Furloughed workers at the EPA, Department of the Interior and other government agencies headed back to work today, after the House and Senate agreed an 11th-hour deal to keep the government operating until January 15.
The end to the shutdown means energy managers will once again be able to access the EPA’s Portfolio Manager, which helps track energy usage, Energy Manager Today reports. Barun Singh, co-founder and CTO of energy efficiency software company WegoWise, said companies using the tool had to defer decisions on efficiency upgrades, and several cities had to delay building energy benchmarking.
During the shutdown, cleanup halted at over 500 Superfund sites and much of the EPA’s enforcement activities came to a standstill. The Department of the Interior stopped considering permits for renewable energy projects. The shutdown threatened a delay to major EPA rule-making included renewable fuel standards and carbon standards for power plants, and it is not yet clear how the timetables for those regulations may be revised. The EPA did have to postpone the first two of its planned “listening sessions” on the carbon standards.
Tamar Wilner is Senior Editor at Environmental Leader PRO.
Picture of EPA building from GSA.