Daily on Energy: Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi defends EPA research office reorganization

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! With Halloween approaching, the Yellowstone National Park nonprofit is offering some pumpkin-carving inspiration. Check out some of their pumpkin stencils here. 🎃Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.A year after the Environmental Protection Agency overhauled its research office, Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi is defending the reorganization, saying it better aligns with the agency’s mission. Last year, the EPA shut down its longstanding Office of Research and Development (ORD) and replaced it with a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions (OASES).“The reorganization, which created OASES and really created a focus, or put a focus rather, on applied science and trying to identify practical solutions that fit directly within the agency’s mission and our statutory obligations,” Fotouhi told MaydeenYet Democrats have raised concerns about the office’s scientific independence, since it is now housed within the Office of the Administrator, arguing that its research could be subject to political influences. The former ORD operated as a separate research arm.Fotouhi said he “wholeheartedly rejects those critiques.”“Keep in mind that the Office of Research and Development under the prior structure was always led by a political appointee, so there’s really no difference between that structure and the current structure that we have now,” Fotouhi said.He noted that, “from time to time, the focus area for research may change, but the Trump EPA is fully committed to gold standard science.”As part of the reorganization, the EPA dismantled ORD’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program, which developed assessments of the health risks of chemicals released in the environment by a range of industries. Those assessments are used by the agency, states, and others to inform regulation, cleanups, and other actions.However, those responsibilities have now been shifted to individual program offices like the Office of Water or Office of Air and Radiation.Fotouhi said this approach helps to ensure that these assessments help to inform a regulatory action for a specific office.“We think that this is a better approach that it’s going to result in more usable, more robust science that’s fit for purpose and supports our regulatory actions moving forward,” he said.He noted that OASES will facilitate interagency coordination to ensure there is consistency in conclusions on these assessments. All the rest: TRUMP’S TEXAS TRIP – VENEZUELAN OIL HITTING TEXAS SHORES: President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be accepting an oil tanker carrying about 1 million barrels of Venezuelan crude to Texas this afternoon.The president confirmed the visit to reporters, calling the shipment of the oil a “gift” from Venezuela.“We’re going to accept a million barrels of oil, and I’m going to give it to you people to use it the way you want,” Trump said, adding that oil prices “are going to be dropping very sharply, very soon.”The Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to assuage voters’ concerns over high gas prices ahead of the midterm elections, as prices at the pump are averaging above $4.25 a gallon.Trump has suggested that increased imports of crude and other petroleum products from Venezuela will help bring down prices in the short term, but experts anticipate it will take years. A significant expansion of refining capacity is needed to process the increased imports.Trump has attempted to accelerate the construction and modernization of U.S. refineries by invoking the Defense Production Act. Just last week, the president authorized roughly $150 million in DPA funding for expanding domestic refining capacity.PLUS, TRUMP LOOSENING METHANE RULES: This evening in Texas, Trump is set to announce a proposed rule that would ease methane emission standards for oil and gas producers.The president is expected to make the announcement at a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, where he will be boosting Senate candidate Ken Paxton just a week before the midterm elections.The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule would revise the Biden administration’s 2024 oil and natural gas rules on methane emissions and other pollutants, also known as OOOOb/c.The proposal would ease regulations specifically for marginal wells, which are low-producing oil wells that average 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day.EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has argued that the current standards failed to account for differences between small operators and major companies. He also noted that the rule would remove unnecessary burdens and save people money on heating their homes and driving their cars.Read more by Maydeen here.ANOTHER $5 BILLION FOR NUCLEAR: The Department of Energy is offering up to $5 billion in federal financing to upgrade and modernize nuclear power plants in three states, on the condition that the projects add more than a gigawatt of power to the local grids.The conditional loan commitment, announced this afternoon, is for Constellation Energy to upgrade its nuclear reactors in Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The company will specifically be investing in eight nuclear power plants across the three states.Under the agreement, the company must add nearly 1.1 gigawatts of new power, enough to power more than 930,000 homes.The deal comes as the Trump administration looks for every avenue to add more baseload energy generation to the grid, particularly from nuclear power. As new nuclear plants can take 10 years or more to become operational, upgrading existing facilities can provide a short-term solution for companies and utilities looking for more generation.LATEST ON PERMITTING REFORM: We’re about two weeks away from when the Senate will formally consider the bipartisan permitting package unveiled last month, and some Democrats in the chamber are making it clear how they will vote.A group of four Senate Democrats — Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts — sent a letter this morning to negotiators of the bill (BAAJA), saying they are still skeptical as to whether the president would fairly implement the legislation.“Beyond consideration of the actual text, the promise of BAAJA will only succeed if President Trump takes care that it is faithfully executed,” the senators wrote in the letter, first obtained by Daily on Energy alum Josh Siegel. “The Trump administration’s record gives us no basis to assume that he will.”As part of their concerns, the Democrats pointed to the Department of Energy’s cancellation of clean energy grants in Democratic-led states. For a show of good faith, the four members are asking negotiators to pressure the White House to reinstate the canceled grants before the first cloture vote on BAAJA.The letter marks the first coordinated pushback against the legislation from Democrats within the Senate. It also illustrates just how difficult it could be to reach another permitting deal in the next Congress, as key negotiator Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is expected to leave the Environment and Public Works Committee for Judiciary, leaving Merkley (who signed today’s letter) at the helm.WORLD ADDING LESS CLEAN ENERGY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS: For the first time in five years, the world will be adding less clean energy capacity this year, due to poor transmission networks and trade barriers.International Renewable Energy Agency Director-General Francesco La Camera told Reuters that clean energy development in China has slowed partly because grid operators reject clean power when the grid hits its limits.“The main cause of a lack of new record ​in additions this year is the mismatch between generation capacity and the capacity to ‌distribute ⁠and transmit electricity,” he said.Reuters said that China, which is the world’s largest renewable energy producer, has rejected enough clean energy to power Mexico for a year in the first half of 2026.“The amount of the (capacity) increase in ​the other parts of the world this year, I ​don’t think ⁠it will offset the slowing down in China,” La Camera said.LATEST ON POTOMAC PARK: A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked any further alterations to East Potomac Park, where Trump has set his sights on renovation plans for a new golf course.U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes granted a preliminary injunction requested by a preservationist group and local golfers asking her to stop the cutting of trees at the park as part of the renovation.Trump earlier this month announced his plans to close the golf course for 15 months starting Nov. 15 and redevelop it.The president posted on Truth Social, stating that he still plans to close the golf course despite the judge’s order. He noted that the judge “does not have the Constitutional Right to ‘ask for or receive notices,’ which are time-consuming, unnecessary, expensive, and unconstitutional.”RUNDOWNHigh Country News Who gets a buyout after rural New Mexico’s flooding?Latitude Media Splight’s Chile grid work is a proof point for its U.S. expansionNew York Times Why Anger About Data Centers and Energy Prices May Not Swing Votes