Pelosi, Reid to Write Leadership Agreement Bridging Differences in Senate, House Energy Bills

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on October 11 she would prefer to proceed with a formal U.S. House of Representatives-U.S. Senate conference on energy legislation, but House and Senate Democrats plan to move ahead with informal talks instead.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are preparing to write a leadership agreement attempting to reconcile differences in the House energy bill (H.R. 3221) and the Senate energy bill (H.R. 6).

Pelosi met on October 10 with key committee chairs to inform them of her plans to start informal talks as a way to maneuver around procedural hurdles in the Senate that have stalled an energy conference for the past month.

At stake are several provisions that would have a profound effect on energy and environmental policy, including higher fuel economy standards in the Senate bill, the first national renewable energy mandate for electric utilities in the House bill, and an increased ethanol mandate in the Senate version.

With time running out in the session, Pelosi and Reid now plan to shepherd a bicameral agreement between Democrats. Senate Republicans argue that there is nothing to be gained by calling up the second House bill (H.R. 3221) in the Senate because, under Senate rules, it would be subject to amendment and, therefore, open to proposals not included in the original Senate-passed bill, such as climate change legislation.

Contact: Deidra Ciriello, Robert Sullivan.

On October 9, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it has awarded funding for three projects to store one million tons or more of carbon dioxide in deep saline reservoirs. The purpose is to test the feasibility of carbon storage as a way to capture emissions contributing to global warming.

The Department plans to spend $197 million during the next 10 years on the projects, located in the Great Plains states, the Southeast, and the Southwest. The projects are the first of several demonstrations planned by the Department's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships program, according to the department. In the first 12 to 24 months of these projects, researchers and industry partners will characterize the injection sites. Then, they will complete the modeling, monitoring, and infrastructure improvements needed before carbon dioxide can be injected. Those efforts will establish a baseline for future monitoring after injection begins.

In related news, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on October 11 its intention to develop regulations for underground injection of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into deep rock formations for long-term storage. Once completed, the regulations will aim to ensure there is a consistent and effective permit system under the Safe Drinking Water Act for commercial-scale geologic sequestration programs to help reduce the effects of climate change.

Contact Tom Carter.

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