EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/21/22
(Note to Readers: The next edition of “Extracted” will be published on Tuesday, Dec. 27, as we take a break for the holiday.)
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: TC Energy has submitted plan to restart Keystone oil pipeline after spill - source
Bloomberg: TC Energy Delays Full Keystone Pipeline Restart Until Next Week
Guardian: Keystone pipeline raises concerns after third major spill in five years
WIBW: Two workers sent to hospital after incident at Keystone Pipeline oil recovery site
AgWeek: South Dakota suggests delaying Summit Carbon pipeline hearings to September or later
KMA: Shen council passes pipeline position resolution
Truthout: Water Protector Defense Attorneys Warn of “Breakdown in Separation of Powers”
Calgary Herald: Calgary company charged over release from oilfield pipeline
Corvallis Advocate: LEADERS SOUND ALARM ON ANOTHER PROPOSED FOSSIL FUEL PIPELINE EXPANSION IN OREGON
Press release: ONEOK's Saguaro Connector Pipeline Files Permit Application for Proposed Natural Gas Border-Crossing Facilities at the U.S. and Mexico Border
Bucks County Courier Times: Developers promise repaving as Sunoco pipeline project nears completion in Washington Crossing
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: How the $1.7T omnibus affects energy, from CCS to hydrogen
E&E News: U.S. climate aid pledge runs into Capitol Hill reality
Inside EPA: EPA Ends Pennsylvania’s Highway Sanctions Threat Over Oil, Gas Air Limits
STATE UPDATES
Bakersfield Californian: State unveils emergency order that would head off oil industry's buffer-zone referendum
Colorado Newsline: Colorado air quality regulators approve ozone plan they know will fail
EXTRACTION
Guardian: Big oil is behind conspiracy to deceive public, first climate racketeering lawsuit says
InsideClimate News: Oil Companies Had a Problem With ExxonMobil’s Industry-Wide Carbon Capture Proposal: Exxon’s Bad Reputation
Reuters: EU countries vote to weaken law on methane emissions
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Peterborough Examiner: Enbridge Gas helps fund Douro-Dummer Township firefighter training
OPINION
Los Angeles Times: Editorial: Gov. Newsom has the power to stop oil companies’ dishonest ploy to keep drilling
MinnPost: ‘All of the above’ approach to clean energy comes with a cost
Portland Press Herald: Commentary: 12 climate wishes for the 12 days of Christmas
Bloomberg: Shipping’s Oil Era Is Coming to an End
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: TC Energy has submitted plan to restart Keystone oil pipeline after spill - source
Rod Nickel and Kavya Guduru, 12/20/22
“TC Energy Corp has submitted its plan to restart the Keystone pipeline to U.S. regulators, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the line ruptured in the worst oil spill in the United States in nine years,” Reuters reports. “...Even though cleanup will take weeks or months, the line can still restart once it is repaired and the plan approved by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). TC Energy did not answer questions about when it hopes to restart the line or what caused the incident. "This segment will not be restarted until it is safe to do so and when we have regulatory approval from PHMSA," the company said. The line leaked diluted bitumen, a heavy oil that tends to sink in water, making it harder to collect than oils that float. More than 400 people are involved in the cleanup, including TC workers, pipeline regulators, state and local officials and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Completion of the cleanup depends on weather and other factors. TC is required to complete an analysis of the root cause of the line's failure by early March, or 90 days after PHMSA issued a corrective action order. TC is not required to identify the cause to restart, but it needs to satisfy PHMSA that the problem is not systemic and likely to cause other incidents along the pipeline, Richard Kuprewicz, president of pipeline consulting company Accufacts Inc., told Reuters. Kuprewicz told Reuters he suspects that a weld failed between segments of pipeline and does not represent a systemic problem. "It's pretty straightforward and PHMSA should have enough information," Kuprewicz told Reuters, adding that PHMSA could allow TC to restart the segment within the day. Keystone's spill history is a concern considering that the 12-year-old pipeline is relatively new, Suzanne Mattei, energy finance analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told Reuters. "We can only hope that (PHMSA) will be very vigorous in reviewing this plan," she told Reuters.
Bloomberg: TC Energy Delays Full Keystone Pipeline Restart Until Next Week
Sheela Tobben, 12/20/22
“TC Energy Corp. pushed back the full return of its Keystone oil pipeline by a week after a 14,000-barrel oil spill shut the critical conduit, according to people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reports. “The company had expected to begin a complete return on Dec. 20, but is now targeting Dec. 28 or 29, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential matters. Although the people didn’t specify the reasons for the delay, TC Energy previously said that cold weather could hamper clean-up of the spill. The company has already submitted a restart plan with the federal government, which must give approval before operations can resume…”
Guardian: Keystone pipeline raises concerns after third major spill in five years
Michael Sainato, 12/21/22
“The Keystone pipeline, which traverses 2,600 miles from western Canada through the central US, leaked an estimated 14,000 barrels of oil, more than half a million gallons, into a creek in Washington county, Kansas on 7 December. The incident was the largest onshore oil spill since at least 2013, the Keystone pipeline’s third major spill in the last five years, and the largest since it began operating in 2010,” the Guardian reports. “It is also the case that previous estimates from earlier spills on the pipeline have turned out to be much larger than the initial estimates… “Waterways and land should not be put at risk so Canada and big oil can get their product to market,” Jane Kleeb, founder and president of Nebraska non-profit Bold Alliance, which helps communities fight fossil fuel projects, told the Guardian. “It’s a tremendous burden that pipeline companies put on landowners. They not only take their land through eminent domain for the pipeline company’s private gain, they also take an [access] easement forever.” Kleeb argued these spills demonstrate how unfair the relationship between pipeline corporations and landowners. She also pointed to how the Keystone pipeline was labeled the ‘safest pipeline ever built’ during the push for approval for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The latter was a proposed extension to the Keystone pipeline that was eventually scrapped: its permits were initially revoked by the Obama administration, reinstated by the Trump administration and then canceled by the Biden administration. “This spill in Kansas is going to take years to clean up. TC Energy currently is pretending that this is going to be a two-week cleanup job and everything’s going to be fine,” added Kleeb. “That topsoil that has now been destroyed on that farmer’s property is gone forever. If you’re in the agriculture industry, you know how precious topsoil is, and how much farmers and ranchers do to protect that topsoil. That’s gone, it’s never coming back, that land will never be the same.” “...About 22 oil spills have occurred on the Keystone pipeline in the past 12 years, with two other large incidents. TC Energy has only paid $300,000 in fines for previous spills on the Keystone pipeline, even if the spills caused more than $111m in property damage. “It is a lemon,” Paul Blackburn, an attorney who specializes in pipeline law with Bold Alliance, told the Guardian. “It’s leaked a remarkable number of times and while there may be certain kinds of specific causes for each leak, the fact that it leaks so often suggests that there may be some underlying systemic reasons on what’s going wrong.” “...Blackburn argued the possibility of fines levied on pipeline corporations are included in the cost of doing business for these multi-billion dollar corporations, which often pass the costs on to customers if they’re not already covered by insurance. He noted regulators can force pipeline corporations to conduct more frequent in-line inspections, such as imaging tools that can perform ultrasounds on pipelines to identify possible points of failure and remedy them before a spill occurs. “All pipelines leak and depending on where they leak, it can be catastrophic, and it certainly is catastrophic for the people who live there whose land is impacted,” added Blackburn. “There are much better tools to prevent these kinds of leaks and PHMSA should require that they be used more often.”
WIBW: Two workers sent to hospital after incident at Keystone Pipeline oil recovery site
Sarah Motter, 12/20/22
“Two workers were sent to a local hospital after an incident at the Keystone Pipeline oil recovery site,” WIBW reports. “TC Energy, the company which owns the Keystone Oil Pipeline, tells 13 NEWS on Tuesday, Dec. 20, that two workers at the site of the milepost 14 oil spill were sent to the hospital after incidents on the job. Out of an abundance of caution, the company said both workers were sent to a local hospital, assessed and released. Both have since returned to work. However, it said neither worker received any injuries… “The workers were on the site of what has been deemed the largest on-land oil spill in nearly a decade. The Keystone Pipeline sustained a rupture on Dec. 8 which released about 14,000 barrels of oil into Washington Co.’s Mill Creek. Since then, about half of that has been recovered and four mammals have perished along with 71 fish.”
AgWeek: South Dakota suggests delaying Summit Carbon pipeline hearings to September or later
Jeff Beach, 12/20/22
“South Dakota regulators say they may need to push back hearings on what could be the world’s largest carbon capture and storage project until September 2023 and maybe even 2024,” AgWeek reports. “The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday, Dec. 20, directed its staff to look at available dates in September for what would be at least 10 days of hearings on the controversial Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. PUC staff had suggested late April and May for the hearings, which was supported by Summit. But because of it being in the heart of spring planting season for farmers, a conflict for an attorney representing many landowners, and the complexities of the project, commissioners told staff to come back to the Jan. 5, 2023, meeting with a new proposal. Commissioner Gary Hanson said “if that has to be 2024, then so be it.” “...While Summit has said the project will benefit the ethanol industry and corn growers, many farmers and other landowners have been wary of the pipeline, citing concerns about safety, damage to farmland and lower property values. They argue that the potential use of eminent domain to secure right-of-way for the pipeline is wrong. Attorney Brian Jorde of Nebraska-based Domina Law represents many of the farmers and landowners that are resisting providing an easement to Summit for the pipeline… “Jorde also cited about 70 different lawsuits in South Dakota involving landowners and Summit Carbons Solutions that will be in the courts in 2023 and that Summit has only about half of the voluntary easements that it needs in South Dakota as other reasons to delay. The Iowa Utilities Board also has yet to schedule a hearing on Summit’s permit application. At a recent meeting Summit suggested 15 days of hearings could start on March 20, 2023, but others, including Jorde and the Iowa Farm Bureau, said at a Dec. 13 meeting that such a time frame would be unworkable… “Summit Carbon Solutions has sued two more South Dakota counties that it contends has overstepped their authority to regulate carbon capture pipelines. Summit has filed suits against the board of commissioners in McPherson County and in Spink County… “Summit's lawsuits, filed Dec. 12, say courts have "repeatedly held that federal law preempts state and local governments’ efforts to impose their own standards on federally regulated pipelines." Summit had previously sued Brown and Edmunds counties in South Dakota. It also has sued two counties in Iowa over restrictive ordinances.”
KMA: Shen council passes pipeline position resolution
Mike Peterson, 12/20/22
“Shenandoah's City Council is the latest to weigh in on the contentious carbon pipeline issue,” KMA reports. “By a 4-to-1 vote Tuesday evening, the council approved a resolution objecting to Summit Carbon Solution's proposed Midwest Express CO2 pipeline, which would stretch more than 700 miles across western Iowa, including portions of Fremont, Page and Montgomery counties, carrying carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and South Dakota to a storage facility in North Dakota. The resolution also opposes the use of eminent domain to acquire property for the project, which would serve 31 ethanol plants, including Green Plain's Shenandoah facility and 11 others in Iowa. Jan Norris of Montgomery County is among the landowners impacted by the proposed pipeline. Norris urged the council to adopt the resolution, citing the dangers of transporting carbon dioxide through pipelines, and objections to using eminent domain. "In Iowa, eminent domain gives government the power to take your property, even if you don't want to sell it," said Norris. "Under the Fifth Amendment, eminent domain must be used for public use, which traditionally means projects like roads and bridges. Opponents object to the use of eminent domain for this private project." "The pipeline companies have a big problem with transparency," said Norris. "They refuse to share the landowner list, and argued last week they don't think the IUB should be able to consider safety information when determining whether to grant this hazardous liquid pipeline permit. They have the models--they just won't share them with the state. And, they are refusing to file risk assessments, environmental impact studies, and even emergency response plans." Norris also requested that the council adopt an ordinance regulating pipeline projects. Another of the project's vocal opponents praised the council for its stance. Page County landowner Marty Maher recently called on the county's board of supervisors to adopt its own ordinance… “Shenandoah City Administrator A.J. Lyman says the city has concerns about the project, such as safety questions that have not been addressed. Another concern involves the impact on the city's water system… “Shenandoah City Attorney Mahlon Sorensen says the city has jurisdiction on projects within a two-mile radius of city limits.”
Truthout: Water Protector Defense Attorneys Warn of “Breakdown in Separation of Powers”
Simon Davis-Cohen, 12/20/22
“From late 2019 through 2021, at least 115 Water Protectors were arrested in Aitkin County, Minnesota (population 15,800) for their resistance to Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline,” Truthout reports. “Today, 50 defendants continue to face charges, according to Marla Marcum of the Climate Disobedience Center, which has been tracking cases and offering support to defendants. Open cases include seven social media-based prosecutions including of Winona LaDuke, co-founder of the Native advocacy organization Honor the Earth, and Tara Houska, an administrator of the Giniw Collective Facebook Group. These cases, which reference social media activity in charging documents, have produced trumped-up charges ranging from “harassment of law enforcement” for yelling to charges that derive from Minnesota’s 2002 Anti-Terrorism Act, which was passed in response to the September 11 attacks. “When Minnesota and other states passed Anti-Terrorism laws in the wake of 9/11, we were deeply concerned that they would be used to stifle protest and dissent. That’s clearly what is happening in this case,” Sue Udry, executive director of Defending Rights & Dissent, told Truthout. “The fact that a law meant to arm law enforcement and prosecutors with the tools to ‘ensure that terrorists who commit atrocities in our state are brought to justice and receive maximum punishment to match their dastardly crimes,’ has been deployed against protesters engaged in civil disobedience is dangerous, and disingenuous,” she continued. Other open cases include felony “aiding attempted suicide” charges that defense motions have characterized as a “misinterpretation of the law” by the Aitkin County Attorney’s Office, warning that the cases could set broadly harmful precedents for protest rights. Writing in response to Aitkin County Atorney James Ratz’s pursuit of aiding attempted suicide charges against protesters who crawled into a segment of non-functioning pipeline, defense attorney Jordan Kushner argued: Under the state’s misinterpretation of the law, any protester who climbs and remains in a tree where they are in potential danger of falling down, attaches themselves to a construction vehicle where they could potentially be subject to an accident, sits on a roadway where they could potentially be run over, or engages in any action that places them in potential danger, or helps someone else commit such actions, could be accused of aiding an attempted suicide. In total, the remaining 50 defendants face a total of six felonies, 28 gross misdemeanors and 115 misdemeanors, according to a Truthout analysis.”
Calgary Herald: Calgary company charged over release from oilfield pipeline
Bill Kaufmann, 12/20/22
“A Calgary-based energy company is facing four charges for the release of contaminated water from one of its pipelines near Drayton Valley,” the Calgary Herald reports. “The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has said 400,000 litres of contaminated water was released, some of it into the North Saskatchewan River about 130 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, from a pipeline owned by ARC Resources Ltd. between Dec. 9 and Dec. 25, 2020. At the time, the company said it had responded to the incident as soon as it became aware of it and that its testing showed the discharge had no noticeable effect on the river. Even so, after an investigation by its major investigations team, the AER this week announced it had laid four charges against the company under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Charges include releasing a substance into the environment that caused or may cause a significant adverse effect. Another count alleges ARC failed to report the release as soon as they knew or ought to have known of the release. A third count states the company failed to take all reasonable measures to repair, remedy and confine the effects of the substance as soon as they became aware or ought to have become aware of the pipeline release. A fourth count alleges ARC failed to take all reasonable measures to remediate, manage, remove or otherwise dispose of the substance in such a manner as to prevent an adverse effect or further adverse effect as soon as they became aware or ought to have become aware of the pipeline release.”
Corvallis Advocate: LEADERS SOUND ALARM ON ANOTHER PROPOSED FOSSIL FUEL PIPELINE EXPANSION IN OREGON
12/20/22
“Jordan Cove isn’t the only fossil fuel pipeline aimed at Oregon. Canada’s TC Energy has a proposal making the usual rounds, and on Monday, Oregon’s two senators joined our state Attorney General in vociferously opposing the project,” the Corvallis Advocate reports. “Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard Glick, and FERC commissioners urging them to consider contentions from Oregon’s Attorney General and deny permits for TC Energy’s Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) Xpress project… “In their letter, the Senators highlight how Oregon has enacted policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions—moving away from fossil gas—including investing in renewable energy. These policies show how renewable alternatives can meet energy demands without the climate and safety risks caused by fossil fuels. “The GTN Xpress would risk the safety of frontline communities and the planet for a project that isn’t necessary,” they write… “Merkley and Wyden’s letter continues by urging the FERC chairman and commissioners to listen to Oregon when it says the GTN Xpress is incompatible with climate objectives, highlighting how moving forward would not be in the public’s interest.”
Press release: ONEOK's Saguaro Connector Pipeline Files Permit Application for Proposed Natural Gas Border-Crossing Facilities at the U.S. and Mexico Border
12/20/22
“ONEOK, Inc. today announced that its Saguaro Connector Pipeline subsidiary has filed a Presidential Permit application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate facilities for the exportation of natural gas at a new international border-crossing at the U.S. and Mexico border in Hudspeth County, Texas. The proposed border facilities would connect upstream with a potential intrastate natural gas pipeline, the Saguaro Connector Pipeline, which would be designed to transport natural gas from ONEOK's existing WesTex intrastate natural gas pipeline system in the Permian Basin in West Texas to Mexico. Additionally, the proposed border facilities would connect at the International Boundary with a new pipeline under development in Mexico for delivery to an export facility on the West Coast of Mexico. The potential Saguaro Connector Pipeline would consist of approximately 155 miles of 48-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline originating at the Waha Hub in Pecos County, Texas. The ultimate design capacity of the potential pipeline would be approximately 2.8 billion cubic feet per day. Final investment decision on the potential pipeline is expected by mid-2023.”
Bucks County Courier Times: Developers promise repaving as Sunoco pipeline project nears completion in Washington Crossing
Damon C. Williams, 12/21/22
“Upper Makefield residents will soon be free of the massive Sunoco pipeline relocation project near Oakdale Road,” the Bucks County Courier Times reports. “Joseph Massaro, representative for Sunoco parent company Energy Transfer, told the Times workers recently completed the pilot hole — a small bore that is first drilled during horizontal directional drilling before the hole is enlarged for the pipe installation — and the next steps involve a drilling rig working on pipe reaming on the New Jersey side of the project… “That restoration process, Massaro said, will include winterization followed by seeding and landscaping in the spring; the project will then culminate with the repaving of Oakdale Avenue… “Sunoco's 14-Inch Twin Oaks to Newark Jacobs Creek Pipeline Relocation plan calls for a section of the pipeline, which runs under the Delaware River through Upper Makefield in Bucks, and Hopewell and Ewing in New Jersey, to be repaired and relocated several dozen feet from its current location.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: How the $1.7T omnibus affects energy, from CCS to hydrogen
Carlos Anchondo, Miranda Willson, David Iaconangelo, Niina H. Farah, 12/21/22
“The year-end spending package released by Congress on Tuesday could deliver an influx of funding to several Department of Energy programs that may be pivotal for hitting the Biden administration’s climate targets,” E&E News reports. The omnibus bill — which would fund the government at $1.7 trillion for fiscal 2023 — would provide $46.5 billion to DOE to “fund programs in its primary mission areas of science, energy, environment, and national security,” Senate appropriators said in an explanatory statement on the package. That’s an increase of roughly $1.7 billion from fiscal 2022 for the department. The funds would support the department’s efforts to scale carbon capture and removal technologies, advance technologies aimed at boosting the resilience of the U.S. electricity system and reduce emissions from heavy industry like steel and concrete, among other initiatives… “The omnibus would provide $140 million for research, development and demonstration of carbon dioxide removal technologies across multiple offices — with DOE’s fossil office set to receive “not less than” half of that funding, according to the report from Senate appropriators. Additionally, the bill calls for the creation of a pilot procurement program for the purchase of CO2 that’s been removed from either the atmosphere or the upper hydrosphere. “Procurement of carbon removal services would be something that the government has never done before, but they are the biggest purchaser of goods and services in the world, so they have the capacity to contribute to a vision like that,” Danny Broberg, a senior policy analyst for the energy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank, told E&E… “The bill would provide at least $15 million for research and optimization of carbon capture technologies at industrial facilities and at least $20 million for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for natural gas power systems, according to congressional documents. The legislation also dedicated funding for front-end engineering and design studies, “including for the development of a first-of-its-kind carbon capture project at an existing natural gas combined cycle plant, large pilot projects, and demonstration projects,” the Senate report said… “Some groups, however, dismissed proposed spending on carbon capture. “It’s infuriating that the federal government is doubling down on the high-risk, proven loser that is carbon capture and storage,” Maggie Coulter, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, told E&E. “Sinking more money into CCS threatens communities and steals resources from the needed transition to clean, affordable renewable energy.”.
E&E News: U.S. climate aid pledge runs into Capitol Hill reality
Sara Schonhardt, Nick Sobczyk, 12/21/22
“The United States agreed at last month’s climate talks to support a new form of aid for countries losing lives and livelihoods to climate-fueled disasters, but the latest spending fight in Congress shows how difficult it will be to live up to that commitment,” E&E News reports. “The $1.7 trillion fiscal 2023 federal spending bill lawmakers are expected to pass this week contains just $1 billion to help developing countries respond to climate change. That hardly puts a down payment on President Joe Biden’s pledge to deliver $11.4 billion annually in international climate finance by 2024. And it bodes poorly for future funding, particularly after the United States and other developed countries agreed at the latest round of U.N. climate talks, known as COP 27, to back a new pot of money for the losses and damages poorer nations face from increasingly severe droughts, storms, heat and rising seas. The details of that new fund will come into focus over the next year, but already, many in Congress are cool to the idea. Democrats prefer to provide targeted aid for the clean energy transition, rather than contribute money to a fund for the damage wrought by climate change driven by emissions from the industrialized world. The US has long resisted payments for loss and damage out of fear it could lead to legal action or endless claims of compensation. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who led a Democratic delegation to COP 27 in November, told E&E. “We don’t particularly like the format that was approved for loss and damages, because we don’t think it’s going to work.”
Inside EPA: EPA Ends Pennsylvania’s Highway Sanctions Threat Over Oil, Gas Air Limits
12/19/22
“EPA has lifted the threat of withholding nearly $1 billion in federal highway funds from Pennsylvania, and ended the requirement for air pollution “offsets” from oil and gas drilling operations, after the state sent the agency a “complete” package of measures to impose reasonably available control technology (RACT) on the sector,” Inside EPA reports. “In a Dec. 14 letter , Christina Fernández, director of the air and radiation division at EPA Region 3, informs air officials in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection…”
STATE UPDATES
Bakersfield Californian: State unveils emergency order that would head off oil industry's buffer-zone referendum
JOHN COX, 12/19/22
“California's main oil regulatory agency said Monday it will act to block an industry-funded referendum that was expected to delay a law banning drilling within 3,200 feet of homes and other sensitive sites,” the Bakersfield Californian reports. “In a move one industry trade group executive criticized as illegal, the state Geologic Energy Management Division called for an emergency order that would impose the terms of State Bill 1137 no later than Jan. 7. The agency said it will file for a review by the Office of Administrative Law to begin as soon as Dec. 28. It follows last week's announcement that a disputed, industry-sponsored petition drive had turned in about 50 percent more signatures than needed to put a referendum on the November 2024 ballot asking voters whether to uphold SB 1137. The expectation was that, if enough of those signatures were officially verified, the law wouldn't take effect for almost two years. Monday's state action came as the latest shot in a years-long battle between the Newsom administration and California's Kern-centric oil industry. "We are aware of the referendum effort to repeal this legislation," a CalGEM representative said by email. "As we await verification of whether that measure has qualified, we have a responsibility to move ahead with implementation of the law.” “...CEO Rock Zierman of the California Independent Petroleum Association said by email the state's authority to initiate an emergency order is derived from SB 1137, which he noted is not scheduled to take effect until next month. He said the law will be stayed this week, assuming the referendum signatures get confirmed. "What (CalGEM officials) are doing is illegal," Zierman wrote. A spokesman for another industry trade group, the Western States Petroleum Association, said by email CalGEM's proposal looks "a lot like a work-around for the CEPA 1137 referendum."
Colorado Newsline: Colorado air quality regulators approve ozone plan they know will fail
CHASE WOODRUFF, 12/19/22
“Colorado air quality regulators last week took another series of halting steps towards addressing the state’s long-running ozone problem, rejecting proposals from environmental advocates aimed at shaking up a complex, slow-moving process that they say has repeatedly failed to produce results,” Colorado Newsline reports. “State officials acknowledge their latest set of plans won’t bring Colorado’s Front Range into compliance with federal health standards for ozone, a hazardous air pollutant. They expect to be flunked again by the Environmental Protection Agency and repeat the process, part of a package of air pollution rules known as a State Implementation Plan, in the hope of meeting the standards by 2027. The plan sidesteps, for now, a looming battle over a federal requirement for cleaner-burning gasoline, and large sections were withdrawn and will be rewritten next year after the discovery of a major calculation error that underestimated oil and gas emissions by nearly half. “At the end of the day, they voted for a failed plan,” Jeremy Nichols of environmental group WildEarth Guardians told Newsline. “And that speaks volumes to their commitment and ability to protect clean air for Colorado.”
EXTRACTION
Guardian: Big oil is behind conspiracy to deceive public, first climate racketeering lawsuit says
Nina Lakhani, 12/20/22
“The same racketeering legislation used to bring down mob bosses, motorcycle gangs, football executives and international fraudsters is to be tested against oil and coal companies who are accused of conspiring to deceive the public over the climate crisis,” the Guardian reports. “In an ambitious move, an attempt will be made to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for “decades of deception” in a lawsuit being brought by communities in Puerto Rico that were devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. “Puerto Rico is one of the most affected places by climate change in the world. It is so precariously positioned – they get hit on all fronts with hurricanes, storm surge, heat, coral bleaching – it’s the perfect place for this climate litigation,” Melissa Sims, senior counsel for the plaintiffs’ law firm Milberg, told the Guardian. The 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act was originally intended to combat criminal enterprises like the mafia, but has since been used in civil courts to litigate harms caused by opioids, vehicle emissions and even e-cigarettes as organised crime cases. Now, the first-ever climate change Rico case alleges that international oil and coal companies, their trade associations, and a network of paid thinktanks, scientists and other operatives conspired to deceive the public – specifically residents of Puerto Rico – about the direct link between their greenhouse gas-emitting products and climate change. This fossil fuel enterprise, which remains operational according to the lawsuit, resulted in multitude of damages caused by climate disasters that were foreseen – but hidden – by the defendants in order to maximise profits. The plaintiffs are 16 municipalities in Puerto Rico – towns and cities that were hit hard by two powerful hurricanes in September 2017, Irma and Maria – which led to thousands of deaths, food shortages, widespread infrastructure damage and the longest blackout in US history. Sims, the senior counsel, told the Guardian: “What’s different about this [Rico] case is that we have their enterprise in writing – the decision by rival companies, their front groups, scientists and associations to act together to change public opinion regarding the use of their consumer products by telling people something that they knew was not true.”
InsideClimate News: Oil Companies Had a Problem With ExxonMobil’s Industry-Wide Carbon Capture Proposal: Exxon’s Bad Reputation
Nicholas Kusnetz, 12/21/22
“ExxonMobil has been the prime target of activists and politicians angered by the oil industry’s efforts to block action on climate change. Now, newly disclosed documents confirm that the oil company’s reputational woes have extended into the industry itself and threatened to derail Exxon’s biggest climate proposal to date,” InsideClimate News reports. “Last year, Exxon struggled to gain support from its peers when it proposed a cross-industry effort to build a carbon capture and storage hub in Houston, according to documents released by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which has been investigating the oil industry. Top executives at Shell, in particular, worried that joining with Exxon would present an “unacceptable risk” to the European oil major’s reputation. “I am not interested in participating with any advocacy effort led by” Exxon, wrote Krista Johnson, Shell’s head of U.S. government relations, in a July 2021 email to Gretchen Watkins, president of Shell USA. Johnson said their competitor was continuing to draw negative headlines and that “zero companies” were prepared to join an Exxon-led consortium at that time. A month later, Watkins said she opposed any public participation with Exxon. “Their reputation is severely damaged here,” she wrote to colleagues in the Netherlands, where Shell was headquartered at the time, “and we will only do harm to the strength of Shell’s US reputation.” In April 2021, Exxon proposed a $100 billion public-private partnership to build what would become the world’s largest carbon capture and storage “hub” in Houston… “The proposal has drawn substantial skepticism and criticism from environmental advocates, who say carbon capture is unlikely to ever reach the scale proposed by Exxon. They have warned that government subsidies for the technology would be a waste of climate funding, and have argued that Exxon was using carbon capture to burnish its image, rather than drive real emissions reductions… “The documents also include a 2018 update on a National Petroleum Council report about carbon capture and storage, written by John Mingé, a former chief of BP America who led the petroleum council study. In addition to lowering emissions, the document said, wide deployment of carbon capture technology could help increase U.S. oil production, secure the export of fossil fuels to countries with stringent climate policies and allow for continued use of “existing infrastructure over the long term.”
Reuters: EU countries vote to weaken law on methane emissions
12/19/22
“European Union countries voted on Monday in favour of weakening the bloc’s planned law to cut methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, weeks after the EU pledged at the COP27 climate conference to do more to tackle the potent greenhouse gas,” Reuters reports. “...The European Commission last year proposed legislation requiring oil and gas companies in Europe to find and fix methane leaks in their infrastructure. The law will be negotiated next year by EU countries, who approved their negotiating position on Monday, and the European Parliament. Luxembourg energy minister Claude Turmes said he was stunned by the lack of ambition in the countries’ position, which he voted against. “Nobody understands how Europe, who is so committed to climate change, can come up with such a weak governmental position on methane,” Turmes told the meeting.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Peterborough Examiner: Enbridge Gas helps fund Douro-Dummer Township firefighter training
Brendan Burke, 12/20/22
“The Douro-Dummer Fire Services is one of 50 Ontario fire departments receiving funds from Enbridge Gas to help purchase firefighting training materials,” according to The Peterborough Examiner. “These resources from Enbridge Gas are timely and much appreciated as we ramp up testing for firefighter certification to meet our new legislative requirements,” Douro-Dummer Fire Chief Chuck Pedersen stated in a release… “The Enbridge Gas funds are implemented through Safe Community Project Assist — a program with the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council that supplements existing training for Ontario volunteer and composite fire departments in the communities where Enbridge Gas operates. This year’s $250,000 donation to fire departments across the province will be used to purchase educational materials to assist training firefighters in life-saving techniques. Since the launch of Safe Community Project Assist in 2012, 294 grants have been provided to Ontario fire departments for additional firefighter training.”
OPINION
Los Angeles Times: Editorial: Gov. Newsom has the power to stop oil companies’ dishonest ploy to keep drilling
THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD, 12/20/22
“The oil industry is making headway in its misleading campaign to overturn a new state law and continue the dangerous and unhealthy practice of drilling in neighborhoods,” the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board writes. “Senate Bill 1137, which bans new oil and gas wells, or reworks of existing wells, within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, parks and healthcare facilities to protect people from air pollution and safety risks, is supposed to take effect in January. An oil industry-led referendum effort to repeal the law has moved closer to qualifying, threatening to delay its implementation by nearly two years. While state officials await verification of signatures, the California Geologic Energy Management Division on Monday released a proposal to implement the law by the first week of January, but it could be in effect for only a short time. Typically when a referendum qualifies, the law it targets is put on hold until voters reaffirm it in a future election, which in this case would be November 2024. This is why the state’s referendum process has increasingly become a popular way for corporations to circumvent new laws they don’t like. But Gov. Gavin Newsom has the power to shut down new drilling independent of the new law — and he should use it. Under his guidance, the state started drafting regulations to establish buffer zones around homes, schools and other sensitive areas last year but did not complete them and instead pushed the Legislature to take on the issue. Newsom should resume that process and in the meantime stop approving new drilling permits in those areas. Powerful interests shouldn’t be able to undermine the legislative process, using paid signature gatherers to win another two years of reaping the financial windfalls from the continued ability to extract oil in our backyards. These buffer zones are urgently needed to protect the more than 2 million Californians who live within about half a mile of an oil or gas well and are at higher risk of asthma, preterm births and reductions in lung function and other health problems. They shouldn’t have to wait any longer for relief… “The California Independent Petroleum Assn., which is leading the effort to overturn SB 1137, announced last week that it had collected more than 978,000 signatures for a referendum (623,212 valid signatures are required). Stop the Energy Shutdown, the committee pushing the petition, has received more than $20 million in contributions, mostly from oil companies. There have been reports of signature gatherers misleading voters by telling them the petition was to lower gas prices or to prevent drilling near homes and schools, when the opposite is true. The secretary of state’s office confirmed it has received complaints.”
MinnPost: ‘All of the above’ approach to clean energy comes with a cost
Jan Boudart is a Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS.org) board member, 12/19/22
“At this point in the climate crisis no nation, state, county or community can afford the “all of the above” fantasy of “large hydro, nuclear and carbon capture should be included in Minnesota’s carbon-free energy mix” as implied by a Dec. 12 Community Voices commentary,” Jan Boudart writes for MinnPost. “And by using the catchword “carbon capture” it hides the ugly secrets of carbon capture and storage (CCS). For example, at the Illinois Prairie State CCS installation, a separate carbon-emitting gas power plant was built to supply energy for the CCS project: cost $2 billion. Other objections to CCS include a super solvent, KS-21, which is unproven in large operations. In CCS, the carbon is returned to the atmosphere after being used, which does not combat climate change but instead extracts more fossil fuels. So much for CCS – it’s extremely expensive, works poorly and ratepayers are not “buying it.” “...Instead of an “all of the above” philosophy, Minnesotans should be adopting the solar and wind generation philosophy. Nobody is saying solar and wind is perfect, but its imperfections don’t hold a candle to hydro, nuclear or carbon capture.”
Portland Press Herald: Commentary: 12 climate wishes for the 12 days of Christmas
Rev. Richard Killmer is a retired Presbyterian minister living in Yarmouth., 12/20/22
“While the Inflation Reduction Act injects $370 billion in climate investments into our economy, which will bring with them significant health benefits, there is still more work to do to combat climate change. To celebrate and remember the 12 Days of Christmas, the greatest gift the Biden administration could provide this country is robust climate action,” Rev. Richard Killmer writes for the Portland Press Herald. “...Issue carbon standards for new power plants. With scores of new power plants currently proposed, the Environmental Protection Agency has the ability to set climate pollution standards for them. Unfortunately, the EPA recently announced a delay in setting standards on new power plants… “Issue carbon standards for existing power plants…Issue mercury and air toxics standards…Issue a national smog standard…Issue a national soot standard…Issue a stronger regional haze rule…Issue a coal ash rule…Finalize the “good neighbor rule.” The EPA needs to finalize its rule to strengthen the good neighbor rule, otherwise known as the cross-state air pollution rule, concerning ozone pollution that crosses state borders. Issue clean car standards…Designate Nevada’s Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument…Designate Castner Range in West Texas a national monument…Designate Chumash Heritage, a marine sanctuary off the coast of central California, as a national marine monument… “These gifts would not lavish one or some recipients, but would provide climate solutions to us all.”
Bloomberg: Shipping’s Oil Era Is Coming to an End
David Fickling, 12/21/22
“For a century, the world’s oceangoing fleet has been powered by crude. The 50,000 ships plowing the high seas consume more than five million barrels every day, not much less than all the aircraft in the sky. One-twentieth of all oil ends up burned in a ship engine. Those days may soon be ending,” David Fickling writes for Bloomberg. “That’s because the world’s merchant ships are about to undergo the most profound revolution they’ve seen since the dying days of coal-powered steamships. Rules being quietly hammered out by the International Maritime Organization or IMO (the United Nations body that regulates shipping) are about to change the industry beyond measure… “That sounds like good news, but the shipping industry is notoriously conservative and the IMO tends to be dominated by the industry it regulates. The regulations at present are largely voluntary, and in line with what shipowners are already doing for cost-management purposes. Some of the biggest contributions will come from simple measures such as slowing the speed of ships on the open ocean, and cleaning their hulls more regularly, rather than any revolution in the way ships are fueled. Even so, the fueling of ships is going through a revolution — or rather, multiple overlapping ones. Three years ago, almost all were powered by heavy fuel oil or HFO, a sludgy refinery byproduct that often costs as much as a third less than crude. HFO is cheap, but it’s nasty, too, with heavy sulfur content that is damaging to the environment. At the start of 2020, the IMO tightened its rules on sulfur emissions, causing any ship that couldn’t install pollution-control devices to switch overnight to cleaner diesel… “Some 98% of car carriers on order are now LNG-powered, along with 49% of cruise ships, 32% of bulk carriers, 28% of tankers and 26% of container ships, according to a study in 2021 by TotalEnergies SA. Of new ships ordered this year, 444 — 63% of the total by tonnage — have been alternative fuel-powered, according to shipping data service Clarksons. LNG’s dominance isn’t a huge win in emissions terms. While its carbon footprint is better than crude-oil products, that performance can deteriorate a lot if gas escapes without being combusted — a substantial problem with most marine engines… “The jury is still out on whether those moves can succeed in decarbonizing shipping. Either way, though the oil era will soon be as dead as steam and sail.”