DOURSON NOMINATION ON THIN ICE: Michael Dourson's confirmation to be the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) head chemical regulator is on thin ice after key Republican defections.

North Carolina GOP Sens. Thom Tillis Thomas (Thom) Roland TillisTrump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally Momentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Vulnerable GOP incumbents embrace filling Supreme Court seat this year MORE and Richard Burr Richard Mauze BurrRep. Mark Walker says he's been contacted about Liberty University vacancy Overnight Defense: Trump rejects major cut to military health care | Senate report says Trump campaign's Russia contacts posed 'grave' threat Senate report describes closer ties between 2016 Trump campaign, Russia MORE announced late Wednesday that they would oppose him, citing a pair of major chemical problems in their state that they do not believe he would be the right person to handle.

"I will not be supporting the nomination of Michael Dourson. With his record and our state's history of contamination at Camp Lejeune as well as the current Gen X water issues in Wilmington, I am not confident he is the best choice for our country," Burr said.

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Then, on Thursday, Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsJeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally Momentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day MORE (R-Maine) said she is "leaning against" voting for Dourson, although she hasn't made a final call.

"I have a lot of concerns about Mr. Dourson," Collins told reporters. "But I certainly share the concerns that have been raised by Sen. Burr and Sen. Tillis."

Senate Republicans always have a slim margin to confirm President Trump's nominees, since they only have 52 votes, to the Democrats' 48.

Without Burr, Tillis and any Democrats, Dourson would need a Vice President Pence tie-breaker. Without Collins, he wouldn't pass confirmation.

Greens were pleased with the Republican defections.

"We commend Sens. Burr and Tillis for recognizing that Michael Dourson, who has made a career minimizing the dangers of chemicals like the ones affecting communities from Camp Lejeune to Wilmington, is not the right person to lead our nation's chemical safety system," David Kelly, manager for North Carolina political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement.

"We are hopeful that other senators will follow the lead of our Tar Heel State senators, who are taking a strong stand for North Carolina families,"

Read more here and here.

WATCHDOG SLAMS ZINKE TRAVEL REPORTING: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith ZinkeTrump extends Florida offshore drilling pause, expands it to Georgia, South Carolina Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention Trump flails as audience dwindles and ratings plummet MORE has failed to keep complete records detailing his travel since taking office, the agency's inspector general concluded in a memo released Thursday.

"Documentation and adherence to the departmental travel policies [are] deficient and without proper management oversight and accountability," Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote in her report.

The current departmental review process for approving travel also does not adequately distinguish between personal, political and official travel, the watchdog concluded.

The inspector general's office is also investigating Zinke's wife, Lola, requesting information related to times she has traveled with her husband on official business.

In her memo, dated Wednesday, Kendall requested more documents related to the Zinkes' travel and recommended the department overhaul its internal travel management system.

Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt replied to Kendall on Thursday, blaming the delay on a "dysfunctional" documentation process dating from the Obama administration.

The Interior's inspector general began investigating Zinke's travel habits early last month after it was revealed that he had taken multiple chartered or military flights since taking office as secretary in March.

Read more here.

KEYSTONE SPRINGS A LEAK: Workers took the Keystone oil pipeline offline on Thursday after it spilled 5,000 barrels of oil in rural South Dakota, officials said.

A TransCanada crew shut down the pipeline at 6 a.m. Thursday morning after detecting an oil leak along the line, the company said. The leak was detected along a stretch of the pipeline about 35 miles south of a pumping station in Marshall County, South Dakota.

TransCanada estimates the pipeline leaked 5,000 barrels of oil, or about 210,000 gallons, before going offline.

TransCanada is looking to expand its Keystone pipeline system, through its proposed 830,000-barrel-per-day Keystone XL pipeline. Nebraska regulators will announce their decision on the project on Monday.

Read more here.

US TELLS SUMMIT IT WILL STILL WORK ON CLIMATE: A State Department official on Thursday called the United States a "leader" on clean energy issues and told United Nations delegates the U.S. is still committed to global climate work, despite President Trump's opposition to the Paris climate agreement.

"Although [Trump] has indicated that the United States intends to withdraw at the earliest opportunity, we remain open to the possibility of rejoining at a later date under terms more favorable to the American people," Judith Garber, an acting assistant secretary of State, said at a plenary session of the Bonn, Germany, climate talks.

Garber said the U.S. is committed to "universal access to affordable and reliable energy" and that it would support "a balanced approach to climate mitigation, economic development, and energy security that takes into consideration the realities of the global energy mix."

Garber did not speak about the threat climate change poses to her country, a subject for many of the officials speaking before the U.N. conference this week.

Instead, she emphasized the United States' work on clean energy and carbon emissions reduction. She also highlighted the way the U.S. has worked with other nations on clean energy issues, including through technological research and deployment in Africa and the Caribbean.

Read more here.

Countries aim to phase out coal: A group of 19 countries and a handful of provinces and states, including Washington, are vowing to phase out their use of coal for electricity generation as part of the United Nations climate conference.

Officials announced the new coalition, called the Powering Past Coal Alliance, on Thursday at the annual U.N. climate change conference in Bonn, Germany. They said they will look to more than double their membership by next year's meeting.

The countries -- led by the United Kingdom and Canada -- account for just a small percentage of global coal consumption, though several of the nations in the alliance rely on coal for a large amount of their electricity generation.

The only U.S. entity involved in the alliance is Washington state. Its governor, Jay Inslee (D), has attended the Bonn conference this week.

Read more here.

FROM THE HILL'S OPINION PAGE:

Rick Joswick, the managing director of the Oil Group at S&P Global Platts Analytics, dives into oil exports to China.

AROUND THE WEB:

Norway's central bank is asking to divest the country's sovereign wealth fund from oil and natural gas, the Guardian reports.

Tesla is preparing to unveil an electric big-rig truck, Reuters reports.

San Francisco Bay Area air regulators approved a new rule aimed at reducing toxic air pollutants from various facilities, the East Bay Times reports.

More than 4,000 Utahns signed up to install solar panels ahead of a net metering deadline, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Thursday's stories ...

-Keystone pipeline shut down after spilling 5,000 barrels of oil in South Dakota

-Interior watchdog says Zinke did not properly document his travel

-Pruitt to testify on EPA agenda at House, Senate hearings

-Collins 'leaning against' Trump EPA chemical nominee

-US tells UN climate conference: 'We continue to be a leader' on clean energy

-Countries, states, provinces vow to phase out coal use

-Dems compete with Trump at Bonn climate summit

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