EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/20/23
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: FERC approves wave of gas projects as Democrats fume
Reuters: U.S. FERC approves expansion of TC Energy's GTN XPress Project
Courthouse News Service: Feds accused of rubber-stamping after latest of pipeline expansion approvals
Common Dreams: Local Leaders, Climate Groups Blast FERC Approval of Fracked Gas Pipeline Expansion
Bloomberg: Manchin Vows Mountain Valley Pipeline Completion After Delays Announced
Des Moines Register: Summit pushes back start date for carbon pipeline two years, citing regulatory hurdles
Chicago Tribune: Following setbacks for carbon dioxide pipeline proposal, Navigator CO2 lays off employees
CityNews Montreal: Protestors demand closure of the 9B oil pipeline, owned by Enbridge
Press release: Commission of the CER recommends approval for the NEBC Connector Project with 49 conditions
Guardian: ‘Very disturbing’: crackdown on oil pipeline protests in Uganda concerns UN rights expert
Pipeline Technology Journal: Germany Launches the First Conversion of Natural Gas Pipeline to Transport Hydrogen
Coldwater Daily Reporter: Crews continue to remove contaminated soil following pipeline break
KFVS: Gas pipeline leak in Scott City contained
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Dems mount effort to restore wetland protections
Utility Dive: Groups blast fossil fuel focus of DOE hydrogen hub selections
E&E News: BOEM Chief Defends 5-Year Plan To Angry Republicans
Reuters: Alaska Sues Biden Administration Over Canceled Arctic Oil And Gas Leases
STATE UPDATES
FracTracker: ANNOUNCING THE 2023 COMMUNITY SENTINEL AWARDS
Capital and Main: California Lets Companies Keep ‘Dangerous’ Oil Wells Unplugged Forever
Energy News Network: Ohio oil and gas industry accident data boost worries about drilling under state parks
EXTRACTION
Newsweek: Why the Rockefellers Are Spending Their Oil Fortune to End Fossil Fuels
Canadian Press: Report suggests carbon capture key to net-zero electricity, but federal timelines too tight
Yale Climate Connections: What’s the deal with carbon capture and storage?
Washington Post: A lake is filled with oil. Thousands donated their hair to help soak it up.
CLIMATE FINANCE
As You Sow: New Analysis Shows Federal Employees Have $35.3 Billion Invested in Fossil Fuels
Reuters: Canada court ruling on key environmental law risks deterring investments
DeSmog: 95 UK Universities That Have Pledged to Divest from Oil and Gas Use Banks Funding Climate Crisis
OPINION
National Observer: Trudeau is building a pipeline the world doesn’t need
Nonprofit Quarterly: The Risks of Carbon Capture
Forbes: Gavin Newsom Could Declare Climate Change A Public Health Emergency
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: FERC approves wave of gas projects as Democrats fume
Jason Plautz, Zach Bright, 10/20/23
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a controversial natural gas pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday, despite opposition from Democrats who said the project would imperil their states’ climate goals,” E&E News reports. “The $335 million Gas Transmission Northwest XPress Project from TC Energy was one of several natural gas projects approved by FERC at its monthly meeting. Commissioners also advanced the Plaquemines LNG terminal project in Louisiana, as well as a new rule to protect grid reliability amid an influx of renewable resources… “Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) told E&E that the GTN Xpress decision showed that FERC was a “completely captured agency” that is “one huge rubber stamp” for fossil fuel projects. Merkley told E&E he intends to hold conversations in Congress about changing FERC, which is an independent commission whose members are appointed by presidents and confirmed by senators. “I think they need to be scrapped so we can start over with an agency that actually exists in sync with our need to take on climate change,” Merkley told E&E. “If our national policy is that we are going to take on climate change, we have to dump an agency that greenlights fossil fuel project after fossil fuel project.” “...Merkley — along with Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) — sent a letter this week asking FERC to reject the project, citing the climate impacts, potential safety risks and a lack of consultation with tribes. In previous comments on the pipeline docket, the attorneys general of California, Oregon and Washington said FERC had not done enough to evaluate the pipeline’s climate change impacts by not accounting for emissions associated with natural gas after it is shipped. “It’s just inconsistent with what the West Coast is doing in trying to develop a clean energy economy,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) told E&E in an interview Thursday. “It strikes right at the heart of our West Coast plans.” Speaking to reporters after the meeting, FERC acting Chair Willie Phillips said that the commission understood the concerns but had to “act on the record.” There was nothing in the agency’s environmental review, he said, that indicated the project would “significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions” since there were agreements to purchase all gas going through the pipeline.” “...I’m proud of the fact that I’m chairman of FERC. I’m proud of the fact that we’re doing the work that we’re doing. I’m also proud of the fact that I have the support of the Congressional Black Caucus to continue this work,” Phillips said to reporters after Thursday’s meeting. “And that’s all I have to say about it.”
Reuters: U.S FERC approves expansion of TC Energy's GTN XPress Project
10/19/23
“The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday granted permission for GTN XPress Project, enabling TC Energy's Gas Transmission Northwest LLC (GTN) LLC to add an extra 150,000 dekatherms per day of firm transportation service to its mainline system,” Reuters reports. "The federal government has finally begun making tremendous climate investments under the Inflation Reduction Act, but this decision essentially digs the hole deeper and locks in long-term capital investments that prevent us from reaching our national and state goals," Washington Governor Jay Inslee told Reuters, referring to the FERC approval. The project will lead to damage of $8.8 million and will contribute 1.9 million metric tons of carbon per year in pollution to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley told Reuters.
Courthouse News Service: Feds accused of rubber-stamping after latest of pipeline expansion approvals
JOE DODSON, 10/19/23
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Thursday the approval of two polarizing gas pipeline projects in Southern Louisiana and the Pacific Northwest,” Courthouse News Service reports. “The approvals allow Venture Global to increase the construction of its Plaquemines liquified natural gas project and to expand the Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline that connects fracked methane from Canada to the Pacific Northwest and California… “A Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf report estimates that the total greenhouse emissions from burning the fracked gas at the terminal would be roughly equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 42 coal plants or 35.8 million cars… "Now is not the time for the Biden Administration to rubber stamp an abusive company that has continued to stress the municipal water supply, even in the midst of this crisis," Louisiana Bucket Brigade Director Anne Rolfs told CNS. "The clear course of action is to stop construction of Plaquemines LNG and tend to the water crisis there. People — not a giant corporation — should be prioritized." "...Plaquemines LNG is a prime example of environmental racism and injustice," Jessi Parfait, Louisiana field manager for Sierra Club, told CNS. "With Plaquemines LNG and the inevitability of more hurricanes, FERC, Venture Global and all those investing in this project are ensuring that vulnerable communities will be displaced from their homes. Louisiana deserves so much better than this." “...Attorney Audrey Leonard of Columbia Riverkeeper told CNS the organization planned on filing a petition for rehearing challenging the project. "FERC failed to listen to senators, governors, state attorneys general, tribes and the public in its rubber stamp of unnecessary fracked gas in the Northwest," Leonard told CNS. "The commission's decision violates the public interest and common sense."
Common Dreams: Local Leaders, Climate Groups Blast FERC Approval of Fracked Gas Pipeline Expansion
JESSICA CORBETT, 10/19/23
“Elected officials and environmental advocates in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday condemned U.S. regulators for greenlighting a Canadian company's fracked gas pipeline expansion project despite the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency,” Common Dreams reports. “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved TC Energy's Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) XPress Project, which would upgrade compressor stations in Kootenai County, Idaho; Sherman County, Oregon; and Walla Walla County, Washington. "Today's decision by FERC flies in the face of what is morally and economically necessary to protect our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change," declared Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee… “Advocacy groups are also determined to prevent the expansion. "FERC failed to listen to senators, governors, state attorneys general, tribes, and the public in its rubber stamp of unnecessary fracked gas in the Northwest," stressed Columbia Riverkeeper staff attorney Audrey Leonard. "The commission's decision violates the public interest and common sense, and we will file a petition for rehearing challenging this project." "Since the analysis for this project was published, two major TC Energy pipelines have failed, causing safety hazards and spilling fossil fuel," Leonard noted. "If this were to happen in dry, rural, fire-prone lands or in the residential areas where TC Energy's GTN pipeline is located, it would be catastrophic." Satya Austin-Opper of 350 Deschutes in Oregon stressed that "the GTN Xpress proposal would lock in a huge new influx of fracked gas for decades at the very moment that our communities are experiencing accelerated climate change impacts such as frequent drought and summers of smoke." "And this pipeline runs right through our community," Austin-Opper continued, also noting the company's recent history. "I'm worried about how devastating the impact would be if the pipeline were to fail, which is certainly a possibility given the unsafe track record of TC Energy's other aging pipelines."
Bloomberg: Manchin Vows Mountain Valley Pipeline Completion After Delays Announced
Ari Natter, 10/19/23
“West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin vowed the Mountain Valley Pipeline would be completed after the project’s owner Equitrans Midstream Corp. announced new delays and cost overruns for the controversial project,” Bloomberg reports. “It will be built,” Manchin, who inserted language approving the beleaguered project into a must-pass debt law, told Bloomberg. “The quicker we can get this done, that is going to help our country.” Equitrans shares fell as much as 8.2% Thursday after the company said in a filing the prior day that “unforeseen factors” led it to change its estimated completion of the 300-mile pipeline to the first quarter of 2024, later than its earlier forecast of year-end 2023. The company also said the total project cost was expected to be $7.2 billion, a $600 million increase over previous estimates. In its filing, Equitrans said part of the delay was caused by “heightened environmental protocols,” as well as challenging terrain and geology, and difficulty hiring workers for the project which has been the subject of several court-related construction stops.”
Des Moines Register: Summit pushes back start date for carbon pipeline two years, citing regulatory hurdles
Donnelle Eller, 10/19/23
“Summit Carbon Solutions says it's pushing back its timeline to begin operating a $5.5 billion carbon capture pipeline across Iowa and four other states, citing regulatory hurdles and environmental and landowner opposition,” the Des Moines Register reports. “Summit said Thursday it doesn't expect the 2,000-mile pipeline will become operational until 2026, two years later than it initially projected. Bloomberg first reported the delay Wednesday, quoting Bruce Rastetter, CEO of Summit Agricultural Group, the company that spun off the Ames-based pipeline business. Summit spokeswoman Sabrina Zenor told the Register Thursday the company remains committed to the project and will continue to "work with regulatory bodies to find a path through our five states." Summit has "voluntary agreements along nearly 75% of our proposed route," Zenor said in an email… “The North Dakota Public Service Commission in its August denial of Summit’s pipeline permit request said the company had failed to meet "its burden of proof" to show the pipeline's location, construction and operation would have minimal adverse impact on the state's environment and residents… “In September, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission rejected Summit’s permit request because it was unable to meet setback requirements adopted by four counties there. Summit initially sought to override the local ordinances but withdrew the request after regulators denied a similar request from a competitor, Navigator CO2 Ventures… “Wally Taylor, an attorney for the Sierra Club's Iowa Chapter, told the Register he believes Summit underestimated the opposition it would run into in Iowa and other states. On Wednesday, Taylor sought to open a new front in the battle, asking the Iowa District Court in Polk County to review an Iowa Department of Natural Resources decision in May to grant Summit a permit to withdraw 55.9 million gallons annually from the Devonian Limestone aquifer in Chickasaw County… “The Sierra Club says it's concerned about the amount of water Summit and other carbon capture pipelines will seek to withdraw from Iowa's aquifers. Summit has a second permit request pending for nearly 28 million gallons a year from an aquifer in northwest Iowa… “Taylor said in the filing that the Iowa DNR failed to consider whether Summit's use of the water would be a beneficial use for Iowa residents. He asks that the water withdrawal permit be revoked.”
Chicago Tribune: Following setbacks for carbon dioxide pipeline proposal, Navigator CO2 lays off employees
Nara Schoenberg, 10/19/23
“In the wake of a major setback in South Dakota, Navigator CO2 — the company that wants to build a controversial 1,350-mile carbon dioxide pipeline through five states including Illinois — has laid off some workers,” the Chicago Tribune reports. “Omaha-based Navigator CO2 released only a brief statement that did not say how many people were laid off or exactly when… “In September, South Dakota regulators dealt Navigator a serious blow by denying the company’s application to build part of the pipeline there. After that, Navigator paused its application to build in Iowa. Then, on Oct. 10, Navigator withdrew its application to build in Illinois, where the Illinois Commerce Commission had been considering whether to allow construction and eminent domain, in which land can be seized for public use… “The Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, which includes Illinois landowners and environmentalists, responded by calling for a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipeline construction until state regulations are in place and the federal government completes new safety rules, which are expected next year. “Make no mistake — Navigator is reassessing their project, but they’re not going away, and we will not go down without a fight,” Citizens Against Heartland Greenway Pipeline board member Steve Hess said in a written statement at the time. “While we await federal regulations from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and state regulations on (carbon capture and storage) projects from the Illinois General Assembly, a temporary moratorium on CO2 pipelines is critical in order to protect Illinoisans, our land, and our water.” The Illinois application withdrawal is the latest twist in a two-year, multistate battle in which farmers and other landowners have pushed back hard against the prospect of underground pipes carrying a potentially suffocating gas… “But Navigator opponents point out that CO2 has never been stored underground at this scale before, and they have voiced concerns about crop yields, property values and personal safety. When a CO2 pipeline ruptured near Satartia, Mississippi, in 2020, releasing a cloud of invisible gas, there were reports of breathing problems, confusion and loss of consciousness.”
CityNews Montreal: Protestors demand closure of the 9B oil pipeline, owned by Enbridge
Tina Tenneriello, 10/19/23
“Concerned citizens from across Quebec worried about the environmental destruction caused by the Enbridge 9B pipeline launched a campaign today,” CityNews Montreal reports. “Activists from the “Le vivant se defend” campaign — The Living Defends Itself campaign – warn the government of increased civil disobedience if nothing is done to shut the pipeline down. “Enbridge 9B is a very old pipeline,” Katherine Massam, one of the citizens protesting Thursday, told CityNews. “It’s nearly 50 years old. It runs through the village where I live, so I share my drinking water with that pipeline. It’s also a carbon bomb, so since it was opened in 1975, it has emitted so much carbon. It’s the equivalent of 300 Hiroshima bombs. So the government of Canada is promising to reduce greenhouse gases, but so far their action has been extremely limited.” The Living Defends Itself campaign to close pipeline 9b, is being launched exactly one year after activists blocked the Valero oil terminal in Montreal East for 24 hours. They want the public to understand the issues concerning this pipeline, such as the threat to drinking water and its indisputable role in the worsening of the climate crisis. They also want to see an immediate reduction in the amount of oil circulating there and a clear plan for its complete closure… “By this day, on October 19th, 2024, they say they want an announcement for a plan to close the pipeline. If that doesn’t happen, they say they will increase their non-violent civil disobedience.”
Press release: Commission of the CER recommends approval for the NEBC Connector Project with 49 conditions
10/18/23
“Today, the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) recommended approval of NorthRiver Midstream’s NEBC Connector Project. The project involves constructing and operating two parallel, 215-kilometre (km) natural gas liquids pipelines from B.C. to Alberta. The Commission recognized the unique context of this project meant things needed to be done differently. The court case Yahey v British Columbia, the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the CER’s commitment to Reconciliation all influenced the design of the hearing process.. “As a part of its application, NorthRiver acknowledged the existence of significant adverse cumulative effects in the project area and committed to implementing measures to offset the project’s contribution to cumulative effects… “The 49 conditions are related to construction, safety, environmental protection, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, offsets, employment and monitoring. The incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and engagement with potentially affected Indigenous Peoples is a key feature of many conditions, helping mitigate the project’s impacts on Indigenous and treaty rights. The CER Act requires that the Commission’s recommendation report be submitted to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. The Minister will then take the recommendation report to the Governor in Council, who will decide whether or not to direct the Commission to issue a certificate.”
Guardian: ‘Very disturbing’: crackdown on oil pipeline protests in Uganda concerns UN rights expert
Nina Lakhani, 10/19/23
“In mid-September, four dozen university students marched through Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, to deliver a petition to parliament calling on the government to end fossil fuel investments and scrap the 900-mile east Africa crude oil pipeline (Eacop),” the Guardian reports. “The young climate activists were led by 29-year-old Abduh Twaib Magambo, an environmental science student, who carried the two-page typewritten petition that said: “As students and young people of this country, we are the direct and major victims of [the] climate crisis living in a country that is among the most affected by climate change yet one of the least prepared to respond and tackle its effects. “Parliament should put people over profit for our survival and future to rely on a healthy planet free from fossil fuels.” Police officers refused to let them enter parliament. Most were chased away, but four male students were corralled under a table near the main entrance, where they say police kicked and punched them, and beat them with wood. After the beatings, the students were handcuffed and taken to a police station, where they say officers accused them of having been paid to protest against the pipeline. The four students spent the weekend in one of the city’s most notorious and overcrowded prisons, before being charged with public nuisance and released on bail. “Young people are the majority in our country and we are the most vulnerable to the climate crisis. But anyone rising up against Eacop is facing the brutal wrath of the regime,” Magambo, who suffered a dislocated ankle and damage to his left eardrum, told the Guardian. “It is a laughable case, but they want to keep us busy in court so that we can’t organize and protest. But we have to join the global community’s fight against fossil fuels.” Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders, condemned the arrests as “very disturbing”. The French fossil fuel company TotalEnergies, which owns almost two-thirds of Eacop, told the Guardian it was unaware of “any allegations by human rights and environmental defenders of threats or retaliation made by its subsidiary, contractors or employees in Uganda or Tanzania”. Last month’s arrests were the latest in a wave of criminal charges and other judicial harassment against activists and organizations, raising concerns about the environmental and social impacts of the east African pipeline – which is one of the largest fossil fuel projects under construction in the world.”
Pipeline Technology Journal: Germany Launches the First Conversion of Natural Gas Pipeline to Transport Hydrogen
10/19/23
“German gas grid operator Open Grid Europe (OGE) and Nowega have launched the first conversion of natural gas pipeline to transport hydrogen, OGE announced through a press release,” Pipeline Technology Journal reports. “...Frank Heunemann, managing director of Nowega, also emphasized the benefits of retrofitting existing pipelines to accommodate hydrogen, emphasizing the speed and cost-effectiveness of the project. "These projects show that cooperation among transmission system operators works and that together we can build a high-performance hydrogen network," Heunemann told the Journal… “This conversion will facilitate future connections to the hydrogen supply for numerous industrial and SME customers… “Nowega plans to convert another pipeline, running from Lingen to Bad Bentheim, to hydrogen beginning in November 2023. Recently, the company began constructing a new pipeline in Lingen, intending to bridge gaps in the hydrogen infrastructure.”
Coldwater Daily Reporter: Crews continue to remove contaminated soil following pipeline break
Don Reid, 10/19/23
“Bell Road, the site of a Tuesday break in a 10-inch BP petroleum line, will remain closed until at least Oct. 27,” the Coldwater Daily Reporter reports. “Crews are continuing to remove contamination from the 8,4000 gallons of gasoline that leaked into the soil, Branch County Administrator Bud Norman said Thursday. Removal of the materials from the farm field continued Thursday, with the supervision transferring from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. “Soil sampling and removal will continue,” Norman told the Reporter. “Current estimates are the line will be repaired early next week.” The removed soil contaminated with hydrocarbons will go to the Heritage Thermal Treatment Services in East Liverpool, Ohio, for burning. Non-contaminated material will go to this area’s Republic Services-regulated landfill for burial as non-hazardous material. The leak area is approximately 30-feet-by-50-feet on the 70-acre farm track owned by Randy Taylor and David Counterman west of Bell Road. Officials told the Reporter air monitoring and private drinking water well assessments will continue for at least two days… “The line was constructed and installed in 1953 and delivers three million gallons of gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel daily between the BP Whiting, Indiana refinery to a terminal on the River Rouge.”
KFVS: Gas pipeline leak in Scott City contained
Josh Seabaugh, 10/19/23
“Scott City firefighters responded to a large gas pipeline leak on Thursday night, October 19,” KFVS reports. “...Ameren UE crews were also on the scene working to contain the leak. The fire department later announced an all clear on their Facebook page, saying Ameren UE was able to contain the gas leak.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Dems mount effort to restore wetland protections
E.A. Crunden, 10/18/23
“More than 100 House Democrats are marking the anniversary of the nation's landmark water law with a push to restore wetlands protections in the aftermath of a landmark Supreme Court decision,” E&E News reports. “Lawmakers and advocates gathered Wednesday to unveil the "Clean Water Act of 2023" and rage against the fallout from Sackett v. EPA, which gutted protections for most of the nation's wetlands. Under the new legislation, Congress would clarify the scope of "protected water resources" under the original Clean Water Act with the intent of mitigating Sackett's impact. The effort is led by Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment ranking member Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) and Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.). Speaking to reporters in front of the Capitol, they raged against the Supreme Court ruling and appealed for restoring federal oversight of wetlands nationwide. "When the Supreme Court gets it wrong, it's Congress' job to clean up the mess," said Napolitano. "And we will."
Utility Dive: Groups blast fossil fuel focus of DOE hydrogen hub selections
Emma Penrod, 10/17/23
“Environmental organizations and think tanks criticized the Department of Energy’s selection of multiple hydrogen hubs that plan to use fossil fuels as a feedstock for hydrogen production,” Utility Dive reports. “The majority of the hubs selected by the DOE will use a variety of hydrogen production strategies instead of excluding methods that generate carbon emissions. In addition, the selection of several hubs in the Midwest at the exclusion of the Northeast and Southeast surprised Frank Wolak, president and CEO of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association… “The seven hydrogen hubs selected by the DOE were chosen in part because they are in areas where historically disadvantaged populations have been “sacrificed” for the production of fossil fuels, Shalanda Baker, director of the DOE’s Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, said during a Monday webinar. Each of the hubs will be required to create a plan that ensures 40% of the benefits associated with being a hub will accrue to these historically marginalized communities… “The DOE said on Monday that two-thirds of the hydrogen produced in the hubs will come from renewable resources. But plans to employ a mix of fossil-based production methods could increase carbon emissions from the hubs, NRDC’s Budden told Utility Dive… “Some environmentalists also oppose the use of existing clean energy resources like hydropower or nuclear energy to make hydrogen for fear this additional demand for electricity will extend the use of fossil fuels for power generation. Budden told Utility Dive the NRDC was disappointed to see that many of the hubs plan to rely on these resources.”
E&E News: BOEM Chief Defends 5-Year Plan To Angry Republicans
Heather Richards, 10/19/23
“Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Liz Klein bore the brunt of Republican criticism Wednesday of the administration’s offshore drilling plan,” E&E News reports. “A House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing was the first since the administration released a proposed five-year plan with three potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico between 2025 and 2029 — the smallest such plan in U.S. history. Klein, sitting side by side with witnesses critical of the administration’s energy and environment agenda, tried to rebut GOP claims about the administration’s stance on drilling. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), chair of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, said the five-year plan is the latest example of the administration’s willingness to cede fossil fuel dominance to other countries. “The magnitude of global demand for oil and gas calls for something much more substantial than three lease sales,” he said. “Instead of American energy dominance this administration would rather beg Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries for increased oil production.”
Reuters: Alaska Sues Biden Administration Over Canceled Arctic Oil And Gas Leases
Clark Mindock, 10/18/23
“An Alaska state agency on Wednesday sued the Biden administration over its decision to cancel oil and gas leases in the state’s North Slope, one of the country’s largest reserves of pristine federal land,” Reuters reports. “The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenges the U.S. Interior Department’s Sept. 6 decision to scrap seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s 19 million-acre (7.7 million-hectare) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area that is acutely vulnerable to climate change and home to grizzly and polar bears, snowy owls and herds of caribou. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, which held the leases before they were canceled, is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to restore them, arguing the federal government’s decision violates a clear Congressional mandate in a 2017 tax bill to open up the Arctic to drilling. “The federal government is determined to strip away Alaska’s ability to support itself, and we have got to stop it,”’ said Republican Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy in a statement.”
STATE UPDATES
FracTracker: ANNOUNCING THE 2023 COMMUNITY SENTINEL AWARDS
10/18/23
“Established in 2015, the Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship is an annual award presented by FracTracker Alliance and Halt the Harm Network to honor the leadership of remarkable individuals working to protect communities from the harms of the fossil fuel industry. Now in its ninth year, we are delighted to once again honor the fight for environmental and social justice with the 2023 Community Sentinel Awards for Environmental Stewardship… “In an outpouring of support for grassroots leaders across the country, we received over 40 distinct nominations for the 2023 Community Sentinel Award this year. Though it was a challenging decision, our distinguished panel of judges have selected five award winners, and we’re thrilled to introduce them to you… “Gillian Graber, from Harrison City, Pennsylvania, is the executive director and co-founder of Protect Penn-Trafford (Protect PT), a grassroots community-based nonprofit established in 2014 to protect residents of Pennsylvania’s Westmoreland and Allegheny counties from the impacts of fossil fuel activity. Debra Ramirez, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, is an activist and founding member of Mossville Environmental Action Now. Her environmental activism began in the 1980s after Condea Vista (SASOL) announced that ethylene dichloride (EDC), a suspected human carcinogen used in the production of PVC, leaked into the groundwater beneath the neighboring Mossville community. Sarah Martik, from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, is the executive director of the Center for Coalfield Justice (CCJ), where she began working as a community organizer in 2017. Maury Johnson, from Greenville, West Virginia, is a member of the Board of Directors of Preserve Monroe (WV) and WV Co-Chair of the Protect Our Water & Heritage Rights (POWHR) Coalition. Maury, a southern West Virginia landowner whose organic farm has been impacted by the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), has been fighting the MVP and other harmful projects across West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina for over eight years. anaïs peterson (no pronouns), from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a petrochemicals campaigner with Earthworks. Each winner receives $1,000 and the award, and will be recognized at the 2023 Community Sentinel Awards Ceremony.”
Capital and Main: California Lets Companies Keep ‘Dangerous’ Oil Wells Unplugged Forever
Aaron Cantú, 10/18/23
“A new California law just signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to close loopholes that have allowed oil drillers to walk away from wells that are no longer profitable but remain harmful,” Capital and Main reports. “Oil majors have typically sold wells to smaller companies without paying to plug the wells, essentially sealing them off. Under the new law, buyers will have to put up a cleanup bond before regulators approve the sale. But while the Orphan Well Prevention Act will help reduce the number of abandoned and orphaned wells — currently around 5,300 — industry watchers said it does little to address the looming issue of wells that remain dormant indefinitely, some of which leak climate-warming methane and toxic fumes. About 38,800 wells in California are idle, meaning they’re unplugged but claimed by an operator; thousands more are barely producing and could be idled. Despite the health and climate risks, the state lets companies keep them that way. For a few hundred dollars a year, the California Geologic Energy Management agency, or CalGEM, allows drillers to leave wells uncapped rather than paying to plug them. As they remain unplugged, the wells put low-income, mostly Latino communities at risk of air pollution, and any greenhouse gases the wells emit contribute to the climate crisis. The agency reasons that companies might start producing oil from the wells again. But that doesn’t often happen, according to a report by Carbon Tracker Initiative, a London-based think tank. Thirty-nine percent of all wells in the state are idle; half haven’t produced oil in at least 15 years. More than 1,200 have been idle for longer than a century.”
Energy News Network: Ohio oil and gas industry accident data boost worries about drilling under state parks
Kathiann M. Kowalski, 10/19/23
“Public records show Ohio regulators log hundreds of incidents each year dealing with chemical releases related to the oil and gas industry,” Energy News Network reports. “Such events raise critics’ concerns about plans to drill for oil and gas under state-owned parks and wildlife areas. While most problems happen at rigs and wellheads, which will be outside the parks, critics say airborne releases of methane or other chemicals would not be limited to property boundaries. And they fear that runoff could reach groundwater or surface water sources for state parks and nearby areas. Jenny Morgan, a volunteer with the group Save Ohio Parks, told ENN she asked the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for public records after Rob Brundrett, president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, said in a radio appearance last month that environmental problems and safety-related events “are certainly isolated events” when considered in light of the amount of industrial activity over the past 13 years. Brundrett told the Energy News Network the state has nearly 63,000 oil and gas wells and thousands of miles of gas pipelines. And he focused on incidents that rose to the level of “major” or “severe” problems. Morgan told ENN the ODNR documents provide a very different perspective… “The ODNR spreadsheets sent to Morgan last week show approximately 1,530 incidents from the start of 2018 through Sept. 10 of this year.”
EXTRACTION
Newsweek: Why the Rockefellers Are Spending Their Oil Fortune to End Fossil Fuels
JEFF YOUNG, 10/19/23
“When the Rockefeller Foundation launched a high-profile campaign last month to support climate solutions, the move gained attention for two reasons: the $1 billion-plus size of the pledge and the name attached to it,” Newsweek reports. “The Rockefeller name has been synonymous with the oil industry since John D. Rockefeller, Sr.'s Standard Oil Company became the dominant source of petroleum in the U.S. around the turn of the 20th century. Today, however, many of Rockefeller's heirs and the philanthropies they founded are using one of the world's most storied oil fortunes to help end the use of fossil fuels. "There is an irony to it," the Rockefeller Foundation's Joseph Curtin acknowledged in an interview with Newsweek, but he added that he sees a "logical consistency" in applying oil wealth to climate action. "I feel that we've an extra responsibility almost to address the climate change challenge on that basis." “...The new strategy will direct about 75 percent of the group's grants over the coming five years into climate action, all of it funded by a fortune that sprang from oil wellheads. "I see the Foundation's $1 billion climate solutions commitment as entirely consistent with John D. Rockefeller, Sr.'s philanthropic ideals," Rockefeller family member Daniel Growald told Newsweek in an email exchange… “Now that we know fossil fuels have "placed humanity on a collision course," he told Newsweek, it makes sense to direct the family wealth into solving problems that come from oil extraction. "Rather than being somehow wrong for money earned from oil to be used to fund a world beyond oil, it's what we should hope to see more of in society: That successive generations use their resources to correct harms only recently brought to awareness, and we evolve our goals in step with our consciousness," Growald wrote… "It was certainly, from my perspective, an act of courage to go directly at the source of the family's wealth, but it also came from a sense of responsibility," Rockefeller Family Fund Director Lee Wasserman told Newsweek. Exxon Mobil, perhaps more than any other oil company, has come under criticism not only for its greenhouse gas emissions but due to revelations about what the company knew about the impacts those emissions would have. That information is now public thanks, in part, to the Rockefeller family… “Scholarship supported by the Rockefeller Family Fund helped to disclose how Exxon kept secret its own internal science on the coming effects of climate change and worked to obfuscate public knowledge about climate change… “A third major Rockefeller philanthropy, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, has been investing in clean energy and climate action for more than a decade… “One frequent grant recipient is the climate activist group 350.org, which was co-founded by environmental journalist Bill McKibben in 2008… "I think they understood from the start the power of their name to help people understand the necessity of this transition," McKibben told Newsweek via email… "I remember thinking, the oldest oil fortune on Earth has decided that oil is not the future in any way; we're getting somewhere," McKibben told Newsweek.
Canadian Press: Report suggests carbon capture key to net-zero electricity, but federal timelines too tight
Amanda Stephenson, 10/19/23
“Carbon capture and storage is key to greening Canada’s electricity grid, but meeting the proposed time frame laid out by the federal government will be extremely difficult based on the current state of the technology, according to a new report,” the Canadian Press reports. “...But Thursday’s report from the Regina-based International CCUS Knowledge Centre urges the federal government to rethink the emissions intensity limits for carbon capture-abated power plants laid out in its draft clean electricity regulations. The draft regulations currently state that after 2035, fossil fuel-driven power plants will have to meet an emissions performance standard of no more than 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt of electricity produced per year. That means to be compliant, natural gas-fired power plants would need to achieve a nearly 95 per cent CO2 capture rate, said Beth Valiaho, the CCUS Knowledge Centre’s vice-president of policy, regulatory and stakeholder relations. She added no carbon capture facility in the world is currently achieving that level of performance. SaskPower’s Boundary Dam, for example — the only large-scale carbon capture facility currently installed on a power plant in Canada — has a capture rate of 65 to 70 per cent… “It doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” Valiaho told CP, adding many carbon capture technology vendors believe a 95 per cent capture rate is technically achievable. “I think there is a future state where this works at that kind of high level, but, you know, there’s not one operating continuously in the world right now with that type of performance.” “...But she told CP if the federal requirements are too strict, and power generators have doubt about whether the standards are achievable, they may choose not to invest in carbon capture at all.”
Yale Climate Connections: What’s the deal with carbon capture and storage?
CAMERON OGLESBY, 10/20/23
“Is carbon capture and storage a needed tool to get us to the clean energy future or a costly distraction that will delay the fight against climate change? That massive debate between environmental groups, industry groups, and government officials has heated up since the passage of the Democrat’s Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, in 2022, featuring an expansion of tax credits for the technology,” Yale Climate Connections reports. “The state of carbon capture is sort of on a cusp,” Basav Sen, director of the Climate Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., told Yale. “Proponents are gearing up for a massive expansion of the industry, but opponents see this as the moment to stop it for good.” Does CCS work? Your answer often depends on your definition of success. Proponents believe it will prevent carbon from entering the atmosphere, cutting emissions from fossil fuel operations and energy-intensive industries such as cement and steel that are hard to electrify. Opponents say carbon capture is an overhyped and ineffective distraction that often fails to meet its targets and will delay the phaseout of fossil fuels while depleting groundwater supplies. They say money spent on the technology could be better spent on renewable energy, conservation, and other methods of cutting emissions that are more effective, if less profitable for some big corporations… “Sen and Kendall Dix, the national policy director at Taproot Earth, a nonprofit focused on climate justice, pointed to several underperforming systems that have been notorious with opponents. The Gorgon Project, a liquefied natural gas terminal in Western Australia spearheaded by oil giant Chevron, has consistently failed to deliver the capture rates that were promised to the Australian government… “CCS is energy and water-intensive. “We are in a time of growing water scarcity because of climate change,” Sen told Yale. It also adds to the already growing demand for electricity, and “that’s really going to strain out the grid.” There are also technical concerns about the ability to keep the carbon in the ground and potential geological and groundwater impacts. Dix added that any emissions reductions from carbon capture systems could be negated by burning the fossil fuels to keep them running… “Thorny issues also remain for a related technology, direct air capture, which extracts carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere rather than capturing it at a power plant or other pollution source. Because CO2 is more diluted in the atmosphere than in emissions from, say, a natural gas plant, critics contend it will be difficult for the technology to reduce pollution at the necessary scale… “They’re really using the Gulf South as an experiment,” Dix told Yale. “Carbon capture at this stage in its development is definitely a false solution. It might always be a false solution. We just haven’t seen it work yet; we haven’t seen the impacts addressed to frontline communities.”
Washington Post: A lake is filled with oil. Thousands donated their hair to help soak it up.
María Luisa Paúl, 10/20/23
“For years, Selene Estrach has seen how Venezuela’s crumbling oil industry has taken a toll on Lake Maracaibo, one of the world’s largest and oldest lakes. Once a symbol of the country’s oil wealth, its waters are now coated with iridescent slicks and swirls of neon green algae blooms that can be seen from space,” the Washington Post reports. “The pollution is the product of decaying machinery and ruptures in a network of nearly 16,000 miles of underwater pipelines. Though oil slicks are common in Lake Maracaibo, which contains one of one of the planet’s largest known oil and gas reserves, experts and environmental groups have warned that years of mismanagement and a crippled oil industry have left a constant stream of crude oil oozing into the water. Yet little has been done to clean up the lake, which is home to endangered species such as pink river dolphins and manatees. In recent years, officials have downplayed the pollution as “a visual matter” or “not a big deal.” That’s why Estrach, a 28-year-old environmental activist, was determined to find a way to help. She founded Proyecto Sirena, a national network of activists dedicated to saving the lake using an unorthodox, yet bountiful, material. Hair. She got the idea in July while scouring the internet for easy, cost-effective and sustainable solutions for the pollution marring Lake Maracaibo. She saw that Matter of Truth, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, had used human locks 22 years ago to help soak up a spill off the coast of the Galápagos Islands. Since then, the project had been replicated across the globe… “Since founding Proyecto Sirena — a play on the Spanish words for mermaid and emergency siren, Estrach said her car is constantly filled with bags of donated human and pet hair. Across Venezuela, more volunteers are holding haircut drives that have brought in thousands of people.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
As You Sow: New Analysis Shows Federal Employees Have $35.3 Billion Invested in Fossil Fuels
10/19/23
“A new analysis from As You Sow of the Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which manages $725 billion in retirement savings for six million participants, found over $35 billion invested in coal, oil, and gas companies. Just ten oil and gas majors, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips, account for $9.7 billion invested. The analysis, which focuses on the equity and target date options provided in the TSP, rated all but one as earning a “D” or “F” grade for their exposure to fossil fuel companies, with some exposures as high as 10%. “If the TSP continues to ignore climate risk, plan participants could face financial losses from stranded assets and other climate-related financial risks,” said As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar. “The federal government should be protecting its employees’ nest-egg savings from the economic consequences of climate change, not sweeping this risk under the rug.” Institutional investors across the world have recognized the need to reduce investments in the companies most responsible for climate change. Some 1,500 institutions representing more than $40 trillion in assets have committed to reducing exposure to investments in high-carbon industries. This includes retirement savings systems: The University of California (UC) removed all companies that own fossil fuel reserves from the UC Retirement Savings on the basis that “the fossil fuel industry faces considerable long-term financial risk,” and that removing such companies “will have a positive financial and risk-reducing impact on fund performance in the long run.” “...While the TSP faces legal barriers to fully addressing climate risk in the offered fund options, there are steps to safeguard workers' savings. “A significant proportion of TSP fund assets are managed by BlackRock and State Street, who routinely vote the fund’s shares,” said Behar. “The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board’s fiduciary duty compels it to ensure that its chosen asset managers are voting in a way that minimizes climate-related financial risk.”
Reuters: Canada court ruling on key environmental law risks deterring investments
Nia Williams and Divya Rajagopal, 10/19/23
“A Canadian court ruling that voided most of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's environmental assessment law for resource projects has sparked fresh policy uncertainty and risks deterring investments, company and industry executives said,” Reuters reports. “...The prospect of further policy changes risks unnerving investors and industry executives urged Ottawa to amend the legislation quickly. "We haven't gotten any sort of concern from investors yet, but I think if the uncertainty draws out in terms of how they're going to move forward, then that could start to have an impact,” Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel Company (CNC.V), whose proposed Crawford Nickel Project in northeastern Ontario is going through the IAA process, told Reuters… “Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta, which brought the legal challenge against the IAA, celebrated the ruling as a win for provincial jurisdiction and natural resource development. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, an intervenor in the case, also said the law hindered project development… “The ruling comes as Canada seeks billions of dollars of fresh investments to unearth minerals that play key role in the transition to a greener economy. More than $20 billion in foreign capital has fled the oil patch since 2017, partly because of delays in building new pipelines.”
DeSmog: 95 UK Universities That Have Pledged to Divest from Oil and Gas Use Banks Funding Climate Crisis
Max Colberton, 10/19/23
“Almost 100 universities that have pledged to shed ties to the fossil fuel industry still bank with financial institutions that have collectively provided $419 billion (£345 billion) to polluting interests between 2016 and 2022,” DeSmog reports. “The new research, conducted by campaign group Make My Money Matter and obtained using Freedom of Information requests, shows that 95 universities still hold a bank account with one of five leading global fossil fuel funders: Barclays, HSBC, Santander, NatWest, and Lloyds. These banks have supplied billions in financing to Shell and BP, which this year scaled back their climate targets, as well as to other oil and gas firms such as ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies. Barclays was the bank of choice, used by nearly three quarters (73 percent) of the universities… “This story comes after DeSmog revealed earlier this month that UK universities have accepted £40.4 million in funding from fossil fuel companies since 2022. Students across Europe have protested at schools and universities since returning for the new academic year. In the UK, activists from Just Stop Oil have renewed their campaigning on campuses, targeting University College London, Birmingham, Sussex, Falmouth, and Exeter. Over 100 universities across the UK, representing 65 percent of the higher education sector, have pledged to divest from the fossil fuel industry since 2014. Over 50 are yet to make any public commitments… “Divesting from fossil fuels while banking with Barclays is hypocritical and performative,” Jo Campling, welfare and sustainability officer at Sheffield University Students’ Union, told DeSmog. “Universities claim they are striving for a better future by educating their students yet they continue to provide legitimacy to the financial institutions ignoring universities’ own scientists and driving us ever closer to irreversible climate breakdown.”
OPINION
National Observer: Trudeau is building a pipeline the world doesn’t need
Ross Belot, 10/20/23
“Ah, 2012: A time when the world seemed to belong to Canada. Foreign money flooded in, with capital spending in the oil and gas sector at $60 billion and the Canadian dollar — now a petrodollar — on par with the U.S.,” Ross Belot writes for the National Observer. “Pipeline projects were proposed willy-nilly: Keystone XL, 830,000 barrels per day(KBD); Energy East, 1.1 million barrels per day (MBD); and Northern Gateway, 525 KBD. We believed they were all needed because we imagined the oilsands would just get bigger and bigger. In that year and environment, Kinder Morgan proposed what seemed to be a visionary project, TMX, to triple its Trans Mountain pipeline capacity by an additional 590 KBD for a paltry $5-billion price tag. Costs to build TMX have now ballooned to $30 billion. Since then, all except the TMX project has been abandoned and we’re repeatedly told this has been an economic disaster for Canada. Isn’t that what our prime minister said when he bought Trans Mountain in 2018? “The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is a vital strategic interest to Canada. It will be built.” That’s been the narrative, but none of it has turned out to be true… “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is building a ridiculously expensive pipeline that will be obsolete by the time it opens… “There isn’t enough crude today to fill both TMX and the current system, and there will be even less in the future if the net-zero world unfolds. All TMX will do is rob barrels of oil out of the existing pipeline structure to the U.S., which is functioning well and still has room to expand. TMX is destined to be a white elephant monstrosity built by our government… “TMX is truly a lose-lose project. Its only chance of success is if the world fails to shift to clean energy and global net zero doesn’t happen, which will have far worse repercussions than just Trudeau’s really, really bad pipeline decision. A terrible idea just gets more terrible no matter how you look at it.”
Nonprofit Quarterly: The Risks of Carbon Capture
Victoria Holmes, 10/19/23
“Carbon capture, also known as carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon sequestration, is a process that captures carbon emissions from industrial processes or power plants and permanently stores it underground. The Global CCS Institute, a think tank dedicated to researching and developing the technology behind CCS, calls the technology a “game-changer” that can build a path to a “zero-carbon economy.” But it is not without risks,” Victoria Holmes writes for Nonprofit Quarterly. “While proponents of the technology say it can reduce the effects of carbon emissions and play a crucial role in combating climate change, environmental justice organizations are speaking out in Louisiana, one of the states where a number of these sites are being proposed. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) says that CCS allows the fossil fuel industry to skirt real responsibility on climate change; moreover, the state’s lack of oversight and accountability will create harmful impacts on communities already affected by environmental disasters… “While CCS is a proposed climate solution, there is pushback with the belief that the process is another ploy from Big Oil. Basav Sen, director of the Climate Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, told NQ CCS projects are advocated by the business interests of the fossil fuel industry, which continues to make money off of gas. “The push for carbon capture is really an attempt to reconcile continuing that business model with the imperative of having to cut greenhouse gas emission,” Sen told NQ. In other words, fossil fuel companies can say that they’re complying with environmental regulations without having to fundamentally change their high-emission business practices… “CCS is a money maker for the fossil fuel industry and approved by Congress under tax credit policies… “Harden believes that the proposed carbon injection sites are stalling efforts to transition away from oil and gas. The injection sites also curtail efforts such as DSCEJ’s “renewable portfolio standard,” which requires electricity supplied to a jurisdiction to come from renewable energy sources. The organization worked with the city of New Orleans to enact a requirement that by the year 2040, all sources of electricity supply into the city of New Orleans come from renewable and non-carbon sources of energy… “As of now, a holistic consideration for CCS is lacking and these projects come at the expense of already environmentally burdened communities. Environmental justice advocates continue to push back to protect those communities, and are making the case that these proposed “solutions” are anything but.”
Forbes: Gavin Newsom Could Declare Climate Change A Public Health Emergency
Jon McGowan is an attorney who writes about ESG policy, laws, and regulations, 10/18/23
“While organizations and activists continue to call climate change a global emergency and public health crisis, there has been little movement to issue an official declaration in the United States. As California Governor Gavin Newsom establishes himself as a leader in the area, he is positioned to declare climate change a public health emergency, utilizing the tools of the office to force additional change,” Jon McGowan writes for Forbes. “If he will take that action is yet to be determined… “In August, President Biden stated he had “practically” declared a state of emergency, but no formal declaration exists. With the calls for movement in this area rising, it is surprising no Democrat governor has taken the initiative at the state level. The most likely candidate is Gov. Newsom, who has been proactive in the climate change arena. In 2022, he signed the California Climate Commitment, a $54 billion investment in climate action… “The political timing is ripe for action by Newsom. The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly called COP28, takes place November 30 – December 12 in Dubai. A declaration of emergency would get noticed… “A declaration that climate change is a public health emergency is politically inevitable, the only question is which Democrat will go first. While Newsom may be the most probable, other Democrats looking for national exposure could seize the opportunity to lead on a top issue.”