EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/14/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Politico: Climate push brings new pipeline fights to Midwest
Pipeline Fighters Hub: North Dakota Public Service Commission Public Hearing on Summit Carbon Pipeline Application (4/11/23) [VIDEO]
KSFY: Pipeline setbacks to be discussed at county meetings
DRG News: PUC sets discovery response deadline for Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project at 10 business days
The Intercept: AFTER SPYING ON STANDING ROCK, TIGERSWAN SHOPPED ANTI-PROTEST “COUNTERINSURGENCY” TO OTHER OIL COMPANIES
WIBW: EPA reports nearly 75 percent progress on Washington Co. oil cleanup
Cowboy State Daily: Pipeline Leak On Wyoming Reservation Spills Crude Oil Into Wind River Tributary
WLKY: Bernheim Forest planning to file appeal after LG&E gas pipeline ruling
Law360: Ill. Court Backs Gas Utility's Delivery Pipeline Project
FFX Now: Pimmit Hills residents brace for court battle over gas pipeline planned through neighborhood
Brooklyn Paper: Activists rally against ‘climate-wrecking bills’ and Iroquois Pipeline expansion that would bring more fossil fuel to Brooklyn
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Press release: Members of Congress Turn to DOI: Suspend ConocoPhillips’ Willow Drilling Permits Until Lawsuits are Finalized
E&E News: G-7 meeting set to shape future of natural gas
Associated Press: EPA awards $177 million to environmental justice groups
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Newsline: Oil and gas-related spills increased 16% in Colorado in 2022, report finds
Press-Telegram: California sends Long Beach’s oil drilling plans back for revisions
EXTRACTION
Reuters: BP starts 5th oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, first in 15 years
Reuters: US Permian has not yet seen peak oil production- Occidental CEO
Globe and Mail: Kearl tailings pond overflow caused by equipment, process failures, Imperial Oil says
National Observer: Community still pressing for change almost a year after Imperial Oil spill
Press release: Chevron Canada voluntarily relinquishes offshore permits on Canada's west coast
CLIMATE FINANCE
Energy Intelligence Group: Insurers Weigh Conflicting Climate Pressures
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Enbridge: The sweet sounds of conservation
WSAZ: Wellston Fire Academy receives $50,000 worth of new training equipment
OPINION
WV Gazette Mail: Hoppy Kercheval: MVP pipeline still in regulatory hell (Opinion)
The Columbian: Letter: Natural gas pipeline is beneficial
Ohio Capital Journal: Don’t frack our state parks to fund tax cuts for the rich
The Hill: Net-zero burns down the village to save it
PIPELINE NEWS
Politico: Climate push brings new pipeline fights to Midwest
ARIANNA SKIBELL, 4/13/23
“Capturing carbon pollution before it’s released into the atmosphere is emerging as a potentially viable way to fight climate change. But fierce debates are sprouting across the Midwest on what to do with that carbon once it’s captured from industrial and agricultural operations, or how to move it from one site to another,” Politico reports.”The fights are pitting traditional political allies against each other and potentially complicating regional efforts to combat the climate crisis… “And so far, the pipelines are winning. Of the more than two dozen bills filed in six states this year challenging aspects of carbon capture, transportation and storage projects, none has passed. Some measures that did advance later fizzled… “The effort has angered some conservative politicians, environmental groups and rural landowners. They’re concerned about companies’ use of eminent domain to secure rights of way for pipelines. And they’re vowing to keep pushing for new, tougher regulations around safety and siting, some with the aim of delaying or blocking the projects. In Iowa, some Republicans feel betrayed by GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, who they say failed to advocate for a bill to protect landowners from eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. “There’s a lot of ticked-off people — solid Republican people,” Bud Jermeland, a farm equipment dealership manager, told Politico. “You can’t believe how many people in my party are worked up about this.”
Pipeline Fighters Hub: North Dakota Public Service Commission Public Hearing on Summit Carbon Pipeline Application (4/11/23) [VIDEO]
4/14/23
“The North Dakota Public Service Commission (ND PSC) held the third of five planned public hearings on Summit Carbon’s permit application for its proposed CO2 pipeline on April 11 in Wahpeton, N.D.,” the Pipeline Fighters Hub reports. “During the nearly 10-hour hearing, landowners’ attorney Brian Jorde with Domina Law Group and Easement Action Teams LLC questioned witnesses including Summit COO Jimmy Powell, Summit tiling contractor Jeremy Ellingson, and a half-dozen of the state’s landowners who are his clients facing eminent domain seizure of their property against their will for the proposed project.”
KSFY: Pipeline setbacks to be discussed at county meetings
Beth Warden, 4/13/23
“Two carbon dioxide pipeline applications are under review with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. Meanwhile, counties are considering what the setback should be between a CO2 pipeline and other structures in the community,” KSFY reports. “When previous generations started farming this land in the late 1800′s, they likely had no idea just how beautiful it would look today. Kay Burkhart is proud of the family’s legacy. She also grew concerned about her introduction to the Navigator’s CO2 Pipeline plans for their land. “They want to put this pipeline in. And if we don’t like that, they will use eminent domain. On the very first page, they said that,” Burkhart told KSFY. As a retired veterinarian, she has extensive knowledge of CO2. “Use that to euthanize animals with. That’s one of the things that carbon dioxide is used for,” Burkhart told KSFY. She’s run through scenarios in her mind. “If that would rupture here and I’m out there and I can’t get away, which I probably won’t be able to, it will be very painless and very quick,” Burkhart told KSFY… “Lincoln County’s planning and zoning meeting is next Tuesday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m., and Minnehaha County’s planning meeting is Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. “Finding what are hazardous material pipelines and looking at most likely what we’ll narrow in on his proposed setbacks,” Minnehaha County Commissioner Joe Kippley told KSFY… “We did locate a dispersion model for a CO2 pipeline rupture in Illinois. The worst case scenario for their study shows a maximum downstream length of one thousand feet.”
DRG News: PUC sets discovery response deadline for Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project at 10 business days
Jody Heemstra, 4/13/23
“The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has approved a 10 business day discovery response deadline for a sighting docket connected to Summit Carbon Solutions’ request to construct a pipeline transporting liquid carbon dioxide across part of the state,” DRG News reports. “PUC staff attorney Kristen Edwards says this type of action is normal for larger cases such as this… “In February (Feb. 9, 2023), Summit Carbon Solutions announced it had gone over the 60% mark for number of property owners in five states who have voluntarily signed on to the project… “While the regulatory process is under way on their application for pipeline routes, Summit Carbon Solutions continues to sign voluntary landowner easements. Spokesman Jessie Harris told DRG they are making good progress.”
The Intercept: AFTER SPYING ON STANDING ROCK, TIGERSWAN SHOPPED ANTI-PROTEST “COUNTERINSURGENCY” TO OTHER OIL COMPANIES
Alleen Brown, Naveena Sadasivam, 4/13/23
“A NEW BUSINESS model for breaking down environmental movements was being hatched in real time. On Labor Day weekend in 2016, private security dogs in North Dakota attacked pipeline opponents led by members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as they approached earth-moving equipment. The tribal members considered the land sacred, and the heavy equipment was breaking ground to build the Dakota Access pipeline. With a major public relations crisis on its hands, the pipeline’s parent company, Energy Transfer, hired the firm TigerSwan to revamp its security strategy,” The Intercept reports. “By October, TigerSwan — founded by James Reese, a retired commander of the elite special operations Army unit Delta Force — had established a military-style pipeline security strategy… “TigerSwan continued to operate in North Dakota with no license for months. The company managed dozens of on-the-ground security guards, surveilled and infiltrated protesters, and passed along profiles of so-called persons of interest to one of the largest midstream energy companies in North America.The revelation of TigerSwan’s close working relationship with the National Sheriffs’ Association is drawn from more than 50,000 pages of documents obtained by The Intercept through a public records request to the North Dakota Private Investigation and Security Board… “The released documents provide startling new details about how TigerSwan used social media monitoring, aerial surveillance, radio eavesdropping, undercover personnel, and subscription-based records databases to build watchlists and dossiers on Indigenous activists and environmental organizations. At times, the pipeline security company shared this information with law enforcement officials. In other cases, WhatsApp chats and emails confirm TigerSwan used what it gathered to follow pipeline opponents in their cars and develop propaganda campaigns online. The documents contain records of TigerSwan attempting to help Energy Transfer build a legal case against pipeline opponents, known as water protectors, using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, a law that was passed to prosecute the mob… “To TigerSwan, the emergence of Indigenous-led social movements to keep oil and gas in the ground represented a business opportunity… “TigerSwan did not just work in North Dakota. Energy Transfer hired the company to provide security to its Rover pipeline, in Ohio and West Virginia, the documents confirm. By spring 2017, TigerSwan was also assembling intelligence reports on opponents of Energy Transfer and Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline in Pennsylvania.”
WIBW: EPA reports nearly 75 percent progress on Washington Co. oil cleanup
Bryan Grabauskas, 4/13/23
“Federal regulators report quite the progress cleaning up the Mill Creek oil spill,” WIBW reports. “The Environmental Protection Agency described splitting the creek into 216, 110-foot operational sections in an update earlier this month. They’ve since inspected and cleared 158 of those areas. They’ve also treated just over 30 million gallons of water. That leaves only 7 million gallons of water and 58 operational areas to be cleared… “The December leak that saw 12,000 barrels of oil spill into the Washington County creek, just about 10 miles south of the Nebraska border.”
Cowboy State Daily: Pipeline Leak On Wyoming Reservation Spills Crude Oil Into Wind River Tributary
Kevin Killough, 4/13/23
“A pipeline leak has resulted in a spill of an undetermined amount of crude oil into an unnamed tributary of the Wind River north of Crowheart on the Wind River Indian Reservation,” Cowboy State Daily reports. “The Northern Arapaho Business Council told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday morning that, according to information provided by the contractor operating the pipeline, MI3 Petroleum Engineering, the spill began at about 3:45 p.m.Monday. About four hours later a leak clamp was installed, which contained the spill. About 34 barrels of liquids were released… The company doesn’t believe that any waterways were impacted as a result of the incident, according to the council, and cleanup is ongoing… “We’re working to get more accurate information to the public as it comes forward,” Mazza told the Daily, adding that MI3 is working with the tribes to clean up the spill. The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes in 2021 took over operations and control of the Circle Ridge oil field near Crowheart after years of leasing to large operator Marathon Oil Co., and later Merit Energy Operations.“
WLKY: Bernheim Forest planning to file appeal after LG&E gas pipeline ruling
Matthew Keck, 4/13/23
“Weeks after a Bullitt County judge ruled that LG&E could seize part of Bernheim Forest's property for a natural gas pipeline, Bernheim officials say it has plans to file an appeal,” WLKY reports. “LG&E has had plans since 2017 to build a 12-mile pipeline that cuts through part of Bernheim Forest. While this plan was approved, it stalled until 2019, when LG&E sued Bernheim since the two sides couldn't reach a deal. In a ruling filed toward the end of March, a Bullitt County judge ruled that a conservation easement did not exist, allowing LG&E the right to condemn the property. Initially, Bernheim was unsure if it would file an appeal or not, but on Thursday, officials told WLKY there are plans to do so… "The appeal is based on several significant questions that remain related to conservation properties in the Commonwealth that are secured with public funds or encumbered by conservation easements. There are also several unresolved permitting issues for the proposed pipeline related to clean water and endangered species.”
Law360: Ill. Court Backs Gas Utility's Delivery Pipeline Project
Madeline Lyskawa, 4/13/23
“Environmental advocacy groups can’t prevent a gas utility company from installing nearly 35 miles of new pipelines to deliver natural gas to an impoverished community that had previously relied on propane, wood-burning stoves and electrical space heaters to keep warm, Illinois’ state appellate court said,” Law360 reports.
FFX Now: Pimmit Hills residents brace for court battle over gas pipeline planned through neighborhood
Angela Woolsey, 4/13/23
“Cheers went up after the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) ruled last year that a natural gas pipeline planned through the residential neighborhood of Pimmit Hills will need to be reviewed and approved by the county,” FFX Now reports. “However, even when proposing that decision on Feb. 2, 2022 after a multi-day public hearing, BZA Vice Chairman James Hart acknowledged that the case over the sixth phase of Washington Gas’ Strip 1 Tysons project was likely headed to court. That court date will arrive this month. The utility company’s lawsuit seeking to vacate the board’s decision will go before a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge for a trial on April 25 and 26, spurring Pimmit Hills residents to rally together once again in opposition to the pipeline. “We’re concerned citizens, you know. It’s our neighborhoods, our streets, our children, our playgrounds, our schools,” Kurt Iselt, one of four residents named as defendants in the lawsuit after they brought the case to the BZA, told FFX… “The lawsuit by Washington Gas argues that the BZA lacked the authority to partially overturn the zoning administrator’s determination and require the project to obtain a special exception permit and undergo a 2232 review… “The petition also argues that the Pimmit Hills residents haven’t shown that they would “suffer concrete, particularized harm” from the pipeline’s construction and, therefore, had no legal standing to appeal the zoning administrator’s decision.”
Brooklyn Paper: Activists rally against ‘climate-wrecking bills’ and Iroquois Pipeline expansion that would bring more fossil fuel to Brooklyn
Ximena Del Cerro, 4/13/23
“As a critical decision regarding the expansion of a fracked gas pipeline that would increase the amount of fossil fuels pumped into New York City looms, activists descended on Albany to urge Governor Kathy Hochul to stop the project and dedicate state resources to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Brooklyn Paper reports. “New Yorkers gathered in the Capitol Building on April 4, a week before the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation was expected to release its decision to approve or deny air permits for the Iroquois Pipeline expansion, and demanded that Hochul and the DEC deny the application. A decision on the permits was initially expected on April 11 — but it seemed deliberations could still be going on, and, as of April 13, DEC had not announced its choice. “The fossil fuel industry is pushing climate-wrecking bills and the dirty Iroquois pipeline expansion in a last-ditch attempt to lock New Yorkers into their toxic product,” Food & Water Watch New York Organizer Laura Shindell, told BP. “Governor Hochul must not fall for the industry’s desperate ploy. She must direct her DEC to deny air permits for Iroquois Pipeline Company’s gas expansion proposal.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Press release: Members of Congress Turn to DOI: Suspend ConocoPhillips’ Willow Drilling Permits Until Lawsuits are Finalized
4/13/23
“Today, Members of Congress sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland demanding that the permits for the controversial Willow Project be suspended. Led by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the letter calls on Sec. Haaland and Interior to pause construction until litigation against the major oil and gas project is resolved and all stakeholders’ voices are properly considered. The letter is signed by 33 Members of Congress, marking an increase in Congressional opposition to the project from when the first Willow letter was released… “People posting videos on social media encouraging others to contact their Congress members have generated more than 70,000 direct emails to Congressional offices asking them to sign on to the letter… “The recent decision by the Biden Administration to approve the project has generated major backlash, especially among youth voters.”
E&E News: G-7 meeting set to shape future of natural gas
Brian Dabbs, 4/14/23
“A meeting of Group of 7 Cabinet-level officials this weekend is setting up a geopolitical battle that could play a major role in driving the future of U.S. natural gas — and determining the emissions of the fuel globally,” E&E News reports. “The meeting in Sapporo, Japan, is a precursor to a G-7 head-of-state summit next month that could influence the trajectory of energy markets for years and help determine the international money flow toward gas projects. On one side are developing countries that are ratcheting up calls for more global natural gas production and imports to pare down emissions from coal and bring billions of people out of poverty. On the other side are the United Nations and environmentalists, who say that new fossil fuel projects should not be built to avoid catastrophic consequences of climate change. In the middle is the United States, which has yet to detail its full position and is under dueling pressure to both promote natural gas and cut emissions… “Obviously, the Biden administration has been walking a bit of a balance beam in regards to navigating its role as a driver of energy security through its own natural gas exports but also [maintaining] the tone of climate ambition that the Biden administration came in with two years ago,” Reed Blakemore, deputy director at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, told E&E. Blakemore predicted a G-7 process in coming weeks that delivers at least modest wins for LNG.”
Associated Press: EPA awards $177 million to environmental justice groups
DREW COSTLEY, 4/13/23
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it’s investing $177 million to create 17 technical assistance centers around the country to help environmental justice organizations successfully apply for federal funds,” the Associated Press reports. “Better training on how to navigate the complex federal grant making process is something environmental justice organizations have been demanding since the beginning of the Biden administration. The community groups want to compete for federal money for projects including pollution cleanup, air quality monitoring and workforce development for jobs in wind and solar… “The administration has been investing unprecedented amounts of money in improving the environment in poor communities and communities of color and preparing them for the effects of climate change as part of its Justice 40 initiative, which mandates that 40 percent of benefits from federal spending on climate and environment go to historically marginalized communities. But leaders of environmental justice organizations say all the money meant for their communities won’t reach them without technical assistance. The funds will go to 17 universities and environmental nonprofits including the University of Connecticut, University of Arizona, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in New Orleans and West Harlem Environmental Action in New York City. Each group will receive at least $10 million.”
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Newsline: Oil and gas-related spills increased 16% in Colorado in 2022, report finds
CHASE WOODRUFF, 4/12/23
“A report from a Denver-based environmental group shows that Colorado’s oil and gas industry is trending in the wrong direction on drilling-related spills,” Colorado Newsline reports. “The Center for Western Priorities’ annual Western Oil and Gas Spills Tracker report counted 473 spills reported by operators to state regulators in 2022, a 16% jump from 2021. It was the second year in a row that that figure has risen, as drillers continue to rebound from the sharp decline in production that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. “Oil and gas companies in both New Mexico and Colorado appear to be polluting more than ever, while posting record profits,” Kate Groetzinger, the Center for Western Priorities’ communications manager and the report’s author, told Newsline. “The number of drilling-related spills and amount of methane wasted by the oil and gas industry should be going down each year, not up.” “...Most of the material spilled by producers in Colorado and other Western states, the report found, is “produced water” — the muddy, brackish byproduct of oil and gas extraction, often as a result of hydraulic fracturing. Produced water may contain a wide variety of contaminants. Reported volumes of produced water spills were up 163% in Colorado in 2022, which “could indicate an increase in fracking activity,” the analysis said.”
Press-Telegram: California sends Long Beach’s oil drilling plans back for revisions
KRISTY HUTCHINGS, 4/12/23
“A commission responsible for auditing and overseeing oil production throughout California has rejected a pair of Long Beach’s plans for oil drilling over the next five years,” the Press-Telegram reports. “Instead, the panel sent the outline back for revisions that will require the city to provide greater detail about health and environmental concerns… “The commission recently opted against approving the plans outright — for the first time in nearly 60 years… “The program plan must be revised to expand consideration of safety and environmental risks to include not only immediate considerations for safety, health and environmental protection,” SLC staff attorney Micaela Wiemer told the Telegram, “but also broader and more long-term foreseeable risks and uncertainties that could significantly alter unit operations.” Long Beach must also provide more detail about risks facing the Long Beach Unit that could potentially impact oil production in the future, Weimer told the Telegram… “This year’s annual plan calls for drilling 33 new, or replacement, oil wells in Long Beach, which are necessary to ensure the ground around existing wells doesn’t sink, Long Beach city staff said previously — and that the oil field is profitable enough to contribute to the city’s General and Tidelands Operating Funds… “The city will also have to account for the “social cost” of oil drilling, and provide more information about Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services programs that address the disproportionate health impacts of oil drilling on Long Beach’s minority communities.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: BP starts 5th oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, first in 15 years
4/13/23
“BP PLC on Thursday said it started oil production at Argos, its first platform launch in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since 2008 and its fifth operating in the basin,” Reuters reports. “...BP is investing an average of $2 billion a year to increase oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, while cutting elsewhere. The company plans to reduce its global oil and gas production by 25% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. The Gulf is a “super basin” that will keep producing oil for decades to come as costs and greenhouse gas emissions are lower than other regions, Starlee Sykes, BP senior vice-president for North America, told Reuters. BP also plans to increase spending in its U.S. onshore oil and gas business, mostly in Texas, by 41% to $2.4 billion in 2023 from $1.7 billion last year, according to a company presentation.”
Reuters: US Permian has not yet seen peak oil production- Occidental CEO
Laura Sanicola and Stephanie Kelly, 4/12/23
“The U.S. Permian basin has not seen peak production, and increases in output from the region will help to offset production declines in other basins going forward, said Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) Chief Executive Vicki Hollub on Wednesday,” Reuters reports. “Crude output in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, the biggest U.S. shale oil basin, is expected to rise to 5.62 million barrels per day this month, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration… “Pioneer Natural Resources chief executive Scott Sheffield told Reuters Wednesday that if oil prices break above $90 per barrel, then prices will likely reach $100 per barrel this year.”
Globe and Mail: Kearl tailings pond overflow caused by equipment, process failures, Imperial Oil says
EMMA GRANEY, 4/14/23
“After almost a year of tainted water from a tailings pond leaking into the environment around the Kearl oil sands project, a lake at the northeastern edge of the northern Alberta site now contains levels of toxins that exceed government guidelines,” the Globe and Mail reports. “...The small lake, which feeds into a tributary of the Firebag River, also contains naphthenic acids, which are formed from the breakdown of petrochemicals and are typically found in oil sands tailings. The tailings leak at Kearl has been going on since last May, and one of the project’s owners, Imperial Oil Resources Ltd., still doesn’t know how much tainted water has escaped since the leak was first detected. Later this month, chief executive Brad Corson will fly to Ottawa to testify before the House of Commons environment committee to explain how Imperial has handled the problem. Laurie Pushor, the CEO of the AER, will testify before the committee on April 24. The federal government, local Indigenous communities and the public at large were not informed of the seepage from Kearl until this February, after a separate incident spilled 5.3 million litres of industrial wastewater laced with pollutants from a drainage pond into the environment. A combination of equipment problems and process failures caused that spill, Imperial said in a statement posted to its website Wednesday evening. According to its investigation, measurement equipment was not accurately reading the level of the drainage pond. That meant a pump that is normally automatic was instead in manual mode and failed to lower the level of the water… “Human eyes also monitor Kearl ponds, but Imperial said “routine operator inspection rounds did not initially detect the high pond level due to winter conditions and low visibility.”
National Observer: Community still pressing for change almost a year after Imperial Oil spill
Cloe Logan, 4/14/23
“It’s been almost a year since approximately 600,000 litres of gasoline spilled out of an Imperial Oil storage tank in Nova Scotia, and some residents whose homes neighbour the site say more action is needed to prevent future pollution,” the National Observer reports. “In July 2022, a tank was accidentally punctured by machinery in the north end of Sydney, the largest city on Cape Breton Island. Grace Arsenault got a call while at work that her neighbourhood was being advised to evacuate: emergency crews were going door to door to dozens of homes, although the area was deemed safe later that day. However, it wasn’t the end for Arsenault, who told the Observer she — and other residents — have been pressing the company and the provincial government for action and information since. Arsenault is part of a residents group called The Future of the North-end, which wants to see soil sampling from the area to get an idea of the long-term impact of the spill. The group is also calling for the company to build an alternate trucking road so fuel trucks don’t have to drive through their neighbourhoods… “For Arsenault and other residents, having soil results public and accessible is top of mind. Until that happens, and unless Imperial makes some concrete promises on relocation and fire prevention, residents will remain uneasy, she told the Observer. “It seems to me, you could probably go into most provinces in Canada and see the bad publicity of Imperial Oil,” Arsenault told the Observer. “How do they get away with this stuff?”
Press release: Chevron Canada voluntarily relinquishes offshore permits on Canada's west coast
4/13/23
“Chevron Canada Limited (Chevron) is voluntarily relinquishing 19 offshore oil and gas permits on Canada's west coast within the Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area and the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area (MPA). “...The 19 offshore oil and gas permits are an estimated 5,700 square kilometres that overlap portions of federal marine-protected areas offshore British Columbia. The relinquishment of these permits ensures that the Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area and the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area (MPA) continue to fully count towards the Government of Canada's international marine conservation targets.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Energy Intelligence Group: Insurers Weigh Conflicting Climate Pressures
Philippe Roos, 4/14/23
“The exit of a couple of leading insurance groups from the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) highlights the sometimes conflicting pressures faced by the sector as it seeks to navigate climate demands and an increasingly fractious landscape in the US — where a cultural war has broken out over environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria,” Phillippe Roos writes for Energy Intelligence Group. “But despite US politics and the energy crisis, insurers are still adopting stricter policies on fossil fuels — some with sweeping net-zero pledges, others with more modest commitments. Antitrust concerns have also been raised over collective commitments to phase out fossil fuels, which regulators and governments will need to address. Switzerland's Zurich Insurance Group recently became the second member to leave the NZIA, just a few days after Germany's Munich Re. More than anything else, this may show how US politics — and the cultural war over ESG criteria — can influence international business, according to Mary Sweeters, senior strategist at activist nonprofit Insure Our Future. But US politics and the wider energy crisis are unlikely to curb the slow but steady trend among insurers to adopt stricter policies on fossil fuels, Sweeters believes. She notes that in the past year — after the war in Ukraine broke out — 10 new companies have issued policies regarding oil and gas insurance… “Regulators and governments need to step in to clear antitrust fears, nonprofit Reclaim Finance's Ariel Le Bourdonnec tells Energy Intelligence.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Enbridge: The sweet sounds of conservation
4/13/23
“At Wintergreen Lake, a bevy of trumpeter swans performs in concert, their unmistakeable call echoing across the water,” according to Enbridge. “...But thanks to conservation efforts led by Augusta’s W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, the trumpeter swan population has been restored… “To help with the upgrade, Enbridge contributed a $10,000 Fueling Futures grant to Michigan State in 2022 as part of our commitment to sustainability projects that help improve, grow and nurture the environment. We’ve also supported a second ornithological project through MSU, with a $25,000 Fueling Futures grant directed toward a research project studying the movement and migration of red-tailed hawks in the Straits of Mackinac.”
WSAZ: Wellston Fire Academy receives $50,000 worth of new training equipment
Joseph Payton, 4/13/23
“The Wellston Fire Academy has some new training equipment that will help firefighters get hands-on training,” WSAZ reports. “The equipment came as a result of a $50,000 grant awarded by TC Energy. Aaron Dupree, assistant chief at the Wellston Fire Department, told WSAZ it is a huge boost to the growing academy. “We’ve been able to expand over the years with the burn building and other props. This just adds to the arsenal that we have,” Dupree told WSAZ.
OPINION
WV Gazette Mail: Hoppy Kercheval: MVP pipeline still in regulatory hell (Opinion)
Hoppy Kercheval, 4/13/23
“Last February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a detailed opinion that the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia is “not likely to jeopardize” federally protected species of fish, bats and one plant,” Hoppy Kercheva writes for the WV Gazette Mail. “I wrote at the time that the protracted legal and permitting fight over the natural gas pipeline “may be nearing its end.” After all, that opinion marked the third time the agency had signed off on the project. I was overly optimistic. Environmental groups and anti-carbon activists are challenging the findings yet again, claiming they have new data on the potential impact of the pipeline on various species and habitats… “No doubt, the Forest Service’s findings will trigger yet another court challenge… “It is worth noting the bureaucratic hurdles that remain even after the first application for the pipeline was filed in 2015. It is a wonder any infrastructure ever gets built in this country. Of course, people affected by the pipeline, and organizations concerned about environmental effects, have a right to challenge the project, and regulating agencies have a responsibility to enforce the law. But there is a difference between making sure the laws are followed and deliberately trying to kill the project, which is the stated goal of climate activists… “The relentless opposition to the Mountain Valley Pipeline threatens the nation’s energy security and damages West Virginia’s economic prosperity.”
The Columbian: Letter: Natural gas pipeline is beneficial
Ann Donnelly, 4/13/23
“Don Steinke (“Phase out natural gas,” Our Readers’ Views, April 9) noted that 70 percent of our natural gas comes from Canada, as an argument against continued partnership with Northwest Natural Gas,” Ann Donnelly writes for The Columbian. “But he has actually raised one of the advantages of our state’s natural gas supply. The region’s interstate pipeline, Northwest Pipeline, is uniquely bidirectional, capable of taking wholesale gas from either the north (Canada) or the south (the Rockies, California, the San Juan Basin). No region in the U.S. has better access to abundant, competitively priced natural gas. So, to writer Steinke’s point, the reason customers here get mostly Canadian gas is that it is the most competitively priced.”
Ohio Capital Journal: Don’t frack our state parks to fund tax cuts for the rich
Cathy Cowan Becker is an organizer with Buckeye Environmental Network, 4/13/23
“Some of my fondest memories have been in Ohio’s state parks, forests, and wildlife areas,” Cathy Cowan Becker writes for the Ohio Capital Journal. “...But all of that is on the chopping block, thanks to the ill-considered actions of our state legislature. During the last lame duck session, they rushed through House Bill 507 – originally about poultry sales, but filled with amendments declaring fracked gas green and mandating state agencies to lease our public lands for oil and gas extraction. Oil and gas corporations first put their eyes on our state parks, forests, and wildlife areas over a decade ago, until documents came to light showing then-Gov. John Kasich’s Department of Natural Resources literally running a public relations campaign for the oil and gas industry – which it is supposed to regulate – to frack our public lands. In the ensuing outcry, Kasich backed off, and the plan to frack our public lands did not move forward. Now, with the passage of HB 507, fracking our state parks, forests, and wildlife areas is back – and Republicans in power have made it clear they do not care what the people think… “No matter how much the oil and gas industry could make by destroying our most treasured state parks, forests, wildlife areas, and other public lands, it will never come close to what our state makes now by preserving them… “DeWine must keep his promise to protect our state parks, forests, and wildlife areas from oil and gas extraction, and state agencies must give our taxpayer-funded public lands to polluting industries without any public input or oversight, just so wealthy people can get another tax cut. We owe this to all present and future Ohioans.”
The Hill: Net-zero burns down the village to save it
Chris Nicholson is the head of research at Strive Asset Management, 4/13/23
“Climate change concerns are now the single largest focus of shareholder proposals. Most aim to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by compelling companies to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050,” Chris Nicholson writes for The Hill. “The surge in net-zero emissions shareholder proposals follows new Securities and Exchange Commission guidance allowing shareholders to essentially micromanage companies to achieve social policies… “Activists are turning to market power in a last-ditch effort to force through dramatic emissions cuts… “These net-zero proposals are motivated by environmental concerns, not financial ones. They’re usually disconnected from companies’ missions and could require them to sacrifice their customers’ interests in pursuit of a political goal. They ask for radical changes in short time frames without regard to financial discipline. They’re not legally required. These proposals have no clear connection to increasing shareholder value, so shareholders should oppose them… “This is essentially a political compromise based on a contestable moral view, which potentially risks people around the world being harmed if the world immediately abandoned fossil fuels, and those harms would fall hardest on the poorest nations most in need of cheap energy… “Years later, activist shareholders are demanding companies constrain their operations to comply with that non-binding political commitment. It’s politics, not business. Reordering our economic system to avoid moderate warming would amount to burning down a village to save it from a minor danger.”