Energy & Fuel

"House lawmakers will cast a vote on lifting the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, the next step in an expanding debate over the issue."

"The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved an overhaul of the nation’s energy laws on Wednesday, though the legislation shed much of the bipartisan support it once enjoyed."

"The U.S. pipeline safety office has fined Exxon Mobil Corp $2.63 million for spilling crude oil in an Arkansas residential area in 2013, the regulator said on Thursday."

"Legislation authorizing crude exports advanced through another congressional panel on Thursday with a mostly party-line vote that underscored some senators’ deep skepticism of making a big trade policy change to benefit oil producers without new environmental safeguards or taxes."

"U.S. officials said Thursday they want tighter safety rules for pipelines carrying crude oil, gasoline and other hazardous liquids after a series of ruptures that included the costliest onshore oil spill in the nation's history in Michigan."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with new rules to reduce water pollution around the country. Power plants will face restrictions on discharging toxic pollutants such as mercury, arsenic, lead, and selenium into the water."

"In August 2011, as President Obama prepared to unveil a major new environmental regulation on smog, his political advisers issued a warning: The rule would affect power plants and factories throughout the Midwest, slowing the economy in states like Ohio that would be crucial to the president’s re-election."

"A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Obama administration’s first major regulations on hydraulic fracturing, a technique for oil and gas drilling that has led to a boom in American energy production but has also raised concerns about health and safety risks."

"Wednesday new funding runs dry for a program that has supported hundreds of parks around the country for 50 years."

"A leading 'clean coal' lobbying shop is cutting half its staff and reorganizing to reflect the U.S. coal industry’s market losses and the industry’s continued financial struggles."