OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Obama maps out energy infrastructure plan

by Timothy Cama and Devin Henry - 04/21/15 6:11 PM ET

PIPELINES AND TRANSMISSION LINES AND STORAGE, OH MY: The Obama administration rolled out an energy infrastructure plan Tuesday that it said would help business and boost jobs.

The plan is outlined in recommendations from the Energy Department’s first quadrennial energy review, which found the country’s system of pipelines, electric transmission lines, energy storage and other infrastructure lacking.

{mosads}Vice President Biden and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz promoted the plan Tuesday at a utility company in Philadelphia, saying that the project would call for new jobs in energy storage, pipefitters, steel and other sectors.

“These are the jobs that used to exist at the turn of the 20th century, in the steel industry, in the auto industry,” Biden said. “These are good jobs, and I promise you, Americans are hungry for them. They’re not afraid to work, if we connect them to the opportunities.”

The Obama administration is asking for billions of dollars for various programs under the plan to modernize and transform the United States’ energy infrastructure.

Read more here and here.

ON TAP WEDNESDAY I: President Obama is traveling to the Everglades in Florida to deliver a speech about Earth Day.

Expect Obama to speak extensively about national parks and other valuable land assets and the threats that climate change poses to them.

“Climate change can no longer be denied or ignored,” Obama said in his most recent weekly address, previewing his Everglades trip. “The world is looking to the United States, to us, to lead. And that’s what we’re doing.”

ON TAP WEDNESDAY II: Budget season continues when the House Appropriations Committee takes up the panel’s energy and water funding bill on Wednesday. The legislation passed out of subcommittee easily last week with little opposition from Democrats, but the Obama administration came out against it Tuesday, which could portend conflict over spending levels within the bill.

Rest of Wednesday’s agenda …

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee votes on a bill Wednesday that would let states opt out of plans under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) climate rule if they increase energy rates for consumers.

Deputy Interior Secretary Michael Conner testifies Wednesday before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

A Senate Appropriations subcommittee holds a hearing Wednesday on the importance of nuclear power in the United States and what the country would be like without it. John Kotek, the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy, testifies.

The Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing on how to communicate weather information to — and how it is used by — consumers, businesses and governments.

Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) hold a press conference Wednesday to introduce an anti-hydraulic fracturing bill.

Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) hold a press conference Wednesday on their bill to prevent offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

Vitor Gaspar of the International Monetary Fund and Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) speak Wednesday at an American Enterprise Institute forum on carbon taxes.

The House Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on safety changes since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster at BP’s well in the Gulf of Mexico. Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement at the Interior Department, testifies.

A subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday to examine how the Energy Department manages excess uranium.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s subcommittee on the environment and water resources will hold a hearing Wednesday on the 2016 budget requests for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Leaders of both agencies will testify.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hear from Vanessa Sutherland Wednesday on her nomination to lead the Chemical Safety Board. Sutherland, who is currently an attorney at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, would replace Rafael Moure-Eraso, who resigned under pressure from President Obama last month.

AROUND THE WEB:

Oklahoma’s state seismologist has blamed a recent spate of earthquakes on disposal wells used by the oil and gas industry there, NPR reports.

Eldar Saetre, head of Statoil, said Tuesday that the oil and natural gas industry should fight climate change by advocating for a tax on carbon emissions, among other measures, Reuters reports.

McDonald’s said it will seek to end deforestation across its supply chain, the Guardian reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Tuesday’s stories …

– Obama official slams two GOP spending bills
– Biden goes into sales mode on energy plan
– House clears energy efficiency bill
– New drilling drops, oil jobs lost amid low prices
– Utilities need more time for Obama climate rule, federal office says
– EPA celebrates victories over pollution
– Feds tout gas mileage regulations for Earth Day
– Obama wants billions to ‘modernize’ energy infrastructure