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Energy & Environment

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The Big Story

Trump signs executive orders bolstering coal

President Trump on Tuesday signed a series of executive orders bolstering coal plants and production.

In the order, Trump will define coal as a “mineral,” allowing it to benefit from a previous executive order bolstering mining that — among other things — used presidential wartime authorities to expedite production.

That order also requires federal agencies to speed up approvals for mines and prioritize mining on federal lands — which may now extend to coal.

Under the new coal-specific order, the administration will also seek to exclude coal projects from environmental reviews. And it will direct the administration to prioritize coal production on federal lands.

In addition, Trump exempted dozens of coal plants from Biden-era limits on toxic substances, including arsenic and mercury.

And, he pledged to use the Justice Department to go after states whose laws or policies inhibit coal.

Read more here and here

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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Essential Reads

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

DHS issues waivers for environmental laws to speed border wall construction

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued the first waiver of the administration to speed President Trump’s border wall, bypassing environmental regulations to aid construction.

Full Story

NYC congestion pricing to stay in place through summer under deal with Trump administration

Congestion pricing in New York City looks set to remain in place at least until the fall under an agreement on the briefing schedule in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s move to end the practice.

Full Story

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

How Trump slowed the fight against ‘forever chemicals’ (Semafor)
Oil prices falling into zone that discourages production growth (Axios)

On Tap

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will vote on Trump’s picks to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service and EPA Office of Water, as well as his pick for the top EPA attorney.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on managing Superfund sites.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled “Converting Energy into Intelligence: the Future of AI Technology, Human Discovery, and American Global Competitiveness.”

What Others are Reading

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Justice Barrett has set a new judicial ethics standard — and it’s about time

Imagine a courtroom where judges can accept gifts from those bringing cases before them — where the judges themselves decide whether or not they have a conflict of interest in any given case, where transparency is basically non-existent, and where there is no accountability even for the most egregious ethics violations. Read more

GOP mood grows darker on Trump tariffs as markets give up their gains

Glimmers of optimism surrounding President Trump’s tariffs quickly faded on Tuesday as the White House dug in on the threat of new levies, the markets erased their small morning gains and Republican lawmakers grew increasingly frustrated with what they see as mixed messages coming from administration officials. Read more