DNC weighs Manchin's permitting reform deal

Although the resolution is not expected to pass, it highlights a growing rift in the Democratic Party over permitting reform, a critical issue on the congressional agenda this fall.

The details: To secure Manchin's vote for a sweeping climate package, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act, Democratic leadership agreed to pass separate legislation to speed up the permitting process for energy infrastructure projects.

During its meeting in Washington on Thursday, the DNC's Resolutions Committee will vote on the two-page resolution related to the permitting deal. The first part of the resolution praises the Inflation Reduction Act as a historic climate investment, while the second part blasts the permitting bill, saying it could expedite polluting fossil fuel projects.

“Be it resolved that the Democratic National Committee opposes legislation that undermines the climate and environmental justice leadership of President Biden and Congress, in particular any bill that fast tracks or enables side-stepping of our federal, state and local regulatory, permitting and approval processes for fossil fuel infrastructure,” the resolution says.

In addition, the resolution urges Democratic leadership to hold a vote on the permitting bill as a stand-alone measure. Leadership is planning to attach the permitting bill to a stopgap funding measure that must pass by Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown.

The resolution was introduced by RL Miller, a DNC member from California and the founder of Climate Hawks Vote, a climate advocacy group. It has garnered support from Michelle Deatrick, chair of the DNC's Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis; Judith Whitmer, chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party; and Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party.

In an interview, Miller said she has “no illusions” that the resolution will pass. Instead, she said she expects the DNC's Resolutions Committee to approve a different proposal from DNC Chair Jaime Harrison that applauds the Inflation Reduction Act but is silent on the permitting measure.

Miller added that she has gotten “some pushback from DNC folks closer to leadership who feel that we shouldn't be passing a resolution unless it reflects a consensus among Democrats.” She declined to say who had pushed back.

Thomas Kennedy, a DNC member from Miami, said that even if the resolution fails, it will send a powerful message that not all Democrats are on board with the permitting push.

“We like to say the Democratic Party is a big tent,” Kennedy said. “And I personally didn't get into politics just to go along to get along. I'm going to take a stance when I feel strongly about something.”

In a letter to Harrison on Tuesday, 51 state and local Democratic officials urged support for the resolution, saying the permitting bill would threaten communities that are already “suffering from escalating heat waves, droughts, fires, storms, flooding, and extreme weather inflicted by the worsening climate emergency — overwhelmingly caused by the burning of fossil fuels.”

Harrison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On the Hill

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, House Natural Resources Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) has been circulating a letter that similarly condemns any effort to link the permitting bill to must-pass legislation.

As of Tuesday, the letter had garnered more than 50 signatures, and Grijalva was preparing to send it to leadership, according to a spokeswoman for the House Natural Resources Committee.

Several Senate Democrats, however, voiced support Tuesday for accelerating the permitting process for clean energy projects, although they cautioned that they had not seen any final text for the permitting bill.

“It's critically important that the permitting process for solar and wind and geothermal be sped up,” Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told reporters. “So I am always looking for ways to do that consistent with key environmental laws.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), co-chair of the Electrification Caucus, said the permitting bill could fast-track the construction of transmission lines that carry clean power to urban centers.

“I've got enough experience with these big engineering projects and transmission lines to know that right now, it takes too long to go through this process,” Heinrich told The Climate 202.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), another vocal climate hawk, said he is open to attaching the permitting measure to a continuing resolution to fund the government. 

“I'm about the art of the possible,” Schatz said. “If we can get it on the CR, we should get it on the CR. If we can pass it as a free-standing vote, we should do it that way.”

Outside the Capitol, meanwhile, Appalachian and Indigenous climate activists are planning a rally Thursday to protest what they are calling “Manchin's dirty deal” on permitting. Miller said she plans to attend the rally after the DNC meeting.

Spokespeople for Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) did not respond to requests for comment.

Extreme events

Historic, unforgiving Western heat wave is peaking and crushing records

A severe September heat wave is covering the American West this week, shattering records by wide margins, placing 42 million Americans under excessive heat alerts, and pushing California’s power grid to a breaking point, Matthew Cappucci and Jason Samenow report for The Washington Post. 

Already, the state’s Independent System Operator has said that California's electric grid is under heavy strain and that rolling blackouts are likely to occur if residents fail to reduce energy use during peak demand hours. The agency declared an energy emergency alert and predicted an all-time historic high demand of 52,258 megawatts on Tuesday afternoon — exceeding the 2004 record of 50,270 megawatts. According to USAToday, California's grid reached peak demand at over 52,000 megawatts after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, hitting a new all-time record for the state.

The current heat is historic because of its duration and intensity, as all-time triple-digit records are toppled daily. Although the extreme temperatures peaked Tuesday, hot conditions are expected to continue through the end of the week and begin to gradually ease Thursday. The heat comes amid a prolonged, extreme drought, increasing the risk of devastating wildfires.

Human-caused climate change has been linked to more frequent, intense and extended heat waves, helping already-severe hot spells become unprecedented events that would have been virtually impossible without global warming. In the past week alone, more than 1,142 weather records have been set across the nation, compared to just 36 cold records. 

A record melt in Greenland

Despite a fairly cold and wet summer in Greenland, an abnormally late heat wave over the weekend prompted about 20 billion tons of ice to melt — the equivalent of 7 percent of total ice shed annually — an event typically seen in the middle of summer that can exacerbate the country's already significant contribution to global sea-level rise, The Post’s Kasha Patel and Chris Mooney report. 

The incident marked the largest melt event to occur in Greenland in September, according to data sets spanning nearly four decades. Scientists warn that as the planet warms because of human activity, melting seasons could become longer and more severe, hastening the loss of the ice sheet's mass.

International climate

Russia to pause Nord Stream 1 gas shipments until repairs completed

While Europe faces its worst energy crunch yet, Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom is preparing to shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany until Siemens Energy completes repairs on faulty equipment, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Vitaly Markelov told Reuters’s Vladimir Soldatkin on Tuesday. 

The details come after the Kremlin said Friday that the key pipeline, which carries up to 59.2 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe under the Baltic Sea, would remain shut indefinitely because of an oil leak at a compressor station, sending gas prices soaring once again. Russia has blamed the current energy crisis on Western sanctions meant to hurt Moscow financially over the war in Ukraine. 

When asked whether the pipeline would ever resume pumping gas, Markelov said: “You should ask Siemens. They have to repair equipment first.” However, the company said it has not been commissioned by Gazprom to do maintenance work on the leak, nor does it think the repair is reason enough to close the supply route.

Agency alert

Energy Department announces new clean energy appointees

The Energy Department on Tuesday announced the appointment of three officials who will work on clean energy initiatives to help advance the Biden administration’s goals of a net-zero electric grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050. The new appointees include: 

• David Crane to be director of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. Most recently, Crane was the chief executive of Climate Real Impact Solutions, an investor-led group that aims to help accelerate the clean-energy transition.
• Jeff Marootian to be a senior adviser for energy efficiency and renewable energy in the office of the secretary. He previously served as a special assistant to the president in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Before that he was the director of D.C.'s Department of Transportation, where he sought to electrify the city’s Circulator bus fleet and to expand dedicated bike lanes.
• David Berrios to be a White House liaison in the office of the secretary. Berrios was the head of community at Swing Left, a group that seeks to help Democrats volunteer in swing districts.

In the atmosphere

• 'Doomsday glacier’ the size of Florida is disintegrating faster than thought — Karina Tsui for The Post
• Rhode Island streets turn into rivers amid nearly 11 inches of rain — Zach Rosenthal for The Post 
• Elk were decimated in the Eastern U.S. Now a herd is thriving in Va. — Dana Hedgpeth for The Post 
• Truss promises ‘bold’ action to deal with Britain's energy crisis — William Booth, Karla Adam, Annabelle Timsit and Jennifer Hassan for The Post

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