactly where everyone sits on both coasts.”

• East Coast concerns: Members of both parties on the committee had criticized Zinke for his draft plan.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said his state should be removed from the proposal.

“All members of our congressional delegation have opposed offshore drilling,” Frelinghuysen said. “I understand the administration may have contrary views. I hope in the coming weeks you recognize the concerns many of us have on the East Coast, that we don’t want oil drilling in our neck of the woods.”

Nearly all coastal governors, Republicans and Democrats alike, say they oppose Zinke’s plan to expand offshore drilling to almost all federal waters.

• Onshore preference: Zinke acknowledged there is less industry interest in offshore than onshore natural gas.

“What’s also happening there is no doubt that drilling offshore is more risky than onshore. Investments are moving onshore to the Permian, that is less risky,” he said.

He added the drilling in waters off the East Coast is especially challenging.

“Unlike the Gulf Coast, there is no subsea infrastructure,” Zinke said. “You would have to start from scratch.”

BOB MURRAY SAYS EMERGENCY ORDER ‘ONLY OPTION’ TO SAVE COAL: The CEO of coal giant Murray Energy, an ally of President Trump, said Tuesday that Energy Secretary Rick Perry “has to” approve an emergency order to save nuclear and coal power plants across the Midwest, warning of impending “disaster” if the government doesn’t act.

“It’s probably the only option right now,” Bob Murray said in remarks at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Future of Energy conference in New York. “It’s absolutely needed. It can be for a specific time frame to stop these nuclear and coal closures until we get our house in order to ensure the resilience, reliability and security of the grid. It doesn’t have to be permanent. It must be done.”

• Coal contract: Perry is expected to make a decision soon on whether to approve a emergency petition from Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy to require PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest federally overseen grid operator, to enter into contracts with coal and nuclear plants across the Midwest to use their electricity.

• The Murray connection: Murray Energy, America’s largest privately owned coal company, is uniquely set up to benefit from an emergency order benefiting FirstEnergy’s power plants.

FirstEnergy is a customer of Murray’s, using the company’s coal to produce power.

ENERGY DEPARTMENT, BIG STATE GROUP LOOK AT SOLAR FOR RESILIENCE: The Energy Department’s renewable energy lab chose a group of state energy commissions to take a hard look at how solar can boost grid resilience especially after last year’s hurricane season.

The new team formed by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners comes as Perry examines FirstEnergy’s plea to keep its coal and nuclear plants alive because of the resilience and reliability they provide.

• Solar equals resilience: The new research effort means the federal government is exploring “new ways solar energy can improve the affordability, reliability and resiliency of the nation’s electric grid,” according to the utility commissioners’ group.

• First-time effort for solar: The effort will be the first thorough examination of using solar and storage to reboot the grid when there is no power on the grid, or a “black start.”

It would be a significant achievement if researchers can demonstrate that a renewable can be a black start resource.  

EPA PLUGS AWAY AT CLEAN COAL IN ISSUING FIRST-EVER CARBON PERMIT: The EPA approved the first license for a technology that is key to making coal-fired power plants more environmentally friendly.

The license allows carbon dioxide to be injected underground in North Dakota.

“This marks the first time any state has received primacy for Class VI UIC wells, which are used for the long-term storage of carbon dioxide captured from industrial and energy-related sources,” the EPA said in making the announcement.

• From Obama to Trump: The licensing process was developed almost a decade ago by the Obama administration’s EPA. Although North Dakota is a large shale oil and natural gas producer, it produces a big chunk of its power from coal and had been interested in capturing carbon to meet former President Barack Obama’s climate regulations.

Both Democrats and Republicans in the state were highly critical of the lack of fairness under the climate rules, which acted to prohibit the state’s use of clean coal.

CALIFORNIA OPEN TO ‘MINOR ADJUSTMENTS’ ON FUEL-EFFICIENCY RULES: The chairwoman of California Air Resources Board said Tuesday that the state could make a deal with the Trump administration on fuel-efficiency standards and is open to “minor adjustments” to her state’s strict rules.

For example, Mary Nichols said she would consider supporting allowing auto makers to obtain pollution credits for producing electric vehicles.

“Reason could prevail,” Nichols said Tuesday at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Future of Energy Summit conference. “There’s a way to get to success, unless your goal is to roll over California and not allow us to have any standards.”

• Review and replace: The EPA announced last week it is adjusting the Obama administration’s rules that set a 54-mile per gallon standard for cars and light trucks by 2025, up from the current average of 38.3 mpg.

The decision to reject the Obama standards set up a fight with California and 12 other states that had adopted the tougher rules as a way of reducing greenhouse emissions.

Pruitt said he is reviewing whether to allow California to keep its waiver allowing it to set its own standards.

BUT CALIFORNIA SUES OVER EASING RULE ON ‘MAJOR’ POLLUTERS: The Golden State’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, sued the EPA Tuesday for withdrawing a policy that imposed strict limits on hazardous air pollutants from factories, plants, and other types of facilities considered “major” polluters.

• Second chance: Under the “once-in-always-in” policy, established in 1995, major polluters failing to meet certain emission thresholds were required to meet those standards from then on, even if the facility made changes to reduce its pollution.

The new Trump administration policy, issued in January, allows facilities labeled as “major sources” of pollution to be reclassified as “area” sources when they limit their potential to emit pollution.

• California’s case: Becerra, a Democrat, says the EPA’s new policy contradicts requirements of the Clean Air Act and is not backed by science, but rather decided in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner. He said the policy will increase pollution in his state. He filed the suit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

RUNDOWN

Bloomberg What will it take to keep up with shale gas boom? $170 billion in infrastructure

Wall Street Journal Coal is about to lose face in China

New York Times Volkswagen set to oust Matthias Müller as CEO after diesel scandal

Reuters Cushing’s oil market clout wanes amid U.S. export boom

New York Times Climate change deniers say polar bears are fine. Scientists are pushing back.

Bloomberg The man behind Pruitt’s costly security once chased mobsters