The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposed reforms to its renewable energy program, including proposals for incremental funding of decommissioning accounts; more flexible geophysical and geotechnical survey submission requirements; streamlined approval of meteorological buoys; revised project verification procedures; reform of the Bureau’s renewable energy auction process; and greater clarity regarding safety requirements.
FERC proposed to revise its existing regulations governing applications for permits to site electric transmission facilities under §216 of the Federal Power Act, as amended by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
USDA announced phase two of the Emergency Relief Program, which provides assistance to producers who suffered crop losses due to wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, and qualifying droughts occurring in calendar years 2020 and 2021.
EPA announced a public comment period for the draft document titled, “Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft).”
EPA proposed applicable volumes and percentage standards for 2023 through 2025 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel; a second supplemental standard addressing the remand of the 2016 standard-setting rulemaking; and several regulatory changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard program, including regulations governing the generation of qualifying renewable electricity and other modifications intended to improve the program's implementation.
DOE published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to establish revised energy performance standards for the construction of new federal buildings, including commercial buildings, multifamily high-rise residential buildings, and low-rise residential buildings per the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System seeks comment on draft principles that would provide a high-level framework for the safe and sound management of exposures to climate-related financial risks for Board-supervised financial institutions with over $100 billion in assets.
EPA determined that renewable diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas produced from canola/rapeseed oil via a hydrotreating process all meet the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction threshold of 50% required for advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, added these pathways to the list of approved pathways in the RFS regulations, and added a new definition of “canola/rapeseed oil” to the RFS regulations.
BLM proposed new regulations to reduce the waste of natural gas from venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and gas production activities on federal and Indian leases.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service seeks input for the Service to use to inform how it will implement funds received under the Inflation Reduction Act to fund the deployment of climate-smart practices on U.S. farms, ranches, and forestlands through four Farm Bill conservation programs and on funding to quantify carbon sequestration and carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions at the field scale.