Energy & Environment — Biden names first national monument of presidency

President Biden names Colorado’s Camp Hale a national monument, steam gathers for the “NOPEC” bill and green groups mobilize for the midterms. 

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. 

Camp Hale named a national monument

President Biden on Wednesday afternoon formally announced the designation of Camp Hale, Colo., as a national monument.  

The site marks what was once a training ground for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division during World War II, including the late Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.). It is the first national monument designation of Biden’s presidency.  

• “Imagine the courage, the daring and the genuine sacrifice they all made,” Biden said of the 10th, which was instrumental in the Allies’ offensive into Italy’s Appenine Mountains after repeated failed attempts to break German lines. Two surviving veterans of the division were also present at the announcement. 
  
• Biden also used the designation to tout the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law, noting that together they constitute “the largest investment in climate ever, in the history of the world.”  

How we got here: Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation have long lobbied Biden to designate the monument, including Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Rep. Joe Neguse. 

Gov. Jared Polis (D) has also been involved in the push. All four were also present at the announcement.  

What could be next? Polis and the members have also called on Biden to issue a Federal Lands Policy and Management Act mineral withdrawal for the site, which would bar new mining and oil and gas leasing in the area.  

• Neguse, Bennet and Hickenlooper have separately introduced legislation to designate Camp Hale as a National Historic Landscape and ban new drilling in areas near the state’s Thompson Divide of significance to ranchers and hunters. 
  
• Bennet, who has advocated for the designation for over a decade, called it a “historic day” in introductory remarks. “Your designation means more Americans will come to appreciate the extraordinary history of this place, a place that goes back to before when Colorado was a state,” Bennet said, noting its history as a hunting ground for the Ute tribe as well as its military history. 

ADDITIONAL CONSERVATION MOVES  

Thompson Divide: The Biden administration on Wednesday also proposed to block new mining and drilling at Colorado’s Thompson Divide for 20 years.  

An Interior Department press release described the area as one of Colorado’s “most cherished landscapes” and cited important wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities and grazing lands in its decisionmaking.  

While its move would seek to block new oil and gas leases in the area, existing gas leases won’t be impacted, and the department said the area has already not been “available” for oil and gas leasing for several years.  

The approximately 225,000 acre area that the department is proposing to protect would also immediately not be subject to new mining or drilling leases for two years, before the proposal is finalized.  

Water conservation: The department also announced the creation of a new program aimed at tackling the impacts of drought.  

The Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program, funded by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, would fund projects that aim to keep water in Lake Mead, bolster water efficiency and conservation and address long-term issues. 

Read more about the announcement here.

Congress eyeing ‘NOPEC’ bill 

Momentum is building in Congress in support of legislation that would take on the OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations that just announced cuts in production likely to help Russia and raise prices in the United States. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently floated using the legislation, known as “NOPEC,” as one way to respond to the group, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia. 

Some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have gone even further, saying that the decision by the Saudi-led group to reduce production by 2 million barrels a day is a reason to significantly shift relations with Riyadh. 

Where’s the White House on this? The White House has not explicitly backed the bill, but said following the production cut announcement that it would “consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices.” 

• On Tuesday, the White House told reporters that President Biden believes the U.S. should review the Saudi relationship given the production cuts. 
  
• “Certainly, in light of recent developments and OPEC+’s decision about oil production, the president believes that we should review the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia and to take a look to see if that relationship is where it needs to be and that it is serving our national security interests,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a call. 

The NOPEC legislation would enable the Justice Department to bring lawsuits against the OPEC+ countries and their state-owned oil companies under U.S. antitrust laws. 

Durbin has called for its passage in the lame-duck session after the November midterm elections. 

Schumer has said he was “looking at” the bill but stopped short of calling for its passage. 

Read more about the bill here. 

Groups mobilize to elect pro-environment candidates

A group of at least seven major environmental groups on Wednesday announced plans to activate thousands of members in an effort to get pro-environment candidates elected in the upcoming midterms.   

Kickstarted just four weeks before the November midterms, the get-out-the-vote effort is set to include members of the Sierra Club, Clean Energy for America, the League of Conservation Voters, EDF Action, the Wilderness Society Action Fund, the NRDC Action Fund and the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund, according to a release from the groups.  

The seven environmental groups together represent millions of members, and thousands are expected to be mobilized in initiatives like door-to-door canvassing, phone banking and letter-writing as part of the effort, a spokesperson told The Hill.  

“Make no mistake: Clean drinking water, stunning public lands, and thriving wildlife are at stake this year in every state, up and down the ballot. Wildlife cannot vote, but our supporters can,” said the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund’s executive director Karla Raettig.  

The push for pro-climate candidates follows the Biden administration’s win with the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark, multibillion-dollar climate, health and tax legislation.   

Read more from The Hill’s Julia Mueller. 

Scientists: 57K sites may be polluted with PFAS

Tens of thousands of sites across the U.S. may be polluted with toxic so-called forever chemicals, a team of scientists argued in a study released on Wednesday. 

The researchers said that in the absence of information proving otherwise, contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) should be presumed at 57,412 locations spread across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

The areas in question include sites that discharge jet fuel firefighting foam, certain industrial facilities and places where waste contains these cancer-linked chemicals, according to the study, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 

“PFAS contamination at these locations is very likely,” senior author Alissa Cordner, co-director of the PFAS Project Lab at Northeastern University, said in a statement. 

Known for their propensity to linger in the human body and in the environment, PFAS are linked to many illnesses, including testicular cancer, thyroid disease and kidney cancer. 

Read more from The Hill’s Sharon Udasin. 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Study finds climate change is bringing more intense rains to U.S. (The Washington Post)     
• Refinery explosion investigation says EPA should scrutinize deadly chemical hydroflouric acid (StateImpact Pennsylvania) 
• Huge nuclear power plant faces 2nd risky power cut in 5 days, and Ukraine says Russia blocking fuel delivery (CBS News) 
• You Don’t Have to Be Vegan to Help Save the Planet (Bloomberg) 

🎃 Lighter click: Pumpkin? More like plumpkin!

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.