EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 2/24/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Natural Gas Intelligence: Equitrans Says MVP Coming in 2023, but ‘Disappointed’ with Permitting Reform Failures by Congress
Des Moines Register: Landowners are pressuring Iowa lawmakers to limit eminent domain. Do they have a chance?
The Gazette: Wolf CO2 pipeline won’t seek eminent domain, petition states
Law360: Pipeline Co. Says FERC Construction Extension Was Proper
Mid Hudson News: Protestors rally against additions to Iroquois gas pipeline
Univ. of Virginia School of Law: ‘Common Law’ Explores Why Once-Contentious Natural Gas Pipelines Are Now Rubber-Stamped
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: House GOP Moves On Energy, Permitting Bills
STATE UPDATES
Indiana Environmental Reporter: Bill Seeking More Local Input on Carbon Capture and Sequestration Projects Defeated
The Oregonian: Zenith Energy is moving more crude, diesel through Portland
Colorado Public Radio: Front Range oil and gas emissions are the targets of this planned legislation from state Democrats
KBTX: Oil spilled in Wolf Pen Creek concerns residents
EXTRACTION
PBS: Cleanup workers who became ill after Deepwater Horizon oil spill are suing BP for compensation
Globe and Mail: Canada’s oil sands companies are undermining climate policy despite net-zero pledges, think tank claims
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: Activists Slam Biden's Pick Ajay Banga, "Wall Street Insider", For World Bank
Bloomberg: CalPERS Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill Hinges on Union Support
Colorado Newsline: Colorado lawmakers advance climate bill but strip pension system measure
OPINION
Bismarck Tribune: Letter: Tackling greenhouse gas emissions requires CO2 pipelines
Door County Pulse: Letter to the Editor: Let the Pipeline Relocation Move Forward
Forbes: Your Friendly Reminder That Pipelines Are Safer Than Rail
The Hill: Better methane accounting will mean a faster and cheaper energy transition
Oil Change International: Methane: Industry Initiatives are Failing. Time for Government Action.
Environmental Defense Fund: Trust, but verify: How Colorado must lead as latest methane rulemaking advances
PIPELINE NEWS
Natural Gas Intelligence: Equitrans Says MVP Coming in 2023, but ‘Disappointed’ with Permitting Reform Failures by Congress
MORGAN EVANS, 2/22/23
“Equitrans Midstream Corp.’s (EQM) long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) may gain some necessary permits within the next few months, “which will allow us then to bring MVP into service in 2023,” said CEO Thomas Karam,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “EQM is expecting the biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by next Tuesday, “and based on the permitting timeline announced by other agencies, we expect to receive all of the required permits and approvals over the next few months. This timing will allow for mobilization of construction crews in the summer of 2023, which will position us to bring MVP into service in 2023,” Karam said during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings conference call… “As its estimate stands now, however, EQM is expecting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue permits to cross water bodies in the Jefferson National Forest “in mid-April, and subsequent to that, we expect for it to lift the stop-work order and allow work in the forest…,” Karam said. “However, as we all know, we expect project opponents to yet again challenge these duly issued permits,” Karam added… “Speaking to the possibility of further delays, Karam also noted EQM was “disappointed that Congress couldn’t pass a permitting reform bill in December during the lame duck congressional session. “Although there are differences between and within the parties as to potential reform, we believe there remains support from both sides of the aisle to work on a bipartisan solution, and we think there continues to be prospects for legislation in the new Congress.”
Des Moines Register: Landowners are pressuring Iowa lawmakers to limit eminent domain. Do they have a chance?
Stephen Gruber-Miller, 2/24/23
“Kim Junker stood on the steps of the Iowa Capitol with a microphone and a message. Junker, who farms in Butler County, was one of a couple of hundred Iowans who gathered in Des Moines on Tuesday to put pressure on lawmakers to ban — or at least limit — the use of eminent domain for three carbon capture pipelines that are proposed to cross the state,” the Des Moines Register reports. “These pipelines are risky and proven to fail," she said. "They are an abuse of our property rights. And if that wasn’t enough, they plan to use our tax dollars so their executives and investors can make billions in profits." Opponents of the pipelines have appeared at the Iowa Capitol and legislative forums again and again this year, urging their lawmakers to take action. They don't plan to stop… “They got closer to their goal Tuesday, as three House lawmakers advanced House File 368, a bill that places a range of new limits on when carbon pipelines could seek to use eminent domain. Even so, they face an uphill battle. House File 368 must pass the House Judiciary Committee by Friday, March 3, to clear a legislative deadline. And if the full House does approve the bill, it will head to the Senate, where Republican leaders have shown little appetite for limits on the projects. There's good reason for that, pipeline supporters say… “Iowa's ethanol industry would lose three-fourths of its production, or about $10.3 billion annually, in the next five to 10 years to neighboring states, according to a report from Decision Innovation Solutions, a Des Moines-area economic consultant. Critics are skeptical of the findings. "I don't doubt that the pipelines would complement the ethanol industry, but I do doubt this brimstone and fire, death of ethanol," Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, told the Register… “Sen. Jeff Taylor told the Register he's hopeful the House's bill, which is backed by Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, and 21 other representatives, will "catch the attention of Senate leadership." "I think it’s going to be more difficult to ignore a House bill that is backed by the speaker and other House leaders," Taylor told the Register. "I do have some hope that that might actually get a public airing over on the Senate side."
The Gazette: Wolf CO2 pipeline won’t seek eminent domain, petition states
Erin Jordan, 2/23/23
“Wolf Carbon Solutions will not use eminent domain to acquire easements for a carbon dioxide pipeline through Eastern Iowa, according to the company’s permit application filed Thursday with the Iowa Utilities Board,” The Gazette reports. “The decision to obtain all the land for the pipeline route through voluntary easements sets the Wolf project apart from two other proposed CO2 pipelines in Iowa, and sidesteps the most contentious aspect of the pipeline development. “The Wolf development team has never used eminent domain in its collective careers in building long-haul pipelines and it doesn’t intend to start now,” Nick Noppinger, Wolf’s vice president for corporate development, told The Gazette. The company has not yet signed any easement deals, he told the Gazette… “Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance Director Doug Neumann said in August the organization supports a carbon dioxide pipeline that would benefit ADM — one of its members — despite opposition from many landowners on the proposed route… “The Wolf project has a lot of local opponents, including people who posted signs against it near Ely. More than 150 people attended a rally Feb. 21 at the Iowa Capitol denouncing the pipeline projects. Concerns include fear of explosions, landowner rights and uncertainty about what happens after the pipelines’ 20-year life span.”
Law360: Pipeline Co. Says FERC Construction Extension Was Proper
Peter McGuire, 2/22/23
“A deadline extension for a 99-mile natural gas pipeline through New York state is necessary precisely because the environmental group challenging it in the D.C. Circuit has delayed construction through years of lawsuits, developer National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and an industry trade group told the appeals court,” Law360 reports.
Mid Hudson News: Protestors rally against additions to Iroquois gas pipeline
2/23/23
“On the front lawn of the Region 3 headquarters of the New York Department of Conservation, protestors gathered Wednesday at lunchtime to voice their concerns about proposed compression stations in Athens and Dover for the Iroquois pipeline,” Mid Hudson News reports. “This would double the amount of gas being pushed through the pipeline across the state,” Eric Wood, of New York Public Research Group (NYPIRG), who helped organize the protest, told the News. “We don’t think it’s necessary. It’s just a last-ditch effort to push as much gas through the state as possible. It’s really about profit.”
Univ. of Virginia School of Law: ‘Common Law’ Explores Why Once-Contentious Natural Gas Pipelines Are Now Rubber-Stamped
Mary Wood, 2/23/23
“Requests to build interstate natural gas pipelines today are almost always approved by a federal agency process that used to inspire momentous political fights several decades ago,” according to the Univ. of Virginia School of Law. “Professor Alison Gocke looks at why so many projects have been greenlighted in the past two decades and what it may mean for the regulatory process on the latest episode of “Common Law,” a podcast of the University of Virginia School of Law. Hosts Dean Risa Goluboff and Professor Danielle Citron interview Gocke about her article “Pipelines and Politics,” forthcoming in the Harvard Environmental Law Review. The paper details the evolution of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which in an earlier iteration was known as the Federal Power Commission… “In the commission’s early years, battles over pipeline construction attracted opponents from the coal industry, railroads and labor unions, as well as other political actors. Hearings about proposed pipelines featured governors, presidents of labor unions and other well-known politicians-turned-lobbyists — including future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas. Over time, the commission’s regulatory powers expanded, and during the energy crisis in the 1970s, the commission became FERC. In recent years, Gocke explains on the show, opponents of pipelines have complained that FERC is not giving enough consideration to the negative consequences of pipeline construction. Even the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has faulted FERC for not weighing possible adverse consequences. To look at patterns in FERC’s decision-making process, Gocke built a database of the agency’s major pipeline decisions from 2000 to 2021, which shows that 423 out of 425 projects were approved.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: House GOP Moves On Energy, Permitting Bills
2/23/23
“Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee are moving ahead with two back-to-back hearings next Tuesday on key portions of a promised energy and permitting package, as the GOP looks to stick to its timeline for a floor vote in March,” Politico reports. “A morning hearing will focus on the ‘Transparency and Production of American Energy Act’, a bill currently in draft form to boost energy leasing and production on federal lands offered by Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and the ‘Permitting for Mining Needs Act’, H.R. 209 (118), legislation led by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) to revamp the permitting process for hardrock mining. Committee Republicans will devote a second afternoon hearing to discussing a draft of the ‘Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews (BUILDER) Act’ authored by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), which aims to broadly overhaul the NEPA process for infrastructure projects. While measures to spur oil and gas production on federal lands are unlikely to garner bipartisan support, Republicans hope their permitting effort represents an aggressive starting point to negotiations with Senate Democrats.”
STATE UPDATES
Indiana Environmental Reporter: Bill Seeking More Local Input on Carbon Capture and Sequestration Projects Defeated
Enrique Saenz, 2/22/23
“A Senate committee voted down a bill that would have required local government approval of carbon capture and sequestration projects, calling it an “extra level of bureaucracy,” according to the Indiana Environmental Reporter. “Members of the Senate Committee on Environmental Affairs voted down the passage of Senate Bill 247, which would have required the approval of counties, cities or towns in order to move forward on carbon capture and sequestration projects, in a 4 to 7 vote. The bill was supported in committee by the Association of Indiana Counties, which said local input was needed to gauge support for a potential project carbon dioxide storage project in Benton County… “Several companies are trying to establish CCS projects in Indiana. Wabash Valley Resources LLC is attempting to set up an Indiana General Assembly-backed CCS pilot project in Vigo County. Canadian developers Vault 44.01 Inc. and Indiana-based ethanol producer Cardinal Ethanol LLC are trying to launch a project in Randolph County as One Carbon Partnership LLC. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is pursuing funding for a CCS project at its Burns Harbor steel mill. BP has begun looking at Benton County as a possible home for a CCS project that would store carbon dioxide from its Whiting Refinery in Lake County. SB 247 sponsor Sen. Rick Niemeyer, who is also chair of the Senate Committee on Environmental Affairs, told the Reporter the bill would modify a nearly year-old law allowing CCS projects in the state to permit local governments to have a say in projects planned in their jurisdiction… “SB 247 was opposed by the Northwest Indiana Forum, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and trade organizations for manufacturers and the oil and gas industry, which argued that the legislation would add an layer of bureaucracy that would allow counties to block projects like some counties block utility scale wind and solar energy projects… “Bill opponents said regulatory slowdowns could impede companies in Indiana from receiving a share of billions of dollars allocated by the US Department of Energy for CCS and hydrogen hub projects.”
The Oregonian: Zenith Energy is moving more crude, diesel through Portland
Gosia Wozniacka, 2/22/23
“Zenith Energy has once again increased the amount of crude oil and diesel that it moves through its Portland rail terminal,” The Oregonian reports. “About 374 million gallons passed through the terminal in Northwest Portland last year compared to 337 million gallons the year before, according to a recent report by Zenith to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. That equals well over 100 trains per year… “Reports filed with Oregon’s DEQ in previous years show steady increases in fuel moved since 2019. That’s despite Zenith’s 2018 promise to Oregon regulators that a planned expansion of its terminal would not lead to such an increase… “The increase in fuel volume heightens the likelihood and severity of fires, explosions and spills resulting from train derailments or seismic events, Audrey Leonard, staff attorney with Columbia Riverkeeper, an Oregon nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Columbia River, told the Oregonian… “Environmental advocates said the increase in crude and diesel moving through the Portland terminal calls into question Zenith’s deal with the city to phase out crude oil… “Activists have continued to press Portland officials to revoke permission for Zenith to operate. But at a City Council meeting earlier this month, Commissioner Carmen Rubio said the city doesn’t have the authority to rescind the land-use agreement and that Zenith’s move to renewables aligns with the direction Portland is taking toward cleaner fuels.”
Colorado Public Radio: Front Range oil and gas emissions are the targets of this planned legislation from state Democrats
Sam Brasch, 2/22/23
“Colorado lawmakers are set to propose new legislation to better understand and regulate the oil and gas industry's contribution to ozone pollution along the Front Range,” Colorado Public Radio reports. “...Together with fellow Democratic state Rep. Jenny Willford of Northglenn, she plans to introduce a bill in the coming weeks that would require the state to estimate the impact of every proposed drilling plan — and only approve projects that won't exacerbate local air pollution problems… “While a majority of the pollution blows in from outside Colorado's borders, state data suggests local emissions sources push concentrations above permissible levels set by the federal government… “New data suggests oil and gas operations play the largest role of any local emissions source along the Front Range. Last year, Colorado air regulators revealed an error had led them to vastly underestimate the impact of drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Their revised modeling showed those two activities alone will likely add more critical ozone-causing pollutants than every car and truck along the Front Range… “A version of a similar bill never managed to reach the floor of the state House or Senate last year. The Denver Business Journal reported former Democratic state Rep. Tracey Bernett dropped her efforts after oil and gas representatives claimed the plan could devastate an industry already facing strict regulations. Oil and gas representatives appear ready to sound the alarm again this year.”
KBTX: Oil spilled in Wolf Pen Creek concerns residents
Conner Beene, 2/23/23
“The College Station Fire Department was out at Wolf Pen Creek park Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning after oil was found inside the creek,” KBTX reports. “Residents reported seeing a large amount of oil sheen and sludge. The College Station Fire Department brought out hazmat equipment to treat the creek and says they were able to get most of it cleaned up… “Authorities are still investigating where the oil that got into the creek came from.”
EXTRACTION
PBS: Cleanup workers who became ill after Deepwater Horizon oil spill are suing BP for compensation
2/23/23
“The oil washed ashore every day, globs of tarlike ooze blighting sugar-white sand beaches. Rodney Boblitt’s job was to report it,” PBS reports. “...His 16-hour shifts started at dawn. The air felt greasy; the ATV splashed up oil, he told PBS, soaking his clothes, gun belt, hat, and boots… “Boblitt told PBS he wasn’t the same when he returned to his regular job after three months in the Panhandle. He struggled to concentrate. Knowledge gleaned from years of service eluded him. Physically demanding work caused him to shake. Within two years, he told PBS, he’d deteriorated so much he no longer trusted himself to handle airboats, personal watercraft and his firearm safely. He took early retirement. He was 43. More than a decade after the disaster, cleanup workers are still reporting cases of respiratory illnesses, skin disorders, dizziness, and other medical issues they say were caused by the spill. Their health struggles are documented in more than 5,000 lawsuits filed against BP in federal courts in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, with some workers reporting illnesses diagnosed as recently as 2020. BP has so far set aside nearly $70 billion for the ecological disaster, including $11.6 billion to businesses affected by the spill, according to its website. Payouts for cleanup workers’ medical claims make up a tiny portion of that restitution. According to a 2019 report from the court-appointed claims administrator, BP paid roughly $67 million to 22,833 workers to settle a class-action lawsuit, an average of about $3,000 each.”
Globe and Mail: Canada’s oil sands companies are undermining climate policy despite net-zero pledges, think tank claims
Emma Graney, 2/24/23
“Canada’s oil and gas sector is actively undermining efforts to bolster the country’s climate policies, despite the industry’s own net-zero targets and messaging around its green credentials, claims a new analysis from a London-based climate think tank,” the Globe and Mail reports. “The report by InfluenceMap, released on Thursday, analyzed climate-related public messaging in areas such as corporate reports, advertising and social media… “Despite the sector’s net-zero commitments, the industry “remains strategically opposed to science-based policy to deliver net-zero targets in line with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C,” the analysis found. It found that the sector has pushed back on climate policy and supports the expansion of – and continued subsidies for – the industry. That position contradicts calls from both the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Energy Agency, which say the rapid phaseout of fossil fuels is needed to meet net-zero climate goals. InfluenceMap director Ed Collins acknowledged that most economic sectors advocate for subsidies, expansion and indeed their continued viability, but argued the key difference for oil and gas is a “systemic and existential risk to the planet” posed by the outsized impact it has on climate change. “When engagement and attempts to influence policy diverge massively from what the science says is needed to maintain a safe climate, then I think it’s arguably a special case where that really shouldn’t be happening,” Collins told the Mail. The report also highlights the growing role of the Pathways Alliance, a group of six oil sands producers committed to reaching net-zero production by 2050. It found that while Pathways advocacy emphasizes the sector’s commitments to reducing emissions from oil sands production operations, it also promotes the overall role of Canadian oil in the global energy mix and advocates against regulation to drive down the sector’s emission in the nearer term.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: Activists Slam Biden's Pick Ajay Banga, "Wall Street Insider", For World Bank
Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Eric Martin, 2/24/23
“Progressive groups that have long advocated for a change in the leadership of the World Bank decried the Biden administration's nomination of a former Wall Street and corporate executive as more of the same at the anti-poverty lender,” Bloomberg reports. “Washington's selection of former Mastercard Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga to be the World Bank's president was being condemned as a forfeited opportunity to tap a candidate with deep public-sector experience combating economic inequality and climate change. The World Bank needs a leader "who will prioritize the urgency of the climate crisis, not another big business executive," Collin Rees, US program co-manager at Oil Change International, a group that pushes a pivot away from fossil fuels, told Bloomberg. "Banga's long career at predatory banks and corporations does not inspire confidence that he would transform the World Bank into an institution that can work for people and the planet." “...And John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, hailed Mr Banga as "the right choice," casting his corporate experience as an asset. Mr Banga has "proven his ability as a manager of large institutions and understands investment and the mobilization of capital to power the green transition," he said. But climate activists and progressive groups said Mr Banga still hews too closely to the typical mold of male World Bank presidents with deep ties to Wall Street and corporate America, including its current head, David Malpass, who previously was a chief economist at Bear Stearns Cos. Mr Banga, now vice chairman at US investment firm General Atlantic LP., has previously worked for Nestle SA, PepsiCo Inc., and Citigroup Inc. "Nothing in Banga's resume inspires confidence that he will turn the World Bank away from a path of neocolonialism and predation by Global North corporations upon Global South countries," Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a not-for-profit group that fights corporate influence in Washington, told Bloomberg. Hauser called on President Joe Biden and Yellen to retract the nomination.”
Bloomberg: CalPERS Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill Hinges on Union Support
2/22/23
“A California state senator is resurrecting an effort to liquidate and estimated $15 billion in fossil fuel investments from the two largest public pensions in the country, but will have to first persuade some usual political allies in her cause,” Bloomberg reports. “Democratic Sen. Lena Gonzalez’s chances at divesting California from oil and gas companies sank last year when the chair of the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee refused to consider a similar measure, citing the politically divisive nature of oil and gas divestment. Gonzalez told Bloomberg she’s working harder this year to gather support for the measure (S.B. 252) from a crucial lobbying bloc—California’s labor unions—and is prioritizing organized labor given the legislation could potentially affect many of their members’ retirement funds. “Many [local chapters] have really been pushing the leadership to make a determination on this bill,” Gonzalez told Bloomberg. “The conversations will hopefully move further.” But the state’s largest and most powerful labor organizations have remained on the sidelines. The California Labor Federation, the Service Employees International Union, and the California Teachers Association have not taken a public stance on the bill. Those three groups have tremendous sway in the state legislature where the Democrats have a supermajority in both chambers, donating close to $220 million to politicians, ballot measures, and other committees in the last election cycle. “There are CTA members on both sides of the fossil-fuels divestment issue,” Claudia Briggs, a spokeswoman for the teacher’s union, told Bloomberg. The union’s state council wants to see “concrete goals and measurable steps” that will ensure a dependable retirement income for educators, she told Bloomberg… “Terry Brennand, director of pensions, revenue, and budgets for SEIU California, didn’t tell Bloomberg whether his organization would back the bill, but that the service-workers union supports a “broader approach of gradual divestment” from carbon-intensive investments… “The California Labor Federation didn’t respond to a request for comment. The bill would direct the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) to end its investments in oil and gas companies.”
Colorado Newsline: Colorado lawmakers advance climate bill but strip pension system measure
CHASE WOODRUFF, 2/22/23
“Two Democrats on the Colorado Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday joined Republicans to defeat the latest in a series of attempts to prod the state’s public pension system towards more climate-friendly investment decisions,” Colorado Newsline reports. “Senate Bill 23-16, a wide-ranging package of reforms to state climate policy sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Chris Hansen of Denver, was amended on a 5-2 vote to strip a section requiring the board of the Public Employees Retirement Association to ensure its proxy votes as an investor “align with, and are supportive of” the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. State Sens. Kyle Mullica of Northglenn and Chris Kolker of Centennial, both Democrats, joined the committee’s three GOP members in approving the amendment over Hansen’s objections. “The precedent is something that I’ve communicated to the sponsor that I have concerns about,” Mullica, the committee’s chair, said prior to the vote. “PERA does have a duly elected board of members who have paid their own money into for retirement, and have the ability to make those changes … either through running measures themselves or electing board members who would support those measures.” More than 650,000 current and former public employees across Colorado are members of PERA, which manages more than $76 billion in assets. The pension system has fought off repeated attempts by activists and some state lawmakers to require its board to more closely scrutinize its investments for climate-related risks and potentially divest its fossil-fuel-related holdings. The section removed from SB-16 was a more limited proposal aimed at influencing PERA’s proxy votes on climate-related shareholder resolutions. Such resolutions have been a tactic increasingly pursued by large institutional investors who hope to steer corporations towards climate risk assessments and emissions-cutting targets. “This was not a divestment provision,” Hansen told the committee. “This was focused completely on an update of the proxy policy.”
OPINION
Bismarck Tribune: Letter: Tackling greenhouse gas emissions requires CO2 pipelines
Brigham McCown is a senior fellow and director of the Initiative on American Energy Security at the Hudson Institute, 2/24/23
“Over the past two years, Midwesterners have heard a growing debate around carbon capture, transportation, and storage projects. Are these projects safe for families, farmers, and businesses? Why are they needed now, and are they new? These are all fair questions, and as a Midwesterner myself, these are the questions I would also be asking,” Brigham McCown writes for the Bismarck Tribune. “...Based on my own firsthand experience running PHMSA, I can say with certainty that pipelines are the safest way to transport large amounts of gas and liquid products because of the federal government’s extensive and comprehensive regulations that are in place. Residents and communities across the Midwest and beyond should be confident carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline projects will operate safely. This is important as we move forward in deploying technologies aimed at reducing pollution and carbon emissions… “I could go on, but I think you get the point. These layers of protection, along with many others, including ongoing inspections and audits by federal personnel, work together to protect the public and the environment. Those who say we need to wait for more comprehensive regulations either do not fully understand the comprehensive nature of our current pipeline safety programs or are simply using this argument to cover the fact that they are unlikely to support a pipeline project even if it were gold-plated.”
Door County Pulse: Letter to the Editor: Let the Pipeline Relocation Move Forward
Scott Soucek, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, 2/24/23
“As someone who works in the propane industry and daily gets to speak to homeowners, farmers and business owners about the importance of affordable, plentiful propane, I know how much our state relies on this important source of energy,” Scott Soucek writes for Door County Pulse. “Unfortunately, because some have turned a commonsense pipeline project in northern Wisconsin into a political football, our region’s propane supply could be at risk… “This project is so important that major propane supplier Plains Midstream has warned that without it, our state could be plunged into a propane state of emergency and propane prices could reach all-time highs. This is a situation that will not only put Wisconsin families’ lives in jeopardy, but also seriously impact food prices and our economy. Propane is too important to our state to make the Line 5 relocation a political target for those who wish to force us off this type of energy, without any solution for hundreds of thousands of our friends and neighbors to heat their homes. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources needs to quickly approve the permits to allow the Line 5 relocation project to move forward.”
Forbes: Your Friendly Reminder That Pipelines Are Safer Than Rail
Robert Rapier is a chemical engineer in the energy industry, 2/24/23
“When a pipeline accident happens, it gets a lot of press. That leads people to believe that pipelines are more dangerous than they really are. But consider that there are about 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines and about another 200,000 miles of petroleum and petroleum product pipelines in the U.S.,” Robert Rapier writes for Forbes. “...So even though pipeline accidents get a lot of attention, they are a relatively safe way to transport oil and gas. Pipelines are certainly safer than moving oil by rail… “To be clear, there are plenty of things that we can’t ship by pipeline. Pipelines are suitable for liquids and gases that we produce and consume in great quantities. For niche chemicals, rail or truck transport are the default options. Thus, the recent derailment in Ohio may be a reminder of the relative dangers of shipping volatile liquids by rail, but there was not a pipeline alternative. With oil, it’s a no-brainer. Shipping by pipeline is a safer alternative. And blocking pipelines is a good way to ensure that petroleum instead gets shipped by rail… “When we have the choice, we should ship volatile liquids by pipeline.”
The Hill: Better methane accounting will mean a faster and cheaper energy transition
Brad Handler and Simon Lomax are program managers at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, specializing in sustainable finance and responsible gas production; Morgan Bazilian is the director of the Payne Institute and a former lead energy specialist at the World Bank, 2/22/23
“A push for the oil and gas industry to reduce its methane emissions is on,” Brad Handler, Simon Lomax and Morgan Bazilian write for The Hill. “...But even with these incentives, challenges remain. Foremost among them is that U.S. tallies of methane emissions are rough estimates — and estimated pretty badly at that. In early January, three major research universities — the University of Texas at Austin, the Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State University — announced a $50 million initiative to drastically improve the measurement and accounting of greenhouse gases across global oil and natural gas supply chains. The initiative is called the Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab (EEMDL). Its top priority: Clearing up the fuzzy math that’s currently used to estimate methane emissions from the energy sector. Research from UT Austin and the Colorado School of Mines shows that methane emissions at a single facility can vary by 1,000 times over the course of a few days. And there is mounting evidence that most methane comes from so-called super-emitters, or big gas leaks that happen very infrequently… “Leveraging the expertise of three universities, it will provide reliable, science-based, transparent and measurement-based greenhouse gas assessments of global oil and gas supply chains… “In a related effort, the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines is also home to the Responsible Gas Initiative, which brings natural gas stakeholders together to share ideas and discuss best practices for reducing methane emissions… “Methane accounting may not have the popular appeal of electric cars or rooftop solar panels. But finding, fixing and preventing methane leaks is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to reduce heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. And a faster, cheaper path to a stable climate is something the world badly needs.”
Oil Change International: Methane: Industry Initiatives are Failing. Time for Government Action.
ANDY ROWELL, 2/22/23
“The oil and gas industry has been coming under sustained international pressure to reduce methane emissions from its operations for years. The reason for this is simple: methane, which is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, is over 80 times more powerful than CO2,” Andy Rowell writes for Oil Change International. “The industry says it is solving the problem. But in a severe rebuke of the fossil fuel industry’s spin over substance efforts to tackle the growing methane crisis, the IEA says that the industry is still failing to tackle methane and that greater regulation and oversight are needed. Releasing its Annual Methane Tracker yesterday, the IEA noted that “methane emissions remained stubbornly high in 2022 even as soaring energy prices made actions to reduce them cheaper than ever”... “The oil and gas share is the equivalent of about 7.2 billion metric tons of CO2. It’s like the global energy industry put an additional 1,900 coal plants on the planet just for the hell of it. If that is not shocking enough, all of this waste is still going on despite numerous high profile and richly resourced “initiatives” aimed at addressing the issue. In September 2021, the Biden administration and the European Union announced the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), launched at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow… “Then there’s the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, a group of some of the world’s largest oil companies, who claim they have already met their 2025 methane targets ahead of time. The last couple of years have also seen a massive increase in US gas companies using third-party certification companies, such as Project Canary or MiQ, to sell so-called “responsibly sourced gas”... “All of this voluntary industry action is failing to bring down methane emissions despite the IEA’s insistence that this waste can be stopped at very low cost to the industry… “So it’s clear that we cannot rely on the industry to do the right thing, even when financially incentivized to do so. It’s time for the regulation to step in and quickly. The U.S. EPA has been working on a rule to regulate methane since the beginning of this administration. Those rules need to be finalized quickly and implemented rigorously. The time for industry spin and inaction is over.”
Environmental Defense Fund: Trust, but verify: How Colorado must lead as latest methane rulemaking advances
Nini Gu, 2/22/23
“Colorado’s oil and gas regulators face an important decision that will determine whether the state can continue to successfully cut methane emissions and reach its statutory climate targets,” Nini Gu writes for the Environmental Defense Fund. “...Fortunately, the Air Pollution Control Division is now undertaking a GHG Intensity Verification rulemaking to address this glaring omission, offering the opportunity to create a program based on best-available science and grounded in real and meaningful outcomes. This GHG Intensity Verification Rule must be accurate, reliable and capable of directly quantifying the volume of real-world methane emissions so Colorado can make informed decisions to protect communities and the climate… “The Methane Emissions Reduction Program of the Inflation Reduction Act allocates $1.55 billion towards methane monitoring and innovation. The EPA can provide grants to local governments and organizations for methane monitoring, meaning that advanced technologies utilizing direct measurement are more accessible than ever — even as the array of solutions and technologies available continues to grow. The Polis administration must leverage this opportunity to put in place a GHG Intensity Verification Rule that ensures these technologies are properly deployed at scale. It is the only way to know that oil and gas producers are effectively complying with the GHG intensity targets, and that the state is not at risk of missing its statutory climate obligation… “Colorado was the first state in the nation to establish methane rules and set a bold example for the entire world, but it’s far easier to take a crown than to keep it. The Polis administration will soon show us if it has what it takes to maintain that leadership.Please submit any comments for the GHG Intensity Verification Rule to APCD at cdphe.commentsapcd@state.co.us by February 28, 2023.”