EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/23/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Navigator CO2 Cancels US Corn Belt Carbon Pipeline Plan
Press release: Landowners Rejoice as Navigator CO2 Cancels Midwest Carbon Pipeline Project That Sought Eminent Domain
E&E News: Scuttled CO2 pipeline renews debate about state hurdles
Des Moines Register: Navigator kills its $3.5B carbon capture pipeline across Iowa, South Dakota, other states
Associated Press: Navigator cancels proposed Midwestern CO2 pipeline, citing ‘unpredictable’ regulatory processes
Reuters: Navigator CO2 Ventures cancels carbon-capture pipeline project in US Midwest
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Navigator CO2 cancels its multistate pipeline project
DTN Progressive Farmer: Navigator Cancels Carbon Pipeline Plans
Quad City Times: Henry County adopts moratorium on CO2 pipelines in the county
Law360: No Need To Block Pipeline Construction, FERC Tells DC Circ.
Reuters: Canadian regulator approved Trans Mountain pipeline route change over delay concerns
Bloomberg: Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Faces New Construction Issue Months Before Start
Canadian Press: Prospective bidder on Trans Mountain sale calls for Indigenous ownership
Press release: Environmental and Human Rights Groups Challenging Canada’s Use of 1977 Pipeline Treaty to Block Recent U.S. Line 5 Shutdown Order
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: One key step in the energy transition? No new gas lines.
Reuters: US LNG companies race to build export plants while natgas prices are high
Wall Street Journal: Companies Clash Over Billions of Dollars in Hydrogen Tax Breaks
STATE UPDATES
Albuquerque Journal: Carbon capture & sequestration gains ground
Casper Star Tribune: Congressional delegates join with Gordon in outcry over proposed Rock Springs plan
KMGH: Aurora family shares 'incredibly frustrating' experience with proposed oil and gas fracking site
Omaha World-Herald: Work on clean energy projects will continue despite Nebraska's miss on hydrogen hub
Energy & Policy Institute: Fossil fuel money lurks behind anti-offshore wind power political ads in New Jersey
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: An Oil Giant Quietly Ditched the World’s Biggest Carbon Capture Plant
InsideClimate News: Research by Public Health Experts Shows ‘Damning’ Evidence on the Harms of Fracking
Guardian: ‘The anti-livestock people are a pest’: how UN food body played down role of farming in climate change
Associated Press: Chevron buys Hess for $53 billion, 2nd buyout among major producers this month as oil prices surge
The Conversation: How secrecy and regulatory capture drove Alberta’s oil and gas liability crisis
CLIMATE FINANCE
Guardian: Climate activists force Fed chair Jerome Powell off stage in New York
Reuters: Canada Pension Plan eyes unloved energy assets in green transition
OPINION
NWestIowa.com: Editorial: Just a pipeline dream?
Cedar Rapids Gazette: Who are the real adversaries in pipeline fight?
Tri-State Neighbor: Hohn: Hazardous county pipelines - Is your county protecting you?
Newsweek: Technology Won't Save Us From Global Warming, but This Just Might
Los Angeles Times: Big Oil is exploiting California’s Latinos in its latest climate disinformation push
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Navigator CO2 Cancels US Corn Belt Carbon Pipeline Plan
Kim Chipman, 10/20/23
“A pipeline project aimed at reducing emissions from the US corn ethanol industry is being scrapped following regulatory obstacles and farmers’ protests,” Bloomberg reports. “Given the unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa, the company has decided to cancel its pipeline project,” Navigator CO2 said in a statement. The proposal to build more than 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) of pipeline across the US Corn Belt had been backed by investors including asset manager BlackRock Inc., top ethanol maker Poet LLC and fuel producer Valero Energy Corp.”
Press release: Landowners Rejoice as Navigator CO2 Cancels Midwest Carbon Pipeline Project That Sought Eminent Domain
10/20/23
“After a heated two-year battle with landowners across the midwest, Navigator Heartland Greenway has officially announced defeat of their contentious hazardous carbon pipeline. The historic news comes on the heels of resistance in Iowa, South Dakota, Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska by a diverse coalition of landowners, environmentalists, local governments and community groups… “Navigator treated farmers and ranchers with disdain and aggression. Starting a negotiating process out telling landowners the corporation is going to take their land by eminent domain is a losing strategy. And today, Navigator found out what happens when you go against organized landowners and unlikely alliances,” said Bold Alliance and Bold Nebraska founder Jane Kleeb. “Everyone said we have no chance against foreign-backed, multi-billion dollar hazardous pipelines but when hundreds of landowners band together with a unified legal strategy, we can win,” said Brian Jorde, Attorney for Easement Teams LLC and Domina Law Group, representing hundreds of affected landowners across the midwest. “The cancellation of Navigator’s CO2 pipeline project highlights Navigator’s failure to address the widespread concerns from farmers, landowners, environmental advocates, and elected officials from both sides of the aisle in Illinois. Their inability to obtain easements from farmers and landowners to build their project, and the two recommendations of denial they received from a senior ICC staff member clearly indicates concerns over property rights, safety, and points to the fact that Navigator’s project was not in the public interest. While the Coalition to Stop CO2 pipelines will take some time to celebrate, we also know that Wolf Carbon Solutions is currently being reviewed by the Illinois Commerce Commission, and that Illinois remains a target for CO2 pipelines and sequestration due to our unique geology. We will continue to fight Wolf’s project and expand our reach in counties and municipalities beyond either pipeline route, so that they can prepare for the next wave of pipelines. But there is only so much local governments can do. The Illinois General Assembly needs to act swiftly to ensure any CO2 pipeline follows PHMSA’s updated rules to improve safety and oversight once they are adopted, and that safe setbacks for these extremely hazardous CO2 pipelines will be ensured through safe setbacks and routing,” said Pam Richart, Co-Director, Illinois Eco-Justice Collaborative. “Dakota Rural Action celebrates the cancellation of the Navigator Heartland Greenway CO2 pipeline project. This is a tremendous victory for the impacted citizens and landowners who were going to be crossed. Dakota Rural Action will continue to organize with impacted people in South Dakota to accomplish the local ordinances and statewide eminent domain reform that is needed for long term protections,” said Chase Jensen, organizer with Dakota Rural Action in South Dakota. Wally Taylor, attorney for Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, stated, “It was clear from the beginning that Navigator was floundering. And it didn’t have the political clout that Summit believes will allow Summit to bully its way through the Iowa political and regulatory system.” “I’m happy to hear that Navigator has canceled their carbon pipeline project considering it did not follow the Constitution of the United States,” stated Larry Sailer, Franklin County, Iowa Planning and Zoning Board Chairman. “We must get back to following the Constitution to straighten out our County and get back on course.” “This defeat proves the power of rural communities and landowners. We have always believed that the risk to our safety and damage to the land was far too great. From the start, we were told that these projects were inevitable. We are finding a way to fight back against one of the biggest industries. We will continue to fight so that future generations and other communities don’t face the same threat of eminent domain for private gain,” said Richard McKean, an Iowa landowner on the Navigator route.
E&E News: Scuttled CO2 pipeline renews debate about state hurdles
Jeffrey Tomich, Jason Plautz, Niina H. Farah, 10/23/23
“The cancellation of a major carbon dioxide pipeline Friday rippled far beyond the Corn Belt, raising questions about the fate of similar projects and the viability of carbon capture technology at the scale envisioned by the Biden administration,” E&E News reports. “Opponents celebrated Navigator CO2 Ventures’ decision to scuttle the 1,300-mile Midwestern project weeks after a permit application was rejected by South Dakota regulators. Supporters lamented the company’s decision to cancel the Heartland Greenway pipeline — and at least one rival developer appears primed to pick up some of the pieces. Less clear are the implications for the future of carbon pipelines, infrastructure viewed by many experts as a necessity to enable wider use of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and other emerging technologies. That’s in part because only certain regions of the country have geology required to sequester CO2 deep underground… “While federal regulators oversee most aspects of CO2 pipeline safety, state-level approval is key and has been a challenge for regulators in many states, Martin Lockman, a fellow at Columbia University Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told E&E. Permitting also can vary significantly from state to state, adding to the complexity and development timelines for multistate projects. “The legal framework governing CO2 pipelines is heavily fragmented and often uncertain,” Lockman told E&Ed. “In many states, it is unclear how existing laws should be applied to these kinds of projects, and many state regulators have very limited experience with CO2 pipelines.” “Uncertainty and delay around these permits can make financing expensive or impossible,” he told E&E. “This can be absolutely fatal to pipeline projects.” “...The ultimate decision was largely a function of a lack of certainty in a viable pathway forward in state permitting processes across the board,” Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, vice president of government and public affairs at Navigator, told E&E. Discussion about potential CO2 pipeline legislation in Midwest states led to “more uncertainty,” she told E&E. Navigator’s pipeline would have linked to more than two dozen ethanol and fertilizer plants, mostly in Iowa. Those facilities are now “free to explore other carbon management ventures,” Burns-Thompson told E&E… “Summit is undeterred by Navigator’s decision, and the company said in a statement that it may look to connect ethanol plants left without ways to transport CO2. “We remain as committed to our project as the day we announced it,” the company told E&E, adding that it is “well-positioned to add additional plants and communities to our project footprint.” “...Opponents, meanwhile, said the company treated landowners with “disdain and aggression.” “Starting a negotiating process out telling landowners the corporation is going to take their land by eminent domain is a losing strategy,” Jane Kleeb, president of the anti-fossil-fuel group Bold Alliance, which opposes CO2 pipelines, said in a statement.
Des Moines Register: Navigator kills its $3.5B carbon capture pipeline across Iowa, South Dakota, other states
Donnelle Eller, 10/20/23
“Navigator CO2 Ventures has killed its proposed $3.5 billion, 1,300-mile carbon capture pipeline, slated to run across Iowa and four other states, citing "unpredictable" regulatory and government processes, especially in South Dakota and Iowa,” the Des Moines Register reports. “A…s good stewards of capital and responsible managers of people, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Heartland Greenway project," Matt Vining, CEO of Navigator, said in a statement posted on the company's website Friday. Navigator said it's stepping away from "hundreds of millions of dollars" already invested to develop the project and pay landowners for pipeline route easements. The announcement drew cheers from pipeline opponents, though two more companies — Summit Carbon Solutions and Wolf Carbon Solutions — are still seeking to build carbon capture pipelines in Iowa and other Midwestern states… “The people united to resist Navigator at every level, in every corner of every state, and we won,” Jess Mazour, the Sierra Club’s Iowa Chapter conservation program coordinator, told the Register. “We will continue our staunch opposition to carbon pipeline scams… “Brian Jorde, an Omaha attorney representing landowners in Iowa and other states against the pipeline companies' permit bids, called the decision “a monumental win for landowners.” He told the Register it was especially noteworthy considering the power and influence of Navigator investors like Valero Energy Corp., the Texas-based oil refiner, and BlackRock Inc. of New York, the world's largest asset management company. Jorde told the Register the opposition the projects are hitting should send them a message: “If you haven't been able to sell your project successfully by this point, it doesn't deserve to exist.” “...Jorde told the Register he believes that will increase the pressure on landowners unwilling to sell easements to the carbon capture pipelines. “This ups the incentives significantly for Summit, with their No. 1 competitor waving the white flag … and there are billions of taxpayer dollars you can grab,” he told the Register. He questioned whether Navigator would sell its easement options to Summit. Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Navigator's vice president of government and public affairs, told the Register Friday that language in the agreements “would allow for reassignment, but we do not have any plans to sell the pipeline easement options.” “...Burns-Thompson told the Register landowners who sold easements to Navigator will be able to keep the money they received.”
Associated Press: Navigator cancels proposed Midwestern CO2 pipeline, citing ‘unpredictable’ regulatory processes
JACK DURA, 10/20/23
“A company on Friday said it would cancel its plans for a 1,300-mile (2,092-kilometer) pipeline across five Midwestern states that would have gathered carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol plants and buried the gas deep underground,” the Associated Press reports. “Navigator CO2 Ventures’ Heartland Greenway project is among a handful of similar ventures supported by the renewable fuels industry and farming organizations, but opposed by many landowners and environmental groups who question their safety and effectiveness in reducing climate-warming gases. In a written statement, the company said the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa” were key to the decision to cancel the project… “It is not an overstatement to say that decisions made over the next few months will likely place agriculture on one of two paths. One would lead to 1990s stagnation as corn production exceeds demand, and the other opens new market opportunities larger than anything we’ve ever seen before,” Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw told AP… “But opponents question the technology at scale, and say it could require bigger investments than less expensive alternatives such as solar and wind power. CO2 pipelines have faced pushback from landowners, who fear a pipeline rupture and that their land will be taken from them for the projects. “Everyone said we have no chance against foreign-backed, multibillion-dollar hazardous pipelines but when hundreds of landowners band together with a unified legal strategy, we can win,” Brian Jorde, an Omaha-based attorney who represents many landowners opposed to Midwestern pipeline projects, told AP… “In a written statement released after Navigator’s announcement, Summit told AP it “welcomes and is well positioned to add additional plants and communities to our project footprint.” “We remain as committed to our project as the day we announced it.”
Reuters: Navigator CO2 Ventures cancels carbon-capture pipeline project in US Midwest
Leah Douglas, 10/20/23
“Navigator CO2 Ventures has canceled its Heartland Greenway pipeline project aimed at capturing 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from Midwest ethanol plants and storing it permanently underground, the company said on Friday, citing "unpredictable" state regulatory processes,” Reuters reports. “The cancellation of one of the biggest projects of its kind is a setback to the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the U.S., which are a pillar of President Joe Biden's climate strategy. It is also a blow to the ethanol industry, which sees CCS as key to cutting emissions from producing the fuel… "The people united to resist Navigator at every level in every corner of every state and we won," Jess Mazour, an Iowa organizer with the Sierra Club environmental group, which opposes carbon pipelines, told Reuters… “Asked about the project's cancellation, a Poet spokesperson told Reuters CCS can benefit rural communities by decarbonizing ethanol production and that "states that are slow to adopt these technologies risk being left behind." Another major CCS pipeline project proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions has also faced setbacks amid landowner concerns, including permit denials in South and North Dakota… “Summit recently said its pipeline will start operating in 2026, a delay from its initial timeline of 2024.”
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Navigator CO2 cancels its multistate pipeline project
JARED STRONG, 10/20/23
“One of three carbon dioxide pipeline companies that have sought to build in Iowa announced on Friday that it’s canceling its proposal amid the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes” of Iowa and South Dakota,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “...Pipeline regulations vary from state to state and by type of pipeline, which was challenging to maneuver, Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, a spokesperson for the company, told the Dispatch. “There’s also been significant discussion at the legislative level in each state about possible changes to their state-level processes in light of these proposed projects, creating even more uncertainty about what the future may hold.” “...Burns-Thompson told the Dispatch Navigator signed option agreements for easements with landowners that will expire after a few years. “This is a historic victory for the people of Iowa,” Jess Mazour, of the Sierra Club of Iowa, which has resisted the pipeline proposals, told the Dispatch. “For two years we’ve worked relentlessly to protect our homes, families and communities.” “...Landowners in the path of Navigator’s project who have refused to sign land easements were elated by its cancellation. “It’s wonderful,” Amy Solsma, an O’Brien County landowner who operates a pumpkin farm, told the Dispatch. “David slayed Goliath.” “...We are going to stop the Summit and Wolf Carbon pipelines next,” Mazour told the Dispatch. “They will meet resistance at every level in every corner of every state.”
DTN Progressive Farmer: Navigator Cancels Carbon Pipeline Plans
Chris Clayton, 10/20/23
“Less than two weeks after putting a hold on its permit applications, Navigator CO2 Ventures announced Friday the company is canceling its $3.5 billion carbon pipeline project,” DTN Progressive Farmer reports. “...Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, reaffirmed the group's support for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects "as the best way to align ethanol production with the increasing demand for low-carbon fuels both at home and abroad. Longer term, CCS is the essential key to unlocking the 100-billion-gallon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market for agriculture," Shaw stated to DTN… “Shaw also criticized some of the complaints that have essentially stalled CCS projects in multiple states. "Over the last year, we have been disappointed with the amount of disinformation that has been spread among the public and the regulators across multiple states. That does not happen by accident," Shaw told DTN. "Rather, it is being pushed by groups who oppose modern agriculture and whose stated mission is to destroy farming as we know it.” “...Critics on Friday championed grassroots opposition to carbon pipelines, which included not only landowners who would not sign easements, but county officials in different states that passed ordinances requiring more stringent setbacks and rules for the pipelines. "It's very rare for people of so many different backgrounds and beliefs to stand together against something. We did and we won," said Kim Junker, a farmer in Butler County, Iowa, who helped rally opposition to the pipeline. "It was clear from the start that despite their billions of dollars, the power of everyday people would overcome these pipeline scams. But the fight isn't over; we need to remain vigilant and pass laws to make sure no other private corporation can threaten our land and our legacy again." Jess Mazour, an Iowa organizer for the Sierra Club, said, "Unlike many other issues, this was never a case of right versus left -- it was right versus wrong. The people united to resist Navigator at every level in every corner of every state, and we won. We will continue our staunch opposition to carbon pipeline scams like Summit and Wolf. These projects are not for the public benefit; they never have been, and they never will be."
Quad City Times: Henry County adopts moratorium on CO2 pipelines in the county
LISA HAMMER, 10/21/23
“Members of the Henry County Board on Thursday voted 15-0 with one abstention to approve a resolution for a two-year moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines in the county,” the Quad City Times reports. “...Patrick Byerly of Wolf Carbon Solutions told the Times the firm was planning on getting permit applications approved and ordering equipment in 2024 and planning on construction in 2025. He told the Times the firm would make sure to look at draft regulatory rules and ensure their work is compliant. Board member Tim Yager was the most vociferous in opposition to the pipeline, noting it would go through his property. "Ethanol plants can figure out a way" to sequester their carbon, he told the Times, adding that the county has $8 million in general fund cash reserves it could use in a court fight. "I'm prepared to go all the way," he told the Times… “The resolution states that the county board is "very concerned about the safety and well-being of its residents, and feels a two-year moratorium is necessary to allow the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration, the federal agency responsible for determining the safety of carbon dioxide pipelines, to complete their upgraded standards to ensure the safest pipeline to be constructed." Speakers during public comment referred to a CO2 pipeline rupture in Mississippi in which over 200 people were evacuated and 45 were hospitalized, of which one-third were emergency responders. Kevin Conrad of rural Cambridge said he wanted to keep his farmland as pristine as possible. He noted the county wouldn't receive any tax money from the pipeline. Joyce Blumenshein of the Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance talked about how CO2 pipelines operate at higher pressure than other types of pipelines. In case of a rupture, "you have eight to ten minutes to get yourself to where there's enough oxygen to survive," she said… “However, farmer Monte Bottens of rural Cambridge said there are serious problems with the pipelines cutting through farmers' drainage tiles, some of which were put in 175 years ago. David Zimmerman of Boston, Illinois, and Big River Resources LLC said pipelines are needed because the future of the ethanol industry and of corn prices is at risk. He said if the firm were to get rid of CO2 by other means, it would take 400 more rail cars per month or 1,500 more trucks.”
Law360: No Need To Block Pipeline Construction, FERC Tells DC Circ.
Peter McGuire, 10/20/23
“Federal energy regulators on Friday urged a D.C. Circuit panel to reject Virginia homeowners’ calls to block construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline while the court considers whether their land was unconstitutionally seized to build the controversial gas project,” Law360 reports.
Reuters: Canadian regulator approved Trans Mountain pipeline route change over delay concerns
10/20/23
“The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) said on Friday that it approved a route change application for the expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline because continuing to use micro-tunnelling construction techniques could delay completion by at least 10 months,” Reuters reports. “This delay could result in an estimated C$2 billion($1.46 billion) of lost revenue for Trans Mountain and cause negative impacts on shippers and other parties,” CER said. The CER granted a route change request for the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain project late in September for a deviation on a 1.3-kilometre (0.8 mile) section of pipeline near Kamloops, British Columbia. It did not release its reasons for the decision until now. Trans Mountain’s proposal to divert the pipeline through a different area nearby was opposed by the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation First Nation, whose territory it crosses.”
Bloomberg: Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Faces New Construction Issue Months Before Start
Robert Tuttle, 10/20/23
“Canada’s government-owned C$31 billion ($23 billion) oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast is facing a new construction challenge just a few months before its scheduled opening,” Bloomberg reports. “Trans Mountain is facing a “very challenging” task of drilling through hard rock in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia as it builds a pipeline to almost triple oil shipments from Alberta. The company has proposed a contingency plan to use a 30-inch pipeline instead of the planned 48-inch conduit should the difficulties persist into next month, according to a letter filed with the Canada Energy Regulator. The project that has faced years of delays and a quadrupling of costs is scheduled to start operation by the end of the first quarter.”
Canadian Press: Prospective bidder on Trans Mountain sale calls for Indigenous ownership
10/20/23
“As the federal government begins its efforts to sell the Trans Mountain pipeline, the director of one of the groups seeking to buy a stake says nothing less than “material” ownership by Indigenous people is acceptable if Ottawa is serious about reconciliation,” the Canadian Press reports. “It’s got to be a minimum of 30 per cent in my view, period. Because anything less than that doesn’t really (represent) that place at the table,” Stephen Mason, managing director of Project Reconciliation, told CP in a recent interview. “There’s no reason, in my opinion, why it can’t be 100 per cent owned by Indigenous people.” “...However, Ottawa has been clear from the start that it does not wish to be the long-term owner of the pipeline. With the expansion project now nearing completion, the federal government has launched the first phase of what is expected to be a two-part divestment process. The first phase involves talks, which have already begun, with more than 120 Western Canadian Indigenous communities whose lands are located along the pipeline route, to find out if any of them are interested in acquiring an equity stake. While it’s not clear what size of stake is available during this first phase of negotiations, Mason, whose group is not participating in the first round, told CP he has heard that number could fall between 20 and 40 per cent, and that the federal government will support Indigenous communities with the purchase by helping them to access capital.” “...But Mason told CP this must not be a situation where corporate interests acquire the bulk of the pipeline equity and Indigenous people are left with the scraps… “The key point is, (Indigenous ownership) needs to be material. And in this case, 30 per cent is too small.”
Press release: Environmental and Human Rights Groups Challenging Canada’s Use of 1977 Pipeline Treaty to Block Recent U.S. Line 5 Shutdown Order
10/20/23
“Yesterday, several civil society groups, including Environmental Defence, with EarthRights International as counsel, submitted an amicus brief in support of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewas Tribe. This action is in response to Canada’s recent submission of its own amicus brief in support of Enbridge’s efforts to overturn a recent U.S. judge’s order to shut down the section of the Line 5 pipeline that runs through the Tribe’s territory by June 2026. The territory contains the Mashkiiziibii (Medicine River), a tributary to the Great Lakes, which Line 5 crosses. “Shamefully, Canada has framed its support for Line 5 in its most recent amicus brief under the guise of ‘reconciliation and ensuring full protection for the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada in the U.S.’ If Canada is truly committed to reconciliation, it must cease its support for Enbridge’s efforts to keep the oil flowing through a leaky, 70-year-old pipeline. We do not need this pipeline to meet our energy needs. Instead, Canada should be working with the U.S. and Enbridge to implement an orderly shutdown. The Great Lakes, a drinking water source for over 40 million people, cannot become the sacrifice zone in the event of an oil spill.” The amicus brief highlights the devastating impacts a spill would have on the Great Lakes, Indigenous communities, and their rights to continue to live in harmony with, and off, of the lands and waters they have been stewards of for the last 13,000 years. The brief also argues that Canada and Enbridge are using a faulty interpretation of the 1977 pipeline treaty, and in doing so, are encouraging the violation of international human rights law and domestic treaties with Indigenous Peoples.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: One key step in the energy transition? No new gas lines.
Allyson Chiu and Maxine Joselow, 10/18/23
“Some buildings in the future could feature one notable difference from many that exist today: no connection to a gas line,” the Washington Post reports. “That’s one of the recommendations in a sweeping report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released Tuesday on what it will take for the United States to reach its ambitious climate goals. The report suggests states and municipalities consider adopting bans on new gas lines in areas that haven’t previously been served by natural gas… “One key element in the recommendations is to plan for a future no longer dominated by fossil fuels, Tierney and other experts told the Psot. As the country moves toward electrification, it wouldn’t make sense to continue adding gas lines to serve locations that eventually may be required to electrify, Tierney, an expert on energy policy at Analysis Group, an international economic consulting firm, told the Post. “You might just require electricity in the first place and not extend gas pipelines into new areas where they are not going to be used for very long,” she told the Post. “That is not the way business is done now, and that could lead to some pushback.” “...As fewer people rely on gas, maintaining pipelines could also pose cost challenges, the report’s authors note. For example, if buildings that historically use natural gas become more electrified, less gas would move through those local pipelines, Tierney told the Post… “ As utilities take steps to move away from fossil fuels, regulators should make sure lower-income households and people of color who might be slower to electrify aren’t left out, the report says.”
Reuters: US LNG companies race to build export plants while natgas prices are high
10/19/23
“Two U.S. natural gas exporters are racing to complete construction of the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant since 2022, hoping to cash in on booming demand for the superchilled gas before it fades later this decade, two analysts said this week,” Reuters reports. “Golden Pass LNG, owned by Qatar Energy and oil major Exxon Mobil, expects to start production on the first of three Texas processing units in the second half of 2024. The full, 18 million metric tons of LNG per annum (MTPA), project would be in operation by 2025, the company has said. Venture Global LNG, which is building its $21 billion Plaquemines LNG plant, also aims to produce first LNG in the second half of 2024 and be fully running the following year. It will be able to produce 20 MTPA when completed. Both are competing to get underway before rivals do, and before renewable projects can siphon gas demand, which had risen at an average annual rate of 2.5%, according to consuming nations group International Energy Agency (IEA). “The tidal wave of new global LNG capacity is set to crest in 2026 and remain strong through 2027,” according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The many LNG projects in development suggests the market will be unable to “absorb that much new supply so quickly” if all are built, it wrote.”
Wall Street Journal: Companies Clash Over Billions of Dollars in Hydrogen Tax Breaks
Amrith Ramkumar, Richard Rubin, 10/22/23
“Big energy producers are sparring over billions of dollars in subsidies from last year’s climate law, a fight that pits the Biden administration’s goals for economic growth against its efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The battle is over subsidies to produce clean hydrogen, a potential alternative to oil and natural gas in industries such as steelmaking and trucking where renewable energy and batteries alone aren’t adequate. The administration is weighing how strictly to define what energy sources can be used to make clean hydrogen and still be eligible for some of the most valuable tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. NextEra Energy, Constellation Energy and Plug Power say the subsidies should be widely available—even to companies that generate carbon emissions—to spur the growth of a hydrogen industry seen as crucial to limiting climate change in the long run. The businesses and industry groups have made the argument in advertisements everywhere from the New York Times and digital media outlet Semafor to the streaming service Hulu. They also have made their case in meetings with Biden administration officials, according to people familiar with the matter. Labor unions such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have sided with them. Companies such as Air Products & Chemicals, meanwhile, say the money should go to businesses that use only renewable energy, which could mean slower development and fewer new jobs. Environmental groups have made the same argument in newspaper ads; the groups also have appealed to administration officials, a person familiar with the meetings said. The spat is the latest example of companies in sectors from electric cars to energy fighting over the technical details of clean-energy subsidies that could be worth $1 trillion over a decade. “The hydrogen rules are make or break,” Leah Stokes, an associate professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, focused on energy, environment and climate, who advised Democrats on the climate law and is in favor of tight hydrogen tax-credit rules, told the Journal.”
STATE UPDATES
Albuquerque Journal: Carbon capture & sequestration gains ground
Kevin Robinson-Avila, 10/23/23
“A new battle could soon be brewing over the future of the coal-fired Four Corners Generating Station near Farmington,” the Albuquerque Journal reports. “It’s the last coal plant still operating in New Mexico, and, until recently, most industry experts and environmental organizations expected the facility to shut down in 2031, when the coal contract and operating agreement among the plant’s five current co-owners come to an end. But this past spring, the Navajo Transitional Energy Co., or NTEC — which owns a 7% stake in the coal plant — unveiled an agreement with Enchant Energy Corp. to keep Four Corners up and running for many more years through carbon capture and sequestration. The two partners say CCS technology could convert the facility into a clean generating station by trapping and burying most of the plant’s carbon emissions permanently underground. But it’s a highly-controversial proposal that is not supported by the facility’s four other utility co-owners — including Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power, the Salt River Project and Public Service Co. of New Mexico — who want to abandon the plant in 2031. And it’s opposed outright by most environmental organizations, who question the viability of CCS technology to fully capture carbon emissions, and who generally advocate for the rapid development of renewable resources like solar, wind and battery storage to replace fossil-fuel generation. The new plan evokes collective déjà vu. Enchant Energy previously partnered with the City of Farmington to also turn the nearby coal-fired San Juan Generating Station into a CCS facility, igniting a yearslong battle with environmentalists, plus acrimonious negotiations with San Juan’s other utility co-owners, who wanted to shut that plant down. Enchant lost that battle because Farmington — which owned a 5% stake in San Juan — failed to gain ownership over the facility after the coal contract and operating agreement among the co-owners ended, leading to the plant’s permanent closure last fall. As a result, San Juan became the second of New Mexico’s three aging coal facilities to close, following shutdown of the coal-fired Escalante Generating Station near Grants in 2020… “And the new Enchant and NTEC effort to use CCS technology to keep it running for many years more will undoubtedly ignite another bitter battle with environmentalists and others if they move forward, Mike Eisenfeld, energy and climate program manager with the San Juan Citizens Alliance, which spearheaded opposition to Enchant’s previous CCS plan at San Juan, told the Journal. “The other utilities together own 93% of Four Corners, and they all say they want to exit the plant in 2031,” Eisenfeld told the Journal. “The only way Enchant and NTEC can make their plan work is with massive federal subsidies. It’s a bad investment and a bad deal for the local community.”
Casper Star Tribune: Congressional delegates join with Gordon in outcry over proposed Rock Springs plan
Maya Shimizu Harris, 10/19/23
“Wyoming's congressional delegation joined Gov. Mark Gordon in demanding the Bureau of Land Management withdraw its proposed Rock Springs management plan, which could expand federally protected lands in Wyoming by millions of acres,” the Casper Star Tribune reports. “Outcry from politicians and the public over the controversial management proposal prompted the Wyoming BLM to extend its public comment period for another 60 days. The new deadline to submit public comment is Jan. 17, 2024. The long-awaited guideline for the use of 3.6 million acres of public lands in the southwestern part of the state outlines four potential plans. One emphasizes resource development. One favors conservation. Another takes a middle road. There's even one plan that proposes doing nothing and maintaining the guidelines that were put in place in 1997. The BLM's preferred plan favors conservation and would designate a total 1.6 million acres of land in Rock Springs as "Areas of Critical Environmental Concern," or ACECs — roughly 1.3 million acres more than current designated ACECs in that area.”
KMGH: Aurora family shares 'incredibly frustrating' experience with proposed oil and gas fracking site
Angelika Albaladejo, 10/19/23
“A family in Aurora is voicing their objections about a proposed plan from an oil and gas company to frack in their neighborhood — and they're not alone,” KMGH reports. “The quiet Aurora neighborhood, with sweeping mountain views and great schools, seemed like the ideal place for Colin Westerfield and Aryn Anderson to make a home with their 5-year-old daughter, 18-month-old son and cat Beans. "We wanted to live in the pristine nature, we wanted good air quality, we wanted a safe place to raise our children,” Anderson told KMGH. “Having lived here for most of my life, I had no idea that Colorado was so deeply involved in oil and gas.” “...But recently, their family and many others in their neighborhood have gone through a crash course in what it’s like to learn about and try to oppose proposed oil and gas drilling. "We were contacted by a realtor about a year and a half ago interested in leasing our mineral rights. He did not mention fracking, he did not mention it was going to be underneath our homes,” Anderson told KMGH. Since then, Westerfield told KMGH the process of staying informed about the proposal by Civitas' subsidiary Crestone, has been very confusing. "We've reached out to our oil and gas manager for the city of Aurora, city council members, the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners, our HOA,” Westerfield told KMGH. But even still, “it's an uphill battle. Many people have told us even from the outset, this is going to happen, there's nothing you can do about it,” he told KMGH. “And that's incredibly frustrating.” Many of their neighbors share that frustration. In a recent hearing held by Arapahoe County’s Board of County Commissioners, community members packed the room, sharing stories about their objections to the proposed fracking… “Most of their concerns are tied to the proximity of the oil and gas project to homes and the Aurora Reservoir, the biggest freshwater source in the area and a space enjoyed by water sports enthusiasts.”
Omaha World-Herald: Work on clean energy projects will continue despite Nebraska's miss on hydrogen hub
Julie Anderson, 10/18/23
“Work on hydrogen-based clean energy projects will continue in Nebraska even without a roughly billion-dollar federal grant to smooth the path, officials said this week,” the Omaha World-Herald reports. “Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri had partnered to apply for funding for what’s known as a “hydrogen hub” across the three-state region. As the Midcontinent Clean Energy Hydrogen Hub, or MCH2, they sought a share of the money that the federal government was offering in an effort to accelerate the development of hydrogen as a clean energy source… “But the three-state collaboration was not among the seven regional hydrogen hubs selected to receive some of the $7 billion from the Department of Energy, as announced by the White House last week. Still, Nebraska officials said their efforts go beyond seeking the federal designation and won’t be deterred by falling short. Two Nebraska companies involved in the proposal — Monolith Inc. of Hallam and Project Meadowlark of Gothenburg — will continue with their expansion plans. “The groundwork we have laid is going to position us really well for success in the future hydrogen economy,” Courtney Dentlinger, vice president of customer service and external affairs with the Nebraska Public Power District, which spearheaded the application, told the Herald… “Monolith, the largest project within the collaborative, is moving ahead with plans to expand its facility near Hallam, which converts natural gas into carbon black and hydrogen. The hydrogen is used to make ammonia-based fertilizer in a process that doesn’t create carbon emissions. “We’re going to continue to move full steam ahead,” Dan Levy, a Monolith spokesman, told the Herald. “It would have been a nice accelerator if it had come in. But we didn’t change any plans as a result.” The company, in fact, is well on its way to meeting conditions set for it to receive up to $1 billion in federal loans from the Energy Department, he told the Herald. The company hopes to make an announcement next year. Also moving forward, Dentlinger told the Herald, are plans by J Westling & Co, the company behind Project Meadowlark, to build a $750 million plant in Gothenburg that will use electricity instead of natural gas to make liquid fertilizer.”
Energy & Policy Institute: Fossil fuel money lurks behind anti-offshore wind power political ads in New Jersey
Dave Anderson, 10/23/23
“A Republican group that paid for anti-offshore wind power ads targeting Democrats ahead of New Jersey’s November 7 state legislative elections raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars from the fossil fuel industry earlier this year,” the Energy & Policy Institute reports. “The Washington, D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) announced in July that it had launched “two five-figure ad buys on the effect of offshore wind projects that are putting the lives of whales in danger; the very same whales that have been washing up on New Jersey beaches.” There’s no evidence that offshore wind development is responsible for whale strandings and deaths, according to experts at Rutgers, NOAA Fisheries, and the Marine Mammal Commission. Known causes of whale deaths attributable to human activities along the East Coast include vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear… “Other groups funded by the fossil fuel industry began spreading disinformation blaming offshore wind development for dead whales found in New Jersey and other East Coast states long before the RSLC’s ads appeared. The RSLC began to echo this misleading claim in April, in a statement targeting New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Phil Murphy… “In its latest Form 8872 report to the IRS, which covered the first six months of 2023, the RSLC reported receiving contributions totaling the following amounts from oil and gas interests, according to the Energy and Policy Institute’s analysis of the report: $310,000 from Marathon Petroleum; $100,000 from Devon Energy… “$25,000 from the American Petroleum Institute; $15,000 from Energy Transfer… “The RSLC also received $200,000 from Koch Industries, which produces, refines and sells fossil fuels, and reported $50,000 in contributions from the Koch-founded and funded political group Americans for Prosperity. Chevron paid over $762,000 to the RSLC in 2022. The RSLC’s New Jersey PAC said in a September filing with the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission that it planned to make $1 million in independent expenditures in support of Republican state candidates during this year’s election. “The Democrats’ overreach against the use of natural gas is an effective messaging strategy in every major swing district,” the RSLC said in a July memo on New Jersey.”
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: An Oil Giant Quietly Ditched the World’s Biggest Carbon Capture Plant
Natasha White, Akshat Rathi, and Kevin Crowley, 10/23/23
“The world wants to master the process of corralling carbon, and Occidental Petroleum Corp. is building a futuristic machine on the dusty plains of Texas designed to do just that,” Bloomberg reports. “The billion-dollar complex, called Stratos, will suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and bury it deep underground. Amazon.com Inc., Shopify Inc., Airbus SE and the Houston Texans football team are among the businesses signed up to pay by the ton for captured carbon, long before the site is operational. US President Joe Biden is putting hundreds of millions of dollars behind the technology. Occidental Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub has spent $1.1 billion buying the startup behind Stratos and, after successfully lobbying for government support, intends to build 100 plants just like it. Warren Buffett, Occidental’s biggest investor, has given his tacit blessing. This is not the first time Occidental has bet big on technology to manage carbon. A mega-plant for carbon capture and storage — a facility named Century located about 100 miles from Stratos — was built by the oil giant in 2010. At the time it was set to become the biggest-ever example of carbon capture, representing more than 20% of global capacity. Unlike the newer technology used in Stratos, known as direct air capture (DAC), Century pulls CO2 from a dedicated source of emissions: It’s built into a natural gas processing plant. That older process is both better established and much cheaper than the newer machines built to suck CO2 from the air. There’s also the added advantage of a more direct business application, with Oxy deploying recovered CO2 from the gas plant as a tool to produce even more oil. But that older facility — with simpler tech and a production-linked incentive — has consistently failed to deliver results. A Bloomberg Green investigation has revealed that Century never operated at more than a third of its capacity in the 13 years it’s been running. The technology worked but the economics didn’t hold up because of limited gas supplied from a nearby field, leading to disuse and eventual divestment. Oxy quietly sold off the project last year for a fraction of the build cost. It was a far cry from the fanfare the company made in the plant’s early years — and the anticipation that’s been building for Stratos.”
InsideClimate News: Research by Public Health Experts Shows ‘Damning’ Evidence on the Harms of Fracking
Jon Hurdle, 10/2023
“Hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas is linked to an array of health harms, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma and birth defects, according to the latest compilation of studies on the impact of fracking on human health,” InsideClimate News reports. “The ninth edition of a “compendium” of scientific, medical, government and media reports on the industry’s health effects, released Thursday, contains references to almost 2,500 papers that add to evidence that fracking has an array of negative impacts on human health, the authors say. The number of studies collected is now more than six times what it was when the first compendium was published in 2014, but the conclusions are the same, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, the lead author, and a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility and Concerned Health Professionals of New York, which jointly published the 637-page document, told ICN. Many of the studies were based in Pennsylvania, which produces more natural gas from fracking than any other U.S. state except Texas, and has a relatively high population of about 12 million people, giving researchers more opportunity to determine the effects of fracking on public health than in more sparsely populated fracking states such as Wyoming. “The new studies corroborate and support the older studies and we can see the same patterns in state after state where fracking is practiced,” Steingraber told ICN. “The fact that there is lots of new data that support the older data means that the case against fracking is ever more damning.” “...Overall, the studies in the new compilation found evidence that people who live near unconventional oil and gas production and distribution sites, such as well pads and compressor stations, are exposed to toxic airborne pollutants such as benzene and formaldehyde, diesel exhaust, fine particles and nitrous oxides, leading to respiratory and skin problems, nervous system complaints, and heart issues at higher rates than in other sectors of the population. More than 200 of the studies found that groundwater in the United States is being contaminated by some 2 billion gallons of water a day forced underground at high pressure during fracking, or injected into some 187,000 disposal wells that take highly toxic fracking waste. “Studies from across the United States provide irrefutable evidence that groundwater contamination has occurred as a result of fracking activities and is more likely to occur close to well pads,” the compendium said.
Guardian: ‘The anti-livestock people are a pest’: how UN food body played down role of farming in climate change
Arthur Neslen, 10/20/23
“The night before publication, Henning Steinfeld was halfway across the world dealing with panicked politicians and an outbreak of avian flu. His report, and how it would be received, was frankly the last thing on his mind,” the Guardian reports. “With a small group of officials, Steinfield, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s livestock policy branch, had been working for months on a report analysing the link between the six major species of livestock and climate change, which they all knew could be explosive. “I was very frustrated by the fact that the livestock-environment issue hadn’t resonated even though people accepted in private that it was a big issue – for climate change, and also water and biodiversity,” he told the Guardian. “But no one was interested in getting into it because I think they were afraid of what it could mean.” “...But although the link between climate change and fossil fuels was accepted and widely discussed, somehow the farming sector had managed to dodge the spotlight. Scientists were aware that the methane produced by grazing cattle – around two-thirds of livestock emissions come from cows – was a significant chunk of the anthropogenic greenhouse gases that were heating the planet’s atmosphere. Still, there had been no attempt to quantify how large a chunk it might be; the scientific community was largely focused elsewhere, while politicians were finding it hard enough to cope with the political realities of reducing fossil fuel consumption… “But none of them were quite prepared for the storm that broke over their heads when Livestock’s Long Shadow (LLS) finally came out, cracking through the taboos. Now, for the first time, some of them have spoken to the Guardian about a period and a working culture in which, they say, they were censored, sabotaged, undermined and victimised. It is so unusual for officials working in a UN agency to allow a peek behind the scenes that almost all of them would only speak on condition of anonymity, still, to some extent, marked by the battles they fought while working at the FAO… “The report estimated that livestock were responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – including nine percent of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, mostly due to deforestation for (pasture and) feed crops, 37% of anthropogenic methane emissions, largely from cow burps, 65% of anthropogenic nitrous oxides, overwhelmingly from manure and 64% of anthropogenic ammonia emissions. It was a bombshell. Environmental scientists and campaign groups were rapturous, and a wave of popular documentaries such as Meat the Truth and Cowspiracy followed. But the report had sent shockwaves through the meat industry and the tremors travelled quickly… “Pressure came from all sides. The big meat-producing countries – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, Australia and the US – all complained to the FAO’s higher echelons, according to Steinfeld, while protests also flooded in from “the private sector, the large-scale meat, feed and dairy producers”.
Associated Press: Chevron buys Hess for $53 billion, 2nd buyout among major producers this month as oil prices surge
10/23/23
“Chevron is buying Hess Corp. for $53 billion and it’s not even the biggest acquisition in the energy sector this month as major producers seize the initiative while oil prices surge,” the Associated Press reports. “The Chevron-Hess deal comes less than two weeks after Exxon Mobil said that it would acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion. Crude prices are up 9% this year and have been hovering around $90 per barrel for about two months. Energy prices spiked sharply immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Chevron said Monday that the acquisition of Hess adds a major oil field in Guyana as well as shale properties in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota… “Chevron said the deal will help to increase the amount of cash given back to shareholders. The company anticipates that in January it will be able to recommend boosting its first-quarter dividend by 8% to $1.63.”
The Conversation: How secrecy and regulatory capture drove Alberta’s oil and gas liability crisis
Shaun Fluker, Drew Yewchuk, Martin Olszynski, 10/22/23
“A hustle in the oil patch”, a “dirty legacy”: These are just a couple of the ways that the escalating costs of abandoning and reclaiming non-producing oil wells in Canada have been described. In a new paper, we look back over 40 years and identify three factors that have led to this unprecedented regulatory failure,” The Conversation reports. “In Alberta, roughly 237,000 drilled wells will need to be abandoned and the land remediated and reclaimed. About 80,000 of these wells are currently non-producing (referred to as inactive wells), while another 90,000 abandoned wells still await remediation and reclamation. To make matters worse, bankruptcies in the oil and gas industry have left thousands of wells without responsible owners throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan (known as orphan wells). Inactive wells that have not been properly abandoned and reclaimed pose a significant environmental risk, including from methane emissions (a potent greenhouse gas)... “And $60 billion is the low estimate — leaked documents from a joint industry-regulator project in 2018 estimated liabilities upwards of $130 billion. In other words, taking on these liabilities will at least double and possibly triple Alberta’s current debt of $80 billion… “In our new paper, we show how this massive regulatory failure is best understood as the predictable result of three historic deficiencies in Alberta’s regulatory regime. These failures include a lack of transparency, excessive regulatory discretion and pervasive regulatory capture by industry.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Guardian: Climate activists force Fed chair Jerome Powell off stage in New York
Lauren Aratani, 10/19/23
“The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, was escorted out of an event Thursday afternoon after a group of climate protesters briefly took the stage before he was due to give a speech. He took the stage after a 15-minute delay,” the Guardian reports. “At the Economic Club of New York, protesters stormed the stage holding a banner that read “Fed Is Burning: Money, Futures, Planet” and chanting “Off fossil finance!” Powell, who was on stage, briefly left the event before returning to deliver his speech as planned. Security officials cleared protesters from the room. The protesters were with climate activist group Climate Defiance, which focuses on disruptive direct action through strikes, blockades and mass occupation to raise awareness about fossil fuels. More than a hundred protesters with the group interrupted the White House Correspondents Dinner in May, blocking multiple entrances and forcing attendees to maneuver through a dense crowd.”
Reuters: Canada Pension Plan eyes unloved energy assets in green transition
10/19/23
“Canada Pension Plan Investments (CPP) is on the hunt to buy utility and oil and gas assets unloved by competitors seeking to unload polluting assets, then profit from reducing greenhouse gas emissions and put them back on the market, Chief Sustainability Officer Richard Manley said on Thursday,” Reuters reports. “Money managers have piled in to the renewable energy sector as part of a broad drive to limit environmental damage in recent years, leading to lofty valuations, and some have turned away from traditional energy businesses. CPP, one of the world’s biggest pension funds with C$575 billion ($418.94 billion) in assets under management, sees a rare opportunity to invest in the shift to a lower carbon economy. “There is an emerging imbalance between owners of grey assets readying themselves to sell them at multiples where the decarbonization thesis generates fundamentally attractive returns, but there is not a very deep pool of investors ready or in some cases maybe even able to take those assets onto their balance sheets,” Manley told Reuters. CPP’s portfolio includes Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge and India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp. It bought a 49% stake in California oil venture Aera Energy in March. Manley told Reuters he saw “institutional pressure for companies to accelerate decarbonisation by selling their most conspicuous emitting assets” alongside “institutional reluctance of large parts of the market to buy grey assets to see their financed emissions increase near term”.
OPINION
NWestIowa.com: Editorial: Just a pipeline dream?
10/16/23
“Can the little guy ever win? Can you fight city hall — or any government entity — and come out ahead? Ask the opponents of a pair of carbon dioxide pipelines that would cut through Iowa,” the NWestIowa.com Editorial Board writes. “The pipeline that was proposed by Navigator CO2 Ventures, a subsidiary of Navigator Energy Services in Dallas, has been shut off. Navigator has rescinded its permit application with the Iowa Utilities Board and withdrew its application for a key permit in Illinois, where it planned to store carbon dioxide underground. It also has halted permit requests in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota. South Dakota denied a request for a permit last month… “Right now, everything is on hold, as Navigator determined it could not, well, navigate the choppy currents in these five states. An array of opponents from across the political spectrum joined together to oppose the pipeline. They cited safety concerns for both humans and animals, and expressed concern about potential long-range damage to the highly valuable farmland that is a bedrock of the Midwest. The use of eminent domain — forcing property owners to allow a project they dislike to pass through their land — also created a lot of opposition… “Enough critics and outright opponents have appeared to slow the permitting process… “This is a highly emotional matter, and there is a great deal of suspicion and mistrust on all sides. The only solution is a transparent process with everyone given sufficient opportunities to express their case and register their concerns. Perhaps by waiting until the end of the year, farmers can rally at IUB meetings and make it clear they are strongly opposed to this. That should register with the three board members who will make a decision — if Summit continues to press for a permit.”
Cedar Rapids Gazette: Who are the real adversaries in pipeline fight?
Nelson Baethke, 10/22/23
“Questions to ponder regarding the deadly CO2 pipeline networks they want to install throughout Iowa: Why won’t the Linn County Board of Supervisors pass an effective ordinance to protect us? Why don’t Gov. Kim Reynolds and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver oppose these dangerous pipelines? Why do so few of Iowa’s Democrat leaders oppose them?,” Nelson Baethke writes for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “Why is the Inflation Reduction Act forcing us to spend tax dollars to install toxic pipelines in Iowa? Where are all of our tax dollars going? Does any of it go to countries who hate us? Why won't the pipeline companies answer our safety questions? Does either political party really care about the health and safety of Iowans? Do you ever get the feeling it’s really not Republicans against Democrats, like they want us to believe, but actually “us” against “them?”
Tri-State Neighbor: Hohn: Hazardous county pipelines - Is your county protecting you?
Joy Hohn, 10/17/23
“On Sept. 11, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) denied the Summit Carbon Solutions permit to build its CO2 pipeline,” Joy Hohn writes for the Tri-State Neighbor. “...Summit Carbon Solutions has foreign investors, as does the Navigator Heartland Greenway pipeline, which was also denied its permit by the PUC six days prior. There are so many disturbing factors with both these pipelines: they are private, for-profit companies with foreign investors; they are notorious for a lack of transparency; they are rushing for permits before the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) rule-making process addresses serious deficiencies in current regulation on CO2 pipelines; their business model is built upon the exploitation of South Dakota's loose eminent domain laws; the entire projects are considered by many to be a false climate solution funded by taxpayers; Summit infamously filed lawsuits against landowners, counties and county commissioners before a permit decision was made. I could go on and on!.. “The PUC has also confirmed that only individual counties can set ordinances for setbacks and depths to protect the safety and economic development of their county. It is time for the rest of the counties across South Dakota to take action and enact ordinances to protect their citizens before they have the pressure of hazardous CO2 pipeline companies breathing down their necks. Summit has stated they will reapply for their permit in South Dakota, may change their route and are currently visiting county commissions. Ask your county commissioners what they are doing to protect you! Once again, thank you to the counties that had the fortitude to be responsible to their constituents and pass ordinances for intelligent land use.”
Newsweek: Technology Won't Save Us From Global Warming, but This Just Might
Kirsten Stade is a conservation biologist and communications manager of the NGO Population Balance, 10/18/23
“After the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer on record, with record high temperatures around the world, Pope Francis recently exhorted the developed world to act faster on climate change. An overhaul of wealthy lifestyles is in order, he said, and technological fixes are not the answer,” Kristen Stade writes for Newsweek. “As evidence of climate change itself becomes impossible to deny, governments and industry are responding with a new form of denial: the illusion that switching to "clean" energy (solar, wind, geothermal), "decarbonizing" the energy sector, and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 can "solve" the climate crisis. But warming of 2° C or more by 2050 is baked in from the carbon already in the atmosphere, and that doesn't account for what current and future emissions will add… “What all this adds up to is that our chances for avoiding catastrophic warming depend upon our ability to remove CO2 already in the atmosphere, in addition to stopping the emission of more. The solution proposed by our political leaders and amplified in the media is more technology. Following intensive lobbying by the fossil fuel industry, the Biden Administration authorized billions of dollars in new subsidies for the industry to adopt carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Pope Francis rightly noted that such subsidies are a poor investment. A new study compares technologies for mechanical carbon capture and storage to natural carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies like reforestation, improved forest management, and encouraging kelp growth in oceans. It found mechanical methods fall short by every measure, and that restoring forests, grasslands, and wetlands and shifting to regenerative forms of agriculture remove more carbon than CCS and use less energy and land. Through protecting and enhancing natural carbon sinks, natural CDR strategies are not only cost-effective but have co-benefits like conserving biodiversity and improving water quality… “Technological climate fixes like CCS are favored by tech giants and big political donors, and attract government funding, but they won't save us from catastrophic warming. Lower-tech strategies like natural CDR and better human choices potentially could. But first, leaders and governments must develop the political will to embrace them.”
Los Angeles Times: Big Oil is exploiting California’s Latinos in its latest climate disinformation push
THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD, 10/20/23
“The Western States Petroleum Assn., one of the state’s most powerful lobbying groups, earlier this year launched a messaging campaign called Levanta Tu Voz that seems clear in its objective: to exploit Latinos’ economic anxieties to slow the transition to zero-emission vehicles and equipment,” the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board writes. “As part of that program the oil industry group spent nearly $1 million advertising on Spanish-language television and radio across the state, running a 30-second commercial that aired for six weeks in May and June. It features close-ups of people making tortillas, starting up gardening equipment, fixing a vehicle and picking produce. A concerned-sounding voice warns in Spanish that “new laws in California require our new vehicles and machines be electric” and that “if they take away the option of buying gasoline, living here will be more expensive.” WSPA’s ads tell its target audience to “join the conversation if you agree,” and directs people to a website that says that “Latino families can’t afford a rushed transition to electric” and urges them to leave their comments and contact information to “share your story and tell policymakers.” This type of campaign is not uncommon for the fossil fuel industry, which has a long history of using front groups, astroturfing, and other disinformation tactics to mislead the public and manufacture doubt about climate change and its solutions. But the attempt to influence California’s largest ethnic group is especially cynical because it tries to take advantage of a community that is among the hardest hit by fossil fuel pollution and would benefit most from policies to slash emissions. It’s twisted for the industry to try to use Latinos to resist the state’s transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles so it can keep selling its polluting, health-damaging and planet-endangering products for as long as possible… “But instead of presenting solutions, the oil industry offers only doubt and delay. It’s simply not in its interest to make electrification work… “It’s shameful that the oil industry is trying to use the Latino community for its advantage because its future is clouded by policies that are expected to reduce petroleum consumption in the state by more than 90% over the next two decades. We shouldn’t fall for another delay tactic by an industry with a history of disgraceful and deceptive behavior.”