EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/10/23
PIPELINE NEWS
WSET: 'Appalachians Slap Back:' Mountain Valley Pipeline sees more delays from pipeline protestors
The New Republic: Fossil Fuel Companies Are Taking Private Land—and Landowners Are Fighting Back
Appalachian Chronicle: West Virginian Maury Johnson Facing Off with Feds Over MVP Pipeline Safety; Schedules Tuesday News Conference
Truthout: 5 Years After Standing Rock, Native Tribes Still Fight Dakota Access Pipeline
Bleeding Heartland: Summit Carbon mediations raise more questions than they answer
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Farmers, Illinois officials say Spire hasn't done enough to fix damage from STL Pipeline
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Video: Landowner talks about Spire's pipeline that was forced through his land
CT Examiner: New Climate Change Play ‘1969’ Brings Attention to California Oil Spill
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: A coming oil crash? Offshore permits hit 19-year low under Biden.
Offshore Magazine: API: Analysis Finds That Proposed Gulf Of Mexico Restrictions Diminish Energy Security
Washington Post: A loophole in an environmental treaty lets U.S. factories emit gases that damage the ozone layer and warm Earth, watchdog finds
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Oil giants unveil ‘game-ending’ strategy to kill climate cases
Deseret News: Over 160 barrels of oil and thousands of barrels of contaminated water spill into Grand Staircase
Oil & Gas Journal: Tellurian requests 3-year extension to complete Driftwood LNG plant
County17: Carbon capture demonstration plant begins work near Gillette
WNTZ: Explore carbon capture and sequestration in the fight against climate change
Denver Post: Communities’ quest to shut down aging oil, gas wells could test state’s new regulations
Los Angeles Times: Newsom signs bills to address unplugged oil wells, disclose corporate greenhouse gas emissions
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: MP Urges Windfall Profit Tax as Oil Extraction Set to Hit New Record
Cruise Industry News: DNV Launches New Guidelines for Carbon Capture Systems on Ships
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
DRG News: SD Intrastate Pipeline Company sponsors Flags Across the Bridge for Native Americans’ Day
Daily Union: Fort Atkinson Police see donated pickup truck
OPINION
Telegraph Herald: Isenhart: No eminent domain for only private gain
National Observer: Canadians shouldn’t foot the bill for Big Oil’s costly carbon capture
PIPELINE NEWS
WSET: 'Appalachians Slap Back:' Mountain Valley Pipeline sees more delays from pipeline protestors
Ezra Hercyk, 10/9/23
“Protestors continue to force delays during the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” WSET reports. “On Monday afternoon, a pipeline protestor locked himself to a "sleeping dragon" in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, preventing tree cutting and clearing in the area, according to the Appalachians Against Pipelines. A banner at the site read "Appalachians Slap Back," in reference to a SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) filed by MVP in September. As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, the protestor (identified as Ben according to Appalachians Against Pipelines) is still in the blockade preventing work on the mountain… “According to Appalachians Against Pipelines, Mountain Valley Pipeline sued "a random group of people for peacefully protesting them," asking for over $4 million dollars in an attempt to prohibit their opposition. "They want to scare the opposition away. It’s not a new tactic, and I want everyone to know that it isn’t going to work," Appalachians Against Pipelines wrote.
The New Republic: Fossil Fuel Companies Are Taking Private Land—and Landowners Are Fighting Back
Eve Andrews, 10/10/23
“In the contemporary climate movement, new oil and gas pipelines constitute nothing less than an existential threat,” The New Republic reports. “...But some recent legal challenges to pipelines have derived from an arguably less lofty — or at least more dispassionate — provenance: The hallowed American value of private property. Three families scattered across northwestern Virginia have an ongoing lawsuit against the Mountain Valley Pipeline that originates not from an ideological standpoint, not out of concern for the climate threat that it poses nor its potential for environmental degradation, but due to the constitutional violation of their property rights that they believe it poses… “My clients don’t want this pipeline on their land because they view this as their land,” Mia Yugo, the Richmond-based attorney who represents petitioners Cletus and Beverly Ann Bohon, Wendell and Mary Flora, and Robert Matthew Hamm and Aimee Chase Hamm against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Mountain Valley Pipeline corporation, told TNR. “Some of it’s been in their family for generations. They don’t want to sell, and they don’t want a private company coming in and taking it.” This case is part of a burgeoning trend of private landowners challenging pipeline companies on the unlawful use of eminent domain, or the ability of the government to claim land for public use. In Iowa, an ongoing saga regarding a network of carbon dioxide pipelines proposed by carbon capture companies has united predominantly conservative farmers and environmental activists on the issue of taking privately owned land for corporate gain. “I think this is something that every American can identify with, because property rights are so central to traditional American values,” Yugo told TNR. “There’s this inherent sense that this is my land, and if I don’t want to sell it to a private entity I shouldn’t have to because I’m American.” “...Will fossil fuel companies’ violation of private property — with the blessing of the federal government — be the issue that can turn pipelines from a leftist cause to a bipartisan concern?... “The legal theory behind Bohon v. FERC concerns a principle of constitutional law called “nondelegation,” which is basically a complaint that Congress has outsourced some element of its power to another entity that isn’t supposed to have that power. In this case, that entity is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency that controls interstate pipelines. The Bohon case is the first nondelegation challenge of a natural gas pipeline. Yugo and co-counsel Christopher Collins’ argument challenges the constitutionality of the Natural Gas Act, which in 1938 established FERC’s authority to functionally authorize private companies to take private land to construct pipelines.”
Appalachian Chronicle: West Virginian Maury Johnson Facing Off with Feds Over MVP Pipeline Safety; Schedules Tuesday News Conference
10/9/23
“Maury Johnson, a West Virginia landowner impacted by the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), is facing off with the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) over the safety of pipelines. Indeed, Johnson promises a news conference tomorrow, Oct. 10 about the matter, according to a news release he sent out yesterday (Oct. 8),” Appalachian Chronicle reports. “Johnson says the purpose is to point to current MVP Safety Violations on his farm and other area properties. He lives in Greenville, Monroe County, in southeastern West Virginia. Johnson’s well water and organic farm are being damaged under eminent domain for construction of the controversial 303-mile fracked gas MVP, he shares. In his release, he states, “Notorious for hundreds of violations over multi-year start-and-stop construction, (the) MVP is currently installing pipe with expired safety coating, running equipment across Maury Johnson’s farm, and parking equipment on top of the buried pipeline, possibly violating construction permits and adding to the likelihood of stress fractures, leaks and explosions should MVP become activated.” “...As a result, Johnson says he is traveling to Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 1. He says that he “ … has respectfully requested a meeting at the US DOT / PHMSA Office of Pipeline Safety – Eastern Region following a phone conversation and his latest filing regarding pipe safety issues.” :...Johnson further states the will hold his news conference whether or not PHMSA has met with him, saying that he hopes is concerns will be heard and his questions answered so that he will be in a position to state “… that PHMSA takes pipeline safety seriously and are always willing to address landowners’ and citizens’ concerns.”
Truthout: 5 Years After Standing Rock, Native Tribes Still Fight Dakota Access Pipeline
Nayanika Guha, 10/9/23
“Morgan Brings Plenty, now 29 and a digital organizing fellow at Indigenous Environmental Network, was in their early 20s when they first heard about Energy Transfer Partner’s Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in late 2015,” Truthout reports. “A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, they could feel the tension regarding the pipeline in their community — and they were always close to the action. Their late mom, Joye Braun, was the first to set up her tipi in what would become the Oceti Sakowin camp at Standing Rock on April 1, 2016, to protest the building of the oil pipeline through the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation and tribal sacred sites. Back then, it was still cold and snowy out, Brings Plenty told Truthout. Initially, there were no people and no toiletries, they said. “There was nothing out there. It was just my mom and her campfire.” Brings Plenty stayed at the camp from the beginning to its end in 2017. “A lot of the time, it felt like home. I felt free there.” Home to an estimated 4,000 people, the Oceti Sakowin camp became one of the largest displays of Native resistance in recent history… “The Standing Rock Sioux continue to see the pipeline’s operation as an existential and critical threat to their safety and livelihood, according to Chase Iron Eyes, an attorney for the Lakota People’s Law Project who was raised on the Standing Rock Nation and now lives on the Oglala Lakota Nation… “According to a 2016 environmental assessment, the Army Corps believes it would be able to detect any leaks within minutes and take action accordingly… “The Army Corps and Energy Transfer say that they’d be able to contain it and so forth. But for us; that’s the end of the world. For us, we would probably have to move away from the Standing Rock Reservation,” Iron Eyes told Truthout. “Because who would want to live there, with oil spills and cancerous water all around you. That’s the only place we get our drinking water, so it’s very, very serious.” “...The Army Corps asked Environmental Resources Management (ERM) to prepare the EIS. ERM is a member of the American Petroleum Institute, which, according to a tribal press release, submitted a brief in favor of DAPL and against Standing Rock. The tribe sees this as “a clear conflict of interest” and is calling for the Army Corps to “start from scratch” on the EIS… “The Army Corps has scheduled two public meetings to hear comments on the EIS on November 1 and 2 in Bismarck, and the tribes, especially the youth, are ready to have their voices heard.”
Bleeding Heartland: Summit Carbon mediations raise more questions than they answer
Nancy Dugan, 10/8/23
“During the Iowa Utilities Board's October 3 evidentiary hearing on Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed CO2 pipeline, Summit attorney Bret Dublinske asked landowner Craig Woodward, “Are you aware that in Cerro Gordo County, 83 percent of the route has been acquired by voluntary agreement?”, Bleeding Heartland reports. “...Dublinske’s argument raises questions regarding the relevance of mediations the Iowa Utilities Board has arranged between Summit and landowners, with the stated purpose of securing easements… “Jon Tack, general counsel for the Iowa Utilities Board, stated in a September 27 email to Bleeding Heartland that board-arranged mediations, which North Carolina attorney Frank Laney is conducting, are “not relevant or admissible in the evidentiary hearing.” Tack added, “Mediations are voluntary, private discussions between Summit and a landowner that are facilitated by a professional mediator.” “...It remains unclear whether landowners had any say in choosing Laney, who is working in Iowa on behalf of Carolina Dispute Settlement Services, according to Tack… “Many aspects of the process remain a mystery: how the board has arranged such mediations, where they are taking place, how many mediations have occurred, and the success rate… “It's unclear whether the board’s involvement in arranging for mediations between Summit and landowners affected statements by Dublinske and Summit staff regarding easement negotiations at the evidentiary hearing in Fort Dodge. What is known: during a June 6 status conference, Summit’s Dublinske (an attorney with extensive experience in Iowa utilities law) characterized the proposed mediations as “a bit of an experiment that hasn’t been done in prior proceedings." “...Sierra Club attorney Wally Taylor objected to mediation during the conference: Certainly we Iowans tend to respect authority, and when the Board tells the landowners, “We have mediation and we want you to take part in it, you don’t have to, but we would like you to do that,” I think they’re seeing that as the voice of authority telling them that they have to take part in mediation. Helland’s June 6 comments allude to a cutoff point in mediation, which raises one final question: Have board-arranged mediations, especially those that may have taken place during the evidentiary hearing, influenced the proceedings?”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Farmers, Illinois officials say Spire hasn't done enough to fix damage from STL Pipeline
Bryce Gray, 10/9/23
“Foot-deep gullies scar parts of Scott Turman’s farmland where crops used to grow. The field is littered with rocks as big as hubcaps and jumbled piles of debris left from construction of the Spire STL Pipeline,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. “Years after the pipeline began delivering gas to the St. Louis region, Turman and other Illinois farmers say its construction has rendered portions of their land too damaged to plant and too risky to run farm machinery through. Fertile topsoil has been removed or lost in places, reducing soybean and corn yields. “These rocks, they call ’em combine killers,” Turman told the Dispatch. They were dredged up to the surface when the pipeline went in underground, he told the Dispatch. Some landowners also still question why the St. Louis-based gas utility had to go through their properties the way it did — sometimes through the middle of their farmland or woods, instead of hugging existing roadways, power lines or property edges. The pipeline, mired in legal and regulatory controversy since its inception, was completed in 2019. Now, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has filed a petition against Spire, saying the company hasn’t made good on its promise to limit the impact and damage from the pipeline… “Spire is pushing to dismiss the latest legal petition, arguing the allegations are outside the bounds of its agreement governing impacts from the pipeline, that it hasn’t violated any laws or regulations and that some of the property owners won’t allow the company access to their land for repairs. The Illinois attorney general’s office is preparing to file a response Tuesday, and a court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20… “The company added that it will “continue to work in good faith by being proactive and transparent in resolving outstanding restoration concerns.” But some residents say they don’t trust the company or its contractors to properly do the job or avoid causing further damage… “In a bare area, next to where Turman had hoped to build a home, he pointed out light soil where dark topsoil belongs. He told the Dispatch when the pipeline was put into his ground, the topsoil and the lower-quality lighter soil beneath it were supposed to be kept in separate piles and then dropped back into place. But he told the Dispatch that didn’t happen correctly in some places, and drainage and erosion problems have washed some topsoil away.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Video: Landowner talks about Spire's pipeline that was forced through his land
David Carson, 10/9/23
“Ken Davis talks about the Spire STL Pipeline that was run through his land in Scott County, Illinois,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
CT Examiner: New Climate Change Play ‘1969’ Brings Attention to California Oil Spill
Tim Leininger, 10/9/23
“Based on her firsthand experience, resident Gina Russell Tracy’s new play, “1969,” focuses on the devastating environmental impact of the 1969 oil spill that dumped as much as 4.2 million gallons of oil into California’s Santa Barbara Channel,” the CT Examiner reports. “...Set primarily on the eve and following days of the Santa Barbara oil spill, which began on Jan. 28, 1969, Tracy’s second play follows the fisherman and his wife as high schoolers. “It’s the night before, and it’s the high school kids going to the beach, playing guitars, trying to see if they can avoid the draft or not,” Tracy said. “They’re all theater kids because they’re all that I knew at the time, and the next day the oil spill changes their lives.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: A coming oil crash? Offshore permits hit 19-year low under Biden.
Heather Richards, 10/10/23
“The Biden administration has green-lighted a record low number of new offshore oil wells, a data point that could inflame the already fierce debate over President Joe Biden’s throttling of the aging offshore oil sector in the Gulf of Mexico,” E&E News reports. “An E&E News analysis of available data since the George W. Bush administration shows a steady decline in permitted offshore wells, reaching the lowest points during Biden’s tenure. The data comes as the president is facing pressure from Republicans about his domestic oil policies given the uncertain trajectory of global prices in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel this past weekend… “The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement permitted 105 wells in Biden’s first two years. That’s compared to approving 148 during Trump’s first two years in office and 275 when Barack Obama took office in 2009 and 2010. Experts tell E&E this decline reflects realities at sea as much as shifts in federal oil policy. The data highlight that oil companies are drilling fewer wells in the Gulf of Mexico — where almost all the U.S. offshore drilling occurs — as companies move into deeper waters where drilling is more expensive. They are also responding to tougher regulations and the constant influence of oil prices. “It really is the economics and the strategy driving these things and not government policy,” Scott Nance, a Gulf of Mexico research analyst with Wood Mackenzie, told E&E. “The bigger economic trends are what drives permitting, far more than any one administration.” “...Many climate activists weren’t satisfied, slamming the White House for holding any oil sales, while drillers and GOP allies of the industry said so few opportunities to buy new drilling rights will exacerbate existing pressures to reduce activity in the Gulf of Mexico and undermine national production.”
Offshore Magazine: API: Analysis Finds That Proposed Gulf Of Mexico Restrictions Diminish Energy Security
10/9/23
“The American Petroleum Institute (API) has released a new analysis that outlines the potential consequences of new vessel restrictions on American oil and gas workers in the US Gulf of Mexico,” Offshore Magazine reports. “The study, conducted by EIAP, finds that recently proposed restrictions on oil and natural gas vessels operating in the Gulf of Mexico would have a major negative impact on jobs, industry investment, government revenue and oil and natural gas production in the region, to a nearly one-quarter decline – which is more than 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day – in energy production in the Gulf of Mexico by 2040 even as demand continues to rise. The analysis was submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) alongside joint comments from API, EnerGeo Alliance, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) in response to the federal government’s proposal to designate Rice’s whale critical habitat in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Washington Post: A loophole in an environmental treaty lets U.S. factories emit gases that damage the ozone layer and warm Earth, watchdog finds
Maxine Joselow, 10/10/23
“For more than 35 years, millions of people worldwide have benefited from an international treaty that has phased out gases damaging the ozone layer, a vital atmospheric shield that screens out dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun,” the Washington Post reports. “But despite its effectiveness — it has been called the most successful international environmental treaty ever adopted — the Montreal Protocol has an exemption. This lapse is now allowing U.S. factories to emit gases that both damage the ozone layer and warm the Earth, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency, a watchdog group. Using sophisticated infrared technology, the Washington-based nonprofit organization was able to detect releases of these chemicals — known as fluorinated gases, or F-gases — from two production facilities in Texas and Louisiana. Such inadvertent releases by factories could help account for rising emissions of these pollutants worldwide, the EIA said in findings provided to The Washington Post.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Oil giants unveil ‘game-ending’ strategy to kill climate cases
Lesley Clark, 10/10/23
“The legal battle over whether cities, counties and states can hold fossil fuel companies financially accountable for heat waves, flooding and other effects of climate change is entering a critical new phase,” E&E News reports. “Since 2017, parties in the cases have squabbled over whether the lawsuits should be heard in federal or state courts. Now that federal appeals courts have agreed the cases belong before state judges — and the Supreme Court has so far declined to say otherwise — oil companies are pushing for the lawsuits to be scrapped altogether. “This is really, ‘Does it belong in any court?’“ Pat Parenteau, emeritus professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School, told E&E. “That’s what the companies are counting on: a decision that the cases won’t be heard anywhere.” Though previous court battles have centered on jurisdictional issues, the next phase will determine whether the cases are sufficient to proceed to discovery and trial, Parenteau told E&E. “It’s substantial,” he told E&E, “and it’s potentially game-ending.” During arguments in Delaware’s climate liability case last month and filings in two Maryland lawsuits in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, industry attorneys have argued that a finding in favor of the local governments would require state judges to set energy policy far beyond their borders… “The oil companies’ motions to dismiss the climate liability cases have already been rejected by one court in Hawaii and are under appeal. Industry lawyers made similar claims in cases filed by the city and county of Honolulu, as well as Delaware and Hoboken, N.J. They are expected to soon lodge motions to dismiss in cases brought by Puerto Rico; New Jersey; and Charleston, S.C… “In addition to the companies’ motions to dismiss, Chevron has filed its own motion on the grounds that the Maryland lawsuits target corporate speech that is protected by the company’s first amendment rights — as well as a state law aimed at preventing so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation that can be wielded to silence critical speech.”
Deseret News: Over 160 barrels of oil and thousands of barrels of contaminated water spill into Grand Staircase
Kyle Dunphey, 10/6/23
“On a clear September day, a hiker exploring Alvey Wash in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument came across a troubling discovery — pools of what appeared to be crude oil,” the Deseret News reports. “The hiker was looking at some of the roughly 163 barrels of oil and over 6,200 barrels of produced water that spilled from a well operated on U.S. Forest Service land nearly 17 miles upstream. For context, 163 barrels of oil would fill about seven dump trucks. It’s not the first spill reported by the operator, Citation Oil & Gas Corporation, which over the last 35 years has had over 20 spills on its facilities in the Upper Valley near the border of Grand Staircase-Escalante alone… “This has been happening, unfortunately, on repeat for the past 40 years. This isn’t a one-off instance,” Landon Newell, an attorney who specializes in oil and gas issues for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, an environmental group, told the News. “These spills are oftentimes discovered by hikers who are recreating in the area, they’re not always reported by the operator, and they’re not properly identified by the federal government.” “...In a report filed with the Department of Environmental Quality, Citation said its “focus since the start of this release has been to ensure that the crude oil does not migrate further downgradient and that the cleanup is being conducted as quickly and as safely as possible to remove the impacted debris and any free standing crude oil. As a result, Citation’s investigation into the cause of this release is still underway.” Although the well in question is not located on the national monument, rainfall and the thousands of gallons of produced water carried the oil through Alvey Wash into Grand Staircase-Escalante.”
Oil & Gas Journal: Tellurian requests 3-year extension to complete Driftwood LNG plant
Christopher E. Smith, 10/9/23
“Tellurian Inc. has requested a 3-year extension from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to put its 27.6-million tonne/year (tpy) Driftwood LNG plant on the Calcasieu River, south of Lake Charles, La., in service,” Oil & Gas Journal reports. “The company said it has demonstrated that good cause exists to grant the extension because it had made good faith efforts to meet the original deadline and encountered “entirely unforeseeable circumstances” related to the COVID-19 pandemic which “inhibited progress in commercializing the project, [and] are now abating.” Driftwood LNG LLC said it is actively engaged in securing final commitments for both offtake agreements and project financing but needs regulatory certainty that it will have sufficient time to build the project and place it in service in order to close such agreements. It now seeks to begin operations of both the plant and accompanying 2.4-bcfd Driftwood natural gas pipeline by Apr. 18, 2029… “Driftwood asked FERC to grant the request for extension by Nov. 16, 2023, to “help expedite the timely conclusion of ongoing commercial and financial discussions” with potential partners. The company says it so far has invested more than $1 billion in the project.”
County17: Carbon capture demonstration plant begins work near Gillette
MARY STROKA, 10/9/23
“This afternoon, American and Japanese partners celebrated the opening of a carbon capture project about 10 miles north of downtown Gillette,” County17 reports. “The project is at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center, 12460 N. Highway 59, Gillette. The Wyoming ITC is a space where developers can use coal-based flue gas from Dry Fork, a coal-fired power plant. Japan Carbon Frontier Organization, also known as JCOAL, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have completed construction of their project, which will test whether KHI’s solid sorbent technology at the Wyoming ITC is sufficiently effective, useful and environmentally friendly to deploy at large-scale plants, according to a news release. KHI’s method of absorbing carbon dioxide uses less heat than a conventional amine-based solvent system would require, so it is more efficient and uses less energy than other carbon capture systems… “Japan’s Ministry of the Environment commissioned the project, the release said. A 2016 memorandum of understanding committed Wyoming and JCOAL to cooperate in coal research, coal trade and development of carbon capture technology.”
WNTZ: Explore carbon capture and sequestration in the fight against climate change
Kelvin Spears, 10/9/23
“In a crucial step towards promoting environmental stewardship and sustainable energy practices, Cleco, a leading energy company, is organizing a public meeting to shed light on the significance of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies in the battle against climate change,” WNTZ reports. “...Cleco, as a responsible corporate entity, recognizes the importance of CCS in its commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. The company is taking proactive steps to educate the community about the science behind CCS, its potential benefits, and how it aligns with the broader landscape of clean energy solutions… “The public meeting will not be a one-sided lecture but an interactive discussion. Dr. Zappi will address questions and concerns from the community, fostering a better understanding of the role each individual can play in reducing carbon emissions and safeguarding the planet for future generations. Cleco extends a warm invitation to all concerned citizens, students, professionals, and environmental enthusiasts to attend this informative session. This event provides a unique opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue about the future of clean energy and sustainable practices… “Join Cleco on October 11th and be a part of the effort to shape a more sustainable and environmentally responsible future. Together, we can make a difference in the fight against climate change.”
Denver Post: Communities’ quest to shut down aging oil, gas wells could test state’s new regulations
JUDITH KOHLER, 10/9/23
“Larry and Mary Bosaw, who live near Fort Lupton, have something in common with municipal officials and landowners in Frederick and Dacono as well as state regulators: They want K.P. Kauffman Co. to take care of the problems created by its oil and gas operations,” the Denver Post reports. “The way the state tackles the problems under new rules mandated by a sweeping redo of oil and gas regulations could shape how the industry is governed going forward. Larry, who recently retired from his construction business, said K.P. Kauffman, or KPK, responded when he called in July 2022 about an oil spill on the nearly 6-acre property where he and his wife live. The company found the problem with the pipeline, dug up and removed contaminated soil, tested the couple’s well water and dug more dirt. More than a year later, the Bosaws have a pit more than 10 feet deep and about 40 feet by 50 feet. What they don’t have is an idea of when the gaping hole will be filled in or when they can let their neighbors use their pasture for their cattle. “We rent the pasture and we haven’t had any income since they started doing this,” Mary told the Post… “While the Bosaws wait for the next steps by KPK, the company is getting even more scrutiny from state regulators and communities where it has wells… “The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, which regulates oil and gas, is scrutinizing KPK’s proposal detailing its financial wherewithal to meet all its obligations under the law, a requirement for all companies. Ahead of an Oct. 24 hearing, the ECMC staff filed comments saying the company needs to allocate another $24 million to cover cleaning up 146 sites. The communities of Frederick and Dacono, which have several KPK wells within their boundaries, want the state to make the company put more money behind its proposal or be ordered to close non-productive, uneconomical wells.”
Los Angeles Times: Newsom signs bills to address unplugged oil wells, disclose corporate greenhouse gas emissions
TONY BRISCOE, DORANY PINEDA, 10/10/23
“Despite objections from some in his administration, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation requiring oil and gas companies to allocate more funding to plug wells nearing the end of production,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “Under the new law, any company that acquires a gas or oilfield in California must now secure a bond — a financial guarantee similar to insurance — that covers the full cost of sealing idle or low-producing wells. As oil production in California continues to decline, the measure was designed to ensure unproductive wells are properly sealed, preventing the release of dangerous chemicals and planet-warming gases. The new financial obligations were intended to act as a safety net for taxpayers in the event oil and gas companies become insolvent and cannot pay to plug wells… “Environmental advocates, including some who feared Newsom might veto the bill, lauded the governor’s decision to sign it into law as yet another pivotal move to hold oil companies responsible for more than a century of drilling and pollution. “This critical reform sends a clear message to the oil and gas industry: You must cover the cost of cleaning up and closing down your old wells,” Katelyn Roedner Sutter, California state director at Environmental Defense Fund, told the Times. “By updating oil industry laws dating back almost a century, the bill helps protect taxpayers from orphan well cleanup costs while paving the way to a more just transition away from fossil fuels.”
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: MP Urges Windfall Profit Tax as Oil Extraction Set to Hit New Record
10/9/23
“A federal Member of Parliament is calling for a windfall profits tax on fossil fuel companies, just as an independent analysis predicts Canadian oil extraction hitting an all-time high over the next two years with the expected start-up of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion,” the Canadian Press reports. “MP Mike Morrice (GPC-Kitchener Centre) introduced a motion September 14, calling on the House of Commons to extend the Canada Recovery Dividend to include “excess” fossil fuel profits, the Toronto Star reported last week. The dividend was originally introduced in 2022 as a one-time, 15% tax on banks and life insurance companies, to be paid out over a five-year span. “If the tax was applied to fossil fuel producers, Morrice says the resulting revenue could be used to address the climate crisis and improve affordability for Canadians, namely through investments in public transit, retrofitting buildings, and greening the electricity grid,” the Star writes. “The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that extending the Canada Recovery Dividend to the oil and gas sector and big-box stores would generate C$4.4 billion.”
Cruise Industry News: DNV Launches New Guidelines for Carbon Capture Systems on Ships
10/9/23
“DNV published a new set of guidelines for the safe installation of onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) systems on ships in order to reduce emissions as part of the ongoing maritime energy transition,” Cruise Industry News reports. “DNV’s new guidelines will be used by ship designers, builders, OCCS system manufacturers, and ship owners, and they will apply to both newbuilds and retrofits. The guidelines cover aspects for safe installation, including exhaust pre-treatment, absorption with the use of chemicals/amines, after-treatment systems, liquefaction processes, CO2 storage and transfer systems… “While CCS technology is already known in land-based industry, its application on board ships is relatively unproven. Our guidelines provide a framework for installation, offering support for stakeholders in the industry, while contributing to reducing emissions and driving the maritime industry towards a more sustainable future,” Chara Georgopoulou, head of maritime R&D and advisory Greece, senior research engineer II, onboard CCS manager, told the News.
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
DRG News: SD Intrastate Pipeline Company sponsors Flags Across the Bridge for Native Americans’ Day
Jody Heemstra, 10/9/23
“The Pierre-Fort Pierre Exchange Club is displaying the US and South Dakota flags across the Missouri River Bridge between Fort Pierre and Pierre in observance of Native Americans’ Day today (Oct. 9, 2023),” DRG News reports. “The Flags Across the Missouri River Bridge is a Pride in America and fundraising program promoted by the Pierre/Fort Pierre Exchange Club. Today’s flags are sponsored by the South Dakota Intrastate Pipeline Company.”
Daily Union: Fort Atkinson Police see donated pickup truck
10/10/23
“Enbridge Energy Company recently donated a Chevy Silverado pickup truck to the Fort Atkinson Police Department, according to a city press release,” the Daily Union reports. “The company has donated trucks to local governments in the area in the past as part of its Community Investment and Safe Community programs… “We have our trucks come out of service and we donate them to local organizations that have the need for them,” said Enbridge technical supervisor John Schwarz. Donations are a way for the company to help out local communities, he said. Enbridge supports communities and emergency responders in its areas of operations throughout the United States and Canada via similar donations, Schwarz said.”
OPINION
Telegraph Herald: Isenhart: No eminent domain for only private gain
Rep. Chuck Isenhart, Iowa House of Representatives, 10/8/23
“On Sept. 19, I testified in the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) hearing on the Summit Carbon Solutions carbon dioxide pipeline,” Rep. Chuck Isenhart writes for the Telegraph Herald. “The Board’s decision will create a precedent for the proposed Navigator Heartland Greenway pipeline to the Big River ethanol plant in Dyersville. “No eminent domain for private gain” is the catch phrase of pipeline opponents… “At full capacity, that could be a $1.5 billion annual payday for Summit alone. Owners of hundreds of parcels of land have resisted granting easements for the pipeline, many because they believe their farming operations would be disrupted and the productivity of farm ground would be lost. Others question the safety of the pipelines. According to Iowa law, the power to “take” or use private lands against the will of owners may be granted by the IUB to a private company if the project is justified by a “public convenience or necessity.” Thus, the slogan as applied to this decision should be: No eminent domain for ONLY private gain. “Jobs,” “increased tax revenue” or the economic viability of private industry could justify any claim where another private business can support more jobs or pay more taxes than the current landowner. There would be no guardrails on eminent domain. The companies might claim that the pipelines benefit the public simply because of the federal subsidies to keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Why else would taxpayers foot the bill?... “Setting aside the evidence that expanding corn production risks further degradation of Iowa’s soil and water resources, does moving carbon dioxide hundreds of miles by pipeline for burial achieve a significant and “necessary” environmental benefit for the public? Are there better options?... “Dealing with climate change is a public necessity. Iowa should have a climate action plan. Without one, there is no public use for hazardous interstate pipelines and no case can be made to certify that granting eminent domain will result in public gain.”
National Observer: Canadians shouldn’t foot the bill for Big Oil’s costly carbon capture
Laura Cameron is a policy adviser for IISD’s energy team working in the areas of fossil fuel subsidies, just transition and oil and gas policy in Canada, 10/10/23
“The fossil fuel industry players are lining up at the carbon capture buffet, but they’ve left their wallets at home. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” Laura Cameron writes for the National Observer. “Oil and gas companies are looking for the public to foot the bill for carbon capture and storage (CCS) to allow the sector to reduce emissions while shirking the risk of the investment. And governments are buying in. Federal and provincial governments have so far committed more than $12 billion to carbon capture, with Alberta poised to release a new incentive program for the technology in the coming months. With all those tax dollars flowing toward CCS, it's vital that we evaluate whether those funds are being well spent… “Oil and gas companies are proposing that carbon capture and storage can do the heavy lifting — at the cost to the taxpayer — while enabling them to increase production. But the track record of CCS does not indicate it’s up for the task. CCS technology has been slow to develop. There are only 30 commercial carbon capture and storage projects operating globally, with the seven in Canada capturing less than two per cent of the sector’s emissions. In the majority of these projects, the carbon that is captured is injected into declining oilfields to actually increase oil production. The technology has also faced stubbornly high costs… “Oilsands producers in the Pathways Alliance claim the technology is nearing a turning point and with more public investment, it will become economical and scalable. But given the complexity, the need to tailor the technology and the relatively few potential CCS projects in the oilsands, it is unlikely that economies of scale could be reached that would allow costs to drop significantly… “Given the poor track record and high cost of CCS in the oil and gas sector to date, governments should think twice about their support for this technology… “As it stands, we are setting the table for oil and gas companies to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to emissions reductions… “Ultimately, oil and gas companies should be funding their own emissions reductions given their outsized contributions to, and profits from, the primary source of the climate crisis… “Regulations like a strong cap on oil and gas sector emissions can ensure companies own up to their fair share of reductions, via CCS or otherwise, without expecting taxpayers to pick up the tab.”