Senate Energy and Natural Resources is eyeing an early deal on mining legislation, Daniel and Nick write.

Why it matters: Tweaks to a bill to address the Rosemont decision gained bipartisan support and could build momentum for a broader agreement to shore up the mineral supply chain.

• The 2022 Appeals Court ruling upended decades of regulatory precedent. It limited where mining companies can locate support facilities in areas that have an economically recoverable mineral resource.

Zoom in: The Mineral Regulatory Clarity Act leaves the Rosemont decision in place — but would allow mining companies an alternative permitting path for mills, shafts, crushers, and waste facilities on federal land.

• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the bill's sponsor, said she worked with the industry and conservation groups to craft language that limited the scope of development.
• Companies would be able to use public lands for support purposes only within an agency-approved plan of operations, said Rich Haddock, senior adviser for Barrick Gold.
• The act also includes a provision to deposit mill site fees into an abandoned mine reclamation fund.

If unaddressed, the Rosemont decision "would make it nearly impossible to site mine support facilities," said Haddock, calling the bill "narrowly tailored."

Flashback: The revised bill was part of a permitting overhaul that failed to pass in the final hours of last session.

Zoom out: Possible dealmaking took shape as the committee heard testimony today on the Rosemont legislation as part of a package of six mining bills — some bipartisan, others more contentious.

• Senate ENR Chair Mike Lee talked up his legislation that would add copper to the USGS critical minerals list, cosponsored by Sen. Mark Kelly.
• Sen. John Hickenlooper's bill with Republicans Lindsey Graham and Todd Young would establish a pilot program to financially support critical mineral processing.

What they're saying: "Between the industry's desire for certainty, the confusion caused by the Rosemont decision, the obvious need for a royalty, and the equally obvious need for some measure of discretion as to where mining can occur — there is an agreement to be had," Chris Wood, president of Trout Unlimited, told the committee.

Yes, but: Deep disagreements over creating a hard-rock mining royalty — which Republicans dislike — are likely to persist.

The other side: Some enviro groups also continue to vehemently oppose Cortez Masto's bill.

• "The Senate is flirting with disaster by considering this reckless bill, which would gut essential safeguards to prevent toxic mining pollution on our nation's public lands," said Ashley Nunes, a policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity.

The bottom line: "There's an alignment of self-interest," Hickenlooper told Nick.

California wildfire aid remains in limbo as the Senate moves toward a vote to avoid a government shutdown, Nick writes.

Why it matters: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has requested $40 billion to deal with the fallout from the climate-fueled fires that scorched the Los Angeles area in January. But federal aid was left out of the House GOP's CR.

Driving the news: House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said yesterday that lawmakers are awaiting a formal Trump administration request to move an aid package.

• "I don't find it unreasonable," he said of California's $40 billion request, noting that he's met with Newsom.
• Trump has sought to link the money to policy conditions, but it's unclear what that would look like.
• "These are people that have been involved in a legitimate disaster. They deserve federal help," Cole told reporters. "There may be some conditions attached to that. That's not unusual."

What's next: The House passed the CR yesterday in a largely party-line vote ahead of the funding deadline Friday.

• At least eight Senate Democrats will likely need to vote for it to avert a shutdown.

EPA's move to rescind $20 billion in grants under the IRA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund could potentially make it easier for Congress to fully repeal the program, Nick writes.

Why it matters: The fund is among the biggest IRA targets for Republicans in reconciliation.

Driving the news: Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito told Nick she hopes the move will enable her to eliminate the GGRF in reconciliation.

• "I'm for that," she said today.

Zoom in: The Biden EPA had fully obligated and begun dispersing that money, which officials believed protected it from outright Republican repeal efforts via reconciliation.

• Capito said earlier in the year she may be able to take back only a "fraction" of the money the agency was appropriated in the IRA.
• Now EPA says it's terminating those grant agreements and making allegations about fraud and abuse.
• EPA said in a news release it "will work to re-obligate lawfully appropriated funds in the GGRF with enhanced controls."

Yes, but: Grant recipients had already taken the Trump EPA to court over its handling of the program, and they've said the grant terminations are illegal.

• "This is not how the Constitution, the appropriations process, or contract law works," EPW Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse said in a statement.

What we're watching: EPA has also moved to reorganize and close all its environmental justice offices.

💧 1. Woe to WOTUS: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said today that the agency would revise the Waters of the United States rule to narrow definitions that determine which waterways get Clean Water Act protections.

☀️ 2. Lease splitting: Wind and solar energy projects could be co-located on existing oil and gas leases on federal land under legislation introduced by Hickenlooper and Sen. John Curtis.

• The Co-Location Energy Act is "key as we work to meet energy demands and reduce emissions," Curtis said. The bill would help "by expediting permitting and ensuring that previously disturbed areas are fully utilized."

✔️ 3. FERC'in hard: FERC Chair Mark Christie outlined recent commission actions in response to OPM requests to commission employees on what they're doing.

• Scrapping the greenhouse gas policy statement for natural gas projects, approving new gas infrastructure, and actions to improve power grid reliability are sure to please the White House.