Trump's Interior Dept is bringing furloughed employees back on the job to prepare sales of offshore
#oil drilling rights, arguing that failing to hold the auctions would have a negative impact on the federal treasury & investment in the Gulf of Mexico.($) bit.ly/2TQ8sCc Employees also are on call to help process permits authorizing seismic surveys hunting for oil in the Atlantic and develop a new 5-year program for selling drilling rights in U.S. coastal waters, according to a newly revised contingency plan.

Methane: It's the world's simplest hydrocarbon, the primary component of natural gas & a super-potent greenhouse gas.

Today, the EPA proposed easing some Obama-era requirements forcing oil companies to keep a tight lid on it. The proposal would lessen the frequency of required inspections to hunt for methane leaks, lift a requirement that professional engineers certify some designs & make it easier for companies to deploy new technologies to monitor emissions.

bloom.bg/2N4FPCD

Breaking: Trump administration officials are making plans to order grid operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants in an effort to extend their life, a move that would represent an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets. “Federal action is necessary to stop the further premature retirements of fuel-secure generation capacity,” says a 41-page draft memo obtained by Bloomberg and circulated before a National Security Council meeting on the subject Friday.

Scoop: EPA Chief Pruitt did pay rent for that Capitol Hill apartment he rented from a lobbyist - $50 per night but only on the nights he slept there. White House officials are dismayed by his handling of the matter, @JenniferJJacobs and I are told. bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Roughly $1500/month for just a bedroom seems fair market value based on anecdotal rents in my Capitol Hill neighborhood at least. But that is based on 30 days of occupancy. And records we reviewed show Pruitt ended up paying $6100 over a 193-day period.