EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 8/5/26
PIPELINE NEWS
Montana Free Press: Proposed tar sands pipeline in eastern Montana hits stumbling block
Law360: Corps, Enbridge Seek Win In Tribe’s Line 5 Reroute Permit Suit
Sarnia News Today: Bradley says latest Line 5 ruling ‘hurts local investment’
Sarnia Observer: Action needed to protect Line 5: MP
Canadian Press: Ottawa moves to list Alberta-backed West Coast pipeline as national interest project
Bloomberg: Pipeline Owners Race to Build Capacity as AI Power Demand Jumps
E&E News: Federal judge puts FERC’s Energy Transfer enforcement case on ice
Quantum: Energy Transfer says DAPL connection to Enbridge Mainline still executable
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: It’s official: Permitting deal won’t happen this week
E&E News: Republicans join push for Supreme Court to allow climate lawsuits
E&E News: Trump rewrite narrows historic protections for faster energy approvals
E&E News: Dems attack Trump’s 90 percent land cut to Utah national monuments
E&E News: Interior moves to ease Obama-era Arctic drilling requirements
E&E News: Appeals court to reconsider key Congressional Review Act prohibition
E&E News: Federal appeals court revives lawsuit over Colorado refinery pollution
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Peltola backs gas project, more refining in Senate bid
E&E News: Sunrise co-founder, data center critic nabs big primary
Grist: Most Utahns Want to Protect Their National Monuments. Trump Had Other Plans
TechCrunch: SpaceX won’t remove all of xAI’s unpermitted turbines for another year
RFD TV: Nebraska Trade Mission Promotes U.S. Ethanol in Asia
Inside Climate News: Inside the Secretive Deal for a $10 Billion Data Center in Rural North Carolina
Inside Climate News: Georgia’s First ‘Pop-Up’ Power Plant for Data Centers Faces Scrutiny
EXTRACTION
LNG Industry: Coastal Bend LNG initiates formal permitting and consultation process
CLIMATE FINANCE
E&E News: Worker sues for access to fossil-fuel-free investment options
OPINION
The Hill: Congress should rein in EPA overreach to protect affordable and reliable energy
PIPELINE NEWS
Montana Free Press: Proposed tar sands pipeline in eastern Montana hits stumbling block
Ellis Juhlin, 8/4/26
“A pipeline proposed to run through eastern Montana hit a delay last week on the permitting path,” the Montana Free Press reports. “The Montana Department of Environmental Quality on July 22 withdrew a waiver it had previously granted to the Bridger Pipeline Expansion, a project expected to run from Canada through Montana and Wyoming, and cost an estimated $2 billion… “In June, the environmental law firm Earthjustice filed a complaint on behalf of two Montana residents against DEQ’s decision to grant the waiver. Lars Phillips, an attorney with Earthjustice told MFP the information needed to be included in order to have a thorough review process. “The law is clear and DEQ was right to reverse course,” Phillips told MFP. “But we are troubled by why DEQ decided to issue these waivers in the first place.” “...The project has been referred to by supporters as “Keystone Light” referencing the Keystone XL Pipeline, which then-President Joe Biden canceled in 2021. Shannon James with environmental watchdog Montana Environmental Information Center told MFP calling it “light” is a misnomer. “It’s Keystone XXL and a major climate threat that far too many people haven’t heard about yet,” she told MFP. “It is unfortunate that it took two Montanans standing up to big oil to force DEQ to require Bridger to comply with Montana law.” James and other opponents have raised concerns over the potential environmental harms the pipeline’s proposed path would take, a route that would cross water 150 times. “Pipelines leak,” James told MFP. “It’s not a matter of if, but when. We should not be giving the green light to a company with a troubling track record in our state, especially before it has fully disclosed the impacts this project would have on Montana’s people, water, wildlife, and climate.”
Law360: Corps, Enbridge Seek Win In Tribe’s Line 5 Reroute Permit Suit
Crystal Owens, 8/4/26
“The federal government and Enbridge Energy are looking to dismiss a challenge to a permit that allows 41 miles of pipeline to be rerouted around a Wisconsin tribe’s lands, arguing that any attempts to find flaws in an environmental analysis for the plan are hasty and lack merit,” Law360 reports.
Sarnia News Today: Bradley says latest Line 5 ruling ‘hurts local investment’
Stephanie Chaves, 8/4/26
“Sarnia’s mayor says a recent court ruling is yet another setback for Enbridge’s Line 5, warning that ongoing legal battles surrounding the aging pipeline continue to cast a shadow over local economic investment,” Sarnia News Today reports. “In a 6-1 decision on Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered state regulators to reconsider a permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry the 73-year-old pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move ahead… “Mike Bradley called it a federal issue, and told the News he will be reaching out to Ottawa expressing his concern. “Now there’s a number of things in that decision that maybe should have been addressed by Enbridge but weren’t,” Bradley told the News. “Get those things addressed and let’s get this thing on track because every time these cases pop up, it has a negative impact on investment here, and it has a negative impact on hope for the future.” “... Now, we need to have a new agenda to put in place protections for Canadians, and one is to build the Northern Shield pipeline so that 10, 20 or 30 years from now, we’re not going to be held up by American administration on our own energy.”
Sarnia Observer: Action needed to protect Line 5: MP
Tyler Kula, 8/4/26
“A Team Canada approach is needed to protect Enbridge’s Line 5 and the thousands of local jobs it supports, says Marilyn Gladu,” the Sarnia Observer reports. “It’s a huge issue,” said the Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong MP, speaking to Golden K Kiwanis club members in Sarnia Tuesday. Michigan’s Supreme Court Friday ordered state regulators to reconsider a permit that would allow Enbridge to upgrade the 1,038-kilometre Line 5 with a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac… “I have contacted the natural resources minister to put together the same kind of coordinated effort we did before under (former Natural Resources Minister) Seamus O’Regan” in 2021, Gladu said. “To get the provinces and the federal government working together with our partners on the other side” in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, to lobby for the pipeline’s protection, she said. “There’s huge impacts for Line 5 both in Canada and in the U.S.,” Gladu said, noting various airports rely on it for fuel, refineries depend on it in Ontario and several states, and it supplies propane for heat to millions in Ontario, Michigan and Quebec. “If Line 5 was shut down, that could be catastrophic for us,” she said, noting it being under threat highlights the importance of other energy projects like the recently announced 3,300-kilometre northern shield energy corridor between Alberta and Sarnia. “It’s definitely worth considering that project because I do think the threats to Line 5 will continue,” she said.”
Canadian Press: Ottawa moves to list Alberta-backed West Coast pipeline as national interest project
David Baxter, 8/4/26
“The federal government is advancing the process to designate a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast as a “national interest” project,” the Canadian Press reports. “Naming a project in the national interest under the Building Canada Act allows the government to fast-track approvals and skirt some environmental laws. A notice published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 1 sets a Sept. 18 deadline to submit comments on the national interest designation… “Julia Levin, an associate director at Environmental Defence, criticized the government for quietly beginning this process during a long weekend… “It’s no wonder he didn’t want to draw attention to this environmentally and economically risky project, and the breakneck speed at which he wants to get it approved without due oversight.” NDP Leader Avi Lewis called the pipeline project “corporate welfare on a surreal scale” and pointed out that it is not being backed primarily by the private sector. “For Canadians across this land, it is a kick in the teeth to call this climate bomb of a project ‘in the national interest,’” Lewis told CP. “It is in big oil’s interest, for sure… “The government’s definition of “national interest” includes projects that can strengthen “Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security,” provide economic benefits, have a high likelihood of success, advance Indigenous interests and contribute to “clean growth” and meeting Canada’s climate change goals.”
Bloomberg: Pipeline Owners Race to Build Capacity as AI Power Demand Jumps
Emma Sanchez, 8/4/26
“US pipeline operators are racing to expand their capacity to help power new data centers,” Bloomberg reports. “Energy Transfer LP is developing pipeline projects to meet rising demand for gas-fired electricity, Co-Chief Executive Officer Thomas Long said during a call with analysts on Tuesday… “Meanwhile, Williams Cos. has more than $2 billion available in its Power Innovation unit to fund near-term investments, Chief Financial Officer John Porter told investors. The companies that artificial intelligence developers are counting on to electrify digital warehouses appear undaunted by concerns about order backlogs for gas turbines and permitting delays. “We’re just not seeing the slowdown,” said Adam Arthur, an executive vice president at Energy Transfer.”
E&E News: Federal judge puts FERC’s Energy Transfer enforcement case on ice
Mike Soraghan, Francisco “A.J.” Camacho, 8/4/26
“A judge in July closed a court case over a $20 million federal fine levied against pipeline giant Energy Transfer for allegations it misled regulators about the demolition of a 173-year-old farmhouse in Ohio,” E&E News reports. “The federal judge in Texas ruled that settlement negotiations had gone on too long for the case stemming from the 2021 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enforcement action. FERC investigated and fined Energy Transfer after it demolished the Stoneman House in Dennison, Ohio, in 2016, as it sought permits to build the $4.3 billion, 700-mile Rover natural gas pipeline, after telling FERC it wouldn’t destroy the historic house. Dallas-based Energy Transfer asserted the house was not historic. It has also argued that FERC should not be able to bring the case before an in-house administrative law judge. That tracks with a national legal push by conservatives to diminish the regulatory powers of federal agencies by cutting their ability to use in-house judges for enforcement. That is a primary reason the case has dragged on for years.”
Quantum: Energy Transfer says DAPL connection to Enbridge Mainline still executable
8/4/26
“Energy Transfer still sees a proposed connection of its Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to Enbridge’s Mainline liquids system as executable,” Quantum reports.
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: It’s official: Permitting deal won’t happen this week
Josh Siegel, 8/5/26
“Senate negotiators are punting their target — again — on reaching a long-elusive bipartisan energy permitting overhaul, confirming talks will drag out beyond the August recess and into the heart of midterm election campaign season,” E&E News reports. “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, told POLITICO that negotiators are aiming to strike a deal in September, when the upper chamber will return from a planned five-week recess… “Whitehouse, Capito and Lee separately confirmed to POLITICO that the meeting took place, which came after several weeks of intense staff-level talks, a sign that major outstanding issues are being elevated.”
E&E News: Republicans join push for Supreme Court to allow climate lawsuits
Lesley Clark, 8/4/26
“Former high-ranking Republican EPA officials and a prominent conservative scholar joined Democrats on Monday, backing local governments seeking to hold the oil and gas industry legally accountable for damages caused by climate change,” E&E News reports. “Christine Todd Whitman, EPA administrator under former President George W. Bush, and William Reilly, EPA chief under former President George H.W. Bush, added their names to “friend of the court” briefs urging the Supreme Court to allow climate lawsuits against fossil producers to be heard in court. Jonathan Adler, a high-profile conservative professor at William & Mary Law School, filed his own brief supporting the climate litigation. The bipartisan legal show of support comes a week after the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, outlined their arguments in Suncor v. Boulder, a blockbuster climate case the Supreme Court will decide in its next term. Exxon, Suncor and other producers have asked the justices to overturn a 2025 Colorado Supreme Court ruling allowing a lawsuit filed against them by the two governments to proceed in state court. The suit is one of dozens from local governments seeking compensation from fossil fuel companies for the costs of dealing with climate change, including paying for disaster recovery.”
E&E News: Trump rewrite narrows historic protections for faster energy approvals
Ian M. Stevenson, Kinnia Cheuk, 8/3/26
“The Trump administration’s plans to overhaul rules meant to preserve historic places would speed up the permitting process for an array of energy projects, while limiting input from Native American tribes and narrowing the kind of historic locations protected by federal law,” E&E News reports. “The changes to the obscure historic preservation process pushed by the Trump administration could have far-reaching implications, from removing potential roadblocks for President Donald Trump’s pet projects in Washington to allowing faster approval of energy development on public land across the West. The revisions aim to limit the scope of what’s covered by the law to human-made structures and property, rather than including projects that could mar the view of a landscape — exactly the kind of development that often prompts consultations with tribes… “But under the council’s rewrite, agencies themselves would determine what counts as a historic site, producing their own reports about impacts and then sending them to tribes or state officers once finished. Gathering input from the public at large would no longer be mandatory.”
E&E News: Dems attack Trump’s 90 percent land cut to Utah national monuments
Heather Richards, 8/4/26
“Thirty-seven Democratic senators are denouncing President Donald Trump for downsizing the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah,” E&E News reports. “In a Tuesday letter, the lawmakers said the White House’s removal last month of nearly 3 million acres of protected land in the two monuments risks the “destruction and loss” of the archaeological and cultural resources in those areas. “Each monument is a living cultural landscape with deep spiritual and ancestral importance to multiple Tribal Nations,” the lawmakers wrote. “These places are not abstractions on a map; they are homelands and sacred sites that deserve enduring protection.” The letter was led by New Mexico Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as well as Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).”
E&E News: Interior moves to ease Obama-era Arctic drilling requirements
Carlos Anchondo, 8/4/26
“The Trump administration announced plans Monday to roll back an Obama-era rule on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean — part of its efforts to tap into Alaska’s energy resources,” E&E News reports. “The proposed rule from the Marine Minerals Administration would make ‘targeted revisions’ to the 2016 rule, including updating requirements for real-time monitoring of blowout preventers and reviews of oil spill response plans that were set in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill… “Weakening rules for Arctic Ocean drilling is a truly terrible idea that threatens coastal communities and wildlife like bowhead whales and polar bears,” Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told E&E.”
E&E News: Appeals court to reconsider key Congressional Review Act prohibition
Alex Guillén, 8/3/26
“A federal appeals court will reconsider the reach of the Congressional Review Act in a case that could further restrict the executive branch’s rulemaking powers,” E&E News reports. “The law that allows Congress to bypass the filibuster to nullify specific regulations includes a prohibition on agencies issuing new rules that are “substantially the same” as those killed by Congress. But what exactly counts as “substantially the same” is not defined in the law and has rarely been addressed by the courts. Now the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is poised to tackle that sticky subject in a case involving data breach regulations. The outcome could determine to what extent other agencies can issue new versions of nullified regulations… “ Such waiver approvals had generally been considered exempt from the CRA, but Republicans last year sidestepped the Senate parliamentarian to wield the law against the Golden State’s increasingly stringent vehicle emissions standards that the GOP alleged were creating a de facto nationwide electric vehicle mandate. Republicans have also applied it for the first time to land-use plans.”
E&E News: Federal appeals court revives lawsuit over Colorado refinery pollution
Alex Guillén, 8/3/26
“An environmental lawsuit over alleged air pollution from a Suncor refinery in Colorado is getting a second life after a federal appeals court on Monday reversed a lower court that had tossed the case,” E&E News reports. “The question of when groups can sue over pollution from power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities comes as the Trump administration has eased off environmental enforcement. It intervened in a different citizen suit over emissions from an xAI data center in Memphis for the novel purpose of quashing the challenge. GreenLatinos, 350 Colorado and the Sierra Club sued Suncor over emissions from its Commerce City refinery, which processes over 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The groups’ complaint identified thousands of days and hundreds of tons of alleged violations for pollutants including hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide… “Many of the limits Suncor is violating did not even exist the last time the government went to court. Meanwhile, the administrative settlements negotiated behind closed doors have clearly done nothing to deter Suncor from continuing to violate its pollution limits,” Coghill told E&E.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Peltola backs gas project, more refining in Senate bid
Timothy Cama, 8/4/26
“Democrat Mary Peltola is doubling down on her support for oil and natural gas as she seeks to become Alaska’s next U.S. senator,” E&E News reports. “Peltola is hoping to distinguish herself in her bid to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, in a closely watched race that could determine which party controls the upper chamber… “Peltola, who was state’s sole House member from 2022 to 2025, revealed to POLITICO on Tuesday her plans to boost fuel refining in Alaska to improve the supply chain for gasoline and diesel there and push for the Alaska LNG export pipeline project as well as a permitting reform package to streamline projects… “Peltola’s plan continues a delicate balance she sought to strike while in the House. She was one of vanishingly few outspoken Democratic supporters of oil and gas and helped convince then-President Joe Biden to approve the massive Willow oil and gas project in Alaska. She supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, though opposes some other proposed extraction projects in the state, like the Pebble mine.”
E&E News: Sunrise co-founder, data center critic nabs big primary
Timothy Cama, 8/5/26
“William Lawrence, a data center moratorium supporter who co-founded the progressive Sunrise Movement, won a critical Michigan congressional primary Tuesday over two more-moderate and better-funded Democrats,” E&E News reports. “...Lawrence, a community organizer, staked a large portion of his bid for the 7th District seat on data center concerns, featuring the issue in multiple television advertisements and on the campaign trail. He supports a nationwide moratorium on new data centers, due to concerns about their impact on electricity prices, water supplies, noise and other worries. “It turns out that if you’re not taking money from Silicon Valley, you can fight hard for a federal moratorium on data centers,” Lawrence told supporters in a victory speech. And in a statement, he said, “Tonight the people of Michigan’s 7th District sent a clear message: they are tired of Silicon Valley billionaires and DC insiders determining the future of our towns and our country. They want an unbought representative who isn’t afraid to stand up to leaders of both parties and fight for working people.” Lawrence beat Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam, both of whom back more narrow environmental and transparency standards for data centers and letting local communities decide whether they should be built.”
Grist: Most Utahns Want to Protect Their National Monuments. Trump Had Other Plans
Leia Larsen, 8/3/26
“A majority of Utah’s residents opposed shrinking Bears Ears National Monument before President Donald Trump drastically slashed its size last week, according to multiple polls conducted over the past few years,” Grist reports. “Those findings contrast with statements from Utah’s political leaders who argued that the cuts reflected what Utahns want… “The poll also found that voters from both parties wanted to prioritize “conservation, recreation, and renewables over fossil fuel development,” according to a statement accompanying the results. A separate December 2024 survey by New Bridge Strategies found 71 percent of Utah voters supported keeping Bears Ears protected as a national monument, and 74 percent felt the same about Grand Staircase-Escalante. Another 75 percent of Utahns surveyed backed a president’s ability to create more national monuments… “When Trump downsized the two monuments during his first term in 2017, records showed mining companies had lobbied administration officials to reduce the boundaries of Bears Ears. The president’s latest orders both cite a need to mine domestic supplies of critical minerals on public lands as part of the justification for reducing Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.”
TechCrunch: SpaceX won’t remove all of xAI’s unpermitted turbines for another year
Tim De Chant, 7/31/26
“SpaceX said on Thursday that it will remove the unpermitted turbines powering its xAI data centers near Memphis as it transitions to a permanent, 1.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant,” TechCrunch reports. “The turbines won’t be completely removed until July 2027, though. SpaceX said that it’s currently operating 69 gas turbines to power the Colossus data centers, of which many have been operating for months. The NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center have sued xAI over the use of unpermitted turbines… “The company claims that it is allowed to operate the existing turbines without permits because they remain on the trailers they were shipped on. But federal regulations say that the turbines xAI has been using, regardless of what they sit on, require permits because of their size and how they’re being used… “Last month, the Department of Justice sided with SpaceX in the NAACP’s lawsuit, saying the unpermitted turbines were a matter of “national, economic, and energy security.”
RFD TV: Nebraska Trade Mission Promotes U.S. Ethanol in Asia
Neal Burnette-Irwin, 8/4/26
“Asia’s push to lower carbon emissions could create new opportunities for U.S. farmers,” according to RFD TV. “Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is leading a trade mission to Japan and the Philippines to highlight the state’s role in the global ethanol industry. While the Philippines is less focused on reducing its carbon footprint, the country is moving toward E20 gasoline, DJ Eihusen with Chief Industries told RFD… “Regardless of the reasons Asian countries are pursuing higher ethanol blends, carbon capture infrastructure in the United States is generating strong interest abroad.”
Inside Climate News: Inside the Secretive Deal for a $10 Billion Data Center in Rural North Carolina
Lisa Sorg, 8/4/26
“Steel skeletons of two-story buildings jut from the landscape strewn with building supplies, the site of a $10 billion Amazon data center touted as the largest economic development project in state history,” Inside Climate News reports. “Yet many residents vehemently oppose it. Richmond County officials secretly crafted the deal, which includes significant tax breaks for Amazon, then sprung it on an area already encumbered by pollution… “When the Amazon project is finished, it will include 21 buildings, each of them 200,000 square feet. Each will have its own 12,000-gallon bulk storage tank to hold low-sulfur diesel fuel to power 592 emergency generators that could emit hundreds of tons of pollution each year, according to Amazon’s draft air permit. “We rely on the utility grid to power our data centers and serve our customers,” an Amazon spokesperson told Inside Climate News. “To ensure uninterrupted service for critical customers including hospitals, schools, and emergency services, our data centers include backup generators in case of rare power disruptions.” Nationally, data centers’ diesel generators run more often than their emergency designation would imply, pumping significant pollution into neighboring communities, researchers have found.”
Inside Climate News: Georgia’s First ‘Pop-Up’ Power Plant for Data Centers Faces Scrutiny
Ryan Krugman, 7/31/26
“As utilities struggle to keep pace with the explosive electricity demand from AI data centers, developers are increasingly bringing their own power. In Georgia, the first known company to test that strategy has already run into trouble,” Inside Climate News reports. “...Environmental groups and state regulators told ICN construction began before the companies secured the required environmental permits and may violate state utility law. Concerns first surfaced after a nearby resident noticed construction activity at the site in Covington, about 30 miles east of downtown Atlanta. Driving past the project in June, the resident observed that six of VoltaGrid’s planned 33 natural gas-fired engines had already been installed, despite the company not yet receiving the required air permit… “The whole concept of permitting is to allow regulators and the public the opportunity to weigh in on the appropriate protections and controls to address a project’s environmental impacts,” Jennifer Whitfield, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, told ICN. “Beginning construction before that process is complete undermines it, and it’s illegal.” Two weeks after the resident documented the construction, Sustainable Newton, Altamaha Riverkeeper and the Southern Environmental Law Center sent a letter to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division urging the agency to investigate and take enforcement action.”
EXTRACTION
LNG Industry: Coastal Bend LNG initiates formal permitting and consultation process
Jessica Casey, 8/5/26
“Coastal Bend LNG has initiated the formal permitting process for its proposed LNG export facility along the Texas Gulf Coast,” LNG Industry reports. “Coastal Bend LNG submitted a request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to initiate the pre-filing review and expects to file its formal application with FERC under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act in early 2027… “The facility is designed with integrated carbon capture facilities so Coastal Bend LNG can contract transport and geological sequestration of carbon dioxide… “Our location on the Texas Gulf Coast superimposes three geographic advantages not replicated elsewhere: direct connectivity to Texas’s abundant natural gas supplies, proximity to some of the world’s most favourable geology for carbon sequestration, and the flexibility to serve both Asian and European markets with an emissions profile that meets the CLEAN initiative’s transparency expectations and supports buyers’ compliance with the EU Methane Regulation,” added Keith Shoemaker, Chief Commercial Officer, Coastal Bend LNG.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
E&E News: Worker sues for access to fossil-fuel-free investment options
Lesley Clark, 8/4/26
“A New York man who says he believes investing his money in fossil fuels violates his religious convictions is suing his employer for failing to provide oil- and gas-free retirement funds,” E&E News reports. “Proponents told E&E the case could give workers across the country a legal right to sustainable 401(k) investments, opening a new legal front against climate change. Andrew Hartley, a statistical science director at Thermo Fisher Scientific and a devout Christian, filed suit Tuesday in federal court in Buffalo, arguing his employer has “unlawfully forced him to compromise his religious values in order to receive the full benefits of his employment.” The suit comes in the wake of Groff v. DeJoy, a 2023 Supreme Court decision that solidified protections for workers asking for religious accommodations, Ben Segal, an attorney at the environmental organization ClientEarth, which is representing Hartley, told E&E.”
OPINION
The Hill: Congress should rein in EPA overreach to protect affordable and reliable energy
Sarah Wagoner is a Policy Analyst in Environmental and Energy Policy at the Heritage Foundation, 8/4/26
“At a time when Americans are facing higher utility bills and the grid is under growing strain, getting energy policy right is crucial. The End EPA Abuse Act, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing rules that undermine reliability, raise costs, and restrict consumer choice while still protecting the environment,” Sarah Wagoner writes for The Hill. “Over the past decade, the EPA has increasingly used the Clean Air Act not just to regulate pollution, but to reshape the nation’s energy system. Consider the Obama-era Clean Power Plan’s “generation shifting” approach… “The same pattern appears in the EPA’s 2024 power plant rule requiring carbon capture. This requires certain coal and natural gas facilities to meet emissions limits equivalent to capturing up to 90 percent of their carbon emissions, effectively mandating the use of carbon capture technology or forcing early retirement. Industry groups warn the technology is not ready for wide-scale deployment within the required timeframe, and that enacting the plan would increase costs… “The End EPA Abuse Act is designed to draw a clearer line by prohibiting rules such as these that would force fuel switching, restrict the use of gas-powered vehicles, undermine grid reliability, or require technologies that are not economically or practically feasible… “[Data centers] require electricity that is available around the clock, something intermittent resources like wind and solar cannot provide on their own because they depend on weather conditions and are not always available when demand is highest… “By forbidding mandates that force fuel-switching or rely on unproven technologies, the bill would restore certainty for energy producers, encourage investment in reliable capacity, and strengthen both the grid and the broader economy.”