WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
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WHAT → happen → ?
We’ve finally made it to the end of the week, with a three-day Labor Day weekend ahead for many of us.
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We → make → us
If you’re in the D.C. area, there will be a number of events happening throughout the city.
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you → ’re → city
📩 But, before we head out…
Recommended Stories
- 🌊 the Environmental Protection Agency is opening up another public comment period for its revision of federal water regulations.
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Agency → head → regulations
Meanwhile, diesel prices have reached new highs, potentially leading to higher costs beyond the transportation sector.
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prices → reach → sector
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you → send → you
If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
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we → sign → list
“I’ve seen those headlines.
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I → see → headlines
‘We’re stealing Venezuelan oil.’
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We → steal → oil
Of course, that’s not true at all,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters in Caracas this week.
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Wright → ’ → Caracas
“The resources, the oil in Venezuela, is indeed owned by the people of Venezuela.
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resources → own → Venezuela
All of the production contracts of the private companies, including the one the United States government is participating in, they’re all agreements with the government of Venezuela on certain revenue splits for the production,” Wright continued.
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Wright → include → production
“Private companies are bringing the money to produce the oil, but the benefits, the royalties, and the taxes all go to the government of Venezuela and the people of Venezuela.
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benefits → bring → Venezuela
No change in that,” he said.
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he → say → that
“All we’re doing is taking an idle underground asset that isn’t doing anything for Venezuelan people and bringing the money, the technology to develop it so that it benefits Venezuela and benefits the world.”
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it → do → world
MORE TIME, MORE COMMENTS FOR EPA’S WOTUS RULE
The Environmental Protection Agency is opening another round of public comment for its revision of the Waters of the United States rule, pushing back its timeline to finalize the regulation.
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Agency → open → regulation
The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it would issue a supplemental notice seeking public input on additional options for defining “relatively permanent” and “continuous surface,” and including a new proposed definition for “perennial.”
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it → announce → perennial
The comment period will be open for 30 days once it is published in the Federal Register.
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it → publish → Register
EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer told reporters on a call yesterday that the supplemental notice is meant to help the agencies “consider a wide range of additional options” as they work to develop a final rule.
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they → tell → rule
Kramer said that the EPA would move as “expeditiously as possible” on finalizing the rule.
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EPA → say → rule
As a reminder: The EPA last November proposed to narrow the definition of WOTUS to comply with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v EPA, which reduced the scope of bodies of water subject to federal oversight.
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which → propose → oversight
WOTUS is a regulation that determines which streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands fall under federal oversight.
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streams → determine → oversight
Kramer said the EPA received more than 220,000 responses for its proposed rule, for which the public comment period closed in January.
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period → say → January
The WOTUS rule has been caught in a legal and regulatory back-and-forth for more than 50 years.
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rule → catch → years
“We would like to be the administration that ends the … whiplash that the regulated community has been in for decades,” she added.
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she → like → decades
Jeff Porter, a partner at Holland & Knight, told Maydeen via email that, “Whatever EPA and the Corps do in response to those comments, EPA’s and the Corps’ proposal will most certainly be the subject of more than one court challenge just like the dozen or so Waters of the United States rules that have preceded it during both Democrat and Republican Administrations.”
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that → tell → Administrations
He added that the most effective way to resolve the long-running uncertainty surrounding WOTUS may be for Congress to step in and provide clarity, but that “has been true for over thirty years.
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that → add → years
IT’S OFFICIAL – DIESEL PRICES HAVE REACHED NEW HIGHS:
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PRICES → ’ → HIGHS
Diesel prices hit an all-time high of $5.85 per gallon today, with repercussions for key economic sectors from transportation to agriculture.
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prices → hit → agriculture
The previous record was set in June 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when prices reached $5.81 per gallon.
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prices → set → gallon
For context, the national average price of diesel was $5.29 per gallon last month and $3.70 a year ago, according to AAA.
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price → accord → AAA
Diesel in particular has been affected by the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine squeezing the global supply.
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Diesel → affect → supply
For instance, Russia earlier this summer paused exports of diesel, with plans to extend the ban through September and maybe to the end of the year.
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Russia → pause → year
Russia is responsible for one in 9 barrels of diesel produced globally, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan.
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Russia → produce → Haan
Russian refineries have also been damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes.
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refineries → damage → strikes
Refineries across the Middle East have also sustained damage, and the war in Iran has disrupted fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
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war → sustain → Hormuz
At the same time, refineries at home have ramped up production of diesel to ease disruptions, operating at nearly 97% capacity.
Diesel prices impact: Diesel is key to powering trains, trucks, and other heavy machinery.
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Diesel → ramp → trains
It is also essential to the agricultural sector, which has been enduring a difficult year due to input costs and trade tensions.
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which → endure → costs
Missouri Farm Bureau president Garrett Hawkins told Maydeen in a statement that high diesel prices are just another blow to farmers already dealing with tariffs and tight margins.
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prices → tell → tariffs
He noted that fuel impacts every part of a farm operation from running a tractor to hauling grain.
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fuel → note → grain
…and 41 more, not listed.
