IF THOSE ARE THE OPTIONS: Supporters of the Obama administration's climate change rule for power plants want a federal court to send the regulation back to the Environmental Protection Agency and let it consider changes.

Environmentalists and renewable energy advocates say sending the Clean Power Plan back to the EPA -- what is called a "remand" -- is preferable to freezing the case indefinitely while the Trump administration figures out what to do with it.

Kicking it back to the EPA would end a halt that the Supreme Court placed on the rule last year, allowing supporters to file a new lawsuit when or if the Trump administration formally repeals the Clean Power Plan.

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"Remand would allow termination of the Supreme Court's stay pending litigation, and would properly place the responsibility on EPA to follow statutory rulemaking procedures if it wishes to delay implementation or make other changes to the rule," a coalition of environmental and health groups led by the Environmental Defense Fund told the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday.

The EPA and its allies took the opposite approach, telling the appeals court that the case should be halted indefinitely so that the Supreme Court's pause stays in effect.

"Abeyance is the proper course of action because it would better preserve the status quo, conserve judicial resources, and allow the new Administration to focus squarely on completing its current review of the Clean Power Plan as expeditiously as possible," Justice Department attorneys representing the EPA wrote.

"Whereas abeyance would maintain the Supreme Court's stay, a remand would raise substantial questions regarding the stay's vitality," they said.

The greens and business groups would rather have the D.C. Circuit court rule on the merits of the case, but the judges did not present that as an option.

Read more here.

LAWMAKERS PUSH BACK ON DRILLING REVIEW: More than 100 lawmakers are urging the Trump administration not to expand offshore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

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In a letter released on Monday, the members said drilling in the oceans would imperil local economies based on fishing and tourism.

"We do not believe that new oil and gas exploration or production activity in the Atlantic and Pacific Outer Continental Shelf is compatible with the sustainable coastal economies on which so many of our constituents and communities depend," the members wrote.

"As you conduct a review of our nation's existing oil and gas leases, we again strongly urge you to reject proposals to open the Atlantic and Pacific OCS Regions to new offshore drilling and exploration."

A majority of the signers on the letter were Democrats, though three Republicans helped co-write the letter.

Read more here.

PICK FOR NO. 2 AT INTERIOR TO FACE SENATE: A Senate panel is set to hear from David Bernhardt, Trump's pick for the No. 2 spot at the Interior Department, later this week.

Bernhardt is scheduled to testify before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday.

The former George W. Bush administration veteran was unanimously confirmed to the No. 3 spot at Interior in 2006, a fact likely to come up from Bernhardt's supporters at the hearing.

But greens and conservation groups, not to mention some Democrats, oppose Bernardt's nomination on conflict of interest grounds, raising the prospect of a more bitter confirmation process than for other nominees who went through the energy panel.

"I am gravely concerned about Mr. Bernhardt's record of working on behalf of corporations at the expense of the environment, and his history at the Department of the Interior during years plagued by ethical scandals," ranking member Maria Cantwell Maria Elaine CantwellHillicon Valley: Zuckerberg acknowledges failure to take down Kenosha military group despite warnings | Election officials push back against concerns over mail-in voting, drop boxes Bipartisan senators call for investigation of popular fertility app The Hill's Coronavirus Report: Mike Roman says 3M on track to deliver 2 billion respirators globally and 1 billion in US by end of year; US, Pfizer agree to 100M doses of COVID-19 vaccine that will be free to Americans MORE (D-Wash.) said when Bernhardt's nomination was announced in April.

Bernhardt is likely to find strong support among Republicans: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has praised his "extensive experience" and "legal career" as "exactly what is needed to help streamline government and make the Interior and our public lands work for the American economy."

Read more about the hearing, and the rest of the week's schedule, here.

ENERGY GROUPS APPEAL TO PERRY: Five energy groups are urging the Department of Energy to support their sectors in an ongoing review of the baseload power sector.

The groups said their member companies contribute to a stable electric grid and have created thousands of jobs, but that they could use more support from the federal government.

"Due to low market prices for natural gas and wind, and a history of federal and state support that has favored these technologies, baseload renewables have been struggling to compete and, in some cases, are facing closures," the groups wrote in a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry last week.

"Your review offers an opportunity to better understand the impacts these policy decisions have had, not only on our industries, but also the grid itself."

The groups requested a meeting with Perry as part of his review. Signers of the letter include the National Hydropower Association, Biomass Power Association, Geothermal Energy Association, Energy Recovery Council and the American Biogas Council.

SCIENTIST WINS MISS USA: Kara McCullough, a scientist with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, won the Miss USA pageant Sunday.

McCullough, 25, is a chemist in the agency's security and incident response office. She's worked at NRC for nearly four years.

She's generating headlines Monday for controversially saying that healthcare is a "privilege," and not a right.

But she's also made science a major part of her Miss USA participation, telling Hollywood Life about her efforts to get children and women interested in science, math and related fields.

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TOMORROW IN THE HILL: Trump made his first two nominations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week, raising the curtain on a new battle over the administration's energy policy.

Greens have vowed to fight any Trump FERC pick, and Democrats look likely to object to Trump's first two selections until he names a Democrat to the commission as well. Tomorrow in The Hill, a preview of the FERC fight to come.

AROUND THE WEB:

New research out Monday says that diesel emissions testing worldwide has greatly underestimated the health risks and consequences from pollution, the Guardian reports.

A steam plant in Cleveland has completely converted from coal to natural gas, the Plain-Dealer reports.

Oil prices rose 2 percent Monday after Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed that supply cuts should stretch into next year, Reuters reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

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Check out Monday's stories ...

-EPA climate rule supporters want court to drop lawsuit

-Lawmakers push back against Trump offshore drilling review

-Former Pentagon chief: Arctic drilling order could threaten security

-Report: Top aide gave Trump fake news before crackdown

-Week ahead: Senators to hear from controversial deputy Interior pick

Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com; and Devin Henry, dhenry@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @dhenry, @thehill