EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 2/7/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Ottawa files court brief supporting Enbridge in Line 5 dispute with Michigan
Gidimt’en Checkpoint: GIDIMT’EN LAND DEFENDERS MAKE SUBMISSION TO UNITED NATIONS ABOUT ONGOING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY BC AND CANADA; URGE U.N. TO VISIT WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORIES
Reuters: U.S. carbon pipeline proposals trigger backlash over potential land seizures
NTV: Some Nebraska landowners uneasy about carbon capture pipelines
Star Tribune: Carbon dioxide pipelines planned for Minnesota fall into regulatory black hole
Daily Local News: Busted Mariner East pipe dug up in East Goshen
Between the Lines: Mountain Valley Pipeline Opponents Buoyed as Federal Court Vacates Critical Permits
The Detroit News: Delays bog down Line 5 shutdown fight, but most involved win, expert says
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Committee to study Big Oil emissions pledges
STATE UPDATES
Casper Star-Tribune: A judge vacated offshore oil and gas leases due to climate change. What does that mean for Wyoming?
CPR: Environmental group says analysis shows oil and gas companies have used ‘forever chemicals’ to frack wells across Colorado
New Geography: CALIFORNIA IMPORTED CRUDE OIL RANKS AS A MAJOR EMISSIONS GENERATOR
KBTX: Oil tank explosion reported in Burleson County
EXTRACTION
Grist: Exxon locked workers out of their jobs. Can workers lock Exxon out of a carbon capture deal?
NPR: A satellite finds massive methane leaks from gas pipelines
Canada Action Coalition: Severe Energy Supply Shortages in Europe Point to a Need for Canadian Infrastructure & Reliable Exports of Our Natural Gas
CLIMATE FINANCE
Quartz.com: This is how Citigroup defends lending money to oil companies
OPINION
Roanoke Times: Editorial: Another federal court reckoning for Mountain Valley Pipeline
Grand Forks Herald: Letter: With Line 3 protesters, there were more downs than ups
Empower Wisconsin: Affordable, reliable energy on the line
FOX Business: Gas prices jump in Keystone Pipeline cancellation fallout
The Hill: Trump failed fossil fuel-reliant communities — Build Back Better invests in them
Indiana Environmental Reporter: Opinion: The Indiana Legislature's False Climate Solutions
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Ottawa files court brief supporting Enbridge in Line 5 dispute with Michigan
JAMES MCCARTEN, 2/4/22
“The Canadian government is once again urging a Michigan judge to keep Line 5 operating while it works with the United States on negotiating an end to the impasse over the controversial cross-border pipeline,” the Canadian Press reports. “Gordon Giffin, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada who is serving as Ottawa’s counsel of record, filed a fresh amicus brief this week spelling out the stakes for both countries if the pipeline, owned and operated by Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., is shut down. The newest brief is significantly more compact than the version Canada filed in an identical case last year, but reiterates the original argument, with one significant difference: The first brief was filed in May, before the two countries sat down in hopes of ending the standoff. Since then, officials from both Canada and the U.S. have met once already, sitting down in mid-December under the terms of a 1977 treaty designed to prevent interruptions to the cross-border flow of oil and gas, and will gather again some time in “early 2022,” the documents note… “Until those talks reach an agreement or head to arbitration, it’s vital that the court not grant Michigan’s request that the line – which crosses the Great Lakes beneath the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac – be unilaterally shut down, the brief argues… “A third brief filed by an array of state and national energy associations further makes the point that allowing Michigan to shut down Line 5 would create a striking precedent. “It would not only terminate operation of a vital interstate pipeline, but also significantly undermine the exclusive federal regulatory authority over interstate pipeline safety,” they argue.
Gidimt’en Checkpoint: GIDIMT’EN LAND DEFENDERS MAKE SUBMISSION TO UNITED NATIONS ABOUT ONGOING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY BC AND CANADA; URGE U.N. TO VISIT WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORIES
2/7/22
“Today, Gidimt’en land defenders made a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People on the “Militarization of Wet’suwet’en Lands and Canada’s Ongoing Violations.” The submission was co-authored by leading legal, academic, and human rights experts in Canada, and is supported by over two dozen organisations such as the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and Amnesty International-Canada. The submission to the U.N. by Hereditary Chief Dinï ze’ Woos (Frank Alec), Gidimt’en Checkpoint Spokesperson Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), and Gidimt’en Checkpoint Media Coordinator Jen Wickham details how forced industrialization by Coastal GasLink and police militarization on Wet’suwet’en land is a violation of Canada’s international obligations as outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In their submission, they write: “Ongoing human rights violations, militarization of Wet’suwet’en lands, forcible removal and criminalization of peaceful land defenders, and irreparable harm due to industrial destruction of Wet’suwet’en lands and cultural sites are occurring despite declarations by federal and provincial governments for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. By deploying legal, political, and economic tactics to violate our rights, Canada and BC are contravening the spirit of reconciliation, as well as their binding obligations to Indigenous law, Canadian constitutional law, UNDRIP and international law.” “...Over thirty water protectors are appearing in BC Supreme Court in Prince George on February 14 after the RCMP invasion on Wet’suwet’en territory in November 2021. In the three large-scale police actions that have happened on Wet'suwet'en territory since January 2019, a total of 74 people have been arrested and detained, including legal observers and journalists.”
Reuters: U.S. carbon pipeline proposals trigger backlash over potential land seizures
Leah Douglas, 2/7/22
“A flurry of proposed carbon pipelines in the U.S. Midwest has triggered a battle over whether companies behind the projects should be allowed to seize land from unwilling property owners to secure a route,” Reuters reports. “Hundreds of Iowa landowners, more than a dozen state counties and a handful of lawmakers are seeking to limit the use of eminent domain law by the projects, arguing property rights and other concerns outweigh the potential benefits of the pipelines to local industry and the climate, according to a Reuters analysis of regulatory documents and interviews with people involved… “If the landowners refuse easements, the companies would need to turn to eminent domain to gain access to the land… “But the law has not yet been applied to carbon pipelines, which are primarily regulated and sited by states, rather than the federal government, according to the Department of Energy (DOE), and few of which have been constructed to date… “But developers would need to build another 65,000 miles for the country to permanently store enough carbon to reach net zero emissions by 2050, according to a 2021 report from the White House. "It’s pretty important for (CCS pipelines) to be successful if we want to achieve our climate goals," Matt Fry, state and regional policy manager for carbon management at the Great Plains Institute, told Reuters. "We have to start somewhere." “...Summit has signed easements with several hundred landowners so far, Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Powell told Reuters. But he did not respond to a question about how much of the pipeline route that represented. Many landowners along the route have refused to sign easements with Summit, citing concerns about farmland productivity and land values after the pipeline is installed, according to previous Reuters reporting. Republican Iowa State Senator Jeff Taylor, meanwhile, introduced a bill this month to block pipelines from taking private agricultural land through eminent domain… “Ultimately, this pipeline is not a public utility,” Don Kass, a farmer and chairman of the Plymouth County board of supervisors in Iowa, told Reuters. "This is a profit center for a very select group of people."
NTV: Some Nebraska landowners uneasy about carbon capture pipelines
Steve White, 2/3/22
“A boost for ethanol and the farmers who grow corn or a risky gold rush? Companies are wagering billions on carbon capture pipelines being the future, while land owners are beginning to raise questions,” NTV reports. “We're prepared and ready to fight,” Jane Kleeb said, kicking off a meeting about these pipelines. Kleeb and the pipeline fighters of Bold Nebraska say there's a new threat. “I don’t think the people of Nebraska know much about these pipelines,” said Paul Blackburn, an attorney working with Bold Nebraska. Robin Wegener wasn't sure what to think when she was approached to allow it to cross her farm. “I got one of those letters, didn't realize what it was, set it aside,” she told NTV. The more she learned the more concerned she grew. “What was the outcome, the benefits, the negatives, the hazards, what are they long term effects to crop land, health welfare, buildings, animals, I don't think people looked into any of that and that's why I came to the meeting,” Wegener told NTV… “Jane Kleeb made no bones that she will oppose the pipeline projects and she will follow the Keystone XL playbook. She said she encourages land owners, even if they support this, to band together and hire attorneys to help them through easements and eminent domain questions. Blackburn, the attorney, says Nebraskans are at a disadvantage because there's no state agency regulating these projects. “In Nebraska these pipelines pose a risk and citizens should have a process to ask questions,” he said… “But attorneys associated with Bold Nebraska make it sound like the wild west. “The federal tax credits are so generous that there's sort of a gold rush to build pipelines and when there's a gold rush it's not a good way to do things because it's too fast and not give people a chance to ask questions, their homes, their livestock, their businesses are safe,” said Blackburn.
Star Tribune: Carbon dioxide pipelines planned for Minnesota fall into regulatory black hole
Mike Hughlett, 2/5/22
“Two of the largest carbon dioxide pipelines in the world are slated to cross Minnesota, transporting the climate-poisoning gas for burial deep underground — yet also falling into a regulatory black hole,” the Star Tribune reports. “CO2 is considered a hazardous pipeline fluid under federal law and in some states, including Iowa, but not Minnesota… “CO2 is a hazardous material that can lead to absolutely disastrous ruptures," Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a Washington state-based group, told the Tribune. While CO2 isn't explosive like natural gas, it's an asphyxiant that can be fatal in large doses. Right now, the CO2 pipelines don't require approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). But the PUC in December opened a proceeding on whether it should change state regulations to deem CO2 pipelines as hazardous. The Minnesota Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Commerce and Natural Resources (DNR) all favor such a change. "A developing body of research has raised concerns about the safety and environmental effects of pipelines transporting CO2," the DNR said in a PUC filing Monday. "Leaks or breaks in a pipeline can cause CO2 to accumulate in low-lying areas [including basements of area residences and building], thereby displacing oxygen." “...Deep-pocketed private equity investors are behind both projects, smitten by "45Q" federal tax credits. The credit, which will provide $50 per ton for carbon that's captured and sequestered, is potentially worth billions of dollars to Summit alone. "There is no economic incentive without 45Q to store CO2," Jessie Stolark, public policy manager for the Carbon Capture Coalition, a pro-carbon capture group created by the Minneapolis-based nonprofit energy research group the Great Plains Institute, told the Tribune… “The PUC acted soon after Minnesota-based Clean Up the Riverfront Environment (CURE) petitioned for a state environmental review of the CO2 pipelines. CURE says an "environmental assessment worksheet" is required by law. Both pipeline companies have since said they will voluntarily conduct the assessment. But both are against the PUC deeming CO2 a hazardous liquid for their pipelines.”
Daily Local News: Busted Mariner East pipe dug up in East Goshen
BILL RETTEW, 2/4/22
“Pipeline builder Sunoco/Energy Transfer was forced on Tuesday to dig up and replace or repair the Mariner East Pipeline in front of Wellington retirement community, on Boot Road,” Daily Local News reports. “Sunoco/ET discovered an anomaly in the underground pipe while inspecting with a “smart pig.” Sunoco/ET is required to inspect the integrity of the pipeline prior to beginning operations to transfer natural gas liquids under pressure through these pipes… “As township manager, I was notified of the work in front of Wellington on Tuesday morning after work on the site had commenced,” Davis told DLN. “If the company is claiming that a standard ‘PA One Call’ suffices as proper notification, I would highly disagree with that assessment… “In East Goshen’s opinion, it is not a substitute for official notification to township management.” Davis also wrote that a PUC representative was present at the construction site on the second day of construction, while East Goshen Township Public Works staff monitored the work and “belatedly” received communication from Sunoco/ET… ““As Energy Transfer takes out an entire segment of their new, clearly damaged and unsafe pipeline, the seniors who reside in front of and my children who learn next door to, still have no reliable or adequate emergency plan. It seems to be only a matter of time before they will desperately need that plan,” Melissa DiBernardino, an East Goshen resident and was the first to spot the pipeline work, told DLN.
Between the Lines: Mountain Valley Pipeline Opponents Buoyed as Federal Court Vacates Critical Permits
Melinda Tuhus, 2/2/22
“The 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline is being built through the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia, with a possible later extension into North Carolina,” Between the Lines reports. “...On Jan. 25, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated approvals by the U.S. Forest Service and federal Bureau of Land Management for the pipeline to cross three-and-a-half miles of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia and West Virginia. Still, the project refuses to die, and the companies behind it – mainly Equitrans Mid Stream – say they expect it to be operational within the next two years, having been granted one two-year extension from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Russell Chisholm, co-chair of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights, or POWHR Coalition, and coordinator of Mountain Valley Watch, a group that monitors construction of the pipeline. Here he talks about the fight against the fossil fuel project and where the opposition campaign stands right now. RUSSELL CHISHOLM: They have certainly done a fair amount of damage. Thinking about the most recent court ruling in the Fourth Circuit, where they’ve now been blocked from doing any additional work in the National Forest. They did cut trees, and they did clear and stage pipe in some areas of the national forest, particularly on Brush Mountain. Those are some of the ugliest scars”.
The Detroit News: Delays bog down Line 5 shutdown fight, but most involved win, expert says
Beth LeBlanc, 2/6/22
“Those looking for a quick resolution to the now-international fight over the future of Line 5's operation in the Straits of Mackinac are out of luck,” The Detroit News reports. “Since Canada invoked its 1977 treaty protecting transnational pipeline operations in October, the U.S. government and its neighbor have met once to negotiate over the fate of the pipeline Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is seeking to close down…”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Committee to study Big Oil emissions pledges
Nick Sobczyk, 2/7/22
“The House Oversight and Reform Committee tomorrow will examine fossil fuel industry emissions pledges after delaying a planned hearing with board members from major oil companies,” E&E News reports. “Climate scientist Michael Mann will testify alongside Tracey Lewis, policy counsel for Public Citizen, and Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, a climate-focused activist investor group. The panel initially wanted to hold a hearing this week with members of the boards of directors from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC, Shell PLC and Chevron Corp. as part of a larger investigation of Big Oil’s climate lobbying tactics and efforts to cast doubt on climate science… “The committee announced last week it would reschedule the board members’ testimony to March 8. Maloney said it would be their “last chance to cooperate.” “...Democrats are looking to press the board members, who are all involved in their respective companies’ sustainability efforts, on how they are pushing on climate from the inside and whether they agree with statements made by top executives during the October hearing. But instead, the committee said tomorrow’s witnesses will offer opinions on the four companies’ emissions pledges and whether they are sufficient to curb climate change… “Republicans are likely to come to the industry’s defense. During the October hearing, GOP lawmakers largely discussed inflation and high gas prices and encouraged company executives to increase oil and gas production.”
STATE UPDATES
Casper Star-Tribune: A judge vacated offshore oil and gas leases due to climate change. What does that mean for Wyoming?
Nicole Pollack, 2/3/22
“The Biden administration held the largest-ever U.S. offshore lease sale in November. Last week, a federal judge deemed its environmental analysis inadequate and invalidated the sale,” the Casper Star-Tribune reports. “Industry is frustrated. Environmental groups are thrilled. But backers and opponents alike are now looking ahead to the onshore Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oil and gas leasing auction expected early this year… “No one is entirely sure how the decision by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras to void the Gulf of Mexico leases might shape the BLM’s choices about how many onshore parcels to sell. Nor are they sure how a future legal challenge to the onshore leases, which have undergone more thorough environmental review than their offshore counterparts, might fare in court… “Trade groups are concerned that the Gulf decision could prompt the BLM to revisit its environmental analysis of candidate parcels, further delaying the upcoming onshore lease sale, Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs for the American Petroleum Institute, told the Tribune. But according to Mike Freeman, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental group that sued over the Gulf lease sale, the undoing of the Biden administration’s offshore leases “illustrates the entire point behind why BLM had been postponing onshore and offshore wind sales last year.” By not accounting for climate impacts, Freeman told the Tribune, the agency was not complying with federal laws that mandate comprehensive environmental review.
CPR: Environmental group says analysis shows oil and gas companies have used ‘forever chemicals’ to frack wells across Colorado
Sam Brasch, 2/3/22
“Companies have used potentially toxic "forever chemicals" to coax oil and gas from Colorado wells since at least 2008, according to a new report from Physicians for Social Responsibility,” CPR reports. “The environmental advocacy group also claims drillers may have concealed some dangerous chemicals they’ve pumped into wells under state rules that allow companies to withhold the disclosure of industry "trade secrets." Dusty Horwitt, one of the report’s authors, said the disclosure exemptions make it nearly impossible to know the full extent of the industry’s use per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances — also known as PFAS. "Coloradans could be unknowingly exposed to these highly toxic forever chemicals, as they're called, from thousands of oil and gas wells across the state," Horwitt told CPR.
New Geography: CALIFORNIA IMPORTED CRUDE OIL RANKS AS A MAJOR EMISSIONS GENERATOR
Ronald Stein, 2/6/22
“Shipping is by far the biggest transport polluter in the world. The fuel used is the cheapest and most polluting fuel available for the world’s 90,000 ships that burn approximately 370 million tons of fuel per year, emitting 20 million tons of sulfur oxides,” New Geography reports. “The Guardian has reported on research showing that in one year, a single large container ship can emit cancer and asthma-causing pollutants equivalent to that of 50 million vehicles. The low-grade bunker fuel used by the worlds 90,000 cargo ships contains up to 2,000 times the amount of sulfur compared to diesel fuel used in automobiles. California’s dependency on foreign suppliers for California’s energy needs, as well as the West Coast military operations, has increased imported crude oil from foreign countries from 5 percent in 1992 to 58 percent today of total consumption as noted in the California Energy Commission chart.”
KBTX: Oil tank explosion reported in Burleson County
Karla Castillo and Donnie Tuggle, 2/4/22
“First responders have been called to an oil tank explosion in Somerville. It happened around 7 p.m. Friday along Park Road 57 in Burleson County,” KBTX reports. “According to the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office, a piece of the tank landed in the road. The driver of a pick up truck hit the piece of tank and went airborne, according to Sgt. Justin Ruiz with the Department of Public Safety. The 68-year-old woman was taken by medical helicopter to St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan where she is reportedly stable. Duane Strange with the Burleson County Emergency Management Office told KBTX the well where the explosion happened belongs to Chesapeake Energy.”
EXTRACTION
Grist: Exxon locked workers out of their jobs. Can workers lock Exxon out of a carbon capture deal?
Amal Ahmed & Emily Pontecorvo, 1/31/22
“In Beaumont, Texas, working at one of Exxon Mobil’s plants has long been a way to earn steady wages and support a family in this industrial corner of the Gulf Coast,” Grist reports. “...But for the past nine months, about 600 union employees at Exxon’s refinery and other plants have been struggling to pay their own bills: They have been locked out of their jobs because Exxon has been unable to come to an agreement with the union over a new contract. Kyle told Grist that the company is refusing to honor protections for senior workers that have been in place for decades, while the union is demanding that those protections remain in place. At the end of last April, without a contract finalized and with the threat of a union strike pending, the company began escorting employees out of the complex, the Beaumont Enterprise, a local newspaper, reported. The company stated that the provisions the union was asking for were “items that would significantly increase costs and limit the company’s ability to safely and efficiently operate.” Some workers, willing to take the deal Exxon was offering, began a campaign to decertify the union, which would end union representation at the plants. The United Steelworkers union believes that Exxon illegally assisted the campaign and has filed complaints with the National Labor Review Board. But in addition to using this legal channel to try to protect their union, the Steelworkers tried a different tactic. They started their own campaign to pressure Exxon into a deal — by undermining the company’s push for public money to build a $100 billion carbon capture hub in nearby Houston.”
NPR: A satellite finds massive methane leaks from gas pipelines
Dan Charles, 2/3/22
“There's new evidence, collected from orbiting satellites, that oil and gas companies are routinely venting huge amounts of methane into the air,” NPR reports. “... And Thomas Lauvaux, a researcher with the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences in France, tells NPR there's been a persistent discrepancy between official estimates of methane emissions and field observations. "For years, every time we had data [on methane emissions] — we were flying over an area, we were driving around — we always found more emissions than we were supposed to see," he told NPR. Researchers turned to satellites in an effort to get more clarity. The European Space Agency launched an instrument three years ago called the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) that can measure the methane in any 12-square-mile block of the atmosphere, day by day. Lauvaux says that TROPOMI detected methane releases that the official estimates did not foresee. "No one expects that pipelines are sometimes wide open, pouring gas into the atmosphere," he told NPR. Yet they were. Over the course of two years, during 2019 and 2020, the researchers counted more than 1,800 large bursts of methane, often releasing several tons of methane per hour… “The researchers consulted with gas companies, trying to understand the source of these "ultra-emitting events." They found that some releases resulted from accidents. More often, though, they were deliberate. Gas companies simply vented gas from pipelines or other equipment before carrying out repairs or maintenance operations. Lauvaux tells NPR these releases could be avoided.”
Canada Action Coalition: Severe Energy Supply Shortages in Europe Point to a Need for Canadian Infrastructure & Reliable Exports of Our Natural Gas
2/4/22
“As severe energy shortages mount in Europe, Canada's role as a progressive, reliable global energy supplier could be part of the energy solution, a Canadian grassroots coalition spokesperson says. But this would require Canada to take control of its own economic destiny, to build sufficient pipeline, processing and shipping infrastructure, and to get fair value for our resources as we export our natural gas and oil products to thirsty global markets."Liquid natural gas (LNG) produced in Canada under strict environmental, social and governance standards, is more important than ever before," Canada Action founder and spokesperson Cody Battershill said. "We're blessed with an enormous endowment of natural gas, our Canadian workforce and our research establishments are the envies of the world, and we're known internationally as the greatest steward of natural and human resources," Battershill added. "But as other global energy players work to alleviate European gas shortages, Canada appears to be nowhere in sight."
CLIMATE FINANCE
Quartz.com: This is how Citigroup defends lending money to oil companies
Tim McDonnell, 2/4/22
“Fossil fuel companies get most of the blame for climate change, but their work (and carbon emissions) wouldn’t be possible without the banks that lend them money,” Quartz.com reports. “At the COP26 climate summit in November, dozens of financial institutions made commitments to decarbonize their portfolios in the long term. But for now, lending is increasing (pdf), to the tune of at least $575 billion in 2020 alone. One of the top purveyors, according to research by the Rainforest Action Network, was Citi, which delivered at least $237 billion in loans or underwriting to fossil fuel companies from 2016-20. On Jan. 19, CEO Jane Fraser laid out the bank’s new strategy to reach net zero emissions by 2050. It’s more aggressive than those of other large banks, in that it targets a 29% reduction in total financed emissions from clients in the energy sector by 2030 (other banks have commonly set “intensity” targets, which measure emissions per dollar or per unit of production, and leave room for total emissions to increase)... “But the bank has not clearly articulated what kind of climate negligence would constitute grounds for divorce—and has been clear, echoing the sentiment of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, that if anything it wants to deepen its relationships with carbon-intensive clients and hopefully underwrite their transition to cleaner ways of making money.”
OPINION
Roanoke Times: Editorial: Another federal court reckoning for Mountain Valley Pipeline
1/30/22
“Well, that didn’t take long. Only a month ago, the Virginia State Water Control Board handed Mountain Valley Pipeline a major victory on a 3-2 vote, granting the wildly controversial project a crucial permit for crossing streams and wetlands. A step forward, a step back. On Tuesday, the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals nixed approvals that MVP had acquired from the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to build across a 3.5-mile section of the Jefferson National Forest in Giles and Montgomery counties,” the Roanoke Times Editorial Board writes… “Mountain Valley Pipeline cannot be enthusiastic about going before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for a third time, though it’s not as if they have a choice if they want to complete the project. This court, with a jurisdiction that spans from Maryland to South Carolina, isn’t going to cut MVP any slack. This is the second time the appeals court has voided this particular permit. After that first defeat, it took MVP two years to come back with another — the one that just got canceled… “Once MVP opponents have shared their toasts and put away their champagne, some sober reflection will be in order. The ruling does not tell MVP, Begone forever! It essentially says, You can come back once you get these things in compliance. The obstacles are not insurmountable to an enterprise with MVP’s resources… “With most of the pipeline already constructed, should MVP’s enemies prevail, a legacy of marred landscapes and properties split in half will remain. In that scenario, assuming humanity weathers the next century of rapidly changing climate, perhaps future archeologists will wonder at the purpose of those immense pipes that slash the landscape, leading nowhere.
Grand Forks Herald: Letter: With Line 3 protesters, there were more downs than ups
Dean Wieland, West Fargo, 2/6/22
“Bennett Osmonson’s Jan. 29 letter accurately described the negative impacts of the Line 3 protesters (L3P) and I would add more,” Dean Wieland writes for the Grand Forks Herald. “Their incendiary rhetoric, misinformation and illegal antics fueled the protest. Lead Line 3 protester Winona LaDuke described L3 as the ecological equivalent to Auschwitz and said Enbridge basically sucked our rivers and wetlands dry. That’s nonsense, but the L3P methods had their desired effect by pressuring President Biden to cancel the Keystone Pipeline and reduce US oil production, sending a message that all pipelines were at risk of being shut down. This resulted in oil companies cutting back on exploration/drilling and banks/financial institutions withholding funding… “The social cost and long-term effects of the negative views developed toward each other during the protests are incalculable and will haunt us into the future. Even LaDuke stated that it pitted neighbor against neighbor, tribe against tribe. Despite the L3P rhetoric about protecting our waters, saving the environment and claims of peaceful protests, their actions have had a very negative impact on everyone.”
Empower Wisconsin: Affordable, reliable energy on the line
M.D. Kittle, 2/7/22
“A diverse coalition of union workers, farmers, small business owners and forest products companies has led an outpouring of support for a pipeline project in northern Wisconsin,” M.D. Kittle writes for Empower Wisconsin. “But the Wisconsin Jobs and Energy Coalition and other supporters of Canada-based Enbridge Inc.’s proposed relocation of a portion of its Line 5 crude oil pipeline are going up against a governor and an administration in bed with environmental extremists… “As of last week, supporters had submitted nearly 4,000 comments asking the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to move the project forward, according to the Wisconsin Jobs and Energy Coalition… “But the usual suspects on the environmental left packed the hearing, Mike Wiggins, chairman of the Bad River Band, said the nearly 70-year-old pipeline should be shut down… “The loss of the critical pipeline would be detrimental to America’s economy and energy needs… “Wisconsin’s papermakers and forest products companies couldn’t survive without access to reliable and affordable energy,” said Scott Suder, president of the Wisconsin Paper Council. “Pipelines like Line 5 not only safely and reliably move energy to where it’s needed, they free up capacity for trucks and trains to move other goods like paper products.”
FOX Business: Gas prices jump in Keystone Pipeline cancellation fallout
By Phil Flynn, 2/4/22
“Oil demand is at record highs in the U.S., but domestic oil producers can't or won't catch up because they have been canceled by the Biden administration, which is feeling the sting of its own anti-energy policies,” Phil Flynn writes for FOX Business. “...President Biden, who canceled the Keystone Pipeline on his first day in the White House, continues to chip away at America's energy industry. Drilling moratoriums, threats for fossil fuel investors and desperate appeals to OPEC for help have contributed to rising energy prices, a major component of the inflation spike. The Biden administration has tried to backtrack on that and now is calling on the U.S. shale industry to drill the leases that they have and to add rigs, but even though the rig counts are going up, the production that's coming online is barely moving the needle. The U.S. shale industry is in need of constant investment to keep oil production going up at the same time companies have to be more fiscally responsible than they were in the past because the Biden administration's clampdown is making it almost impossible to take economic risks. Adding insult to injury, on Thursday lawmakers called on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to limit natural gas exports.”
The Hill: Trump failed fossil fuel-reliant communities — Build Back Better invests in them
Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, the author of “America’s Energy Gamble: People, Economy and Planet” (Cambridge University Press 2022), is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, 2/6/22
“As Democrats rework their strategy to introduce a Build Back Better bill that can pass the Senate, they would be wise to retain the House provisions that invest in rebuilding fossil fuel-reliant communities,” Shanti Gamper-Rabindran writes for The Hill. “As my research has shown, these communities have been failed by previous administrations and Congresses. The Trump administration, for instance, doubled down on strategies that prolong the nation’s reliance on extractive industries, under the pretext of helping these communities, but to the benefit of company executives… “The hard work and sacrifices of fossil fuel communities powers America’s economic prosperity and benefits regions often far away from the extractive centers. That same hard work and tenacity energizes their efforts to rebuild their economies… “The Build Back Better bill puts workers and communities in the front and center. It injects $5 billion to the Economic Development Administration, with specific carveouts for fossil fuel reliant communities, to develop regional economic growth clusters. It incentivizes the building of renewable energy facilities, with additional inducements for those that locate in communities affected by closures of coal mines and coal power plants… “According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill would yield a deficit of $160 billion over 10 years (0.1 percent of GDP). By contrast, the 2017 tax cut that added $1.9 trillion to the debt over a decade with benefits skewed toward the wealthiest Americans. Deficit spending on distressed people and communities, with appropriate oversight, is a prudent economic strategy.”
Indiana Environmental Reporter: Opinion: The Indiana Legislature's False Climate Solutions
Wendy Bredhold is the senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Indiana and Kentucky, 2/3/22
“Indiana legislators are putting Hoosiers on a dangerous path, refusing to listen to urgent concerns about climate change and the need for greater access to renewable energy. Instead, they are pursuing false, dangerous and expensive schemes on behalf of special interests,” Wendy Bredhold writes for the Indiana Environmental Reporter. “Confront the Climate Crisis, a high school student-led statewide group, spent months gathering support for legislative climate action from public officials, a coalition of 80 organizations and Hoosiers from across the state. They collected nearly 20,000 signatures on a petition calling for climate legislation and worked to get it introduced by senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle. But their bills were never granted a hearing… “Yet, when special interests representing fossil fuels and the nuclear industry come knocking, legislators are all ears… “Instead, legislative leaders are moving bills that offer false climate solutions on behalf of special interests like BP, Wabash Valley Resources, so-called Reliable Energy (the former Indiana Coal Council) and the nuclear industry. SB 265 and HB 1249: Provide the special privilege of near-blanket immunity from any damage caused by Wabash Valley Resources’ plan to pump carbon dioxide emissions into the ground, relieving them from important risks to neighboring residents and businesses, and HB 1209: Paves the way for unproven carbon sequestration from new industrial sources of emissions throughout the State.”