EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/17/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• DRG News: North Dakota regulators approve underground carbon dioxide storage permits for Summit Carbon Solutions; South Dakota PUC to hear permit request Tuesday

• Summit-Tribune: Sierra Club: Summit threatens lawsuit against pipeline opposition leaders

• KCCI: Opposition group to Summit pipeline says company threatened legal action

• Pipeline Fighters Hub: Webinar: South Dakota Easement Team “Summit Pipeline 101” for Landowners (12/16/24)

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Enbridge Line 6 oil spill raises alarm over Line 5 reroute risks, environmentalists warn

• Civic Media: Fuel expert: Line 6 oil spill won’t affect oil, gas prices

• The Hill: Trump tariff plan threatens to drive up gas prices

• DeSmog: Inside the Battle Over Indigenous-Owned LNG Project Ksi Lisims

• RBN Energy: Hugh Do You Love? - A New Entrant to Tackle the Permian's Dire Need for Gas Takeaway Capacity

• Fishing Daily: Pelagisk Forening Raises Concerns Over North Sea CO2 Pipeline Proposal

• ExxonKnews: Who’s funding this ‘newspaper’ mailed to potential jurors in Greenpeace’s trial?

• Biodiesel Magazine: OMB regulatory agenda addresses upcoming RFS, HBIIP, and CO2 pipeline regulations

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Finger-pointing begins after permitting talks collapse

• Press release: Manchin Statement on House Republican Leadership Blocking Permitting Reform

• U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works: Carper Statement on Permitting Reform

• Politico: Mail Call

• New York Times: ‘Unfettered’ Gas Exports Would Harm U.S. Economy, Energy Secretary Warns

• E&E News: Supreme Court NEPA ruling could target landmark climate case

• E&E News: Supreme Court Spares California Auto Emissions Waiver — For Now

• Washington Post: EPA will grant California the right to ban sales of new gas cars by 2035

• Yukon News: Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Opposes Arctic Oil Lease Sale

• The Hill: Huffman wins key vote to succeed Grijalva atop Natural Resources Democrats

• E&E News: Why Biden might defy Trump with stronger climate goals

• E&E News: Transportation Issues A Musk-Friendly Administration May Target Next

• Los Angeles Times: Industrial and business groups send Trump a deregulatory wish list

• E&E News: Lame-Duck Biden Flooded With Monumental Requests

• New York Times: Trump’s Choice to Run Energy Says Fossil Fuels Are Virtuous

STATE UPDATES

• Planet Detroit: Michigan carbon capture bills advance over objections from environmental groups

• Marfa Public Radio: West Texas carbon capture project could help the climate, but some worry about potential risks

• Louisiana Illuminator: Developers eye Louisiana, Texas coasts for offshore carbon storage

• E&E News: Florida Mulls Buying Land That Appears To Include Proposed Oil Drilling Site

• E&E News: California court urged to block oil storage project

• Ohio Capital Journal: Bill that would expand fracking leases on state property is going to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine

• Sheboygan Press: Petition calls for Alliant to reimagine path for Edgewater plant, like converting to solar

• Colorado Public Radio: Investigators haven’t found a motive for falsified environmental data filed at hundreds of oil and gas sites

• Colorado Newsline: Colorado regulators identify hundreds of oil and gas sites where contamination data was falsified

• Denver Post: New rules for cutting emissions at Colorado natural gas facilities will be “tough for everybody”

• NM Political Report: New reports show how state laws, regulations have reduced greenhouse gas emissions

• Texas Tribune: Growing oil industry support for methane reduction rule could help it survive Trump’s return

EXTRACTION

• Canadian Press: Canada’s premiers meet in Toronto to talk tariffs, trade and health care

• New York Times: Tribes in Canada Stand to Reap Billions From Gas. Some Fear a Greater Loss.

• Associated Press: Oil spills in Kerch Strait after two Russian oil tankers seriously damaged in storm

OPINION

• Iowa Capital Dispatch: Lawmakers should slap down intimidation lawsuits

• Texas Border Business: Texas at the Forefront of Economic Advancement Through Carbon Capture Innovation

• Monthly Review: Carbon capture: False hopes and harsh realities

• TribLive: Trump’s Big Oil Cronies Poised To Prop Up Fossil Fuels

• Los Angeles Times: Alaska Is A Climate Victim And A Perpetrator. The Next Four Years Will Only Make Matters Worse

• Cleveland.com: Selling out Ohio, its parklands and people, for fracking’s fleeting allure: Thomas Suddes

• The Hill: The US should help the world get the plastics treaty it deserves
  

PIPELINE NEWS

DRG News: North Dakota regulators approve underground carbon dioxide storage permits for Summit Carbon Solutions; South Dakota PUC to hear permit request Tuesday
Jody Heemstra, 12/16/24

“Summit Carbon Solutions’ permit request is on the agenda for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Tuesday (Dec. 17, 2024),” according to DRG News. “Last week (Dec. 12, 2024), Summit Carbon Solutions announced that it has received three Class VI sequestration permits from the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC)... “These sequestration permits are the result of years of rigorous scientific study, engineering design, and input from regulators, landowners, and local leaders,” said Wade Boeshans, Executive VP of Summit Carbon Solutions in a company statement on Thursday. “This milestone underscores North Dakota’s leadership in advancing CCS technology and highlights how infrastructure projects like ours can drive economic growth while enabling energy innovation. With these permits, we’re one step closer to providing vital infrastructure that benefits farmers, ethanol producers, and communities across the Midwest.”

Summit-Tribune: Sierra Club: Summit threatens lawsuit against pipeline opposition leaders
12/15/24

“The Sierra Club Iowa Chapter recently announced that Summit Carbon Solutions has threatened carbon pipeline opposition members with lawsuits for perceived defamation, including Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Conservation Program Associate Jessica Mazour,” the Summit-Tribune reports. “Here is another example of Summit bullying and intimidating anyone that stands in the way of their unwanted proposed hazardous carbon pipeline project,” said Mazour. “When landowners denied Summit access to survey their land, Summit sued them. When counties passed zoning ordinances for carbon pipelines, Summit sued them. Iowa should not be doing business with a company that bullies and intimidates as a business model.” The letter from Summit’s attorneys claims that Mazour made statements that were false and caused damage to Summit. The statements were fair comments, expressions of opinion, and not a basis for a defamation suit according to a Sierra Club Iowa Chapter news release. Sierra Club Iowa Chapter officials also said that Summit created the situation by making its pipeline project a matter of public controversy. Members of the public have a right to comment on public issues. They added that in order for a public figure like Summit to make a valid defamation claim, it must show that the statement was made with actual malice. At least six people have received letters from Summit threatening to sue for compensatory or punitive damages if their statements are not retracted, according to the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter. Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Legal Chair, Wally Taylor, said, "Fortunately, Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) lawsuits have been rare in Iowa. They have no legal or factual basis and are strictly for the purpose of intimidation. The Sierra Club will not be intimidated.”

KCCI: Opposition group to Summit pipeline says company threatened legal action
12/16/24

“One of the most active opponents to a controversial carbon pipeline says it has been threatened with legal action,” KCCI reports. “The Sierra Club says at least six people received letters from Summit Carbon Solutions, demanding retractions of various public statements. That includes Sierra Club's conservation director Jess Mazour. Mazour told KCCI her statements were fair… “We've also asked Summit for a statement on the letters. We have not yet received one.”

Pipeline Fighters Hub: Webinar: South Dakota Easement Team “Summit Pipeline 101” for Landowners (12/16/24)
12/17/24

“The South Dakota Easement Team, a landowners’ legal co-op, hosted a webinar for landowners on Dec.16, 2024: “Summit Pipeline 101,” the Pipeline Fighters Hub reports. “SPEAKERS: Brian Jorde, attorney for landowners with South Dakota Easement Team, and Domina Law Group; Ed Fischbach, South Dakota landowner and pipeline opponent; Chase Jensen, Senior Organizer, Dakota Rural Action; Emma Schmit, Pipeline Fighters Director, Bold Alliance.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Enbridge Line 6 oil spill raises alarm over Line 5 reroute risks, environmentalists warn
Caitlin Looby, Laura Schulte, 12/16/24

“News that a Canadian-owned pipeline had what is considered the largest oil spill in Wisconsin history last month has raised concerns about another of the company's lines, which runs through the northern part of the state as well as the Great Lakes basin,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. “...On Nov. 14, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced it had approved the reroute of the controversial Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin – a project that environmental groups and Great Lakes tribes say continues to put the world’s largest surface freshwater system at risk. Then, last week, it was publicly learned that Enbridge Energy’s Line 6 – a 465-mile pipeline carrying crude oil from Superior, Wisconsin, to a terminal near Griffith, Indiana – spilled an estimated 1,650 barrels, or 69,300 gallons, in the town of Oakland in Jefferson County, according to federal officials. However, the Line 6 spill actually was first detected Nov. 11. That meant the DNR released the permit approval of the Line 5 reroute three days after it learned of the spill. “You would hope that the state would make Enbridge clean up its mess before even considering the reroute of Line 5,” Tony Gibart, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, told the Journal Sentinel. “That did not happen.” “...According to Gibart, the Line 6 spill is an example of what can go wrong and why the project should not have been permitted… “Bad River Band Chairman Robert Blanchard told the Journal Sentinel he was concerned that “over a month went by before we were notified of the spill.” “...According to Stefanie Tsosie, senior attorney with the Tribal Partnerships Program at EarthJustice, the permit has a lot of conditions, but Enbridge has a history of not following those conditions as well as a history of accidents and spills. The reroute is a “false solution,” Tsosie told the Journal Sentinel… “This is news, but it’s not news,” Tsosie told the Journal Sentinel. “It’s not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.”

Civic Media: Fuel expert: Line 6 oil spill won’t affect oil, gas prices
Jimmie Kaska, 12/16/24

“An oil spill last month in Jefferson County won’t affect oil or fuel prices in Wisconsin, according to a fuel expert,” Civic Media reports. “That’s because the amount of oil spilled is very small compared to the daily flow of oil through the Enbridge Line 6-B pipeline… “Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy.com head of petroleum analysis for the U.S., told Civic Media that there will be no impacts to oil or fuel prices due to the spill. “Line 6B carries roughly 667,000 barrels of oil per day, so to put the 1,650 barrels into context, that is less than one-fifth of one percentage point of the amount of oil this pipeline carries,” De Haan told Civic Media. “The average refinery in the U-S can handle about 200,000 barrels a day, so about 1,700 barrels is pretty small for impacting the price of oil. So this will have no impact on the price of oil at all.” The spill comes days after new lawsuits were filed challenging the permits Enbridge received for rerouting its Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin. The challenges are being made due to concerns about environmental impacts in the event of an oil spill.”

The Hill: Trump tariff plan threatens to drive up gas prices
Rachel Frazin, 12/17/24

“President-elect Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada are expected to raise prices at the pump,” The Hill reports. “Trump said late last month that on his first day in office, he would place 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods. The two countries are the leading sources of U.S. oil imports — and if he implements the tariffs, analysts say the action could result in higher gasoline prices. Andrew Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, told The Hill a 25 percent tariff amounts to a surcharge of about 40 cents per gallon. “The prices at the pump are going to go up. Whether we like it or not, the East Coast is an import market and they would have to import oil at a higher price,” Lipow told The Hill. Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, had a similar projection. He told The Hill a 25 percent tariff would raise prices — at least in the short term. “There will be a difficulty in adjusting to a Canadian tariff of 25 percent,” he told The Hill. “It might produce a temporary but notable price shock.” “...Both Kloza and Lipow told The Hill they expect gasoline prices in the Midwest to be particularly hard hit by the tariffs, given that refiners that turn oil into gasoline in those areas rely on Canadian oil… “But Lipow told The Hill that a lack of pipeline infrastructure could still make it difficult to get oil from anywhere but Canada into key U.S. locations.”

DeSmog: Inside the Battle Over Indigenous-Owned LNG Project Ksi Lisims
Daniel Mesec, 12/16/24

“Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs are using every tool at their disposal to fight a $6 billion fracked gas pipeline known as the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line (PRGT) that would cross territory their people have lived on for thousands of years,” DeSmog reports. “The organization, which is composed of Gitanyow leaders who’ve inherited their title and position from the Indigenous peoples of the Gitanyow First Nation in Northwest B.C., launched a blockade against the pipeline this summer. They filed a legal challenge in October. And in late November, the chiefs announced plans for a new Indigenous Protected Area, effectively a conservation area governed by Indigenous nations and laws, to block new fossil fuel infrastructure from their territory. “We will continue our on the ground presence,” Simooget Watakhayetsxw, Deborah Good of the Gitanyow Nation, whose territory straddles the planned right-of-way for the PRGT, told DeSmog. She’s stood on the blockade since August. But this isn’t only a story of local Indigenous people standing up to a distant oil and gas corporation. The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line (PRGT), which would carry fracked gas from the North Montney shale gas deposit in Northeast B.C., is being built by the Calgary-based pipeline builder TC Energy. Yet the gas would be sent to a proposed LNG export terminal known as Ksi Lisims on B.C.’s north coast that is owned in part by the Nisga’a First Nation. In this remote part of Canada, they are essentially neighbours with the Gitanyow… “What was clear from these conversations, and from being on the ground in an area that’s ground zero for a potentially massive LNG export boom, was that local Indigenous and non-Indigenous opinion on gas development is much more nuanced and divided than faraway industry proponents are making it appear. “In the Northwest, we have people who are non-Indigenous who have spent generations here and have a tie to this place, we have Indigenous people who are very much concerned about the environment,” Tara Marsden, Wilp Sustainability Director for the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, told DeSmog. “And then we have Indigenous people who are all about business and don’t really believe that climate change is real. So we’ve got this huge mix of people.”

RBN Energy: Hugh Do You Love? - A New Entrant to Tackle the Permian's Dire Need for Gas Takeaway Capacity
John Abeln,12/17/24

“Negative natural gas prices have been breaking hearts in the Permian Basin for many years, with pipeline development struggling to keep pace with rapid increases in associated gas production, but 2024 has shattered all previous records for the severity and length of negatively priced periods,” according to RBN Energy. “The Matterhorn Express Pipeline, which started partial service at the beginning of October, is helping to stabilize the market for now, but with more production gains on the way, additional takeaway capacity will be needed. And after this year’s run of negative prices, producers have been willing to commit to new capacity. A whopping 4.57 Bcf/d of new pipeline capacity has secured final investment decisions (FIDs) since this summer, including two new greenfield pipelines — WhiteWater Midstream’s 2.5-Bcf/d Blackcomb pipeline took FID in August 2024, and then last week, Energy Transfer sanctioned the Hugh Brinson Pipeline, which will provide at least 1.5 Bcf/d of additional takeaway capacity. The incremental capacity provided by these projects will be needed soon, as our forecasts indicate a strong likelihood that capacity constraints will return in the early months of 2026. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss Energy Transfer’s newly renamed Hugh Brinson Pipeline — formerly the Warrior Pipeline — and other recent developments in the Permian and examine how they will reshape flows and basis throughout the wider region.”

Fishing Daily: Pelagisk Forening Raises Concerns Over North Sea CO2 Pipeline Proposal
Oliver McBride, 12/16/24

“Pelagisk Forening (the Norwegian Pelagic Association) has raised questions regarding Equinor’s plans to construct a 1,000-kilometre pipeline to transport CO2 from France and Belgium to the Smeaheia field off Norway’s west coast,” Fishing Daily reports. “The pipeline, part of Equinor’s ambitious Smeaheia CO2 transport and storage project, will traverse approximately 550 kilometres of Norwegian waters and cross 45 existing pipelines. In a consultation response to Equinor’s proposed impact assessment program, the Norwegian Pelagic Association emphasised the need to thoroughly assess the consequences for fisheries. They called for detailed evaluations of the pipeline’s impact during installation and its long-term effects post-construction. Specifically, the Association flagged the omission of plans for closure and cleanup in Equinor’s program. “We have asked them to include these aspects in the impact assessment,” the Association stated, highlighting the importance of considering potential disruptions to marine ecosystems and fishing operations… “Transport concepts include the proposed pipeline from Northwestern Europe and a ship-based solution with an onshore terminal linked to injection wells at Smeaheia… “While Equinor’s Smeaheia project has been lauded for its potential to advance Europe’s climate goals, the Norwegian Pelagic Association’s response underscores the need for robust environmental and socio-economic impact assessments.”

ExxonKnews: Who’s funding this ‘newspaper’ mailed to potential jurors in Greenpeace’s trial?
Emily Sanders, 12/16/24

“In early September, fossil fuel executive and Donald Trump megadonor Kelcy Warren quietly made a large donation to a political action committee few people have ever heard of. Warren is CEO of Energy Transfer, the company behind the infamous Dakota Access Pipeline, which in 2016 faced thousands of protesters including members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other opponents. The timing is potentially significant because Warren made his $5 million donation to the super PAC called Turnout for America while his company pushed forward with a lawsuit against the nonprofit Greenpeace related to the Standing Rock protests,” ExxonKnews reports. “Two weeks after receiving Warren’s contribution, Turnout for America paid $250,000 to Northern CB Corp. — an Illinois publishing and printing company — for “media services.” One of the listed directors for Northern CB Corp. is Brian Timpone, a conservative businessman who owns Chicago-based company Metric Media, a Koch-linked network that runs more than 1,100 partisan websites masquerading as local news. In October, residents in Morton County, where the Greenpeace trial is scheduled to take place, received a mailed publication called “Central ND News,” which featured articles decrying the Dakota Access protests and praising Energy Transfer. Central ND News is produced by Metric Media… “Greenpeace is urging a North Dakota court to allow further investigation into who paid to send the publication attacking Dakota Access protestors to Morton County residents — and whether there was an attempt to exert “improper influence” over potential jurors in Energy Transfer’s favor.”

Biodiesel Magazine: OMB regulatory agenda addresses upcoming RFS, HBIIP, and CO2 pipeline regulations
Erin Voegele, 12/16/24

“The White House Office of Management and Budget on Dec. 13 published the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan, which outlines rulemakings and other actions under development by federal agencies related to the Renewable Fuel Standard, biofuel infrastructure, CO2 pipeline safety, and wood heating,” Biodiesel Magazine reports. “According to the agenda, the U.S. EPA is currently expected to release a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in March 2025 pertaining to the RFS program. An abstract of the rule published by the OMB indicates the rulemaking will aim to “finalize the applicable volumes and percentage standards beginning in 2026 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass based diesel, advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel.” The NPRM will also contain “several regulatory changes to the RFS program intended to improve the program’s implementation.” The EPA is targeting December 2025 for promulgation of a final rule… “The OMB regulatory agenda also shows that there might finally be movement on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s long-delayed effort to create updated safety regulations for carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines. The agency is currently expected to issue a NPRM in December 2024 that would amend the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s pipeline safety regulations to adopt revisions that would enhance the safe transportation of CO2 by pipelines to accommodate an anticipated increase in the number of CO2 pipelines and the volume of CO2 transported. The proposed rulemaking would also include requirements related to emergency preparedness and response for CO2. The rule summary published in the agenda does not include a target date for issuance of a final rule.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Finger-pointing begins after permitting talks collapse
Kelsey Brugger, 12/17/24

“The blame game started over the weekend and intensified Monday after bipartisan talks on broad permitting legislation collapsed,” E&E News reports. “Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Environment and Public Works Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) both blamed House Republican leadership. Manchin has for years been leading the charge on legislation to bolster the grid and make it easier to approve all kinds of projects… “Carper, House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and others spent the past several days trying to work out their differences on NEPA. During one meeting, Carper grew visibly angry and stormed out. “Senate Democrats had several opportunities during both this Congress and the previous one to achieve meaningful permitting reform and failed,” Johnson said in a statement Monday night… “Republicans say they want to address permitting issues along party lines through budget reconciliation. But it’s unclear how much they’ll be able to do under the arcane rules that govern the process. That’s why Senate Democrats saw the latest push as a unique opportunity “It’s just a shame that politics does this — this game of politics up here,” a despondent Manchin told E&E. The West Virginia independent, who caucuses with Democrats, said he discussed permitting with President-elect Donald Trump during the Army-Navy football game over the weekend, according to reporting by HuffPost.”

Press release: Manchin Statement on House Republican Leadership Blocking Permitting Reform
12/16/24

“Today, Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the below statement on the failure to agree to include bipartisan permitting reform legislation in the continuing resolution. “It’s a shame that our country is losing this monumental opportunity to advance the commonsense, bipartisan permitting reform bill that has strong support in the United States Senate. By taking permitting off the table for this Congress, Speaker Johnson and House Republican Leadership have done a disservice to the incoming Trump Administration, which has been focused on strengthening our energy security and will now be forced to operate with their hands tied behind their backs when trying to issue permits for all of the types of energy and infrastructure projects our country needs. Meaningful permitting reform will continue to be subject to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold next year and cannot be done by executive action alone… “It’s undeniable that our country needs to deliver more energy of all kinds, and this legislation would have achieved that, even more so with the addition of meaningful NEPA improvements that Chairmen Carper and Westerman worked towards over the past several weeks.”

U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works: Carper Statement on Permitting Reform
12/16/24

“U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement on permitting reform: “I have pushed for permitting reform throughout this Congress and had high hopes of landing a strong, bipartisan deal before the end of the year. Democrats offered meaningful NEPA reforms, sought by Republicans, that would shorten project timelines and increase regulatory certainty so that we can build faster in America. This includes clean energy projects that will help connect nearly two billion kilowatts of renewable energy to the grid. That’s almost double the amount of energy capacity we have today. Unfortunately, instead of taking real policy wins, House Republicans let their perfect be the enemy of the good. I’m extremely disappointed that House Republicans walked away from this opportunity.”

Politico: Mail Call
12/16//24

“The Competitive Enterprise Institute, American Energy Alliance, Heartland Institute and the pro-fossil fuel group Power The Future and other groups argued in a Friday letter that Republicans should just wait until next year, when they will have unified control of the federal government,” Politico reports. “...But a group of energy industry groups that don’t often align called on Congress to act now, including the American Clean Power Association, National Mining Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Council for Sustainable Energy and American Chemistry Council. “Failure to act puts in jeopardy hundreds of billions of dollars of private investment in our nation’s infrastructure, hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of metric tons of carbon emissions reductions,” they wrote.”

New York Times: ‘Unfettered’ Gas Exports Would Harm U.S. Economy, Energy Secretary Warns
Lisa Friedman and Coral Davenport, 12/16/24

“If the United States were to continue exporting liquefied natural gas in the way that has made it the world’s biggest gas supplier, it would drive up costs for American consumers and businesses, pollute struggling communities and increase global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a letter written by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm that was obtained by the New York Times. The letter is expected to accompany a study of the economic, national security and climate effects of approving new natural gas export terminals to be issued within days by the Energy Department. President Biden ordered the analysis in January, when he paused the process of issuing permits for more than a dozen new gas export facilities, including what would be the largest terminal ever built in the United States. The pause was praised by environmentalists but triggered outrage from the oil and gas industry. In the letter, Ms. Granholm said that the analysis showed that the continued pace of gas exports was “neither sustainable nor advisable.” However, the report does not provide grounds for the federal government to issue blanket denials of the final permits for future natural gas terminals, three senior administration officials familiar with the report, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss its findings, told the Times… “The conclusions of the report could provide a legal argument for those seeking to sue to stop permits for export terminals in the future, the senior administration officials told the Times… “The report may compel companies seeking permits to more thoroughly demonstrate that they have mitigated the greenhouse pollution associated with extracting and transporting the gas, and also force future administrations to show how they have reconciled decisions to approve new terminals with the report’s findings.”

E&E News: Supreme Court NEPA ruling could target landmark climate case
Niina H. Farah, 12/17/24

“The Supreme Court may be poised to walk back an oft-cited 2017 decision from a lower bench that directed federal agencies to take a broader look at the climate effects of energy projects,” E&E News reports. “During oral arguments last week over the National Environmental Policy Act review of an oil rail line in northeastern Utah, at least two of the court’s conservative justices asked how they should address the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s decision in Sierra Club v. FERC, more commonly known as Sabal Trail. The ruling is frequently cited in litigation calling for agencies taking a statutorily required “hard look” at environmental risks of projects to more thoroughly consider downstream climate effects. In Sabal Trail, the D.C. Circuit called for more NEPA review of how a gas pipeline network would affect emissions from a power plant slated to use fuel from the project. Backers of the 88-mile Uinta Basin Railway at issue in last week’s Supreme Court case had asked the justices to consider whether the D.C. Circuit had improperly relied on Sabal Trail to expand NEPA reviews for other projects, like the Utah rail line. They asked the justices to send a message to lower courts that their rulings requiring more environmental review have gone too far. “There is a real question whether [the justices] will effectively reverse Sabal Trail,” Michael Burger, executive director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told E&E. But how the Supreme Court addresses Sabal Trail will depend on how narrowly the eight justices hearing the NEPA case decide to tailor their ruling, Ivan London, a senior attorney at the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which wrote a “friend of the court brief” in support of the rail project, told E&E.”

E&E News: Supreme Court Spares California Auto Emissions Waiver — For Now
Lesley Clark, 12/16/24

“The Supreme Court last week took up a case related to a challenge of California’s Clean Air Act waiver — but rejected the broader question of whether the Golden State has the legal authority to impose the nation’s strongest auto pollution standards,” E&E News reports. “Legal opponents of California’s long-standing vehicle emissions program said they were pleased that the justices plan to examine business groups’ standing to bring their case and expressed optimism that the court could review the question at the heart of their challenge at a later date. “The drastic impacts of California’s EV mandates on consumers, national security and electricity reliability are major questions in need of immediate resolution as California and the U.S. EPA continue to stretch and abuse the limits of Congress’ Clean Air Act waiver provision,” said Chet Thompson, president and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, one of the groups challenging the waiver. He said Congress did not give the state authority to regulate greenhouse gases, mandate electric vehicles or ban new gas car sales — “all of which the state is attempting to do through its intentional misreading of statute.”

Washington Post: EPA will grant California the right to ban sales of new gas cars by 2035
Maxine Joselow and Evan Halper, 12/13/24

“The Environmental Protection Agency plans to grant California permission to set stronger climate rules for cars and SUVs — a move that President-elect Donald Trump could attempt to reverse — according to two people briefed on the matter,” the Washington Post reports. “The EPA intends to issue California a waiver as soon as next week to enforce its rule aimed at banning sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035, the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told the Post. The Trump administration will probably try to revoke the waiver, although those efforts could run into legal obstacles. The EPA plan underscores how President Joe Biden is racing to Trump-proof his climate legacy before leaving office next month… “Under the Clean Air Act, California can receive a waiver from the EPA to set tougher vehicle emissions rules than those of the federal government. More than a dozen other states follow California’s stricter rules, collectively accounting for about 40 percent of the U.S. auto market. The California Air Resources Board, the top air pollution regulator in the state, approved a rule in 2022 that would phase out sales of new gasoline-powered cars and SUVs, culminating in a ban by 2035… “California has requested a total of eight waivers to enforce climate regulations — not only for cars but also for heavy-duty trucks, trains and commercial harbor craft. It is unclear whether the EPA plans to issue other waivers in addition to the one for cars, the two people told the Post.”

Yukon News: Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Opposes Arctic Oil Lease Sale
Jake Howarth, 12/13/24

“The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation voiced opposition to the second oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plain, set for January 9, 2025,” Yukon News reports. “The Gwich’in Nation considers the Alaskan Coastal Plain sacred, known as ‘Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit’ or ‘The Sacred Place Where Life Begins,’ and has long campaigned against the potential impacts of drilling, according to a Dec. 11 press release. The Porcupine caribou herd, which relies on this area for calving, faces significant threats from industrial development, the release noted. The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation urged partners to protect the Coastal Plain by joining them in opposing oil and gas lease sales in the region. Chief Pauline Frost emphasized the importance of advocacy, stating, “For decades, the Gwich’in have warned what will happen if drilling is allowed to proceed on these sacred lands, and no amount of money can justify what is taking place.”

The Hill: Huffman wins key vote to succeed Grijalva atop Natural Resources Democrats
Zack Budryk, 12/16/24

“Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) won a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee vote Monday to succeed Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, advancing him to a full vote of the Democratic caucus,” The Hill reports. “Huffman won the committee vote, despite Grijalva’s endorsement of Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the panel’s oversight subcommittee, for the role. “Natural Resources has been my highest priority since I came to Congress 12 years ago. It is my life’s work — water, wildlife, fisheries, public lands, tribal issues — and what I know and love the best,” Huffman said in a statement after the vote. “I am ready to roll up my sleeves and do the work to protect our treasured natural resources, lift up tribal and frontline communities, and lead us as a team to effectively fight against Trump’s Project 2025 agenda and ensure we win back the House.”

E&E News: Why Biden might defy Trump with stronger climate goals
Sara Schonhardt, 12/17/24

“The Biden administration is running short on time to announce a new climate target aimed at lowering U.S. emissions,” E&E News reports. “The potential move by the White House to declare deeper cuts to American climate pollution over the next decade would collide with President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda to maximize U.S. fossil fuel production and his criticism of mainstream science related to rising temperatures. Yet advocates are pushing Biden officials to submit the new goal to the United Nations ahead of the February deadline outlined by the Paris Agreement, saying it could be revived after Trump leaves office. The White House said last month that it would likely submit a new target. Known as a nationally determined contribution, or NDC, the emissions-reduction target is required under the Paris Agreement, the global deal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the postindustrial era. President Joe Biden pledged in 2021 to lower U.S. emissions 50-52 percent compared with 2005 levels by 2030. Trump is expected to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Green groups argue that if Biden announces a new target for 2035, it would set a marker of what’s possible for the world’s largest economy and encourage other nations to set their own strong targets. “It would send an unfortunate signal internationally if the Biden administration doesn’t submit its target,” David Waskow, director of international initiatives at the World Resources Institute, told E&E. “If the next administration decides to tear up the NDC, that’s on them,” he added. “But this administration shouldn’t preemptively dodge its responsibility.”

E&E News: Transportation Issues A Musk-Friendly Administration May Target Next
Cassandra Dumay, 12/13/24

“Elon Musk, the headline-grabbing owner of SpaceX and Tesla, is at the heart of the impending administration of President-elect Donald Trump. And though Musk doesn’t have a mandate to govern, he does have Trump’s ear and has promised to slash government spending to the bone and reduce regulations that are burdensome on burgeoning industries,” E&E News reports. “...Trump’s first administration weakened regulations and rolled back enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, and Columbia environmental law professor Michael Gerrard expects a similar approach in the president-elect’s second term… “Ramaswamy and some Republicans on Capitol Hill have already said they want to pay special attention to cutting red tape around project permitting for infrastructure and energy projects. In particular, that may implicate changes to the environmental law NEPA… “Regulation is labor intensive, but so is deregulation,” Gerrard told E&E. “If the incoming administration wants policy changes to survive court this time around, it’ll have to invest time in making sure it’s cleared procedural rules.”

Los Angeles Times: Industrial and business groups send Trump a deregulatory wish list
Susanne Rust and Ian James, 12/15/24

“More than a hundred industrial trade groups and chambers of commerce are urging President-elect Donald Trump to weaken or eliminate numerous Biden administration regulations on energy, air pollution, recycling, worker heat protections, consumer safeguards and corporate financing, claiming that the rules are “strangling” the nation’s economy,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “In a 21-page letter addressed to Trump and his presumptive Cabinet, the groups requested changes to dozens of “burdensome regulations that are stifling investment, making us less competitive in the world, limiting innovation and threatening the very jobs we are all working to create right here in America.”

E&E News: Lame-Duck Biden Flooded With Monumental Requests
Jennifer Yachnin, 12/13/24

“President Joe Biden is facing a wave of campaigns to create new national monuments in his final weeks in office, but people both inside and outside the administration expect the outgoing president to select just a handful of key sites that have already been thoroughly vetted,” E&E News reports. “During his sole term in office, Biden has repeatedly used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate new national monuments, ranging from preserving sweeping natural landscapes to sites important to Native Americans to those that memorialize Black history in this country. Earlier this week, he declared his seventh new national monument, recognizing the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, and acknowledging the government’s role in attempting to eradicate tribal culture through a boarding school system run by the Interior Department. In the final weeks of his term, Biden is being pressed to enshrine a host of additional sites across the nation, with advocates touting the benefits of monuments from California to Maine. Some of the prospective monuments are ones advocates have been working on for years, while other campaigns are more recent.”

New York Times: Trump’s Choice to Run Energy Says Fossil Fuels Are Virtuous
Lisa Friedman, 12/12/24

“Chris Wright, the fracking magnate and likely next U.S. energy secretary, makes a moral case for fossil fuels,” the New York Times reports. “His position, laid out in speeches and podcasts, is that the world’s poorest people need oil, gas and coal to realize the benefits of modern life that Americans and others in rich nations take for granted. Only fossil fuels, he says, can bring prosperity to millions who still burn wood, dung or charcoal for basic needs like cooking food and heating homes. “It’s just, I think, naïve or evil, or some combination of the two, to believe they should never have washing machines, they should never have access to electricity, they should never have modern medicine,” Mr. Wright said on the “Mission Zero” podcast last year. “We don’t want that to happen. And we simply don’t have meaningful substitutes for oil, gas and coal today.” The argument offered by Mr. Wright, who has been chosen by President-elect Donald J. Trump to run the Energy Department, ignores the fact that wind, solar and other renewable energy are cleaner and increasingly cheaper than fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency says clean energy is coming online globally at an “unprecedented rate” and will play a significant role in the future. In some places, renewable energy has been able to displace fossil fuels. Mr. Wright also skates past the climate impacts from burning more fossil fuels. Climate change is already having a disproportionate impact on poor nations, which are less able than rich countries to handle the rising seas, extreme weather, drought and other consequences of global warming. “It’s pretty self-serving by the fossil fuel industry to assume the future is going to look exactly like the past,” Joseph Curtin, a managing director on the power and climate team at the Rockefeller Foundation, which is working on expanding clean energy access in poor countries, told the Times. “That’s not based on any analytical rigor,” Mr. Curtin told the Times. “It’s perhaps based in the need to sell fossil fuels and shroud it in a moral framework.”

STATE UPDATES

Planet Detroit: Michigan carbon capture bills advance over objections from environmental groups
Brian Allnutt, 12/13/24

“Michigan lawmakers advanced carbon capture utilization and storage legislation to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite concerns from environmental groups that say the bills lack adequate environmental protections,” Planet Detroit reports. “...However, environmental advocates told PD the bills are being rushed through the legislature’s lame duck period without providing sufficient safeguards for water resources, air quality and public safety. “When CO2 comes into contact with water, it can form carbonic acid,” Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer for the Michigan Environmental Council, told the Senate Energy and Environment Committee on Dec. 5. “The increased acidity then dissolves minerals, releasing potentially harmful substances such as arsenic and uranium into groundwater.” “...Carbon capture could also increase emissions and local air pollution because energy is required to operate carbon capture systems, Derrell Slaughter, Michigan policy director for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told PD… “The Nature Conservancy supports the legislation, while Christy McGillivray, Michigan Sierra Club legislative and political director, has said the group only offers “cautious support” for hard to decarbonize industries like cement and steel manufacturing. The Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition told PD that it opposes the legislation, calling carbon capture a “false solution” that will support a continued reliance on fossil fuel infrastructure. “Instead of prioritizing carbon capture, we should invest in clean, renewable energy solutions like community solar and wind power, real solutions that benefit the whole ecosystem, not just corporate interests,” said Chris Gilmer-Hill, policy associate for MEJC.

Marfa Public Radio: West Texas carbon capture project could help the climate, but some worry about potential risks
Mitch Borden, 12/16/24

“Occidental Petroleum has claimed its Permian Basin carbon capture facility is a practical way to cut emissions like CO2 that are driving climate change. Despite the promise of the technology to help fight climate change, some in West Texas are worried about its potential environmental consequences,” Marfa Public Radio reports. “At a summer presentation in Odessa about Occidental’s Stratos carbon capture facility, Sarah Stogner looked at a map of where the oil company wants to inject carbon dioxide into the ground. “There are wells out here that even God doesn’t even know about,” she said. “No one’s ever looked at the shallow geology like they’ve looked at the deeper geology and there’s faults.” Stogner is an outspoken advocate for local landowners whose work has focused on identifying and trying to get leaking oil and gas wells plugged. She worries the carbon dioxide Occidental plans to inject underground could find a path to escape through nearby wells… “Stogner believes there could be unplugged and forgotten wells near where Oxy is building its carbon capture facility and where it plans to drill CO2 injection wells. "Looking at the location where they're talking about, it's at the edge of development,” she told MPR. “That is the worst place for unknown wells. It's a disaster waiting to happen.” “...Commission Shift Executive Direction Virginia Palacios is also concerned. Her group is dedicated to improving how the state regulates oil and gas. She argues Oxy’s proposal will only add to recent problems in the West Texas oilfield. “We have been seeing geyser-like blowouts in the Permian. We are seeing a lot of leaks from unplugged wells across the basin,” she told MPR. “I’m very worried that if this Ector County class VI injection permit is approved we’re going to see even more problems.” “...Critics of carbon capture say it isn't actually effective at cutting greenhouse emissions and could be used by companies to prolong the use of fossil fuels instead of transitioning to cleaner forms of energy.”

Louisiana Illuminator: Developers eye Louisiana, Texas coasts for offshore carbon storage
Pam Radtke, Floodlight, 12/16/24

“The fishers in Gulf of Mexico waters off Cameron Parish estimate their catch has fallen catastrophically from 1 million tons a season to 150,000 tons since the first liquefied natural gas terminal in the parish began operating eight years ago. Now, a new industry is being developed in the waters that were once the most productive grounds in the nation for fish, shrimp and oysters,” the Louisiana Illuminator reports. “A company called OnStream CO2 is developing the GeoDura hub, which it says could hold millions of tons of carbon dioxide captured from fossil fuel industries, including LNG terminals, a mile or more below the waters off Cameron Parish’s shores. It would be among the first of its kind in the United States. Currently there are just a handful of offshore CCS projects in the world. “These people are book smart, but when it comes to common sense, they have nothing,” Travis Dardar told the Illuminator about the project. Dardar is a Cameron-based fisher and founder of the group, Fishermen Involved in Sustaining our Heritage (FISH). According to a report from the Center for International Environmental Law, in the best-case scenario, the injection of captured carbon may temporarily disrupt fisheries because of drilling and seismic testing. In the worst-case scenario, underwater carbon sequestration wells could fail and release the stored carbon, killing off the plants, fish and even the people in boats in the waters above. Storing carbon also has potential global implications, if, as opponents claim, carbon capture and sequestration will allow the fossil fuel industry to maintain the status quo as one of the world’s top emitters of greenhouse gasses… “But the development of carbon storage in waters near the coast raises concerns about the higher number of abandoned, idle or older oil and gas wells closer to shore that could allow stored carbon to leak out through existing wells. There are also questions about whether Louisiana would do a good job permitting and regulating carbon storage. “I can’t say it cannot be done, but the history of this technology, the history of the lack of pollution monitoring in the Gulf and in Louisiana waters in particular, we are extremely skeptical,” Scott Eustis, community science director for Healthy Gulf, a Louisiana-based community and environmental advocacy group, told the Illuminator.”

E&E News: Florida Mulls Buying Land That Appears To Include Proposed Oil Drilling Site
Bruce Ritchie, 12/13/24

“The state on Friday took an initial step toward buying a vast swath of land along the Apalachicola River that appears to include a proposed oil drilling site in Calhoun County,” E&E News reports. “The state Acquisition and Restoration Council voted Friday to study a proposal to add to the state land-buying list 18,854 acres in four counties, including apparently the Clearwater Land and Mineral’s drilling site 1.5 miles northwest of the river. Cameron Baxley of the Apalachicola Riverkeeper group, a conservation organization focused on the river, said Friday the proposed addition includes the drilling site… “Hundreds of people on Monday attended an oil drilling protest outside the DEP headquarters building as a three-day hearing began on a legal challenge to the proposed state drilling permit. But site opponents apparently were not aware that the council, meeting later in the week, would consider moves to buy the land for conservation — which could effectively kill off the proposed drilling project.”

E&E News: California court urged to block oil storage project
Niina H. Farah, 12/17/24

“A conservation group is asking a California court to block the local authorization of a crude oil storage project at the Port of Long Beach,” E&E News reports. “Members of the Long Beach City Council gave the green light this fall for World Oil Terminals to build two 25,000-barrel storage tanks at its existing terminal, despite concerns that the project would emit harmful pollutants like hydrogen sulfide, benzene and other volatile organic compounds in an area already facing heavy industrial pollution. On Monday, Communities for a Better Environment filed suit in Superior Court in Los Angeles County to bar the oil tanks project from moving forward for failing to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, the state’s version of the National Environmental Policy Act. “The Port of Long Beach brands itself as a ‘green port,’ and recently withdrew funding for fireworks events citing environmental concerns, yet it greenlit this harmful project,” Oscar Espino-Padron, an attorney at Earthjustice, told E&E. The environmental organization is representing Communities for a Better Environment, a nonprofit organization.”

Ohio Capital Journal: Bill that would expand fracking leases on state property is going to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine
Megan Henry, 12/16/24

“A bill that would expand fracking leases in state public lands, parks, and wildlife areas from three years to five is going to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for his signature,” the Ohio Capital Journal reports. “Once he receives the bill, DeWine will have 10 days to sign the bill into law or veto it… “The bill passed the Ohio House this summer, with ten Democrats voting against it. The Ohio Senate added a few amendments to the bill — including one that increases a standard lease for fracking under state parks to five years. The current law is three years. “We need to continue to frack, and allowing the extension of that is also important,” Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, said during last week’s Senate session. State Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, had many issues with the bill. “This is perhaps the least popular thing that we will do in the entire General Assembly,” Smith said. “Why are we extending the lease in this amendment again without public consideration?”

Sheboygan Press: Petition calls for Alliant to reimagine path for Edgewater plant, like converting to solar
Alex Garner, 12/17/24

“Clean air advocates are continuing efforts to persuade Alliant Energy to not transition the Edgewater Generating Station to natural gas following a press conference near the plant,” the Sheboygan Press reports. “Moms Clean Air Force organized a petition calling on the utility company to reimagine a different path for the plant, like bolstering solar energy at the site… “Alliant Energy announced in May it would not shut down the Edgewater plant by 2025 but instead work to transition it to natural gas in 2028. The utility company said it saw an opportunity, with Midcontinent Independent System Operator making energy grid advancements and TC Energy planning to extend a gas pipeline in the state within 10 miles of the plant… “Moms Clean Air Force and other environmental organizations called for the shutdown of the plant at a press conference at Lakeview Park in September. Advocates who spoke criticized Alliant for transitioning several plants to natural gas and continuing burning fossil fuels, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.”

Colorado Public Radio: Investigators haven’t found a motive for falsified environmental data filed at hundreds of oil and gas sites
Sam Brasch, 12/1/3/24

“Colorado regulators haven’t found a clear motive or pattern to explain why two environmental consulting firms allegedly falsified soil and water quality results on behalf of the state’s largest oil gas operators,” Colorado Public Radio reports. “But the Energy and Carbon Management Commission, a regulatory agency formerly known as the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission, continues to investigate whether the potential misconduct has resulted in environmental damage at nearly 350 oil and gas clean-up sites in Weld County. The findings could result in fines and criminal charges… “The commission accused two firms of submitting falsified records in November. One of the companies, Eagle Environmental Consulting, was hired by Chevron, Colorado’s largest oil and gas producer. Tasman Geosciences worked for Civitas Resources and Occidental Petroleum Corporation, the state’s second and third-largest oil and gas operators… “Regulators are investigating both firms for allegedly submitting forms containing false dates and manipulated test results for a wide range of soil and water contaminants between 2021 and 2024. The agency is now considering whether to fine the companies, and Murphy has told commissioners the degree of fraud likely merits a criminal investigation… “The state oil and gas agency has been working with the Attorney General’s office, which could launch a criminal investigation into data falsification issue. Oil and gas operators involved in the scandal told CPR News they promised to fully cooperate with state authorities.”

Colorado Newsline: Colorado regulators identify hundreds of oil and gas sites where contamination data was falsified
Chase Woodruff, 12/16/24

“Colorado regulators on Friday released more information about the alleged falsification of contamination data for hundreds of oil and gas sites by a pair of consulting firms, including a map of the locations in question,” Colorado Newsline reports. “Staff from the Energy and Carbon Management Commission disclosed last month that employees of two firms, Eagle Environmental Consulting and Tasman Geosciences, had manipulated laboratory data relating to soil and groundwater contamination at 344 locations in Weld County. The falsified reports were submitted to the ECMC as part of spill cleanup and site remediation procedures between 2021 and summer 2024, the agency said… “In a Dec. 2 letter to the ECMC, Weld County commissioners expressed their “severe disappointment in the withholding of information regarding falsified data relating to oil and gas well remediation.”

Denver Post: New rules for cutting emissions at Colorado natural gas facilities will be “tough for everybody”
Noelle Phillips, 12/16/24

“Colorado air-quality regulators this week will tackle one of the more complicated rules the state has drafted, ordering about 40 natural gas companies to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions or pay into a system designed to help businesses lower their carbon output,” the Denver Post reports. “The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission is set to create the new regulation during what’s expected to be a grueling three-day hearing starting Wednesday, at which air regulators will try to follow state law, preserve the state’s oil and gas economy and satisfy environmentalists who want to slow climate change and improve public health. “This rule is very, very hard,” Christy Woodward, regulatory affairs adviser for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, told the Post. “It’s going to be tough for everybody.” The Air Quality Control Commission was tasked by the state legislature through 2021’s Environmental Justice Act to force natural gas companies to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions, particularly in communities where the pollution is concentrated. The commission also must figure out how to roll those companies into a developing carbon credit trading system through which those that are successful in reducing emissions can sell credits to those unable to meet reduction goals.”

NM Political Report: New reports show how state laws, regulations have reduced greenhouse gas emissions
Hannah Grover, 12/13/24

“New reports released this week show that greenhouse gas emissions in the state are reducing in response to laws and policies aimed at addressing climate change,” according to NM Political Report. “According to the New Mexico Environment Department, greenhouse gas emissions are projected to be 29% lower in 2025 than they were in 2005… “Some of the laws and regulations that have been implemented to curb greenhouse gas emissions include the Energy Transition Act, methane waste rules, vehicle emissions standards and the clean transportation fuel standard… “Meanwhile, the electricity once produced by the San Juan Generating Station has largely been replaced by renewable sources. The E3 report did not look at emissions from the Four Corners Power Plant because it is on Navajo Nation land and not under the state’s jurisdiction. The methane waste and ozone precursor rules targeted the oil and gas industry. These rules and similar policies are projected to lead to 70% less methane emissions from the oil and gas sector in 2025 compared to the 2005 levels.”

Texas Tribune: Growing oil industry support for methane reduction rule could help it survive Trump’s return
Alejandra Martinez, 12/16/24

“From the street they’re easy to miss. But in the self-proclaimed “American Dream City” — famous for its roller coasters and sport stadiums — residents know where to spot them. Oil and gas wells and compressor stations are tucked in between houses, schools, businesses and strip malls, woven into daily life,” the Texas Tribune reports. “And at times, methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere, escapes from the equipment. Often, the methane comes out with other chemicals, including volatile organic compounds that contribute to smog formation, creating a cocktail of chemicals that are harmful to human health. Earlier this year, a long-anticipated federal climate rule was finalized requiring oil and gas operators to dramatically reduce how much methane is released in many oil fields, including those in Texas. The rule, written with input from industry, calls for operators to identify and fix equipment leaking methane and curb the practice of flaring — or burning off excess natural gas. Under the rule, operators will have to monitor emissions, wasteful flaring and leaks from most existing and new well sites. States are now on a timeline to submit plans to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency detailing how they will implement the rule. Texas regulators are taking input from the public on the state plan until Dec. 31. Some residents in Arlington, home to about 400 gas wells and 50 drilling sites, want the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to do more than the bare minimum outlined in the EPA’s guidelines and submit a plan before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.”

EXTRACTION

Canadian Press: Canada’s premiers meet in Toronto to talk tariffs, trade and health care
12/16/24

“Canada’s premiers are meeting in Toronto today, and cross-border trade is topping the agenda, on the heels of a tariff threat from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump,” the Canadian Press reports. “Trump is threatening to impose a 25 per cent import tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico when he takes office, until both countries stop illegal border crossings and prevent drugs like fentanyl from entering the U.S. The premiers have had virtual meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the tariffs, press him for more funding on border security and plan a co-ordinated response, but this will be the first time the 13 provincial and territorial leaders gather to strategize in person. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the host of today’s meeting as the current chair of the Council of the Federation, has come out strongly in favour of retaliatory tariffs and has threatened to in turn cut off the electricity the province supplies to several states. But other premiers have spoken in favour of a different approach, with Alberta’s Danielle Smith saying she prefers the diplomatic route and doesn’t support retaliatory tariffs or cutting off Alberta’s oil and gas exports.”

New York Times: Tribes in Canada Stand to Reap Billions From Gas. Some Fear a Greater Loss.
Max Bearak and Pat Kane, 12/13/24

“...Canada’s lofty ambitions to transform itself into a major gas exporter rely to a large extent on Indigenous communities that control swaths of coastal territory. The expansion, which spans British Columbia’s 600-mile coastline, is controversial for a nation that has also pledged to move itself away from planet-warming fossil fuels,” the New York Times reports. “The gas will be shipped to Asia to power some of the most energy-hungry economies in the world. And it will bring an influx of cash to remote Indigenous communities that have long struggled to find a place in the modern economy. But this new rush recalls the scars of past ones. This region’s land and sea have been exploited for fur, fish, gold, and timber, while native populations have been ravaged by disease, poverty and forced assimilation. The promise of billions of dollars of gas investment has renewed a generations-old debate over Indigenous identity and environmental stewardship. Ms. Smith and the Haisla have gone all in on gas. But some members of a neighboring tribe are preventing gas companies from even setting foot on their land. The divisions run deep, within communities, and within people’s hearts… “Canada is offering First Nations along its Pacific Coast billions of dollars in loan guarantees, promises of equity and other financial incentives to encourage gas development on their land… “Billions of dollars in revenue, and the longevity of Canada’s fossil fuel industry, are at stake. Canada is the world’s fourth-largest crude oil producer, and comes fifth in gas. In recent decades, Canada’s courts have given Indigenous people more authority over their land. The Haisla are using it to broker agreements on jobs and payouts, while some neighboring Gitxsan and Nisga’a people are using that same new authority to fight gas companies… “So, we have to sacrifice our ground so they can have gas in Asia?” Charlie Wright, chief of one of the Gitxsan’s sub-clans, the Luutkudziiwus house, told the Times. “Crazy.” “...You’ve got people who cherish the teachings of our ancestors, who know our cultures are on the verge of extinction, who understand there’s no such thing as a zero-risk pipeline,” Pansy Wright-Simms, a Gitxsan matriarch, told the Times, “and then you’ve got people who see their territory as for sale.” She disagrees with people like Chief Smith. They have opposite answers to this question: Could an influx of money help save their way of life, or speed its destruction? “Our sustenance comes from our forests and our rivers,” Ms. Wright-Simms told the Times. “And you’re telling me that clear-cuts, thousand-man camps and construction equipment on the banks of our streams is environmentally OK? There’s no amount of money we’d take to allow that.”

Associated Press: Oil spills in Kerch Strait after two Russian oil tankers seriously damaged in storm
12/15/24

“Two Russian oil tankers have been seriously damaged following a storm in the Kerch Strait, spilling oil and sparking an emergency rescue operation, Russian officials told state news outlets Sunday,” the Associated Press reports. “Some reports said at least one of the vessels later sank… “Officials said that one crew member died, but that a rescue operation was able to evacuate the remaining sailors… “Together, the two ships were carrying almost 9,000 tons of mazut, a heavy, low-grade fuel oil, Tass reported. Social media footage from the scene showed a black slick of liquid among the waves.”

OPINION

Iowa Capital Dispatch: Lawmakers should slap down intimidation lawsuits
Randy Evans is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative and his columns are found on his blog, Stray Thoughts, 12/16/24

“A public policy dispute over plans for about 1,000 miles of carbon dioxide pipeline across Iowa took a concerning turn last week. The pipeline company’s latest tactic demonstrates why Iowa should finally pass an anti-SLAPP statute that has been floating around the Legislature for a few years,” Randy Evans writes for the Iowa Capital Dispatch. “Summit Carbon Solutions, an Ames company founded by businessman Bruce Rastetter, sent letters to six opponents of its plans to use eminent domain authority to build the pipeline, the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. With eminent domain, Summit could force landowners along the route to sell easements to the company so it could bury the proposed 2-foot-diameter pipe across their land. The letters demand the recipients retract what Summit claims are false and defamatory statements the six critics have made and cease making similar comments in the future. The letters warn recipients their statements have “exposed you to significant legal liability.” The Gazette reported the recipients are Steve King, the former congressman from Kiron; Jess Mazour of Des Moines, an official of the Sierra Club of Iowa; Barb Kalbach of Dexter and Tom Mohan of Cedar Rapids, both members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement; Robert Nazario of Iowa Falls, like King, a member of the Free Soil Foundation, and Trent Loos, a Litchfield, Neb., farmer and podcaster. The Summit project and the underlying eminent domain controversy are textbook examples of the kind of public policy issues the nation’s founders had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment in 1789… “But what Summit is trying to do — silence critics with large followings — goes against the spirit of the Constitution’s free speech guarantees… “Retaliatory lawsuits like those Summit is threatening against its six critics can have a profound effect on citizens’ freedom of speech. If Summit followed through on its implicit threat and sued the six — even if the individuals ultimately won in court — the cost of mounting that defense could be staggering. Such lawsuits often are brought to intimidate citizens from speaking out on matters of public concern or to intimidate journalists from reporting on important policy issues… “King, Mazour and the other recipients of Summit’s cease-and-desist letters probably believe a little dose of President Harry Truman is needed in this freedom-of-speech controversy: If a pipeline company cannot stand the heat of public debate, perhaps it should stay out of the mess hall.

Texas Border Business: Texas at the Forefront of Economic Advancement Through Carbon Capture Innovation
Glenn Hamer, President & CEO, Texas Association of Business, 12/16/24

“The Lone Star State, long celebrated as a global energy powerhouse, now has a unique chance to bolster its dominance by embracing CCS technologies,” Glenn Hamer writes for Texas Border Business. “This transformative technology offers a direct pathway to maintain our position as the energy capital of the nation while addressing critical environmental concerns. A recent economic impact study by the Texas Association of Business (TAB) highlights the potential for CCS projects to inject $1.8 billion into the state’s economy through construction and ongoing operations. The study also estimates that these projects will create or support approximately 7,500 full-time jobs spanning multiple, highly skilled sectors such as construction labor, electrical power-line installers, and operations engineers… “CCS projects are estimated to boost local tax revenues by $33.4 million, empowering communities to provide critical support for local services such as law enforcement and emergency services… “By bypassing federal red tape and utilizing private sector innovation rather than government intervention, Texas can lead the way in creating more sustainable uses of energy while maintaining our free market reputation… “By redefining the economic viability of the private sector, The Lone Star State could redefine what it means to lead in energy innovation, creating high-paying jobs, and bolstering local economies. CCS projects can ensure that Texas remains the backbone of the nation’s energy economy.”

Monthly Review: Carbon capture: False hopes and harsh realities
John Clarke became an organiser with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty when it was formed in 1990 and has been involved in mobilising poor communities under attack ever since, 12/17/24

“...Harsh reality sets in, however, once this enhanced method of carbon capture is measured up against the problem of global carbon emissions: ‘removing carbon from the air remains difficult’ and it is proving difficult to do it on a large enough scale to even engage in effective pilot projects,” John Clarke writes for the Monthly Review. “The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is now at ‘about 400 parts per million, or 0.04%. That means that any technology to capture the gas from the air requires moving huge volumes of air—and that requires large electricity consumption for running fans.’ It is abundantly clear that the scale on which meaningful carbon capture would have to operate would be mind-bogglingly vast and the energy requirements of such an undertaking would be enormous… “Anyone who is at all familiar with the approaches being taken by fossil-fuel companies and governments to the unfolding climate disaster, will be aware that they place very considerable importance on carbon capture and other ‘tech fixes’... “It points out that even ‘after decades of investment, research and development, today’s largest carbon capture projects only remove a few second’s worth of our yearly greenhouse gas emissions.’ Moreover, under existing processes, it costs ‘thousands of dollars for every ton of CO2 removed.’ It is clear that carbon capture ‘isn’t a serious climate solution’. However, ‘the biggest problem with industrial carbon capture schemes is that they are largely a ploy by Big Oil to delay action to phase out fossil fuels.’ With this deception, oil and gas companies are able to ‘claim that they are taking serious climate action, all the while continuing to build out additional fossil fuel infrastructure and rake in trillions in profits.’ “...Though carbon capture is clearly a failed method from the standpoint of significantly alleviating the climate crisis, it is nonetheless a very viable means of preserving the profits of fossil-fuel capitalism. Just as the major oil companies have known for decades that their activities would produce a global catastrophe, so are they perfectly aware that carbon capture is a charade but it’s one they are determined to preserve because it is in their interests to do so.”

TribLive: Trump’s Big Oil Cronies Poised To Prop Up Fossil Fuels
Robert Weissman, 12/14/24

“Why in the world should the public provide giant subsidies to the giant corporations that are rushing us to climate catastrophe? Showered with tens of millions of dollars in oil and gas campaign contributions, President-elect Donald Trump is poised to pay back the favor thousands of times over — at public expense,” Robert Weissman writes for TribLive. “Trump and his pro-fossil-fuel corporate cronies aim to put their collective thumb on the scale for Big Oil, bolstering their already robust subsidies — billions of dollars that perpetuate a system of environmental degradation and economic injustice. Trump’s Cabinet picks are fully committed to Big Oil giveaways… “Burgum has spent years promoting a “carbon capture” scheme allowing his state’s fossil fuel industry to keep drilling.” Each year, taxpayers hand over $17 billion to fossil-fuel companies. These subsidies take many forms, from tax breaks for drilling operations to federal support for export infrastructure. Far from promoting energy security or affordability, these giveaways incentivize oil and gas companies to prioritize exports to overseas markets, including China, over domestic needs. That’s a bad strategy for consumers and businesses. And Big Oil isn’t satisfied. Oil and gas corporations hope to extract even more tax subsidies in the coming tax fight in Congress… The choice is clear: We can continue subsidizing a system that enriches fossil-­fuel executives at the expense of the planet and the public, or we can invest in a clean energy future that benefits everyone. Policymakers need to redirect our taxpayer money to accelerate the deployment of renewables, invest in energy storage and grid modernization, and support workers and communities transitioning away from fossil fuels.”

Los Angeles Times: Alaska Is A Climate Victim And A Perpetrator. The Next Four Years Will Only Make Matters Worse
David Helvarg is executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean policy group, an author and co-host of “Rising Tide: The Ocean Podcast,” 12/12/24

“...Because of a complex mechanism known as “Arctic amplification,” Alaska is warming two to three times faster than the world as a whole, and the 85% of the state that is permafrost is degrading, threatening to release vast amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, a greenhouse gas that traps 28 times more heat than CO2,” David Helvarg writes for the Los Angeles Times. “A 2023 NASA aerial spectrometer study found some 2 million “hot spots,” often associated with areas scorched by wildfire, emitting more than 3,000 parts per million of methane between the ground and the aircraft — 420 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is what’s presently overheating the planet. Nonetheless, the incoming Trump administration plans to push Alaska into adding even more heat to the planet, and at the same time, it could make it harder to track the effects. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which are critical to climate studies, monitoring and reporting, are expected to be the focus of cuts and possible elimination over the next four years, along with the Department of Defense’s Center for Arctic Security Studies, which looks at the impact of climate on national security… “Most Americans would likely oppose a high level of wilderness destruction (and methane emissions) in exchange for more resource extraction on America’s “Last Frontier,” although many Alaskans and their congressional delegation would support it, claiming it’s an economic necessity… “Look for the Trump administration to reverse oil and gas leasing bans and limits put in place by President Biden in ANWR and the North Slope’s National Petroleum Reserve. Expect ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project oil lease in the reserve, approved last year at 400,000 acres, to balloon to 800,000. Also on tap, new oil and gas exploration, including on 1.6 million acres near the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska is both the most climate-vulnerable state in the nation and, with its ice-locked methane beginning to defrost, a virtual climate bomb. The Biden administration’s moderate moves on energy in the 49th state satisfied no one. President-elect Trump, who calls the climate crisis “one of the greatest scams of all time,” could, with his energy policy of “drill, baby, drill,” set off that bomb.”

Cleveland.com: Selling out Ohio, its parklands and people, for fracking’s fleeting allure: Thomas Suddes
Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens, 12/15/24

“Nothing better shows how Ohio gets sold to the highest bidder – all nice and legal – than the antics of the state’s Oil and Gas Land Management Commission. The panel, despite overwhelming public opposition, but with the General Assembly’s lobby-lubricated support, lets oil-and-gas drillers frack under Ohio’s state parks and wildlife areas,” Thomas Suddes writes for Cleveland.com. “ True, the drillers have to pay the state money for the right to do so. But it’s hard to imagine those payments could cover potentially costly environmental damages, if they occur, to Ohioans’ public property – their state lands. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Cedarville Republican, appoints the commission, whose operating philosophy seems to echo 19th-century railroad mogul William H. Vanderbilt’s take on popular opinion – “The public be damned.” “...An Ohioan has to wonder what public-relations alibi DeWine, who leaves office in two years, and Ohio’s dysfunctional legislature, will improvise when, as could happen, commission-approved fracking pollutes a state park or natural area… “It was coal yesterday. It’s gas, today – risking lands reserved for all Ohioans’ enjoyment, including those who fish and hunt, that may be marred in the relentless search for private gain (and Statehouse donations). As if the status quo weren’t bad enough, the Senate and House voted last week to pass initially innocuous Substitute House Bill 308 that – as rewritten by a Senate committee – requires the Land Management Commission to lengthen the term of leases that let frackers exploit state-owned lands. The bill’s headed to DeWine’s desk. To ask whether the governor will sign it is like asking if the sun will come up tomorrow. Is this really the Ohio that voters want to bequeath their daughters and sons – at least those who aren’t already so discouraged that they’re leaving?”

The Hill: The US should help the world get the plastics treaty it deserves
Anja Brandon, Ph.D. is the director of plastics policy at the Ocean Conservancy, 12/15/24

“Five large patches of trash swirling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans serve as a crushing reminder that the ocean bears the brunt of the plastic pollution crisis, with more than 11 million metric tons of plastics entering the ocean every year. New research shows that one of these infamous trash whirlpools at sea — the North Pacific Garbage Patch — is growing even larger, threatening both marine life and, increasingly, human health,” Anja Brandon writes for The Hill. “This new finding adds even more urgency to what was supposed to be the final round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty, which wrapped this past weekend some 7,456 miles away from this garbage patch, in Busan, South Korea. But as the contentious negotiations revealed, these patches only represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dire effects of plastic trash on the ocean… “While we don’t know what a future administration will do on this issue, one thing remains clear: Americans are fed up with plastic pollution. Nearly 80 percent of Americans consider plastic pollution entering our ocean a pressing problem, a stark reminder that this is not a partisan issue. Ocean Conservancy research shows that we need a minimum 50 percent target for source reduction of single-use plastics by 2050, in combination with other measures and policies, to effectively curb plastic pollution… “The United Nations plastic treaty negotiations stalled earlier this month. Instead of a final treaty, countries kicked the can — or rather, the plastic bottle — down the road… “Fortunately, negotiations are expected to continue sometime next year… “These negotiations represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to end the plastics crisis, and we cannot afford to fail.