WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! The Trump administration’s month-long delay on tariffs has come and gone, meaning the duties on imports from Canada and Mexico are now in effect. One Canadian province has vowed to retaliate against the levies on all products, threatening to cut off electricity exports to three major states along the border.
Kicking off today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we take a look at the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Environmental Protection Agency’s generic water quality standards in San Francisco.
Plus, Callie and Maydeen continue to follow the administration’s efforts in downsizing the federal government, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration currently in the crosshairs.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
SCOTUS NARROWS EPA’S CLEAN WATER ACT: The Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency overreached its authority by imposing generic water quality standards on San Francisco.
In the City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, the city claimed that the EPA imposed vague mandates for the discharge of water pollution into the Pacific Ocean from wastewater treatment facilities. The city argued that the generic mandates made it challenging for it to avoid violations, putting it at risk of suffering large penalties.
The high court ruled 5-4 in favor of San Francisco. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority decision that the Clean Water Act does not permit the EPA to hold a permit holder responsible for the overall water quality of a receiving body without specific compliance requirements.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, authored the dissent. She was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Barrett argued that the Clean Water Act explicitly gives the EPA broad authority to impose “any more stringent limitation” necessary to protect water quality. She warned the ruling could weaken environmental protections.
Read more from Washington Examiner’s Kaelan Deese here.
OIL PRICES CONTINUE TO SLIDE AS TARIFFS KICK IN: International and domestic benchmark prices for oil continued to drop on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada kicked in.
Just a reminder: The administration has placed a 25% tariff on imports from both Canada and Mexico, with one exception: energy imports from Canada will only face a 10% tariff. This is expected to impact around 69% of crude oil imports.
The details: Prices of oil continued to drop this morning, before experiencing a slight upturn by mid-afternoon. As of 2:30 p.m., the cost of Brent Crude sat at around $71.14 per barrel (a 0.67% drop). West Texas Intermediate prices were at roughly $68.33 per barrel (a 0.06% decline).
It does not come as a big surprise that oil prices refrained from shooting up early Tuesday morning, on the heels of the tariffs being implemented. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum at GasBuddy, previously told the Washington Examiner that it will likely take several weeks to feel some of the effects of the tariffs – such as the impact on domestic gas prices. He predicted that New England will likely see the impact of the tariffs sooner than others, with increases between $0.15 and $0.25 a gallon. Price changes may not hit regions like the Great Lakes and Midwest for several weeks, with increases of $0.05 to $0.20 a gallon.
PLUS…CANADA HITS BACK: It has not taken long for Canadian officials to retaliate against the Trump administration’s border tariffs, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford vowing to add its own tax on electricity exports.
The details: Ford said during a press conference today that he plans to add a 25% tax on electricity exported to around 1.5 million homes in Minnesota, Michigan, and New York.
“If these tariffs persist, if the Trump administration follows through on any more tariffs, we will immediately apply a 25% surcharge on the electricity we export,” Ford said. “We will not hesitate to shut off their power as well.”
The premier clarified that if Trump imposes more tariffs on April 2, he would stop all electricity exports to those regions and urge it to be redirected to local manufacturers. “If we go further into April, then we’ll cut off their electricity,” Ford said.
DRILL, BABY, DRILL MAY NOT BE WANTED OFF THE COAST OF SOME GOP STATES: As the Trump administration is moving full steam ahead to open up more federal waters and lands for future oil and gas development, the Republican president may hit unexpected hurdles from within his own party.
The details: Multiple Republican lawmakers have admitted they don’t wish to see increased drilling off the coast of their states, indicating a shift in support for “Drill, Baby, Drill” among the GOP.
“Not off of Florida’s coast,” Florida Rep. Byron Donalds told E&E News. “I will tell my colleagues, you can do that wherever you want, but not off of Florida’s coast.” Florida Rep. Carlos Giménez similarly told the outlet “Not in Florida,” when asked about the issue.
Additionally, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has long been outspoken about drilling developments off the coast of her state. On her official congressional website, Mace vows to protect South Carolina shores from the risks brought on by offshore drilling. “I’m committed to keeping oil rigs off our coast permanently to ensure South Carolina will never experience the crippling devastation others have and that we do all we can to protect our environment and wildlife,” the Republican says.
Wavering Biden rollbacks: In an 11th-hour executive order, President Joe Biden moved to protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters from future drilling. This affected the entire East Coast, the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as some areas off Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
President Donald Trump attempted to reverse the order on his first day in office, though it has been widely debated whether he is legally able to reverse those protections as the law used by Biden (the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act) does not include language explicitly saying whether future presidents can. Trump was blocked from doing so during his first term in office over protections issued under the Obama administration, with a judge saying it takes an act of Congress.
Republican lawmakers appear committed to reversing the Biden protections in the coming weeks and months. But it might not be a complete walkback. “I think overall, as tight as the margins are, developing in the Eastern Gulf is going to be pretty much off the table,” House natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman told E&E News.
‘A LOT MORE CUTS ARE COMING’ FORMER NOAA OFFICIAL WARNS: Hundreds of layoffs and the lease cancellation for buildings housing forecasting operations sent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reeling over the last few days, as former officials warn more cuts to the agency are still to come.
A reminder: More than 800 probationary employees from NOAA were fired late last week, including scientists and specialists across weather, oceans, biodiversity, climate, and other research and monitoring departments. More than 10% of workers at the agency were anticipated to be fired, part of the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency’s plans to shrink the federal government.
Buildings at risk: Efforts to downsize NOAA appeared to continue following the weekend, as current and former employees confirmed to The Verge that DOGE is also seeking to cancel the leases for two critical buildings for the agency. The first of these buildings houses the National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Maryland, which primarily produces key information used in weather forecasting by the National Weather Service, military, Federal Aviation Administration, and more.
The second building, located in Oklahoma, houses a Radar Operations Center. Andrew Rosenberg, who worked at NOAA under the first Bush administration and Clinton administration, told Callie that this center works to continuously improve radar systems used for storm prediction. “You would think you’d want to improve that,” Rosenberg said. “You’d also want to maintain the equipment.”
Rosenberg said the impact of the lease cancellations remains unclear – such as if it means the lease will not be renewed or is immediately canceled – though he called it “asinine” to shutter the facilities.
What’s next: For weeks, there have been rumors that NOAA would face cuts of up to 50% in staff and 30% of budget as the administration looks to cut down on federal spending.
“There are a lot more cuts coming – in grants, contracts, and in personnel,” Rosenberg said, adding that he is unsure what those final numbers could look like in the coming weeks. He also noted that the agency will likely see a number of other NOAA facilities impacted by lease cancellations on both the oceanic and atmospheric side of NOAA, further causing layoffs. “Where we end up, I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. So I expect there will be more staff cuts,” he said.
NORWAY TO SET ZERO-EMISSION TRANSPORTATION ZONES: Norway will look to allow cities to designate zero-emission transportation zones, establishing areas in cities for only battery-powered vehicles, Bloomberg reported.
Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygard announced that zero-emission zones can help reduce emissions and promote the adoption of battery-powered cars. The minister said that some cities want to consider zero-emission zones and the government should provide tools for the cities to do so.
The minister noted that establishing zones would require a change to existing laws and regulations. He added that the country’s transportation authorities will prepare proposals for legislation and regulation that gives the cities the authority to establish zero-emission zones.
Norway is the world leader in the uptake in battery-powered cars. Last month, electric vehicles accounted for 95% of new passenger cars sold, Bloomberg said. It added that a third of passenger cars in the country’s largest cities of Oslo and Bergen are electric vehicles.
JAPAN BATTLES LARGEST FIRE IN DECADES: Japan is battling the country’s largest wildfire in decades, causing thousands to flee and the destruction of dozens of homes.
The wildfire started last Wednesday in the city of Ofunato and has burned over 5,000 acres. There are more than 2,000 firefighters battling the flames. As of Monday, at least 84 homes have been damaged and over 1,200 have been evacuated. One person has died.
However, meteorologists are predicting rainfall tomorrow through Thursday, which could provide some relief for firefighters.
The wildfire is the largest Japan has seen since 1975. The northeastern region of Japan has also experienced the driest winter since 1946.
RUNDOWN
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