PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Apparently frustrated by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down an $18 million penalty for a Texas natural gas firm, a federal judge is taking the unusual step of asking the environmental community for suggestions on how to sentence the company in a way that will have "the broadest possible impact."
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell vowed Tuesday not to bend to lobbying from the oil and gas industry or its opponents in the drafting of new public lands hydraulic fracturing regulations.
"I would say the fracking rules are not bowing to industry pressure or environmental pressure," she told reporters. "They are taking the best science that's available, they're looking at historical practices, they're taking modern technologies and how they're being used, and coming out with regulations that address all of those things and do it in the most scientifically justifiable way."
Two former Democratic senators say Congress and the Obama administration should not stand in the way of natural gas exports, adding to calls by proponents for the market to regulate prices.
The former senators -- Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana -- plan to tell a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that shipping costs and demand will limit domestic price increases, according to their prepared remarks.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators recommended Monday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. pay a record $2.25 billion fine for decades of negligence that led to a deadly gas pipeline explosion that leveled a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood.
The Sierra Club and other environmental groups filed comments against the Dominion Cove liquefied natural gas export terminal and called for a FERC environmental impact statement on the plan, StateImpact Pennsylvania reports.
Liberal watchdog group Checks and Balances Project said the State Department inspector general is investigating potential conflicts of interests in the department's environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline, The Hill reports.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey joined a push to have the Supreme Court rule to overturn EPA greenhouse gas regulations, The Charleston Gazette reports.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., voiced optimism that President Obama would not veto his bill to authorize oil and gas drilling off the coast of Virginia, The Hill reports.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a key satellite tasked with tracking severe eastern weather failed and a spare has been activated, Reuters reports.
The new chemical safety compromise bill introduced by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., now has 20 co-sponsors, The Hill reports.
Participants in the Energy Department's Better Buildings Challenge, designed to reduce energy consumption at buildings, saved about $58 million in energy costs last year, The Journal Sentinel reports.
In a Q&A with State House News Service, Massachusetts Senate candidates Rep. Ed Markey, D, and Gabriel Gomez, R, give their take on the Senate battle to confirm EPA nominee Gina McCarthy.
In an interview with GreenBiz.com, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick discusses his vision for his state's energy policy, including his plans for offshore wind generation.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to reform the Long Island Power Authority over flaws exposed by Hurricane Sandy is unpopular among municipal bond investors, Bloomberg reports.
