EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/19/21
PIPELINE NEWS
CBC: RCMP arrest 14, clear main road in operation against Wet'suwet'en pipeline resistance
Facebook: Gidimt'en Checkpoint: Coastal GasLink Drill Site Remains Blocked After 15 Arrests on Gidimt’en Territory
Reuters: Canadian indigenous protesters say police making arrests at site of disputed pipeline
Financial Post: 'Rescue mission' breaches blockade to arrest protesters and free workers at northern B.C. gas pipeline
The Detroit News: Protesters call for shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 as Biden tours GM plant
Politico: The Canadian energy company in the way of Whitmer’s campaign
Bloomberg: Enbridge Pipeline Is ‘Critical’ for U.S. Needs, Propane CEO Says
Politico: ENBRIDGE STRIKES BACK:
Michigan Radio: Ignore the buzz, here's why Enbridge Line 5 won't likely close anytime soon
Environmental Defense Fund: FERC Commissioners Unanimously Support Extending Pipeline Certificate, Allaying Anxiety in St. Louis Caused by Spire PR Campaign
KFGO: Petition asks Walz, Ellison to drop Line 3 protest charges
Truthout: Gulf Coast Tribe Vows to Resist Enbridge’s New Pipeline Expansion Plans
KMA: Summit Carbon moving forward with proposed carbon dioxide pipeline
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: State pipeline regulators approve $1M penalty and settlement with Energy Transfer over Revolution explosion
KULR: Bridger Pipeline agrees to $2M settlement over oil spill in Yellowstone River
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: STRONG DEMAND FOR GULF
Politico: BUT NOT ALL IS ROSY FOR INDUSTRY
Washington Post: Trump’s Bureau of Land Management HQ move reduced Black employees, created mass vacancies, report says
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Sun: Colorado issues tough new draft rules on Suncor to limit runoff of dangerous “forever chemicals” into water
San Diego Union Tribune: San Diego County Supervisors oppose offshore oil drilling, create women’s equity ordinance
Texas Observer: ADVOCATES WANT BIDEN’S METHANE RULES TO GO EVEN FURTHER
Mlive.com: Consumers Energy debuts new high-tech vehicles to help detect natural gas leaks
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Chevron, Exxon are among top spenders at Biden offshore auction
Reuters: Exxon lays groundwork for carbon storage project at offshore auction
CBC: Alberta invests $131 million in carbon capture projects in bid to cut emissions
Bloomberg: How the global energy crunch is boosting oilsands' shift to renewables
CBC: Researchers look for new uses for bitumen to continue driving oilsands economy
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
Washington Post: It’s hailed as the clean energy of the future. But hydrogen produces ‘substantial’ emissions, study shows.
CLIMATE FINANCE
S&P Global: Zurich unveils new curbs on fossil fuel underwriting
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Reuters: During COP26, Facebook served ads with climate falsehoods, skepticism
OPINION
The Hill: Biden must protect Great Lakes from oil spill threat
PIPELINE NEWS
CBC: RCMP arrest 14, clear main road in operation against Wet'suwet'en pipeline resistance
Jorge Barrera, 11/18/21
“The RCMP says it arrested 14 people and cleared a forest service road in northern British Columbia that was barricaded by a crushed van and another vehicle that was set on fire by Wet'suwet'en and Haudenosaunee members opposing construction of a multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline,” the CBC reports. “The remote logging road begins just west of Houston, 1,000 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, and is an old battleground. Thursday's move by the RCMP mark the third time it has launched operations on this road against barricades erected by supporters of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. They say the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline does not have consent to cross Wet'suwet'en territory... “The RCMP said in a statement the 14 individuals were arrested for breaching an injunction in place since 2019 preventing any obstruction on the road. They are being held overnight and are scheduled to appear in court Friday morning, the statement said… “The RCMP statement characterizes the operation as a rescue effort for 500 workers in two CGL camps… “Molly Wickham, also known as Sleydo', a Gidimt'en Clan member, told CBC that police arrested 15 people, including two Wet'suwet'en elders, three legal observers and a journalist. Wickham also said the RCMP brought a canine team to the raid… “Wickham told CBC that Coyote Camp, which is on the occupied drill pad site, still stands and the remaining group plans to stay and protect the river from drilling work… "They came with intent and the ability to kill people and seriously harm people. There is a huge level of risk and not knowing what is going to happen.... It will be interesting to see how the rest of so-called Canada reacts to this kind of invasion, once again." In a video statement issued Wednesday, Gidimt'en Hereditary Chief Dini ze' Woos called for a meeting of hereditary chiefs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan. "We are open to a dialogue," said Woos.
Facebook: Gidimt'en Checkpoint: Coastal GasLink Drill Site Remains Blocked After 15 Arrests on Gidimt’en Territory
11/18/21
“Dozens of heavily armed RCMP breached the Gidimt'en Checkpoint this morning. There are 15 confirmed arrests, including two Wet'suwet'en elders, 3 Haudenosaunee members, 3 Legal Observers, and one journalist. Police were deployed in military garb, armed with assault weapons and dog teams. The Coyote Camp, established on Coastal GasLink’s proposed drill pad site September 25 remains in place with Wet’suwet’en and supporters continuing to occupy the site. “If TC Energy thinks that raiding Wet’suwet’en territory will stop the resistance against this project, they’re dead wrong,” said Sleydo’, a Cas Yikh supporting chief who remains on site. The Provincial Government has prioritized the criminalization of Wet’suwet’en water protectors over the needs of people throughout the province, as two charter planes of RCMP have been deployed on Wet’suwet’en land amidst historic, climate driven floods. Hundreds of police who could assist with floods, mudslides, highway closures, and evacuations are instead deployed to remove Wet’suwet’en people from unsurrendered Wet’suwet’en land. A Cas Yikh matriarch elder was placed under arrest and brought to the hospital by ambulance with chest pains, after being denied access to prescription medication by this Exclusion Zone the day before. She has since been released and is recovering.”
Reuters: Canadian indigenous protesters say police making arrests at site of disputed pipeline
David Ljunggren, 11/18/21
“Canadian police on Thursday started arresting indigenous protesters at the site of TC Energy Corp’s Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, a First Nations group opposed to the project said,” Reuters reports. “The Royal Canadian Mounted Police earlier said they would break up a blockade around the project in the remote northern part of the province, which has long been opposed by the Gidimt’en clan and others on environmental grounds. “Arrests are being made at Gidimt’en checkpoint,” said a Twitter account representing the Gidimt’en blockade. At least four arrests had been made and police were using heavy trucks and bulldozers, it said… “The RCMP did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It said earlier that some demonstrators had vandalized equipment, destroyed a road and blocking essential supplies. Hereditary chiefs from the Gidimt’en and the four other clans that make up the Wet’suwet’en people have been trying for more than a year to halt construction of the pipeline. All of the 20 elected indigenous band councils along Coastal GasLink’s 415 mile (670 km) route support the project. But Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs insist they have the final say. Coastal, owned by private equity firm KKR & Co Inc, Alberta Investment Management Corp and TC, says the protests are illegal, citing an injunction granted by the British Columbia Supreme Court in 2019.”
Financial Post: 'Rescue mission' breaches blockade to arrest protesters and free workers at northern B.C. gas pipeline
Geoffrey Morgan, 11/18/21
“RCMP officers made arrests and cleared a blockaded forestry road Thursday, allowing 500 Coastal GasLink pipeline workers that had been stranded at a work camp access to fresh water and food,” the Financial Post reports. “British Columbia RCMP described the operation as a “rescue and enforcement” action to remove protesters that have blocked the Morice Forest Service Road near Houston, B.C., and, police say, prevented essential supplies from reaching workers. “We have serious concerns that a number of individuals from out of province and out of country have been engaging in illegal activities in the area, such as falling trees, stealing or vandalizing heavy machinery and equipment and causing major destruction to the forestry road, all in an effort to prevent industry and police from moving through.” “...The elected chiefs issued a statement this week saying the protest group does not represent their members, some of who are trapped behind the blockade. “We want to make it absolutely clear that the actions of a few members of the Gidimt’en Clan who claimed to evict Coastal GasLink and the RCMP from the headwaters of the Morice River (Wedzin Kwa in our language) do not represent the collective views of the clan or of most Wet’suwet’en people,” a Nov. 14 statement from Wet’suwet’en First Nation councillors said… “TC Energy tells the Post the project is now over 50 per cent complete, “fully permitted and has unprecedented support and agreements with all 20 elected Indigenous groups across the route.”
The Detroit News: Protesters call for shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 as Biden tours GM plant
Hani Barghouthi, 11/17/21
“Protesters lined the street where President Joe Biden would pass on his way to tour the GM assembly plant, hoping he would hear their calls to shut down the controversial Enbridge oil pipelines,” The Detroit News reports. “With slogans like "Enbridge kills" and "Let's not trash our home," dozens of organizers with the Oil & Water Don’t Mix coalition gathered on Edsel Ford Service Drive, across from the newly renamed General Motors Factory ZERO Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, an electric vehicle plant that straddles both cities. Demonstrators were protesting Line 5, Enbridge Energy's 68-year-old pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. Biden toured the plant Wednesday, touting his $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure bill and the importance of more spending to accelerate EV adoption. Protesters said they feared the damage a rupture in the decades-old pipelines would cause to residents' health, arguing it would pollute drinking and swimming water and damage the Great Lakes. "They put the pipe in in the '50s and it's been falling apart ever since then," Wendy Case, 58, of West Bloomfield, told the News. "A line break ... would be devastating to both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan, and just an environmental travesty." “...The protest came the day after a judge denied Michigan's request to move its lawsuit seeking the closure of the pipeline from federal court back to state court, where it might have had better chances with a county judge. "There's absolutely no control over the corporations or any effort to make them responsible," Lon Herman, 73, of Ferndale, told the News. "We just need (Biden) to truly be the environmental president he claims he wants to be."
Politico: The Canadian energy company in the way of Whitmer’s campaign
By ZI-ANN LUM and BEN LEFEBVR, 11/18/21
“Enbridge, the embattled Canadian energy giant, is ramping up its offensive over the controversial cross-border Line 5 — and trying to scuttle Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's reelection bid,” Politico reports. “With six-figure ad buys and free fish giveaways, the firm is going all out to sway Michigan voters with safety pledges and warnings about potential propane shortages. Calgary-based Enbridge launched attack ads earlier this year targeting Whitmer, who has called the aging line a looming ecological disaster for the Great Lakes and campaigned in 2018 to shut down the pipeline. Her fight against Enbridge has since escalated, now involving the Canadian government and the Biden administration… “A new ad that aired on Detroit’s ABC station this month featured an Anishinaabe narrator, kayaking along the Detroit River, attesting to the safety of pipelines over transporting crude oil and natural gas liquids by truck and rail. Line 5 is the source of 65 percent of propane in the state’s upper peninsula and provides 55 percent of Michigan’s supply of the fossil fuel. At its terminus point in Sarnia, Ontario, the crude oil delivered via Line 5 diverts into three other Enbridge pipelines. These channels supply Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, with 53 percent of its crude. The pipeline supplies 66 percent of the crude in neighboring Quebec. “It powers our economy,” said the unnamed narrator who only reveals himself as an Enbridge employee. “And building the Great Lakes Tunnel is the best long-term solution to reliably, affordably and safely deliver the energy all of us in Michigan need.” “...Michigan’s gubernatorial election is scheduled for next November. Energy prices and the outcome of pipeline treaty talks between the U.S. and Canada following Whitmer’s attempt to shutter Line 5 are poised to be potential factors in the race. In response to questions about the company’s latest TV blitz, Enbridge spokesperson Tracy Larsson told Politico ad campaigns are “one of many methods” used to convey “important factual information” about the company and its projects.
Bloomberg: Enbridge Pipeline Is ‘Critical’ for U.S. Needs, Propane CEO Says
Gerson Freitas Jr, 11/18/21
“Losing Line 5, an oil and propane pipeline that the governor of Michigan is trying to shut, would impose a significant constraint on U.S. energy supplies, according to the boss of fuel supplier Suburban Propane Partners LP,” Bloomberg reports. “I think it’s a very misguided thought that we can do without the amount of propane and oil that comes in from Canada to serve some of the critical needs, particularly in the upper Midwest,” Mike Stivala, Chief Executive Officer of Suburban Propane Partners, told Bloomberg. “I sure hope it lives.’’
Politico: ENBRIDGE STRIKES BACK:
Matthew Choi, 11/18/21
“Canadian energy giant Enbridge has been splashing out to defend its controversial Line 5 pipeline that carries oil across Michigan to refineries in Canada,” Politico reports. “The company launched attack ads earlier this year targeting Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has campaigned on shutting down the aging line over environmental concerns, and it is putting millions into “community investments” along its pipeline routes, including donations to a public library and even a giveaway of 2,000 pounds of free whitefish fillets. That campaign comes as the pipeline faces legal challenges from Michigan Democrats and environmentalists who warn the pipeline could cause an environmental disaster in the Straits of Mackinac. But the line’s defenders say shutting it down would simply lead to more rail and truck transport, and with butane costs expected to soar going into the winter months, Enbridge has more fodder to garner popular support… “The White House, meanwhile, has so far been reluctant to weigh in too heavily, waiting until an Army Corps of Engineers review of a proposed project on the line is complete.”
Michigan Radio: Ignore the buzz, here's why Enbridge Line 5 won't likely close anytime soon
By Kelly House, 11/18/21
“Anyone following recent national and international news about the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline could be forgiven for believing the pipeline might shutter any day now, with major implications for winter fuel prices,” Michigan Radio reports. “But a year since Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered the pipeline shuttered over safety concerns, its future is no clearer today than it was then. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon. In reality, legal experts and even key Line 5 foes say, any decision about the pipeline’s fate is likely months or even years away. That means barring a dramatic change, Line 5 will keep pumping oil through the winter while judges, diplomats and regulators fight over how quickly the aging pipes must vacate the Straits, and whether Enbridge should build a tunnel to replace them… “Because the two sides have yet to begin debating the shutdown order in court, any future resolution to the case is months away at best, Matthew Fletcher, director of Michigan State University’s Indigenous Law and Policy Center, who has been following the Line 5 case, told Michigan Radio. And the judge’s eventual decision is almost certain to be appealed by the losing party, further delaying any action, Steven Ratner, Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan and an expert in international law, told Michigan Radio. That means Line 5’s future could remain uncertain as Democrats Whitmer and Nessel vie for re-election, after staking their first term partly on vows to shut down the pipeline… “Environmentalists point to those delays as evidence that Line 5 must be shut down now. Allowing the 68-year-old pipes to remain on the lake bottom for another seven years, they argue, is a risk Michigan can’t afford to take… “Unsurprisingly, Enbridge and its supporters argue just the opposite. “It’s about the safest pipeline that there is,” Mark Griffin, president of the Michigan Petroleum Association, told Michigan Radio.
Environmental Defense Fund: FERC Commissioners Unanimously Support Extending Pipeline Certificate, Allaying Anxiety in St. Louis Caused by Spire PR Campaign
11/18/21
“During an open meeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today, commissioners affirmed their support for an extension of the temporary certificate to allow the Spire STL pipeline to continue operating during the winter months. FERC Chairman Richard Glick stated it is his intent to act on Spire’s pending temporary certificate application before the current temporary certificate expires on December 13. The declaration by FERC should lay to rest fears stoked in a misleading public relations campaign by company affiliate Spire Missouri falsely suggesting that utility customers could be left without gas heat this winter due to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “EDF has consistently urged FERC to ensure reliable service to St. Louis customers this winter. The unanimous statements from the participating FERC Commissioners should put to rest the fear and uncertainty Spire has created in St. Louis. Chairman Glick also expressed concern regarding Spire’s fear campaign and stated that ‘it is important to turn down the rhetoric and examine the facts,” said Natalie Karas, senior director and lead counsel, Environmental Defense Fund.
KFGO: Petition asks Walz, Ellison to drop Line 3 protest charges
Madison Quinn, 11/17/21
“An online petition asking Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to drop all criminal charges against hundreds of demonstrators arrested in connection with the Line 3 pipeline protests in northern Minnesota has collected more than 14,000 signatures,” KFGO reports. “Organizers say the charges are based on “brutal policing tactics,” the violation of treaty rights, and the project’s contribution to “catastrophic climate change.” “It’s entirely wrong that Enbridge, a foreign oil corporation, has committed egregious crimes against the water and people, yet it’s us who are being prosecuted” Honor the Earth Executive Director Winona LaDuke told KFGO. “Every day that pipeline is in operation, Minnesotans are in danger. It must be shut down, and all charges against Water Protectors must be dropped.”
Truthout: Gulf Coast Tribe Vows to Resist Enbridge’s New Pipeline Expansion Plans
Candice Bernd, 11/18/21
“As Indigenous Water Protectors and allies in northern Minnesota are stuck with legal and environmental fallout of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline’s construction and operation, Enbridge is already moving on — eyeing ways to streamline and further expand its ability to deliver Canadian tar sands to the Gulf Coast for export to global markets,” Truthout reports. “The Canadian oil giant is looking to increase capacity across its fossil fuel infrastructure systems that connect to the Texas Gulf Coast, including potentially building a pipeline linking the Houston area to its newly acquired crude-export hub at the Port of Corpus Christi in order to accommodate Line 3’s ramped up capacity, according to reporting by S&P Global Platts. The company is also looking at ways to expand its capacity across its Southern Access Extension and Flanagan South pipelines, corporate officials reportedly said on its third-quarter earnings call… “Now, Texas Gulf Coast Indigenous communities are vowing resistance to Enbridge’s Gulf expansion plans in solidarity with the White Earth Band of Ojibwe Water Protector LaDuke and other Anishinaabe peoples’ continued resistance to Enbridge and Line 3. “...A lot of the organizations that I work with down here in Corpus Christi Bay that are dealing with the Enbridge expansion and the Cheniere [Energy liquified natural gas export terminal] expansion and the whole fossil fuel industry here, … we’re ready,” Love Sanchez, co-founder of Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend (IPCB) who is descended from the Karankawa Kadla Tribe of the Texas Gulf Coast, told Truthout. “We’re just kind of on standby to see what’s next and planning behind the scenes, and seeing how we could prevent the expansion from happening.”
KMA: Summit Carbon moving forward with proposed carbon dioxide pipeline
Ethan Hewett, 11/17/21
“While landowner meetings have passed, conversations with those landowners are just beginning for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline,” KMA reports. “Summit Carbon Solutions, one of two companies with a proposed five-state CO2 pipeline, has completed over 30 county landowner meetings required by the Iowa Utilities Board but has just now begun the process of initiating conversations with landowners impacted by the pipeline. While environmentalists and some landowners have given backlash, public relations representative Quinn Slaven told KMA discussions with landowners have also revealed several in favor. "I think a lot of people, especially corn growers, are very excited about this project and are excited to be a part of it, mainly because of the benefits that are offered to the ethanol industry," Slaven told KMA. "This is an opportunity to bolster an industry that consumes nearly half of our nations corn crop, and they're excited this is an opportunity to ensure they have a long term market for their corn." “...Crop and land damage has been a hot topic between those for and against the pipeline with the line running through agricultural lands… “Slaven tells KMA Summit intends to pay upfront for 100% of crop damages for the first year, 80% for the second, and 60% for the third year after construction.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: State pipeline regulators approve $1M penalty and settlement with Energy Transfer over Revolution explosion
ANYA LITVAK, 11/18/21
“Closing the book on its yearslong informal investigation into the Revolution pipeline explosion in September 2018, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a settlement with Energy Transfer which involves a $1 million fine and a host of safety conditions,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. “The Revolution pipeline, which was just starting to ferry natural gas when it slid down a drenched Beaver County hill and burst open, sending flames into the morning sky and burning a house to the ground, was in limbo for several years but restarted service in March. The settlement over the explosion was reached in December 2020 and opened for public comment in July. Since then, pipeline safety advocates, residents from Ivy Lane, where the pipeline burst, elected officials, labor leaders and trade groups submitted their thoughts, with some arguing that the settlement should be approved as written and others, including the residents most impacted, asking for higher penalties to deter the company from safety violations in the future… “The additional safety measures imposed by the settlement include more frequent pipeline inspections. Some commenters asked that those be performed and/or analyzed by a third party instead of the pipeline company. But the PUC declined to make that a requirement.”
KULR: Bridger Pipeline agrees to $2M settlement over oil spill in Yellowstone River
11/17/21
“Bridger Pipeline, LLC, a Wyoming corporation, has agreed to settle a civil lawsuit with the U.S. and the State of Montana with a $2 million payment,” KULR reports. “The money will be used to help recover natural resource damages from a pipeline break that spilled crude oil into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said Wednesday. The U.S. and Montana filed a civil complaint, along with a proposed consent decree, alleging violations of the Oil Pollution Act and state law, according to a release. The complaint also seeks damages and costs for injuries to natural resources caused by the discharge of oil from the Bridger Pipeline’s Polar pipeline when it ruptured on Jan. 17, 2015 where it crosses underneath the Yellowstone River, about 6.5 miles upstream from Glendive. About 758 barrels of oil were released, Bridger Pipeline estimates… “The proposed decree requires Bridger Pipeline to pay $2 million to resolve claims. Of the total, $1,739,795 will be placed into a natural resource damages fund to be managed by the State of Montana and used to address injuries alleged in the complaint. Natural resources injured or damaged include surface water, migratory birds and their supporting ecosystems, fish, including the pallid sturgeon and associated riverine aquatic habitat and human service losses. Restoration actions will be evaluated and selected by federal and state natural resource damages trustees in a future plan before the funds will be spent. The restoration plan will be subject to public comment.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: STRONG DEMAND FOR GULF
Matthew Choi, 11/18/21
“The Biden administration’s first offshore oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico generated $191 million, with 33 companies placing bids on 308 tracts — the highest number since 2014 and blowing past many of the sales conducted under the Trump administration,” Politico reports. “Exxon Mobil won nearly a third of the leases bid on. The tracts were in shallow waters — areas that could be used as part of the company’s plan to build out of carbon capture technology. The administration said it was compelled to hold the sale after its moratorium on new auctions was deemed unlawful by a federal judge in Louisiana — and many officials were not too happy about it. That includes Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose agency filed an appeal with the 5th Circuit, arguing it had wide leeway in determining the timelines of lease sales. National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy responded to a complaint about the sale during a Wednesday meeting of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council by saying: “Your frustration is similar to my own." But given the court order to hold the sale, she noted, “and there was literally nothing that we could do to stop it.”
Politico: BUT NOT ALL IS ROSY FOR INDUSTRY
Matthew Choi, 11/18/21
“President Joe Biden wrote to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Wednesday to probe whether the oil and gas industry is manipulating the gasoline market to drive up prices,” Politico reports. ““Usually, prices at the pump correspond to movements in the price of unfinished gasoline,” he wrote. “But in the last month the price of unfinished gasoline is down more than 5 percent while gas prices at the pump are up 3 percent.” Industry groups rejected Biden’s premise, reiterating their claims that it was the administration’s policies that were pushing up prices. And Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, told Politico Biden's move "looks to us more like political signaling than economic substance,” adding that “past FTC investigations have generally been inconclusive, and the price divergences cited in today’s letter have happened on several occasions in the last decade.”
Washington Post: Trump’s Bureau of Land Management HQ move reduced Black employees, created mass vacancies, report says
Joshua Partlow, 11/18/21
“As Trump officials were moving the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management from Washington, D.C., to Colorado two years ago, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, issued a stark warning to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt: The department risked a “significant legal liability” by driving Black employees from an agency that was overwhelmingly White,” the Washington Post reports. “Among a host of troubling diversity data, Grijalva wrote in a letter obtained by The Washington Post, “one of the most alarming statistics is that there are only 312 Black/African American employees nationwide at the agency, less than 3.5 percent of the BLM workforce” of about 9,000 people. If the headquarters move went ahead and Black employees suffered a disparate impact, Grijalva warned, Interior could be sued by its own employees under the Civil Rights Act. He described it as a “significant legal liability that could rival the cost of the entire relocation.”
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Sun: Colorado issues tough new draft rules on Suncor to limit runoff of dangerous “forever chemicals” into water
Michael Booth, 11/16/21
“Colorado will for the first time monitor and limit runoff of PFAS, dangerous “forever chemicals” threatening drinking water across the nation, at Suncor’s Commerce City Refinery as part of a long-anticipated draft of the company’s water quality permit unveiled Tuesday,” the Colorado Sun reports. “The draft of the renewed permit also demands rigorous benzene cleanup and other controls sought by conservation groups, according to state officials who described the plan late Monday. Though advocacy groups and neighbors are likely to push for even tougher PFAS limits during a 90-day public comment period on the draft, they also expressed general approval of the Water Quality Control Division’s new restrictions after years of Suncor pollution leaks. “Conservation groups are really excited about a PFAS limit getting into the permit,” though they want state health officials to revise the draft even lower than the national EPA standard of 70 parts per trillion in drinking water, Becca Curry, Colorado policy advocate for Earthjustice, told the Sun. “I’ve asked my colleagues around the nation for any other refinery that has a PFAS limit put into the permit, and I can’t find one.”
San Diego Union Tribune: San Diego County Supervisors oppose offshore oil drilling, create women’s equity ordinance
DEBORAH SULLIVAN BRENNAN, 11/16/21
“The San Diego County Board of Supervisors called for curtailing offshore oil drilling Wednesday, voting unanimously to support the American Coasts and Oceans Protection Act introduced in Congress by Rep. Mike Levin to prohibit oil and gas leasing in Southern California,” the San Diego Union Tribune reports. “...Board Chair Nathan Fletcher and Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer introduced the board letter endorsing Levin’s legislation in the wake of an oil spill off Huntington Beach last month that dumped about 25,000 gallons of crude oil on Southern California beaches… “Fossil fuels are not only warming our planet, they’re fouling our coastlines and poisoning our wildlife,” Lawson-Remer said… “Supervisor Jim Desmond, one of two Republicans on the county board, said opposition to offshore drilling is a bipartisan issue. “Since the 1980s San Diegans have led the effort against further drilling off the coast,” Desmond said. “Representatives from both parties agree that drilling off California is a really, really bad idea, and we’re united on that across party lines.” Supervisor Joel Anderson, the other Republican, added an amendment to the measure directing the county to ask Gov. Gavin Newsom to expedite closure of oil platforms that are minimally operating and to seek opportunities to use those sites for renewable energy, such as for wind turbines.”
Texas Observer: ADVOCATES WANT BIDEN’S METHANE RULES TO GO EVEN FURTHER
AMAL AHMED, 11/18/21
“West Texas has a gas problem. This arid stretch of scrubland, from Big Spring west to New Mexico, is the country’s most productive region for producing oil and gas. It also carries the dubious distinction of producing massive volumes of methane, a heat-trapping gas that’s nearly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide and has been linked to more than 1 million premature deaths annually in the form of ozone pollution,” the Texas Observer reports. “Texas officials have done little to correct the problem, so for years, environmental advocates have been pressuring the federal government to enact stricter regulations on methane emissions. They finally saw some results this month at a global climate change conference, though some of their more substantive priorities were left blowing in the wind… “But the EPA’s new rules have one major blind spot: They don’t fully address the problem of flaring, which burns off enough gas to power 5 million homes a year in the United States… “While the proposed EPA rules aim to tackle the problem of venting, they don’t apply the same scrutiny to flaring natural gas. Even once the rules take effect, producers will still be allowed to light flares. “There are good things in the rules about making sure that flares stay lit,” Leyden told the Observer– that means that the gas burns completely and reduces emissions. But as far as an overall rule, the EPA has left that discussion for the future. In the meantime, while the EPA rules state that venting, where operators simply allow excess gas to escape unburned into the atmosphere, will be phased out, operators can still choose to flare instead.”
Mlive.com: Consumers Energy debuts new high-tech vehicles to help detect natural gas leaks
Chloe Miller, 11/18/21
“Two new vehicles will help Consumers Energy track down methane leaks to protect the planet and help keep customers and communities safe,” Mlive.com reports. “This month, the company is debuting two Ford Edge SUVs equipped with sensitive mobile natural gas leak detection systems. The rolling labs can gather and analyze methane, wind, atmospheric and GPS data to find natural gas leaks, officials told Mlive.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Chevron, Exxon are among top spenders at Biden offshore auction
Nichola Groom, 11/17/21
“U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N) were among the top buyers at a federal auction of oil leases in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday that generated more than $190 million - the highest since 2019,” Reuters reports. “The auction was a boon for federal coffers, but a potential setback for the climate policies of U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration tried to suspend federal lease sales to fight global warming before a court forced them to proceed… “In the sale, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an arm of Biden's Department of Interior, offered 80 million acres accounting for almost all available unleased Gulf of Mexico blocks. About 1.7 million acres sold… “One analyst told Reuters Exxon's purchase of 94 shallow water blocks could be preparation for the company's first carbon capture and storage project, a proposal that Exxon floated in April… “Despite the court-ordered resumption of auctions, Interior spokesperson Melissa Schwartz told Reuters the agency was "conducting a more comprehensive analysis of greenhouse gas impacts from potential oil and gas lease sales than ever before."
Reuters: Exxon lays groundwork for carbon storage project at offshore auction
By Sabrina Valle, 11/17/21
“Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Wednesday offered to lease a half million acres off the Texas coast, securing space for what could become a massive project to capture and store carbon emissions,” Reuters reports. “Under pressure by investors to address climate change, Exxon in April floated an up to $100 billion industry hub to collect planet-warming emissions from Gulf Coast petrochemical plants and bury them under the Gulf of Mexico. Wednesday's nearly $15 million in bids are "potentially the first time federal Gulf of Mexico acreage has been leased for purposes other than the extraction" of oil and gas, Rystad Energy oil analyst Colin White told Reuters. The company's bidding in U.S. Department of Interior auction "takes a long-term business view," spokesperson Todd Spitler told Reuters. Exxon will evaluate the acreage seismic and subsurface geology once final awards are determined, he said. Spitler declined to comment on the acreage's carbon capture potential. Exxon has said it will spend $15 billion on lower-carbon technologies over the next six years. It plans to disclose new details of emissions reduction and project spending in two weeks, it said in a filing.”
CBC: Alberta invests $131 million in carbon capture projects in bid to cut emissions
11/18/21
“Alberta is investing $131 million in projects designed to help prevent carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere,” the CBC reports. “Up to $131 million from Alberta's Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund is being funnelled into Alberta's Industrial Energy Efficiency and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage program, Premier Jason Kenney announced Thursday. Seven projects have been selected to receive a total $100 million in program funding, Kenney told a news conference. Another $31 million will go to other carbon capture utilization and storage projects by the end of this year… “Kenney, a strong proponent of the technology as a way of reducing emissions from Alberta's fossil-fuels energy sector, said the latest investment will set the groundwork for "a lower emissions future" for the province… “CCUS technology is also a key linchpin in the Alberta Hydrogen Roadmap, a policy that aims to make Alberta a hydrogen powerhouse within the decade. The policy, released earlier this month, depends heavily on the use of carbon capture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aim for Canada's net-zero goals. Kenney said the province is already a leader in carbon capture but in order to expand, additional federal support is needed. He said he met with federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday to ask that Ottawa deliver on its promise to provide an investment tax credit for capital invested in CCUS projects in 2022. "We need the government of Canada to come to the table in a big way," Kenney said. "We appreciate the federal government's commitment in principle to an investment tax credit for us, but we need to see a real scale of ambition behind that."
Bloomberg: How the global energy crunch is boosting oilsands' shift to renewables
Kevin Orland and Robert Tuttle, 11/18/21
“The global energy crisis that many blame on efforts to move away from fossil fuels is actually giving new momentum to the shift to renewables in Canada, according to some of the bankers helping oilsands producers navigate that transition,” Bloomberg reports. “That’s because, for all the doubt that’s been cast on the reliability of solar and wind power, surging oil and gas prices are providing more cash for major energy companies such as Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc. to pursue their long-term targets to cut emissions. The gas shortage that’s roiling Europe and Asia, and has even raised the spectre of power outages in parts of the U.S., threatens to undermine policy makers’ resolve to expand renewable energy and weaken taxpayers’ support for subsidized projects as they brace for higher energy bills. But for Canadian energy companies — who in the depths of the pandemic were mostly concerned with keeping their creditors at bay — higher prices mean they can put long-term transition projects back on the agenda in response to growing pressure from investors to help slow global warming. “In a strange way, these high prices have actually enabled a lot of our clients to pursue some of these transition-related issues more quickly than they otherwise would have,” Mike Freeborn, managing director and co-head of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s energy, infrastructure and transition group, told Bloomberg. .
CBC: Researchers look for new uses for bitumen to continue driving oilsands economy
Kashmala Fida Mohatarem, 11/18/21
“With Alberta's oilpatch under intense environmental scrutiny, a provincial research agency is looking at new opportunities for the oilsands to continue contributing to the Canadian economy,” the CBC reports. “Alberta's natural resources, bitumen included, can contribute to the Canadian economy during the energy transition and be part of a net-zero emissions solution over the long term, according to Alberta Innovates. A white paper, Bitumen Beyond Combustion, examines other uses for bitumen that would not require burning it as fuel. "The vast majority of the bitumen that's produced in Alberta ultimately ends up as fuels like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, etc," Bryan Helfenbaum, one of the authors of the paper, told the CBC. "The concept here is to turn that idea on its head and instead of turning bitumen into fuels which are combusted, to instead look at turning bitumen into materials." “...Helfenbaum told CBC while the companies transition away from oil, they are looking for other uses of bitumen to continue driving the oilsands economy. One promising possibility is carbon fibre which is 10 times stronger than steel but five times lighter. Carbon fibre can be created from bitumen and, once mass-produced, can be used to make vehicles lighter and concrete last longer, Helfenbaum told CBC. "So bitumen could really be a key feedstock toward driving these materials that have a much longer life and much more utility than current ones.”
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
Washington Post: It’s hailed as the clean energy of the future. But hydrogen produces ‘substantial’ emissions, study shows.
Rachel Pannett, 11/18/21
“Hydrogen has been billed as the clean energy of the future by governments worldwide, including in the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan,” the Washington Post reports. “But a new study published in the journal Applied Energy found making hydrogen from fossil fuels produces “substantial” greenhouse gas emissions that are the driver of global warming, even with carbon capture technology — which captures carbon dioxide before it is released into the atmosphere and pumps it underground. “Hydrogen made from natural gas leads to more fugitive emissions — methane that is leaked into the environment during the extraction and processing of natural gas — compared to just burning natural gas directly,” Fiona Beck, from the Australian National University, who co-authored the peer-reviewed paper, told the Post. “Including [carbon capture and storage] in the process actually increases fugitive emissions further, as more natural gas is needed to fuel the process.” “Our work highlights that large investment in fossil-fuel-based hydrogen with CCS could be risky, locking in a new fossil fuel industry with significant emissions, and one that is likely to be out-competed by renewable technologies in the future,” Beck told the Post.
CLIMATE FINANCE
S&P Global: Zurich unveils new curbs on fossil fuel underwriting
Ben Dyson, 11/18/21
“Zurich Insurance Group AG is pledging further cutbacks in its underwriting of oil and thermal coal,” S&P Global reports. “The company will stop underwriting new greenfield oil exploration projects "in the absence of meaningful transition plans," the company's commercial insurance CEO, Sierra Signorelli, said during a Nov. 18 investor day presentation. The insurer further promised to phase thermal coal out of its underwriting by 2030 for OECD and European Union countries and by 2040 for the rest of the world, with some exceptions for companies that have "formally approved science-based targets in place." Zurich will also underwrite any oil and gas drilling and production in the Arctic. Signorelli said the company would replicate the engagement approach it has taken with thermal coal clients for its oil and gas clients. Zurich said in 2017 it would engage clients and investee companies with more than 30% exposure to thermal coal, oil sands and oil shales in a two-year dialogue. In 2019, Zurich announced it would longer insure companies that generated more than 30% of their revenue from mining thermal coal or extracting oil from oil sands. "We will engage with our oil and gas customers over the next 24 months to understand and support their transition plans," Signorelli said. Of the 270 clients that fall under Zurich's 2017 policy on coal, oil sands and oil shale, the company had now stopped insuring or has divested from 41% as of June 2021, according to the presentation.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Reuters: During COP26, Facebook served ads with climate falsehoods, skepticism
By Elizabeth Culliford, 11/18/21
“Facebook advertisers promoted false and misleading claims about climate change on the platform in recent weeks, just as the COP26 conference was getting under way,” Reuters reports. “Days after Facebook's vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, touted the company's efforts to combat climate misinformation in a blog as the Glasgow summit began, conservative media network Newsmax ran an ad on Facebook (FB.O) that called man-made global warming a "hoax." The ad, which had multiple versions, garnered more than 200,000 views. In another, conservative commentator Candace Owens said, "apparently we're just supposed to trust our new authoritarian government" on climate science, while a U.S. libertarian think-tank ran an ad on how "modern doomsayers" had been wrongly predicting climate crises for decades… “Facebook, which recently changed its name to Meta, does not have a specific policy on climate misinformation in ads or unpaid posts. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google said last month it would no longer allow ads that contradict scientific consensus on climate change on YouTube and its other services, though it would allow content that discusses false claims.” “...Asked about ads pushing climate misinformation, a company spokesperson told Reuters: "While ads like these run across many platforms, Facebook offers an extra layer of transparency by requiring them to be available to the public in our Ad Library for up to seven years after publication." UK-based think-tank InfluenceMap, which identified misleading Facebook ads run from several media outlets and think-tanks around COP26, also found fossil fuel companies and lobbying groups spent $574,000 on political and social issue Facebook ads during the summit, resulting in more than 22 million impressions and including content that promoted their environmental efforts in what InfluenceMap described as "greenwashing."
OPINION
The Hill: Biden must protect Great Lakes from oil spill threat
Juliette King McAvoy is the co-chair of the Great Lakes Business Network and vice president at King Orchards, 11/18/21
“Last July, my family was honored to welcome President Joe Biden to our orchard in northern Michigan. As rural farmers we were thrilled to discuss the obstacles and issues most critical to our business with the nation’s top leader. Along with the many threats to local agriculture and family farming, one of the most important that we discussed that day was the looming threat that Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline poses for our local business and our way of life here in the Great Lakes region,” writes for The Hill. “As the co-chair of the Great Lakes Business Network, I relayed to the president our reliance on the freshwater and the importance of the Great Lakes to our local economy. Our pure Michigan way of life supports 232,000 recreation-based jobs alone in our state. But the greatest threat to our economy remains another catastrophic Enbridge oil spill, like the 2010 oil spill, which devastated the Kalamazoo River. A pipeline rupture would be devastating to our region, with researchers at the University of Michigan reaffirming that the ecologically sensitive Mackinac Straits would be the “worst place in the Great Lakes for an oil spill.” “...We are grateful that Biden expressed his commitment to protecting the Great Lakes and the legal authority of Michigan’s leaders to ensure that Enbridge is held to account. Now, we urge the president to publicly express these same sentiments and put to rest Canada’s attempts at fabricating legal delays.”