WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Clean air rules the U.S.
government is slated to impose on power generators over the
next three years will not impair the ability of the grid to
deliver electricity to consumers, the Department of Energy said
in a report on Thursday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection agency is slated to
finalize a rule by Dec. 16 that would slash emissions of
mercury and other toxic gases from coal-fired power plants, one
of a slate of air pollution measures opposed by industry and
Republicans in Congress.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will propose a long-delayed rule this week that aims to slash emissions of mercury, soot and lead from boilers and incinerators, a measure opposed by heavy industry and by Republicans in Congress.

“EPA intends to issue the Boiler MACT rule proposal for public comment on Friday,” an agency spokeswoman said in an email on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, struggling with an ambitious agenda on clean air regulations, will likely delay proposing the country’s first ever greenhouse gas limits on oil refineries, sources on both sides of the issue said.

The EPA had been required to propose the rules by mid-December, as part of a court settlement with states and environmental groups.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Encouraging the world’s major energy consumers to take advantage of a global boom in natural gas can help ease growth in oil dependency and climate-changing emissions, the head of a new U.S. State Department office on energy said on Wednesday.

“That is an issue we are addressing very seriously,” Carlos Pascual, who designed and established the State Department’s new Bureau of Energy Resources, told reporters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans on Wednesday blasted the Obama administration’s plans to expand regulation of the controversial “fracking” drilling practice essential to tapping the nation’s abundant shale oil and gas reserves.

The Interior Department is in the process of updating rules for hydraulic fracturing on public lands and developing a proposal to require disclosure of chemicals used in the drilling technique.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Thursday delayed approval of a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline until after the 2012 U.S. election, bowing to pressure from environmentalists and sparing President Barack Obama a damaging split with liberal voters he may need to win reelection.

The decision to explore a new route for TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL oil pipeline to avoid fragile territory in the Sand Hills of Nebraska dismayed the Canadian government, which had lobbied assiduously for the $7 billion project.

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) – The United States said on
Thursday it will study a new route for the Keystone XL
Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, delaying any final approval
beyond the U.S. 2012 election and sparing U.S. President Barack
Obama a politically risky decision during an election year.

The decision was a victory for environmental groups, who
say producing oil sands crude emits large amounts of greenhouse
gases. It was a blow to TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), which
planned to build and operate the conduit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Democrats defeated a bill on Thursday that would have blocked federal environmental regulators from slashing power plant air pollution that blows downwind to other states and causes lung and heart problems.

The bill, sponsored by Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and Tea Party favorite, needed only a simple majority of 50 to pass. The measure got only 41, while 56 voted against it. Only one Democrat, Joe Manchin from coal-rich West Virginia, voted for it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will study a new route for the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, U.S. officials said on Thursday, delaying any final approval beyond the 2012 election and sparing President Barack Obama a politically risky decision for now.

The delay was a victory for environmentalists who say oil sands crude development emits large amounts of greenhouse gases. It would deal a blow to companies developing Alberta’s oil sands and to TransCanada Corp, which planned to build and operate the conduit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States may decide within weeks whether to pursue a new route for the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas pipeline, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, a step that may delay a final decision on the politically sensitive project beyond the 2012 U.S. election.

Such a delay in TransCanada Corp’s $7 billion pipeline could be a serious setback for a project considered the most important North American crude conduit in decades. A study of the environmental and other effects of a new route could take 12 to 18 months, the U.S. official told Reuters.