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Oroville Is a Warning for California Dams, as Climate Change Adds Stress (The New York Times*)
The St. Francis Dam was a proud symbol of California’s engineering might and elaborate water system — until just before midnight on March 12, 1928, when it collapsed, killing more than 400 people in a devastating wall of water. Ever since, the state has had a reputation of diligent inspections as it has built the largest network of major public dams in the nation. But the threat of catastrophic flooding from the damaged Oroville Dam in Northern California this week — forcing the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people because of what environmental groups had asserted in 2005 was a design flaw.
Trump signs law rolling back disclosure rule for energy and mining companies (The Washington Post)
President Trump signed his first piece of legislation on Tuesday, a measure that could presage the most aggressive assault on government regulations since President Reagan. The bill cancels out a Securities and Exchange Commission regulation that would have required oil and gas and mining companies to disclose in detail the payments they make to foreign governments in a bid to boost transparency in resource-rich countries.
Senate Dems want Pruitt vote delayed over emails (The Hill)
Senate Democrats want to delay a vote on President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee due to a pending court case regarding email records. More than two years ago, the Center for Media and Democracy requested records of emails between Pruitt’s office and numerous fossil fuel companies, conservative groups and similar parties. The long response time from Pruitt’s office spurred the liberal watchdog group to sue him, and a state court has a hearing scheduled for Thursday on the matter. Pruitt’s office released the first batch of records last week.
Business
The United States of oil and gas (Washington Post)
Where are more than 900,000 active oil and gas wells in the United States, and more than 130,000 have been drilled since 2010, according to Drillinginfo, a company that provides data and analysis to the drilling industry. We’re familiar with oil-rich regions of Texas, but technological advances and new pipeline infrastructure have brought the ability to extract these resources to new parts of the country, injecting billions of dollars into local economies and spurring a modern-day gold rush.
Donald Trump: Energy Policy Remains a Work in Progress (Time)
President Trump promised bold changes to the way the country handles energy and the environment to create “trillions in new wealth” and a “flood of new jobs.” But three weeks into his Administration, many in the oil and gas industry say his agenda still seems unclear. While Trump has moved quickly to unravel a raft of environmental regulations, questions remain on major issues for the energy industry such as his tax policy, level of support for renewable energy and how he’ll approach international trade. Observers say the executive orders and regulatory rollbacks so far have been minor.
Bipartisan Group of Governors to President Trump: Renewable Energy Is an ‘American Success Story’ (Greentech Media)
When it comes to creating jobs and innovating in the energy sector, President Trump doesn’t have to try very hard to make America great again. Because renewable energy is already making it great, says a bipartisan group of governors.
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