EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/22/21
(Note to Readers: “Extracted” will be taking an extended break for the holidays. The next edition will be published on Tuesday, Jan 4.)
PIPELINE NEWS
WHO13: ‘Shame on them!’: landowner pushes back at Branstad’s letter supporting carbon pipeline through Iowa
NWestIowa.com: Navigator pipeline questioned by landowners
Bold Nebraska: Landowner & Community Meetings on Carbon Pipelines: O'Neill (Feb. 1), York (Feb. 3)
WTOP: Gas company continues push for Potomac pipeline project; mixed signals from Md. agencies
KBMT: Pipeline leak prompts shelter-in-place order for Jefferson County residents near LaBelle Road
The Intercept: U.S. MILITARY HID FUEL PIPELINE FLAWS FROM PUBLIC IN OKINAWA
InsideClimate News: Unleashed by Warming, Underground Debris Fields Threaten to ‘Crush’ Alaska’s Dalton Highway and the Alaska Pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: OIL LANG SYNE
E&E News: EPA faults FERC's 'insufficient' climate reviews
Politico: BARRASSO’S EARLY SUMMER
STATE UPDATES
Power Past Fracked Gas: Puyallup Tribe, Community Organizations Challenge Dangerous Tacoma LNG Facility
Washington Post: A refinery rained oil on thousands of St. Croix homes. Now it could reopen.
Houston Chronicle: Environmental group finds 'significant plumes' of methane leaks in Permian
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Research shows Permian Basin air pollution on the rise as EPA works to finalize new rules
KWES: RRC suspends all deep oil and gas produced water injections in the area
Williston Herald: Bakken still has 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered oil out there, in addition to the 8 billion already proven or produced
EXTRACTION
Reuters: U.S. to be world's biggest LNG exporter in 2022
CBC: Competition underway to develop carbon-capture centres in Alberta
ProPublica: How Black Communities Become “Sacrifice Zones” for Industrial Air Pollution
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
101MoreFM: Enbridge Gas Assists Wainfleet Fire and Emergency Services
OPINION
Washington Post: Opinion: The Mountain Valley Pipeline violations continue, but it gets its permit
Albuquerque Journal: Chaco needs permanent protections
Observer-Reporter: OP-ED: Mariner East permit approval is welcome news
OilPrice.com: The Real Reason Why Oil And Gas Is Here To Stay
PIPELINE NEWS
WHO13: ‘Shame on them!’: landowner pushes back at Branstad’s letter supporting carbon pipeline through Iowa
Dave Price, 12/20/21
“Iowa landowners and the state’s chapter of the Sierra Club are pushing back at a letter former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed on behalf of a company trying to put a carbon sequestration pipeline through 30 counties,” WHO13 reports. “As a landowner and potential partner of the Summit Carbon Solutions project, you are now a target of the Sierra Club,” Branstad’s letter warned. “Please don’t be intimidated. They are not your friends and will be long gone after they have destroyed the ethanol industry and the value of your corn-producing land.” In an interview that aired Sunday on WHO 13, Branstad explained why he contends the carbon pipeline is key to the future of the state’s ethanol industry’s success, along with helping to limit the industry’s harm on the environment. Jess Mazour, Conservation Coordinator for the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, reacted to Branstad’s claims. She sent this to WHO 13: “The Sierra Club has a long history of protecting landowners from the destruction caused by pipelines. One only has to fly over the path of the Dakota Access pipeline to realize that years after the pipeline was constructed, the farms still have not returned to their full productive use… “Lori O’Brien, Plymouth County landowner: “I don’t appreciate Summit and Branstad trying to control the narrative the way they are doing. I also don’t appreciate the marketing mail I have received from Summit when they refuse to make the landowner lists public. At the present time, we have no way to organize on our own, and Summit is trying to use that to their advantage. Shame on them!”
NWestIowa.com: Navigator pipeline questioned by landowners
Justin Rust, 12/22/21
“Hartley farmers think X maybe doesn’t mark the spot. Those farmers along with other landowners near Sanborn and in O’Brien County had multiple questions for three officials with the proposed Heartland Greenway carbon dioxide-capture pipeline,” NWestIowa.com reports. “...The two Heartland Greenway pipelines will intersect at Valero Renewable Fuels, which is just west of Hartley, forming an X on the county map Navigator showed to about 300 people in attendance during public information meeting with the Iowa Utilities Board at the Crossroads Pavilion Event Center in Sheldon on Dec. 1… “With two pipelines crossing almost through Hartley, there was some concern about what would happen if the pipeline ruptured near the town of about 1,600. “You are addressing liability, land environment, what about human life? What studies have been done regarding a potential break of a pipeline?” asked Rich Vande Werff, who lives between Hartley and Sanborn. “How are people impacted within a certain radius or distance of the break or an explosion?” Steve Lee, who is the senior vice president of engineering and construction at Navigator, said the theory is it a half-mile radius would be impacted, but the company does not know exactly. “What we are doing right now are called plume studies on certain levels of valve spacing and the pressures and diameters of the volume in there to get these plume sizes associated with a theoretical leak,” Lee said. “As we look at that, we slide through the route corridor and see what that potential impact radius is and who could be impacted with that.” Vande Werff followed by saying “there is no question that it is dangerous to humans.” “...Once the meeting hit the portion of questions from the public, there were not many statements made in support of Heartland Greenway’s proposed pipeline. One landowner questioned if Navigator had the right staff to figure out how to put the soil back in the right sequence because if it did not, it would affect yields far past the three-year compensation period, according to his studies… “One woman wanted to understand what entities she would be doing business with. BlackRock is working with Navigator on the large-scale carbon-capture project. “I would like to understand who the entity is, the ownership, because if you ask me to go into business, there should be a clear understanding of who you are doing business with,” she said.
Bold Nebraska: Landowner & Community Meetings on Carbon Pipelines: O'Neill (Feb. 1), York (Feb. 3)
12/22/21
“Bold Nebraska will host community meetings for impacted landowners and their neighbors in February 2022, along with attorney Brian Jorde of Domina Law Group — which successfully defended Keystone XL landowners from eminent domain — to answer landowners' questions, and offer legal advice on forming a landowners' co-op to oppose eminent domain. These corporations are trying to cross our state with untested, unregulated and life-threatening large-diameter pipelines that would carry highly-pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2). Just like with Keystone XL, our state does not have the local zoning, state routing, or decommissioning laws needed to properly assess the risks and long-term threats from these pipelines. When one of these pipelines explodes, it could suffocate or intoxicate anyone in the area. Just like what happened in a town called Satartia, MS. Anyone outside including equipment operators, first responders, and livestock would be at particular risk. These pipeline proposals are a tax scam, where greedy outsiders want to use our land to pipe this pollution across several Midwest states and through our rural communities. Their ultimate goal is to play on the “carbon credit” market in California along with getting billions in federal tax handouts, while pretending they are actually solving the climate crisis. Yet again, hardworking farmers and ranchers are being asked to sacrifice their land and risk their livelihoods for a bunch of rich people’s latest idea on how to make a bunch of money, as they pretend to clean up Big Oil’s mess using federal tax dollars. Bold Nebraska stands with farmers and ranchers against the use of eminent domain for private gain for these proposed carbon pipelines. The very people who feed our state, nation, and the world must have secure property rights and should not be forced to sacrifice their land, liberties and lives for this private tax scheme.”
WTOP: Gas company continues push for Potomac pipeline project; mixed signals from Md. agencies
Elizabeth Shwe, Maryland Matters, 12/20/21
“A dormant court case that could lead to the construction of a natural gas pipeline beneath the Potomac River and Western Maryland Rail Trail has come back to life, and the utility company behind it is quietly renewing its permits as it continues to fight the matter in court,” WTOP reports. “At issue is a 3.5 mile pipeline in Maryland, sought by TC Energy which is based in Canada, that would bring natural gas from Pennsylvania to West Virginia’s panhandle. Environmentalists say that this could endanger drinking water for communities in Washington County and others all the way to Washington, D.C., while business leaders have argued that natural gas is critical for the economic development of Western Virginia’s panhandle… “Since then, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC. — which is a part of TC Energy — asked the Fourth Circuit to rule in its favor based on the New Jersey decision… “While moving through the court system, Columbia Gas has also been renewing the state and federal permits necessary to start pipeline construction. In August, Columbia Gas asked the Maryland Department of Environment to extend its state non-tidal wetlands and waterways permit, which required the company to begin construction by August 2021. Within three days, the department approved to extend the permit to allow the construction to begin by August 2023, according to documents. Environmentalists took issue with how quickly the extension was approved, especially after top state officials, including Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), have publicly expressed that this pipeline is not in the best interest for Maryland.”
KBMT: Pipeline leak prompts shelter-in-place order for Jefferson County residents near LaBelle Road
Kierra Sam, 12/21/21
“A shelter-in-place order is in effect for Jefferson County residents near LaBelle Road, according to the Jefferson County Emergency Services District No. 4,” KBMT reports. “The order is in effect for a one-mile radius in the area of the 13000 block of LaBelle Road, between Highway 365 and the intersection of Burrell Wingate Road. Officials with Jefferson County ESD No. 4 responded to the area around 7:45 p.m. to investigate a reported gas leak with a small visible gas cloud. When they arrived, a leak was not visible. "We're still confirming right now what the product is, and I can't confirm exactly what it is but based upon the possibilities and product, they recommended that we possibly have a local close area shelter-in-place order issued just out of an abundance of caution for the people in the community," Fire Chief Jeremy Hansen told 12News… “The Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety released a statement urging drivers to use an alternate route as crews work to clean up the leak. Hansen told 12News the fire department is working with Chevron Phillips as remediation efforts continue.”
The Intercept: U.S. MILITARY HID FUEL PIPELINE FLAWS FROM PUBLIC IN OKINAWA
Jon Mitchell, 12/20/21
“A LEAKED REPORT describes significant deficiencies in the safety and integrity of the pipelines used by the U.S. military to shuttle fuel to U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force warplanes in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan,” The Intercept reports. “As early as 2014, the military discovered monitoring system flaws and dangerous leakages in the pipelines, some of which run beneath civilian communities, but it waited four years before initiating repairs and has never alerted Japanese authorities. The dangers have only come to light thanks to a whistleblower who made public a report produced under contract for the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, or DLA-E, the Department of Defense agency that supplies fuel to military facilities. Published in March 2015, the report details inspections of vapor monitoring systems that detect fuel leaks along the 100-plus miles of pipelines in the prefecture. The results showed 43 of the 60 monitoring systems were inoperable due to problems like broken sensors and alarms; in at least one case, the alarm and sensor system were missing entirely. The devices are supposed to notify the local DLA-E compound of leaks, which can cause environmental contamination, explosions, and fires. The disclosure comes on top of recent revelations that the military may have hidden details of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination on Okinawa from a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, including information pointing to the possible exposure of children at a civilian school.”
InsideClimate News: Unleashed by Warming, Underground Debris Fields Threaten to ‘Crush’ Alaska’s Dalton Highway and the Alaska Pipeline
David Hasemyer, 12/20/21
“When Alaska state engineer Jeff Currey heard about frozen debris lobes inching toward the Dalton Highway, the first thing that flashed in his mind’s eye was the campy 1958 horror movie “The Blob,” InsideClimate News reports. “...But the more Currey and other engineers considered the unrelenting characteristics of one particular blob—identified as Frozen Debris Lobe A—they soon understood the dire consequences facing the Dalton and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which the highway was built to service in 1974 and parallels the road. The lobes crush and envelop everything in their path. Most disquieting to Currey was the mounting data that showed that Debris Lobe A and more than a dozen others were picking up speed, unharnessed and accelerated by warming temperatures triggered by climate change. Speed in the case of debris lobes may be relative when talking about a couple of feet of movement a month and the road and pipeline are still a mile away, in some cases, but there’s nothing that can stop the lobes. The snickering hushed for good when it became clear around 2015 that Debris Lobe A was ultimately going to obliterate a section of the Dalton; and continue on toward the pipeline… “Lobe A is about three-quarters of a mile long, more than 600 feet wide and 65 feet deep. There’s no calculating the energy it carries, but it topples trees, shucks aside boulders, devours the landscape and mangles scientific instruments left in its path. Researchers estimate it could slam the roadway with 22,000 tons of debris.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: OIL LANG SYNE
Matthew Choi, 12/22/21
“The oil industry has seen quite a change in tone from the Biden administration since the beginning of 2021. What started off in January with President Joe Biden signing the executive order finishing off the Keystone XL pipeline’s chances and launching the biggest-ever push to elevate climate change action has morphed into a call for companies to deploy more roughnecks to the oil patch,” Politico reports. “What prompted that change? The cyberattack that hit the Colonial Pipeline and sparked a run on gas stations in the Southeast certainly spooked the administration. But it was surging crude oil and gasoline prices later that fed into the near-panic around inflation and next year’s midterm elections that really marked the White House’s change of heart. While the relationship between the White House and the oil and gas industry will never be exactly chummy, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s recent outreach via the National Petroleum Council appears to have settled some nerves just in time for the holidays, sources tell Politico. Tensions had risen when Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain floated the notion of re-imposing a ban on oil exports, something that unnerved the industry (and wouldn’t necessarily do anything to combat high prices)... “But with Granholm patching up relations with the oil industry, it’s opened up a new rift with some progressive groups. “It’s disturbing that Secretary Granholm cares more about placating the fears of oil industry millionaires than helping the countless people around this country sickened every day by fossil fuel pollution,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Politico. “If the White House is hearing fossil fuel executives loud and clear on exports or anything else, that’s a terrible sign of where Biden’s climate agenda is headed.”
E&E News: EPA faults FERC's 'insufficient' climate reviews
Miranda Willson, 12/21/21
“EPA is sharply criticizing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s reviews of proposed natural gas projects, saying in recent months they are inadequate, insufficient and incomplete,” E&E News reports. “In EPA's latest comment on the issue yesterday, the agency said that FERC's review of a pending natural gas expansion project in the Northeast was out of compliance with the requirements set by the National Environmental Policy Act. Specifically, EPA took issue with how FERC — which is charged with reviewing proposed new natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure — analyzed the potential greenhouse gas emissions associated with the project… “EPA has made similar criticisms in recent comments for other pending FERC projects, such as the East Lateral Xpress Project in Louisiana and Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.’s East 300 Upgrade Project in New York and New Jersey. The latest critique highlights a broader debate at FERC over how the agency will treat greenhouse gas emissions for more than a dozen pending natural gas projects and future proposals in its NEPA reviews… “FERC Chair Richard Glick has sought to establish a policy at the commission that could fine-tune how the greenhouse gas emissions of new projects are assessed and weighed against other factors. Other commissioners on the five-person body, however, "have had different views so far" on the topic, he told reporters last week after the commission's December open meeting. "Essentially there’s no test out there ... so we're going to try to come up with a consensus," Glick said, adding that setting up a method for determining the significance of projects' greenhouse gas emissions was one of his priorities for next year.”
Politico: BARRASSO’S EARLY SUMMER
Matthew Choi, Catherine Morehouse, Kelsey Tamborrino, 12/21/21
“Senate Energy ranking member John Barrasso offered his rebuttal to the Interior Department’s review of the federal oil and gas lease program in a pointed series of questions for Secretary Deb Haaland sent Monday,” Politico reports. “In the five-page letter, he questioned the review process and whether there would be a final review of the program or further rulemakings to come out of it, but the crux was his push back on the administration’s reluctance to issue new leases for oil and gas on federal lands. “If the Department decides to significantly raise royalty rates and other fees, it will effectively end future oil and gas production on federal land,” he wrote. DOI declined to comment to Politico.”
STATE UPDATES
Power Past Fracked Gas: Puyallup Tribe, Community Organizations Challenge Dangerous Tacoma LNG Facility
12/21/21
“The Puyallup Tribe of Indians and several community organizations have filed an appeal with Pierce County Superior Court challenging a November decision by the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB). Despite misleading and inaccurate information used to evaluate the project, PCHB determined the Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE) air permits, issued by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) and given to the Tacoma Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility, were adequate. “As we said last month, we are profoundly disappointed the board upheld the remainder of the permit and we expect the decision will embolden companies that start projects that feed climate change and put vulnerable communities at risk,” the Puyallup Tribal Council said in a statement. “We were put here to protect these lands and waters and that is what we will continue to do. We will continue the fight. Too much is at stake.” During the trial this past April, the Puyallup Tribe and community groups brought forward a number of expert witnesses who highlighted deep flaws in the environmental review for the PSE LNG project, which resulted in the inaccurate evaluation that this facility would be a net improvement to greenhouse gas emissions. The project would, in fact, lock in decades of increased use of fracked gas and hinder a shift to clean energy alternatives. Experts also explained how changes in the project design raised serious safety concerns, which were ignored by regulators.”
Washington Post: A refinery rained oil on thousands of St. Croix homes. Now it could reopen.
Juliet Eilperin, Darryl Fears and Salwan Georges, 12/21/21
“The idle Limetree Bay refinery on this tropical Caribbean island doesn’t look like much of a prize. In May the Environmental Protection Agency ordered it shut down after a series of accidents that showered oil droplets on nearby homes and shrouded neighbors in noxious odors, sending residents to emergency rooms. It is mired in litigation, including class-action lawsuits. And last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration filed a citation listing 19 “serious” violations and proposed that Limetree pay more than a quarter of a million dollars in penalties,” the Washington Post reports. “Despite all that, the massive oil and gas operation appears to be on the verge of reopening. On Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Texas David R. Jones approved the plant’s sale. And the island’s governor, Albert Bryan (D) has lobbied EPA officials to allow whoever acquires the refinery to reopen it quickly in accordance with a permit granted to Limetree by the Trump administration. Bryan did not respond to requests for comment. But the push for jobs has opened fissures on an island whose largely Black and Brown population has played a key role in sustaining America’s fuel supply while bearing the brunt of the harm from it. Now the Biden administration, which has made environmental justice a central part of the president’s climate agenda, must soon decide how to address the environmental inequities linked to race and income here.”
Houston Chronicle: Environmental group finds 'significant plumes' of methane leaks in Permian
Paul Takahashi, 12/21/21
“Methane continues to leak from oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin, prompting action by industry and government to rein in the powerful greenhouse gas,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “The Environmental Defense Fund recently reported that 40 percent of nearly 900 oil and gas wells surveyed in the Permian Basin by helicopter Nov. 12-21 were emitting “significant plumes” of methane. The flyover found emissions from about a third of surveyed pipelines and about half of processing and transportation operations. It also found that a third of smaller wells had emissions that persisted for days, according to the EDF, which has been surveying oil fields in West Texas with a infrared camera mounted to a helicopter since 2019… “Our research has consistently shown that leaks can and do happen at all types of facilities – including smaller, leak-prone wells – and the best way to control emissions is to find and fix them,” David Lyon, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, told the Chronicle. The Texas Oil and Gas Association, an industry group, questioned the Environmental Defense Fund's findings, and questioned the study’s methodology and data.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Research shows Permian Basin air pollution on the rise as EPA works to finalize new rules
Adrian Hedden, 12/21/21
“Methane emissions continued to rise in the Permian Basin this fall, and environmentalists used their own research on the matter to advocate for stricter federal air pollution controls on the oil and gas industry,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) last week released the results of an aerial survey of 900 oil and gas sites in the Permian Basin, which spans southeast New Mexico and West Texas, finding “significant plumes” of methane coming from 40 percent of the sites. About 14 percent of the emissions were from malfunctioning flares, the report read, while 30 percent of the surveyed pipelines were releasing methane into the air and about half of all midstream facilities studied also had emissions… “Dave Lyon, senior scientist with the EDF told the Argus the research indicated stronger policy was needed to reduce emissions and thus air pollution from oil and gas operations. He told the Argus requirements to increase inspection frequency and repair leaks and malfunctioning equipment was an important step to mitigating the industry’s contributions to climate change. But the proposal drew concern from oil and gas industry leaders who said the cost of compliance with such rules could threaten economic prosperity brought on by fossil fuel development.”
KWES: RRC suspends all deep oil and gas produced water injections in the area
12/20/21
“With four more earthquakes last week occurring in Northwest Midland County, the Railroad Commission has decided to indefinitely suspend all deep oil and gas produced water injection in this area,” KWES reports. “This is the latest action taken by the RRC to help ensure all measures have been taken to protect residents and the environment in the area… “According to the state's TexNet Seismic Monitoring Program, there were four earthquakes north of Odessa and northwest of Midland that had a magnitude of 3.1, 3.6, 3.7, 3.3… “RRC staff have seen over 30 earthquakes greater than 3.0 since December of 2019.”
Williston Herald: Bakken still has 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered oil out there, in addition to the 8 billion already proven or produced
By Renée Jean, 12/20/21
“In 2013, the Bakken and Three forks formations in the Williston Basin had 7.4 billion barrels of undiscovered but technically recoverable oil and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas, according to a United States Geological Services survey,” the Williston Herald reports. “Since 2013, more than 11,000 wells have been drilled in the Bakken and Three Forks formations. Produced resources, of course, no longer count as undiscovered. And the same goes for proven reserves. Those factors have dropped the amount of undiscovered oil in the new undiscovered resources report substantially, to 4.3 billion barrels. Undiscovered gas, meanwhile, dropped to 4.9 trillion cubic feet. "The USGS assessment is of undiscovered resources; in other words, it’s a science-based estimate of what may be discovered in the basin in the future," Sarah Ryker, USGS Associate Director for Energy and Minerals, told the Herald. "It’s different from – and complementary to – industry production numbers, which focus on the known or discovered resource. Our research focuses on areas of uncertainty."
EXTRACTION
Reuters: U.S. to be world's biggest LNG exporter in 2022
By Scott Disavino, 12/21/21
“The United States is set to become the world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in 2022, surpassing Qatar and Australia, and may hold that title for years to come,” Reuters reports. “In a year when China and other large economies in Europe and Asia scrambled to source enough supply for heating and power generation, the United States was sitting on a bevy of supply - one that will grow in coming years. Global LNG demand has hit record highs each year since 2015, due mostly to surging demand in China and the rest of Asia. Much of that global appetite has been met by steadily rising U.S. LNG exports, which have reached new records every year since 2016 and is poised to continue in 2022. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects U.S. LNG exports will reach 11.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2022. That would account for roughly 22% of expected world LNG demand of 53.3 bcfd next year, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs and would outpace both Australia and Qatar, the two largest exporters at present.” “...Major U.S. developers like Cheniere Energy (LNG.A), the largest U.S. exporter, have signed numerous long-term deals to sell LNG in recent months that should enable them to secure the financing needed to go forward with additional multibillion-dollar projects. Many of those long-term contracts came from Chinese buyers.”
CBC: Competition underway to develop carbon-capture centres in Alberta
Kyle Bakx, 12/22/21
“Carbon pricing and the pressure to reduce global warming is sparking competition in Alberta to secure space underground to stash away harmful greenhouse gas emissions generated by oil and gas operations, agriculture and other industries,” the CBC reports. “Enthusiasm for carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities has returned to the province more than a dozen years after former Premier Ed Stelmach committed $2 billion to kickstart the nascent industry. To this day, the number of CCS facilities can be counted on one hand, but that could soon change. The provincial government has begun accepting proposals to set up CCS hubs throughout Alberta. The hub operator will be chosen to look after injecting carbon emissions underground, in what could be described as underground carbon landfills, and ensure the gases are safely deposited. At the same time, the federal government is developing an investment tax credit to incentivize more CCS construction to help reduce the country's emissions… “It's a technology that has its critics, both in terms of how realistically it can be scaled and whether it makes financial sense for governments and industry to pursue. Last year, the International Energy Agency noted CCS "has not lived up to its promise" yet as its been slow to develop, but there was growing investment worldwide.”
ProPublica: How Black Communities Become “Sacrifice Zones” for Industrial Air Pollution
Ken Ward Jr., Mountain State Spotlight, 12/21/21
“Every time Pam Nixon drives along Interstate 64, she sees the Union Carbide plant. Wedged between a green hillside and the Kanawha River, the sprawling facility has helped define West Virginia’s “Chemical Valley” for the better part of a century, its smokestacks belching gray plumes and fishy odors into the town of Institute, population 1,400,” ProPublica reports. “To many West Virginians, the plant is a source of pride — it was a key maker of synthetic rubber in World War II — and a source of hundreds of jobs. But to Nixon and others in Institute’s largely Black community, it has meant something else: pollution. The plant reminds Nixon of leaks, fires, explosions — dangers she’s dedicated most of her adult life to trying to stop. Now, on a warm September evening, the 69-year-old retiree was at it again… “The threat this time: ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical that facilities like the Union Carbide plant, now owned by Dow Chemical, make and that helps produce a huge variety of products, including antifreeze, pesticides and sterilizing agents for medical tools... “All of the concentrated industrial activity in these so-called “sacrifice zones” doesn’t just sicken the residents who happen to live nearby. It can also cause property values to plummet, trapping neighborhoods in a vicious cycle of disinvestment… “Many of the 1,000 hot spots of cancer-causing air identified by ProPublica are located in the South, which is home to more than half of America’s Black population. “None of this is an accident,” Monica Unseld, a public health expert and environmental justice advocate in Louisville, Kentucky, told ProPublica. “It is sustained by policymakers. It still goes back to we Black people are not seen as fully human.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
101MoreFM: Enbridge Gas Assists Wainfleet Fire and Emergency Services
Linda Morgan, 12/21/21
“Wainfleet Fire and Emergency Services (WFES), is getting a boost from Enbridge Gas,” 101MoreFM reports. “Through Safe Community Project Assist (SCPA), 50 Ontario fire departments will split a $250,000 donation from Enbridge Gas. The program supplements existing training for volunteer and composite fire departments in region where Enbridge does business. "At Enbridge Gas, safety is our priority. We’re proud to support Ontario firefighters who share our commitment to keeping our communities safe," says Bike Balkanci, Director, GTA West/Niagara Operations, Enbridge Gas… “The SCPA kicked off in 2012, and since then, 244 grants have been provided to fire departments across Ontario to provide additional training to firefighters.”
OPINION
Washington Post: Opinion: The Mountain Valley Pipeline violations continue, but it gets its permit
Stacy Lovelace, Bedford, Va. The writer is co-founder of Virginia Pipeline Resisters, 12/21/21
“Watching the live stream of Virginia’s State Water Control Board vote last week to grant a stream-crossing permit to Mountain Valley Pipeline for a second time felt like watching an old episode of “The Twilight Zone,” Stacy Lovelace writes for the Washington Post. “The multistate MVP has committed hundreds of violations in Virginia alone. These violations, predicted by experts and residents before the board granted the permit the first time, defied the terms of that initial stream-crossing permit and continued this year. The pipeline has faced obstacles with other permits, having been accused of employing inadequate protections for water quality, endangered species and the environment. The project is years behind schedule and has been proved unnecessary. And the MVP has ultimately been opposed by those who should have the biggest say of all: residents whose homes, water and livelihoods are directly impacted by the project. In what world would a permit be granted for such a project? We should all ask ourselves how comfortable we are with knowing that our State Water Control Board, at the advice of the Department of Environmental Quality, will force forward harmful projects such as the MVP no matter what happens.”
Albuquerque Journal: Chaco needs permanent protections
BY ALASTAIR LEE BITSÓI, 12/19/21
“On Nov. 15, President Joe Biden announced the 10-mile area surrounding Chaco Canyon National Historical Park has been temporarily protected against oil and gas drilling. Permanent protection through congressional legislation is the next, logical step,” Alastair Lee Bitsoi writes for the Albuquerque Journal. “If there is no permanent protection, we are playing the game notoriously orchestrated by the Great Gambler, a historical figure among Indigenous peoples of the Southwest. Diné (Navajo) people know this historical and spiritual being as greedy and exploitative. Nááhwiilbiihi (“Winner of People”) kept people captive inside Chaco Canyon for gain and profit to eventually build the ancestral sites in and around the region… “Fortunately, Diné allottees, some of whom are my relatives, can change the narrative by standing against oil and gas development, and protecting the Greater Chaco region. Diné allottees are individuals from the Navajo Nation who have privately deeded lands. Over 20,000 Diné allottees have monetarily benefitted from allowing drilling on their lands… “I urge my Diné leaders, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Vice President Myron Lizer, and members of the 24th Navajo Nation Council to withdraw their opposition to the 10-mile buffer zone that would protect Chaco Canyon and permanently safeguard this living landscape. The preference for the 5-mile buffer zone harms our tangible and intangible cultural connections to Chaco and serves only the colonial exploitation of our peoples and homelands.”
Observer-Reporter: OP-ED: Mariner East permit approval is welcome news
Jeff Kotula is president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, 12/21/21
“In a victory for consumers and businesses, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has approved a permit modification that will allow Energy Transfer to complete the final section of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project,” Jeff Kotula writes for the Observer-Reporter. “The approved change in construction relates to a site in Chester County and will reduce the potential for negative environmental impacts. The modification will also alter the pipeline’s route slightly on this section, adhering to the local geology and maximizing public safety… “It is also important to note that the environmental benefits of this project are just as meaningful as the economic benefits. Pipelines have been proven to be the safest and most efficient way to transport energy, replacing more carbon-intensive modes of transportation like trucks and trains and limiting greenhouse gas emissions. It also opens the door for additional opportunities to increase Pennsylvania’s access to other types of fuel. The new Pennsylvania Access Initiative, which will utilize part of the Mariner East system, will begin transporting refined products like gasoline and diesel this winter from the Midwest into Pennsylvania. The completion of this important infrastructure project and its positive developments – ranging from economic to environmental – will benefit communities across the Keystone State and bringing Mariner East fully online will allow the region to realize the project’s maximum potential as a pipeline to opportunity.”
OilPrice.com: The Real Reason Why Oil And Gas Is Here To Stay
By Julianne Geiger, 12/21/21
“The rallying cry around global climate initiatives grew increasingly boisterous leading up to COP26 this year. The media posited what bold, new goals would be set. Others questioned the likelihood that those claims would be fulfilled. But the real reason why global climate targets--including those set at COP26--are doomed to fail has barely been touched on: cognitive dissonance and superconsumers–and it's why the oil and gas industry can likely rest easy,” Julianne Geiger writes for OilPrice.com. “…A UN report from last December shows exactly who those people are: they are the world's wealthiest 10%, who the UN alleges make up 50% of the world's carbon footprint. The wealthiest 1% account for 15% of the world's emissions--more than twice the emissions generated by people in the bottom 50%... “Setting carbon goals that focus on Average Joe instead of those superconsumers is like trying to curb teen social media use by banning Twitter instead of Snapchat or TikTok… “GenZers are infatuated with Tesla's, though most have little desire to understand how Musk is mining for those metals or where those spent batteries will reside a decade from now. They are captivated with Greta's passion for the climate, yet worship fashionistas, celebrities, and royalty at whom Greta would frown. It is here, in our own hearts and mind, where the climate battle will be waged, for the world will likely never push these superconsumers to downgrade their carbon footprint to match those in third-world countries who rely on dirty coal. In time meantime, one will likely be continually frowned upon for failing to live up to the world's climate agenda, while the other will get a pass.”