EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/24/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Summit Carbon stands to benefit from Navigator's canceled pipeline project
WCBU: Opponents seek dismissal of carbon capture pipeline construction application
KTIV: Farmers in West Bend concerned Summit pipeline will harm farming community tile lines
UPI: Environmentalists applaud as company pulls plug on 5-state pipeline project
WGEM: “We’ve won this battle, but that doesn’t mean the war is over”: CO2 pipeline scrapped
Bloomberg: Mountain Valley Accused of Ramping Up on Virginia Pipeline
Law360: Va. Homeowners Too Late To Stop Pipeline, Developer Says
Canadian Press: Canada using 'outdated' treaty to do end run around Indigenous rights in U.S.: court documents
Reuters: Poll shows 68% of Canadians oppose government writedown on Trans Mountain pipeline
Energy Intelligence Group: BC LNG Project Revives Hopes for TC Energy Pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Multiple Panels Plan Attack On Biden Oil Drilling Plans
FOX News: Internal Emails Show Biden Officials Openly Disagreed With Admin's Fossil Fuel Policies
STATE UPDATES
Nebraska Examiner: Nebraska lawmakers look to understand, curb potential abuses of eminent domain
Bakersfield Californian: State taking input on carbon storage compensation
Colorado Sun: “Super-emitting” oil wells near Denver are releasing 142% more pollution per hour than state average, CSU study finds
Billings Gazette: Industrial lobbyists say Montana environmental laws too burdensome
Shaw Local: Illinois bill could require natural gas detectors in homes
KTAL: Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office finds oil spill in Twelve Mile Bayou
EXTRACTION
New York Times: Energy Agency Sees Peaks in Global Oil, Coal and Gas Demand By 2030
Bloomberg: Hot New Canada Oil Play Draws Drillers Seeking Greener Crude
Phys.org: How secrecy and regulatory capture drove Alberta's oil and gas liability crisis
KALW: Will carbon capture technology help fight climate change?
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Belleville Intelligencer: Enbridge gifts alarms to PEC Fire Department
OPINION
Common Dreams: Don’t Offer Up Our National Forests for Industrial Carbon Waste Dumping
Ted Glick: Nonviolent Direct Action on the Rise
The Nation: In Exxon’s Orwellian World, Lower Emissions Means More Oil Production
PIPELINE NEWS
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Summit Carbon stands to benefit from Navigator's canceled pipeline project
Dominik Dausch, 10/21/23
“As one chapter of the Midwest carbon capture pipeline saga closes, another appears open, for now,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “Navigator CO2 Ventures, a Nebraska-based company that planned to build a $3.5 billion carbon dioxide pipeline in South Dakota and four other Midwest states, axed its project on Friday, citing "the unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa" in a statement. This leaves Summit Carbon Solutions, a once-rival carbon capture company also seeking to build a multi-billion dollar, five-state sequestration pipeline, in a position to benefit from Navigator's fall. In a statement to the Argus Leader, a Summit Carbon spokesperson said the company "is well positioned to add additional plants and communities to our project footprint." The statement means that Summit Carbon has enough "capacity" to incorporate "all of Navigator's plants onto our line," Summit Carbon spokesperson Sabrina Zenor told Argus Leader. This extends to POET, one of the largest biofuel companies in the U.S. In July 2022, the South Dakota-based biorefiner signed a letter of intent to connect 18 affiliated ethanol plants throughout Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to Navigator's pipeline, signaling a major partnership between global biofuels magnate Jeff Broin and the ambitious carbon capture project. Without Navigator's pipeline, however, POET will likely have to forge an agreement with Summit Carbon or find other means of sequestering carbon from its ethanol facilities, as no other pipeline project has been proposed near the biorefiner's ethanol plants in South Dakota and Iowa. If POET decides not to sign with Summit Carbon, each of its 18 plants could lose out on potentially tens of millions of dollars in federal clean fuel tax credits associated with the carbon capture initiative. Zenor acknowledged Summit Carbon stands to gain from Navigator's canceled project, saying the business impact "might end up being positive for Summit's bottom line." “...Despite the closure of Navigator's $3.5 billion pipeline project, the company still maintains the option agreements it signed with landowners in all five states as a company asset. Such assets could potentially trade hands to prospective clients, such as Summit Carbon. This would further expand Summit Carbon's footprint and make it easier for the company to route their pipeline along or near Navigator's now-canceled route, in the event POET or other ethanol plants decide to partner with them. However, Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Navigator's vice president of government and public affairs, told the Argus Leader in an e-mail, "We do not have plans at this point in time to sell those options." Furthermore, Burns-Thompson said the agreements Navigator signed with landowners are not considered "full easements" and "will expire after a few years." “...While Summit Carbon's statement indicates it is ready to bring more ethanol plants into its fold, Zenor told the Argus Leader the company has not negotiated any new agreements at this point. "We don't have agreements with them. Only time will tell exactly how that all shakes out.”
WCBU: Opponents seek dismissal of carbon capture pipeline construction application
Tim Shelley, 10/23/23
“Wolf Carbon Solutions is asking the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject two motions to dismiss its pipeline construction application,” WCBU reports. “Citizens Against Predatory Pipelines and Christine and Thomas Kost of Milan both argue the maps of the proposed pipeline route are inadequate. They say it's impossible for landowners to determine if their property will be impacted because the notification corridor is a mile wide, rather than a 200-foot wide project width requested in the company's application to the ICC. Opponents also note the application doesn't show the proposed locations for 33 above-ground facilities associated with the pipeline. But Wolf Carbon Solutions said it is following the law, and that the wider notification corridor provides the company with the flexibility to find a route. They said the final 200-foot wide project width will be contained within the notification corridor, adding the company also provides landowners with a map showing the pipeline's path through their property, upon request… “The Illinois Commerce Commission is expected to make a decision on the construction application next May.”
KTIV: Farmers in West Bend concerned Summit pipeline will harm farming community tile lines
Katie Copple, 10/23/23
“When you think of Iowa, you think of farmers and the land that helps feed millions of people and animals each year. In West Bend, Iowa in the heart of Palo Alto County, two farmers are fighting against a pipeline company not just to protect their land, but the money the farming community has invested into it,” KTIV reports. “Summit will be going from right where we’re standing 220 feet right behind me.” Thomas Fehr is a 6th Generation farmer in West Bend, Iowa. “They have been surveying for a year now, maybe more. They’ve been coming out in surveying quite a bit.” Summit Carbon Solutions wants to build part of its proposed carbon-capture pipeline right through his farmland. “I’ve yet to meet a person that wants the pipeline to go through their land. I think that says a lot,” Fehr told KTIV… “The pipeline, they say, would also harm another important piece of their farming operation. “We also have a 48-inch tile, which drains 1600 acres of our land and our neighbor’s land,” Fehr told KTIV. “They would break right through that. And that would be very costly. And the money that they would pay us to put the pipeline in would not cover that at all.“ “...It not only does it take the water from our fields, there’s like 1,200 extra acres on other farms that will not have a pipeline going through them,” Banwart told KTIV. “If the tile was damaged and their water won’t go away.” “...Banwart agrees, “I don’t like it that they can take my land and use it for their purposes where I’m trying to do something for the environment myself and that gets ruined.” “Eminent domain is meant for the government. And usually, it benefits to the public,” Fehr told KTIV. “This project will not benefit the public at all.” “...When you’ve got the breadbasket, some of the best ground in the world and turn it up for something may only be a stop-gap,” Banwart told KTIV, “I don’t think that’s the answer.”
UPI: Environmentalists applaud as company pulls plug on 5-state pipeline project
Joe Fisher, 10/23/23
“Navigator CO2 Ventures has canceled its five-state Heartland Greenway pipeline project, citing regulatory challenges,” UPI reports. “The Texas-based company called the government processes involved in approving pipeline projects "unpredictable" in a statement announcing it was pulling the plug… "Unlike many other issues, this was never a case of right vs. left, it was right vs. wrong. The people united to resist Navigator at every level in every corner of every state and we won," Jess Mazour, Conservation Program Coordinator of Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, said in a statement obtained by UPI. "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."
WGEM: “We’ve won this battle, but that doesn’t mean the war is over”: CO2 pipeline scrapped
Dylan Smith, 10/23/23
“The project that would have laid 1,300 miles of CO2 pipeline throughout the Midwest is officially cancelled,” WGEM reports. “...Navigator first began proposing the project in local communities almost two years ago. In the Tri-States, the project was met with harsh opposition. In McDonough County, signs that read “No easement, no eminent domain” line country roads. One year ago, the McDonough County Board unanimously approved a two-year moratorium that halted any further development on the pipeline. Bushnell-area farmer Steve Hess has opposed the project from the start, but claims the war isn’t over as another company could pick up the project. “I was surprised, I mean after they [Navigator] put this much effort into it and hit hung this strong, but I also knew that they were facing so many obstacles in every state they were trying to go through,” Hess told WGEM. Hess told WGEM the pipeline would have crossed through a portion of land he farms, and less than one mile from his sons house… “If we want to address CO2, let’s do it on site, lets do it on site and figure out safe ways to do it that we don’t have to put it in a pipeline under extremely high pressure and put people’s lives in danger,” Hess told WGEM… “County Board Chairman Chet Esther told WGEM they were apprehensive at first, because of safety concerns, but attended meetings that eased their minds… “It would’ve been a benefit if they could’ve sequestered it underground, and I think it could have put 15 to 30-cents a bushel on the price of corn long term,” Esther told WGEM.
Bloomberg: Mountain Valley Accused of Ramping Up on Virginia Pipeline
Shayna Greene, 10/23/23
“Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC has allegedly escalated construction for the controversial pipeline after Virginia landowners filed an emergency injunction to stop the project’s progress on their properties,” Bloomberg reports. “The landowners told the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Monday that the company has allegedly sent crews to work overtime as retaliation for plaintiffs asking the court for emergency relief because bulldozers were already in sight. MVP sought to acquire the properties through the power of eminent domain under the Natural Gas Act after the landowners declined to sell.”
Law360: Va. Homeowners Too Late To Stop Pipeline, Developer Says
Faith Williams, 10/23/23
“A group of Virginia homeowners’ bid to halt construction of a 300-mile pipeline is an “extraordinary, thirteenth hour” request, the company overseeing the project recently told the D.C. Circuit, considering it will be completed in the coming months,” Law360 reports.
Canadian Press: Canada using 'outdated' treaty to do end run around Indigenous rights in U.S.: court documents
James McCarten, 10/23/23
“The federal government and Enbridge Inc. are trying to exploit a "dormant" and outdated treaty with the United States to forestall the shutdown of the Line 5 pipeline, human rights and environmental groups argue in new court documents,” the Canadian Press reports. “The argument comes from a recent flurry of filings in district court in Wisconsin, where the energy transmission giant is locked in a battle with a U.S. Indigenous band over the future of the cross-border conduit. Several take direct aim at a central element of the company's defence: a 1977 treaty between Canada and the U.S. that was designed to prevent interruptions in the flow of oil and gas between the two countries. Regardless of international treaties, the U.S. is obliged to defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples, which include the self-management of their natural resources, the Center for International Environmental Law argues in one such filing. "In light of the pipeline's manifold risks … Line 5's continued operation would contravene the United States' duties to protect the right to life of Indigenous communities," it reads. "If the pipeline treaty forces the United States to abandon environmental regulation and actively seek to ensure the pipeline's continued operation in spite of these grave risks of harm, it would require the United States to breach its duty to ensure fundamental human rights." “...The band, however, wants the 19 kilometres of pipeline on its territory shut down as soon as possible, and is also disputing terms of the financial award and profit-sharing agreement that accompanied the district court ruling. To that end, a separate filing by two U.S. experts on restitution law argues that District Court Judge William Conley erred when he calculated that agreement, which included a $5.1-million back payment. Law professors Caprice Roberts and Doug Rendleman argue that Conley's finding accomplishes neither of the necessary goals of restitution: undoing unjust enrichment and deterring future opportunism. They say the award comprises less than 0.3 per cent of the net profits — $1.1 billion, by their calculations — Enbridge collected from Line 5 over the course of the 10 years that the company was found to be trespassing on band territory. "Restitution measures a wrongdoer's gain, rather than a victim's loss," Roberts and Rendleman write. "By turning a blind eye to its ongoing trespass, Enbridge was able to reap considerable profits by continuing to operate Line 5."
Reuters: Poll shows 68% of Canadians oppose government writedown on Trans Mountain pipeline
Nia Williams, 10/24/23
“More than two-thirds of Canadians oppose the federal government taking a multibillion-dollar writedown on the Trans Mountain pipeline, a survey showed on Tuesday, a dilemma for Justin Trudeau's Liberals as they look to sell it ahead of an election expected by 2025,” Reuters reports. “Ottawa has sunk roughly C$35 billion ($25.6 billion) into the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which the federal government bought in 2018 to ensure a controversial expansion project known as TMX went ahead… “But the project cost has more than quadrupled from its original budget and analysts say the government will likely have to take a significant haircut on its investment… “The Nanos survey found 68% of respondents opposed or somewhat opposed Ottawa writing off between C$15 billion and C$20 billion of the debt incurred by Trans Mountain Corp, the government-owned corporation building the expansion. "In the context of people worrying about paying for groceries and paying for their rent and mortgage, writing off that debt is going to be political jeopardy for the Liberals," Nik Nanos, founder of Nanos Research, told Reuterts. The survey was commissioned by West Coast Environmental Law, which works with Indigenous communities against oil pipelines and tanker projects in British Columbia… “Six in 10 Canadians surveyed said it should be mostly oil companies responsible for funding TMX, while nearly half of respondents said the federal government was going in the wrong direction on the project.”
Energy Intelligence Group: BC LNG Project Revives Hopes for TC Energy Pipeline
Caroline Evans, 10/23/23
“Canadian midstream giant TC Energy is dusting off plans for a pipeline to feed natural gas from northern British Columbia to coastal LNG projects as the 12 million ton per year Ksi Lisims development makes its way through the regulatory process,” Energy Intelligence Group reports.
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Multiple Panels Plan Attack On Biden Oil Drilling Plans
Heather Richards, 10/23/23
“West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has a bone to pick with the president over offshore drilling,” E&E News reports. “The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chair will hold a hearing this week to scrutinize the Interior Department’s five-year leasing plan — the smallest in the country’s history. The House Natural Resources Committee held the first hearing on the proposal last week and plans two more sessions this week to discuss oil and gas. When the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released the five-year plan last month, Manchin called it a ‘failure of leadership’ from President Joe Biden and committed to doing ‘everything in my power to hold this Administration accountable.’ The plan includes just three oil lease sales between 2024 and 2029. That’s down from 11 potential sales contemplated in a draft that Interior circulated last year but more than the leasing moratorium Manchin and others oil loyalists feared — and environmentalists wanted.”
FOX News: Internal Emails Show Biden Officials Openly Disagreed With Admin's Fossil Fuel Policies
Thomas Catenacci, 10/23/23
“Several top Biden administration officials openly disagreed with a decision to resume oil and gas leasing, even applauding a Democrat lawmaker’s condemnation of the action, according to internal emails obtained by FOX News. On Aug. 16, 2021, Interior Department (DOI) Deputy Assistant Secretary Steven Feldgus forwarded a press release – according to the emails obtained by watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust and shared with Fox News Digital – from Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the then-chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, to Nada Wolff Culver, Laura Daniel-Davis and Amanda Lefton, three fellow senior DOI officials overseeing key energy policy. ‘Holding more lease sales under today’s outdated standards is economically wasteful and environmentally destructive, and everyone not sitting in a fossil fuel boardroom knows it,’ Grijalva said in a statement included in the release.” "That’s an excellent response," wrote Culver, the principal deputy director of the DOI's Bureau of Land Management, in response to Feldgus' email with Grijalva's release, blasting Haaland's actions. "It sure is," Daniel-Davis, the DOI's principal deputy secretary for land and minerals management, added 10 minutes later. And Lefton – who at the time was the director of the DOI's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management but has since left the administration for a green energy consulting firm – simply wrote, "Yes," joining in on the other officials' praise of Grijalva's statement. The communications provide insight into how senior Biden administration officials openly disagree with their own agency's decision to auction public lands and waters to the fossil fuel industry.”:
STATE UPDATES
Nebraska Examiner: Nebraska lawmakers look to understand, curb potential abuses of eminent domain
ZACH WENDLING, 10/20/23
“Nebraska lawmakers dove into the concept of eminent domain, or the taking of private property for public use, during a Friday hearing to see if state law could be more fair or transparent,” the Nebraska Examiner reports. “State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha introduced Legislative Resolution 247 this spring for a broad look into eminent domain after seeing a number of private entities utilize the law. Though he does not have a specific outcome in mind, Cavanaugh said, he is looking for more transparency to curb potential abuses and to defend property rights… “Eminent domain has been controversial, particularly in current efforts to build carbon dioxide pipelines through several Midwest states, including Nebraska. In those cases, private companies have clashed with states, counties or individual landowners… “William Blake, an attorney with more than 50 years’ experience with eminent domain, offered seven recommendations. He noted they could be done on a piecemeal or comprehensive basis… “Blake’s recommendations are to: Require actual good faith negotiations between landowners and those utilizing eminent domain to be something useful and “more than being a nice person.” Require appraisal transparency, the foundation of good faith negotiations, which should be shared with the owner at the first negotiation contract. Change state law on what needs to be in the condemner’s petition from “should” indicate all needed approvals have been obtained to “shall” indicate. Require public oversight of pipeline routes, not just that a pipeline company can exercise eminent domain. Require that land titles do not pass to the condemner until the property is needed. If the property is not used for the purpose for which it was required, it is returned to the owner. Eliminate institutionalized condemnation blight brought through Protected Corridors by not allowing appraisals to be based on recent sales of property within the scope of the project. Consider an alternative method of determining compensation when it is a private entity’s “for-profit” project. Ken Winston, who has 41 years of experience as an attorney, suggested requiring public hearings in counties where there is a proposed project that would use eminent domain. He also emphasized a need for more uniform standards in the application of eminent domain and a comprehensive rewrite as some laws conflict… “John Hansen, president of Nebraska Farmers Union, said that when landowners do go in for good faith negotiations, buyers sometimes misrepresent their legal status or standing, such as falsely claiming they already have eminent domain. This “fundamentally changes” the nature of the negotiation, he added, asking for possible legal remedies for false representation. “It is the difference between whether or not I walk up to you on the street and ask you for $1 or whether I walk up to you with a gun in my pocket and you can see the gun and say, ‘Give me $1,’” Hansen testified. “It is the difference between a voluntary donation and a robbery.” “...Cavanaugh told the Nebraska Examiner it is a little early to think about possible legislation though Blake’s recommendations to improve negotiations and appraisals “sound pretty straightforward.” “One of the biggest offenses in eminent domain is not the use, but it’s the threat,” Cavanaugh told the Examiner. “I appreciate folks saying, ‘We hardly ever use it,’ but that leaves out the point that you do threaten it.”
Bakersfield Californian: State taking input on carbon storage compensation
JOHN COX, 10/21/23
“The next big question for Kern County's emerging carbon management industry comes up for discussion this week in Bakersfield: What's in it for property owners?,” the Bakersfield Californian reports. “Leading a list of topics state officials plan to go over during a meeting Tuesday at Cal State Bakersfield is how to ensure fair and transparent negotiations between property owners and the companies hoping to use vast pore space deep below the surface for permanent storage of carbon dioxide. Expectations about Tuesday's gathering, based on a related meeting earlier this month in Stockton, are that there's going to be plenty of skepticism heard with regard to long-term liability, monitoring and the rights of those who refuse to participate in carbon storage or who can't be reached at all. State officials say they have few firm answers and so they're listening to ideas as part of a standards-setting process required by the California Legislature… “Some matters have been more or less established by state law, such as pore ownership belonging with surface owners, three-quarters as the threshold for divided property owners' approval of a project, and 100 years being the minimum duration CCS operators are responsible for CO2 injections… “One of the biggest questions is how to be fair to property owners with whom CCS operators can't come to terms on a so-called governing agreement dictating the use of pore space and royalties. As affirmed in last year's Senate Bill 905 calling for creation of a framework for such agreements, the state wants to avoid incentivizing holdouts while also ensuring they get treated fairly… “Chevron Corp. stated by email it sees CCS as a critical enabler of global climate change goals and that it believes the activity can help California achieve its climate priorities while driving economic development and prosperity in Kern. The company noted it is actively engaged with CNRA and the Department of Conservation as part of the ongoing process to gather public input on the CCS framework, "including evaluating the types of property ownership that apply."
Colorado Sun: “Super-emitting” oil wells near Denver are releasing 142% more pollution per hour than state average, CSU study finds
Mark Jaffe, 10/23/23
“The plugs in old oil and gas wells across Colorado are doing their job, preventing methane from escaping into the atmosphere — except in Adams County, which is home to several super-emitting wells, according to a Colorado State University study,” the Colorado Sun reports. “Adams County had three wells with massive emissions, the largest emitting 75 kilograms or 165 pounds of methane per hour, 142% more than the average for unplugged wells in the state. “The CSU study is alarming,” Adams County Commissioner Eva Henry told the Sun. “It is very apparent the health and safety of our community and the children in Adams County is in danger.” The average methane emissions for the county were 1,240 grams per hour compared with an average for the rest of the counties surveyed of 32.5 grams per hour. By way of comparison one dairy cow, which belches methane, emits about 40 grams an hour. Between August 2022 and April 2023 CSU researchers measured methane emissions from 108 plugged wells and 226 unplugged, abandoned wells in 17 counties and 63 oil and gas fields in Colorado. There were zero emissions from the 108 plugged wells… “The biggest emissions appeared to come from wells where production had stopped and the valves were closed, so-called shut-in wells… “The biggest emitting wells were the newer recently abandoned wells,” Riddick told the Sun. “In some cases, these wells were not abandoned because they were played out, but because the owner ran into operating problems or went bankrupt.” The orphan wells that were recently in production averaged 3,640 grams of methane per hour compared with 3.6 grams per hour for the remainder of the non-producing, orphan wells.”
Billings Gazette: Industrial lobbyists say Montana environmental laws too burdensome
Tom Lutey, 10/20/23
“As the public demands Montana regulators toe the line on climate change as a court recently ordered, industrial lobbyists are saying the state’s environmental review is too onerous,” the Billings Gazette reports. “Representatives from the energy, mining and heavy construction industries told the Department of Environmental Quality in Helena and Missoula this week that the state’s permitting law, the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), had become too complicated after years of amendments by the Montana Legislature. Most of those changes have been brought by industrial polluters wanting to speed up the process and limit public involvement. Those industries are now calling for a “modernization” of the environmental law — this after a District Judge ordered the state to begin evaluating climate change risks in its reviews for permitting. DEQ is now holding listening sessions in person and online to gather comments about whether the environmental policy act should be modernized… “Concerned Montana residents spoke at Tuesday's MEPS listening session at the Delta Colonial Hotel in Helena. Nearly 40 signed to speak in person and 30 in the Zoom meeting… “Industry lobbyists on the other hand have repeatedly suggested there's no established way to evaluate carbon dioxide, which Peggy Trenk of the Treasure State Resources Association suggested again in Missoula. "Folks talk about 'there's lots of models and examples we could be using for analysis' but the federal government really hasn't settled on one and I kind of wonder how do we know what's the best one," Trenk said.
Shaw Local: Illinois bill could require natural gas detectors in homes
Claire O'Brien and Kelsey Rettke, 10/21/23
“Home explosions in Woodstock and Earlville this month have renewed calls for better prevention measures in Illinois homes, rental units and businesses to protect from natural gas emergencies,” Shaw Local reports. “Legislators backing a bill in Springfield said requiring natural gas alarms in homes – much like smoke or carbon monoxide detectors – would stop what they said are preventable incidents. “The best preventive method is a detector in every room with a gas appliance,” said state Sen. Craig Wilcox, R-McHenry, on Thursday. In February, Wilcox proposed a senate bill, dubbed the Fuel Gas Detector Act, that would require a natural gas detector to be installed in any room containing an appliance fueled by propane, natural gas or liquified petroleum gas… “A home explosion in Woodstock earlier this month damaged 20 structures, displacing almost two dozen people, authorities said. Two homes, including the one that exploded, were deemed complete losses, and two others are “structurally uninhabitable,” Woodstock Fire and Rescue District Communications Specialist Alex Vucha said… “These explosions are preventable and a natural gas alarm is a simple solution,” Harris told Shaw.
KTAL: Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office finds oil spill in Twelve Mile Bayou
Christa Swanson, 10/22/23
“On Saturday, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office discovered an oil spill on Twelve Mile Bayou that extended to Black Bayou,” KTAL reports. “Authorities said the spill’s reach extended as far south as Dixie Blanchard Rd. Using drones, deputies traced the spill nine miles north, just south of LA-530. The CPSO contacted the Louisiana State Police Haz Mat Hotline and turned the investigation over to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.”
EXTRACTION
New York Times: Energy Agency Sees Peaks in Global Oil, Coal and Gas Demand By 2030
Brad Plumer, 10/24/23
“For more than a century, the world’s appetite for fossil fuels has been expanding relentlessly, as humans have continued burning larger amounts of coal, oil and natural gas almost every year to power homes, cars and factories,” the New York Times reports. “But a remarkable shift may soon be at hand. The world’s leading energy agency now predicts that global demand for oil, natural gas and coal will peak by 2030, partly driven by policies that countries have already adopted to promote cleaner forms of energy and transportation. A peak in fossil fuel use won’t be enough to stop global warming, the International Energy Agency said in its World Energy Outlook, a 354-page report on global energy trends published Tuesday. To do that, emissions from coal, oil and natural gas would need to fall to nearly zero. But a sweeping transformation of the global energy landscape is underway. By 2030, there could be 10 times as many electric vehicles on the road as there are today, the report said… “If that all came to pass, oil and gas demand would most likely plateau at slightly above today’s levels for the next three decades, expanding in developing countries and shrinking in advanced economies. Demand for coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels, would start declining, though it might fluctuate year to year if, say, coal plants needed to run more often during heat waves or droughts. “The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. “It’s not a question of ‘if,’ it’s just a matter of ‘how soon’ — and the sooner the better for all of us.” “I have a gentle suggestion to oil executives, they only talk among themselves,” Mr. Birol told the Times. “They should talk to car manufacturers, to the heat pump industry, to the renewable industry, to investors — and see what they all think the future of energy looks like.”
Bloomberg: Hot New Canada Oil Play Draws Drillers Seeking Greener Crude
Robert Tuttle, 10/23/23
“A hot spot for Canadian oil drillers is emerging in a tiny corner of eastern Alberta, drawing companies including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Baytex Energy Corp. in search of cheaper, lower-emissions heavy crude,” Bloomberg reports. “Oil drillers have applied for 81 licenses to drill into the so-called Waseca formation so far this year, 30 more than in all of 2022. That’s the biggest increase in any oil and gas formation in the province this year, according to regulatory data. The formation holds heavy oil about 400 meters (1,300 feet) beneath Alberta’s soil near the oil-sands region of Cold Lake. But, unlike the oil sands, the Waseca can be tapped with conventional drilling gear that costs less and generates lower emissions because steam isn’t needed to make the crude flow… “While the oil sands can require billions of dollars of upfront investment and years to establish production, a conventional heavy-oil well can be brought online in a few months at a fraction the cost. They’re also more environmentally friendly than the oil sands, which produce some of the highest carbon emissions in the world per barrel. “It’s much cheaper oil to extract, which is why companies are attracted to it,” Jonah Resnick, a Calgary-based research analyst for Wood Mackenzie, told Bloomberg.
Phys.org: How secrecy and regulatory capture drove Alberta's oil and gas liability crisis
Shaun Fluker, Drew Yewchuk and Martin Olszynski, 10/23/23
"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,” Phys.org reports. “In a new paper, we look back over 40 years and identify three factors that have led to this unprecedented regulatory failure. 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)... “Alberta's auditor general has recently reported estimates of $60 billion in closure liabilities in the conventional (non-oil sands) sector. Meanwhile the province holds less than $295 million from industry in security—0.5 percent of official estimates… “At the time, the then-minister of energy admitted that successive governments had long been aware of the growing closure liability problem and notes "we're looking at decades where no government has been willing to move on this file." 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… “Because we find that these three core deficiencies persist in Alberta's new Liability Management Framework, we conclude that it too is unlikely to succeed in ensuring that the polluter pays for the sector's closure work.”
KALW: Will carbon capture technology help fight climate change?
Malihe Razazan, Rose Aguilar, 10/23/23
“On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, climate and energy reporter Nicholas Kusnetz discusses his Inside Climate News series, Pipe Dreams: Is Carbon Capture a Climate Solution or a Dangerous Distraction?,” KALW reports. “Carbon capture and storage involves capturing and storing carbon dioxide from polluting sources and storing it deep in the ground. The investigation explores the potential benefits and drawbacks of these technologies. The Biden administration's bipartisan infrastructure bill appropriates more than $12 billion to carbon capture and removal, representing the single largest investment in the technologies. Environmentalists call these subsidies a handout to the oil industry and a distraction from urgently needed actions. How effective are these technologies?”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Belleville Intelligencer: Enbridge gifts alarms to PEC Fire Department
10/23/23
“Enbridge Gas has made yet another donation of smoke and CO2 alarms for public protection: this time to the Prince Edward County Fire Department,” the Belleville Intelligencer reports. “The gift of 246 state-of the-art smoke and carbon monoxide (CO 2) alarms was formally presented Monday in the county’s new fire hall to Fire Chief Chad Brown plus other fire department officials and Mayor Steve Ferguson. On behalf of Enbridge, Mike Cooney, Eastern Region Supervisor ,Operations, Enbridge Gas, noted the donation is part of a $315,000 Enbridge program called Safe Community Project Zero over the past 15 years. Similar donations have been made to other fire departments in the Quinte area in recent months. Over the past 15 years, the program has donated a total of more than 86,000 such alarms… “We thank Enbridge and the Fire Marshal’s Public Safety Council for their very generous donation,” said Chief Brown. Mayor Ferguson also expressed gratitude for the donation.”
OPINION
Common Dreams: Don’t Offer Up Our National Forests for Industrial Carbon Waste Dumping
Jim Furnish retired from the USDA Forest Service after serving for 34 years, including as deputy chief for national forests from 1999 - 2002, 10/23/23
“In my 34-year career at the U.S. Forest Service, the agency worked to support American industry while also maintaining public lands and the renewable resources they foster. That’s why I am shocked to learn that the agency plans to make a fundamental change to how it manages our public lands: allowing private parties to permanently dump industrial pollution in national forests,” Jim Furnish writes for Common Dreams. “...Now, in an alarming contradiction, the Forest Service proposes to blow a pipeline-sized hole in its regulations, quoting here “to allow exclusive or perpetual right of use or occupancy... of National Forest System (NFS) lands” for carbon waste injection and storage. This carbon waste, in addition to requiring pipelines and injection wells, can cause people and animals to suffocate or even die. This I know: Once gases are piped underground, there are no do-overs. What’s done is done. And I wouldn’t want to be a Forest Service ranger working anywhere near these dangerous operations… “Sending the waste through pipelines to national forests is surely more appealing than dealing with landowner opposition to carbon pipeline companies’ efforts to take private property by eminent domain… “Some national forests will be targeted sooner based on their geology, but this rule change puts all of them at risk of future applicants’ desire to make quick profits and spoil public lands permanently… “The agency has a golden opportunity to elevate the value of carbon sequestration by protecting mature and old-growth forests. Isn’t this a better values choice than chasing tired polluting industry practices that are squarely opposite where our climate change battle should be heading? The Forest Service should abandon its proposal to permanently privatize the public’s land and endanger our shared renewable resources and ecosystems, which only benefits a small group of rich companies and investors.”
Ted Glick: Nonviolent Direct Action on the Rise
Ted Glick has been a progressive activist, organizer and writer since 1968, 10/23/23
“I’ve been arrested three times so far this year for nonviolent direct actions (nvda) on the climate crisis. I don’t think I’ve ever been arrested more than once in a single year before this year; since my first arrest in 1970 I’ve been arrested about 30 times,” Ted Glick writes. “I risked arrest with about 100 others a week ago in southwest Virginia, fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Five of us—not me--were arrested, four on purpose after locking down to four pipeline construction vehicles at two different construction sites. Both sites were pretty much shut down for the whole day, the main objective of these actions. In two of my three arrests this year, one at Chase Bank in DC in March and one at the Federal Reserve in NYC about a month ago, I was not one of the primary organizers. I responded to the initiative of others, glad they had done so and pleased to join in and contribute what I could in the action buildup. There have been many more, climate-focused, risk arrest actions this year, among them: many actions, probably at least 20, by the new and youth-led group Climate Defiance; the disruption of the corporate sponsored US Tennis Open in NYC in September; about 20 MVP resisters in total arrested since August in Appalachia; many thousands in the Netherlands; Greta Thunberg just last week; 20 people in Boston last month; 14 at the East Hampton Town Airport in July in NY; and more, probably many more… “However, as important as nvda is as a tactic, it’s just that: a tactic. It is not a strategy for either the kind of deep and wide societal transformation we need or even for an ongoing campaign on a specific major issue. Take the fight against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. There is no question that the 932-consecutive-days tree sit from 2018 to 2021 by Appalachians Against Pipelines had a huge role in preventing the MVP from being completed. The actions now being organized by AAP are critical both for the delays in construction caused as well as to strengthen the morale of the overall movement, generate media coverage of the resistance and keep hope alive… “ I’ve been part of activist groups in the past that had difficulty understanding this essential lesson of history: purist politics or the arrogant attitude of “my way is the only way” very rarely work… “Each of us taking the kind of actions we believe will be most effective, while always being willing to listen to and dialogue about why others with similar political views see things differently—this is an essential building block to ultimate victory and a new world.”
The Nation: In Exxon’s Orwellian World, Lower Emissions Means More Oil Production
Brad Swanson is a partner in a socially responsible fund management firm, Developing World Markets, and an adjunct finance professor at George Mason University, 10/24/23
“Which of the following is true? ExxonMobil: pledges to eliminate its carbon emissions by 2050; is dramatically increasing its oil and gas production; invests vastly more capital in fossil fuel development than in carbon emission reduction. If you answered “all of the above,” congratulations! You have mastered the Orwellian world of Big Oil climate-speak,” Brad Swanson writes for The Nation. “This is a world where “carbon emissions” means whatever you want it to, where investing in climate solutions is a façade, and where global standards of living are forecasted to rise the hotter it gets. ExxonMobil is not alone in practicing a 21st-century version of Newspeak, the logic-defying lingo of George Orwell’s iconic novel 1984. Most oil majors, while pledging to deal with carbon emissions, have no plans to move away from fossil fuels. But Exxon is in a class by itself, and not only because it is the most valuable publicly traded energy company in the world. Exxon’s misleading climate pledges are business as usual for a company that strenuously denied climate change for years, contrary to its own scientists’ findings. They also fit nicely with Exxon’s current holier-than-thou advertising campaign promising that its expertise will help other industries lower carbon emissions. The real-world Exxon is the company that just purchased shale oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion—its largest acquisition since it took over Mobil in 1999—thereby increasing its fossil fuel production by almost 20 percent in one leap… “In the fossil fuel industry, Scope 3 emissions account for about 90 percent of the total, as burning oil produces much more carbon than drilling for it. But Exxon’s net zero pledge is carefully worded to avoid any mention of Scope 3 emissions. Exxon is promising only to make its own operations carbon neutral, including buying electricity, or generating its own, from renewable sources. Exxon apparently sees a future where the company’s drill rigs will run on clean solar power while pulling up ever more oil and gas, which will dump ever more carbon into the atmosphere when burned for fuel. This is what “net zero” means in Exxon language.”