EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/1/26
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Trump Signs Permit for Oil Pipeline Echoing Keystone XL
Associated Press: Trump gives the go-ahead for a major new Canada-U.S. oil pipeline
E&E News: Pipeline developer to restart Virginia project this week
Unicorn Riot: Indigenous Leaders Demand Halt to Enbridge Line 5 Reroute Construction in Wisconsin
Reuters: TC Energy approves $1.5 billion Columbia Gas expansion after profit tops estimates
Gasworld: SoCalGas blocked from passing hydrogen pipeline costs to residential customers
Fraser Valley Today: Hundreds of construction jobs expected in the Fraser Valley as pipeline project gets the green light
WFMJ: Enbridge: Residents allowed to return home following house explosion
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Trump bets on short Iran oil crunch. Experts see prolonged pain and rising costs.
Press release: 110+ Groups Sound Alarm on Rulemaking for Offshore CO2 Injections
Press release: Bennet, Merkley, Wyden, Heinrich Introduce Legislation to Block Sale of Federal Public Lands
E&E News: Senate Dems tussle with Burgum over permitting
Latitude Media: Senators say permitting reform hinges on DOI advancing solar, wind permits
Utility Dive: Senators vow to block permitting reform over Trump’s renewables obstruction
E&E News: Republicans lack consensus on ‘reconciliation 3.0’
Associated Press: Trump pays offshore wind operators to walk away. Democrats say it’s a scam
Heatmap: House Democrats to TotalEnergies: ‘We’re Coming for You’
E&E News: Future unclear for House ESA overhaul
E&E News: GOP lawmakers launch new attack against climate education for judges
Press Release: Padilla Presses Interior Secretary Burgum on Reckless Proposed Cuts to Environmental Programs Amid Unpopular Offshore Drilling Push
E&E News: Zeldin hints at reprieve from Biden flaring rules
E&E News: Ex-Sierra Club chief of staff sues Ben Jealous for sexual harassment
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Washington state judge keeps tribal climate cases alive
LSU Manship School News Service: Damages cap on carbon-capture mishaps would be nullified under House bill
Grist: Can a carbon price lower power bills? Virginia is betting yes.
EXTRACTION
Financial Times: More than 50 countries agree to work on trade measures to cut out fossil fuels
Reuters: BP signs agreement with Venezuela to develop offshore gas fields
Reuters: Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada, sources say
Canadian Energy Centre: Carbon capture incentives in Alberta-Canada energy accord could spur enhanced oil recovery
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Park Rapids Enterprise: Former Enbridge truck drafted into Park Rapids fire
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Canada should back away from carbon capture and storage and focus on infrastructure like pipelines
Washington Post: Paying to kill wind projects is a blow to energy development
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Trump Signs Permit for Oil Pipeline Echoing Keystone XL
Jennifer A Dlouhy and Josh Wingrove, 4/30/26
“US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a presidential permit authorizing the Bridger Pipeline expansion project meant to carry Canadian crude to Wyoming — the latest in years of back-and-forth over oil pipelines linking the countries,” Bloomberg reports. “...With the permit, the project has effectively cleared a key US federal regulatory hurdle. Under Trump’s authorization, Bridger is able to construct, connect and operate pipeline border facilities at the US-Canada border in Phillips County, Montana, enabling the transport of crude oil and a host of petroleum products… “Trump predicted the construction would create “a lot of jobs.” “...The signing snuffs out any fear that the cross-border venture could get swept up in broader tensions. Charlotte Power, a spokesperson for Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, told Bloomberg: “We are aware of the issuance of permits to Bridger Pipeline. The Government of Canada remains focused on strengthening Canada’s position as an energy superpower, supporting North American and global energy security, and advancing the diversification of our trade partnerships.” “...The concept behind the Prairie Connector is to move crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta to the Canada-US border, where it could connect with downstream pipeline systems,” South Bow spokesperson Solomiya Martoiu told Bloomberg. Martoiu added: “The Prairie Connector project remains in early stages and is subject to ongoing commercial, stakeholder and rights-holder discussions, regulatory processes and evaluation.” “...Alberta Premier Danielle Smith lauded the move by Trump. “The US is our most important trading partner and we will continue to deliver energy to help secure North American energy dominance,” she said in a social media post.”
Associated Press: Trump gives the go-ahead for a major new Canada-U.S. oil pipeline
Alex Brandon, 4/30/26
“President Trump granted a key approval Thursday for a major new oil pipeline that would carry oil from Canada into the U.S. where it would be exported and refined,” the Associated Press reports. “The 3-foot-wide Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from the Canadian border with Montana down through eastern Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline. The project would require additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project over worries that the pipeline could break and spill… “Slightly different from the last administration. They wouldn’t sign a pipeline deal. And we have pipelines going up,” Trump said after signing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion cross-border approval… “More than 70% would be built within existing pipeline corridors and 80% on private land, Bridger Pipeline LLC said in a statement… “Environmental groups opposed to the project include the Montana Environmental Information Center and WildEarth Guardians. “The biggest concern we see right now is the concern inherent in all pipeline projects which is the risk of spills,” attorney Jenny Harbine with the environmental law firm Earthjustice told AP. “Pipelines rupture and leak. It’s just a fact of pipelines.”
E&E News: Pipeline developer to restart Virginia project this week
Carlos Anchondo, 4/30/26
“The developer of the Mountain Valley pipeline expansion plans to restart construction this week in Virginia after a federal appeals court opted not to halt that work as litigation plays out,” E&E News reports. “Mountain Valley informed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a letter Wednesday that “it intends to resume work” on the MVP Southgate project for its Virginia facilities, notifying the agency on the same day the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its orders… “The court’s decision Wednesday is a positive step for Mountain Valley, which secured FERC permission in late March to launch construction in Virginia on the Southgate project. Mountain Valley had stopped all construction activity on Southgate after the 4th Circuit in late March issued orders that granted temporary administrative stays.”
Unicorn Riot: Indigenous Leaders Demand Halt to Enbridge Line 5 Reroute Construction in Wisconsin
Devon Cupery, 4/30/26
“On April 21, Indigenous leaders and water protectors rallied at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district headquarters in St. Paul to call for an immediate stay on Enbridge Line 5 construction in northern Wisconsin,” Unicorn Riot reports. “Canadian oil giant Enbridge announced the start of its 41-mile reroute around the Bad River Reservation in late February, despite ongoing legal challenges. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and environmental groups are in litigation with Enbridge and pursuing a stay on construction. Enbridge plans to drill, blast, and trench through hundreds of waterways that flow into the Bad River Reservation. Tribal leaders and experts warn that the plan risks irreversible harm to the Band’s internationally recognized wild rice beds and walleye spawning grounds. Crow Bellecourt, executive director of Indigenous Protector Movement and enrolled member of the Bad River Chippewa Tribe, spoke during the rally about what’s at stake for his community. Crow is the son of American Indian Movement co-founder Clyde Bellecourt and Bad River Tribal member Peggy Bellecourt and traces his roots to the land impacted by the pipeline. “We want to protect the land, we want to protect our hunting and fishing rights, and we want to be able to preserve what we have. And not just for us, but for our non-Native allies that live in the area, too, it’s going to affect everybody.” “...Mark Tilsen, Oglala Lakota and organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network, spoke about the relationship between the current Line 5 fight and the No DAPL movement. “Like a lot of people, I became aware of the pipeline issue on Indigenous lands at Standing Rock, during the No DAPL fight… Oglala Lakota people, we look to our Ojibwe, Anishinaabe, our Chippewa relatives, and we want to say, you’re not alone.”
Reuters: TC Energy approves $1.5 billion Columbia Gas expansion after profit tops estimates
Sumit Saha, 5/1/26
“Canada’s TC Energy approved a $1.5 billion Columbia Gas expansion project on Friday after its first-quarter profit narrowly beat analysts’ expectations, driven by strong performance in its North American operations,” Reuters reports. “The Appalachia Supply Project - expected to start operations in 2030 - is backed by a 20‑year contract with a financially strong utility, the company said, and will be capable of moving up to 0.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to support new gas-fired power plants. Major pipeline operators like TC Energy are doubling down in anticipation of surging natural gas demand as liquefied natural gas export facilities expand and power-hungry AI systems, cryptocurrency miners and data centers ramp up electricity use. The company’s adjusted core profit from the U.S. natural gas pipelines, its largest segment, rose about 10% to nearly C$1.50 billion, while earnings from its Canadian natural gas pipelines increased about 3% to C$919 million in the quarter ended March 31.”
Gasworld: SoCalGas blocked from passing hydrogen pipeline costs to residential customers
Connor Jack, 5/1/26
“State regulators have denied the Southern California Gas Company’s (SoCalGas) request to fund a planned hydrogen pipeline in Los Angeles by charging residential customers,” Gasworld reports. “SoCalGas’s Angeles Link project had planned to connect green hydrogen production with industrial end-users across the region, with early development costs recovered from ratepayers – residential customers of the utility. Formal intervenors in the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proceedings – including Air Products, Cal Advocates, and California Environmental Justice Alliance – denied the request, rejecting that the project “would directly benefit SoCalGas natural gas ratepayers.” “...Proposed in 2022 as a way to help decarbonise hard-to-abate heavy industry, SoCalGas claimed the pipeline could displace over 11,000 tonnes of diesel per day and provide clean fuel to convert four natural gas power plants to green hydrogen. Non-governmental organisation Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said the decision reinforces the principle that ratepayers should not bear the risk of speculative infrastructure investments.”
Fraser Valley Today: Hundreds of construction jobs expected in the Fraser Valley as pipeline project gets the green light
4/30/26
“Hundreds of high-paying construction jobs are coming to the Fraser Valley and the surrounding region now that the federal government has approved Enbridge Inc.’s $4-billion Sunrise natural gas pipeline project in British Columbia,” Fraser Valley Today reports. “The Westcoast Energy Limited Partnership, an affiliate of Enbridge, runs the Westcoast natural gas pipeline system, which connects gas fields in northeastern B.C. and northwestern Alberta to the Canada-U.S. border. It currently has peak capacity to ship 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The Sunrise expansion would add 300 million cubic feet per day of transportation capacity. In a news release, Enbridge says construction is expected to start as early as July for the facilities work, followed by August for the pipeline installation… “In the Fraser Valley, about 900 construction workers are expected to be hired during the peak construction period. These workers will be using local accommodations, restaurants and services, benefiting local businesses… “While the expanded pipeline will help Canada meet the broader goal of reducing its reliance on the United States as a customer, it also helps position Canada as a necessary supplier to the United States.”
WFMJ: Enbridge: Residents allowed to return home following house explosion
Mike Gauntner, Zach Mosca, and Sarah Robles, 4/30/26
“North State Street, Gordon Street and State Street in Girard have reopened completely following a house explosion in the area Thursday morning,” WFMJ reports. “...A home at the corner of Gordon Street blew up and caught fire just after 10 a.m. Thursday. A call log from Trumbull County Dispatch says EMS crews were called to the scene for possible traumatic injuries… “As for residents, police say that Enbridge Gas has completely lifted the evacuation order for the rest of the residents within the original evacuation area, shown below… “The explosion was reported less than half an hour after a crew digging in the area reported puncturing a gas line.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Trump bets on short Iran oil crunch. Experts see prolonged pain and rising costs.
Scott Waldman, 5/1/26
“The Trump administration insists that its naval blockade is putting the squeeze on Iran and that the regime is just a “matter of days” away from an energy crisis unless it capitulates,” E&E News reports. “Energy experts are skeptical and told E&E the White House is misreading both the timing of the harm to the Iranian oil industry as well as the regime’s tolerance for pain. The standoff comes as benchmark oil prices hit a four-year high Thursday while the average price at the pump jumped to $4.30 a gallon, up 27 cents in the last week. Democrats, eager to press their advantage, are exploiting public anger at rising costs while a top Republican super PAC warned Thursday that the Senate majority was at risk because of voters’ cost-of-living concerns. Still, the White House officials insist that the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s global oil and natural gas supplies are shipped — is crippling Iran and will soon leave the regime little choice but to meet President Donald Trump’s demands.”
Press release: 110+ Groups Sound Alarm on Rulemaking for Offshore CO2 Injections
4/30/26
“In a letter sent to Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum today, an alliance of 111 public‐interest, landowner, Indigenous, and environmental justice organizations urged reconsideration of proposed rulemaking that would open the waters of the continental shelf to offshore carbon dioxide transportation and injection. The letter was facilitated by the environmental organization Food & Water Watch and was signed by groups, including Bold Alliance, For a Better Bayou, Ocean Conservation Research, and Healthy Gulf. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) are expected to move forward with rulemaking for RIN: 1082-AA04 in May. Advocates chief concerns over the new rule making include, Systemic Land-based carbon dioxide injection well failures; Impacts of carbon dioxide leaks on marine ecosystems and water chemistry; Potential for offshore freshwater aquifers falling into regulatory gaps; Safety impacts on workers and first responders; Economic damage to coastal fishing and tourism industries; Expanding risks to coastal communities from CCS for oil extraction. The letter, in part, reads: “We ask for a pause in the rulemaking process until tremendous regulatory and oversight gaps are closed to ensure the overall safety of transporting and injecting carbon dioxide, and further ask that you conduct Comprehensive Spatial Planning, as well as an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act to evaluate and understand the complex issues related to offshore carbon dioxide injection and transport.” “...Ocean-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) is rife with vast uncertainties. It is public policy malpractice to proceed with permitting and building out the vast infrastructure required for ocean CCS when we do not fully understand the risks of piping supercritical CO2 to injection sites in the Ocean. A rupture of a pipeline or a well blowout could prove catastrophic to the ocean, ships and other existing infrastructure,” said Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director, Science and Environmental Health Network. “We do not know the consequences to the ocean and marine life for CO2 leaks, which are hard to detect and monitor. We owe future generations a healthy ocean, a stable climate and strong coastal communities. Ocean CCS threatens all of those.”
Press release: Bennet, Merkley, Wyden, Heinrich Introduce Legislation to Block Sale of Federal Public Lands
4/30/26
“Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology, led Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Budget, Ron Wyden (D-Ore), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to introduce the Public Lands Integrity Act. This bill would ensure that America’s public lands cannot be sold as part of a fast-tracked process in a budget reconciliation bill, which allows for passage in the Senate by a simple majority vote. During consideration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill that passed in July 2025, the Senate nearly approved a provision to sell one to three million acres of federal public lands to generate revenue to pay for other Republican priorities. Bennet worked to build strong bipartisan opposition alongside lawmakers, states, counties, and sportsmen’s groups across the West. The Senate ultimately abandoned the provision. Today, under current rules, any senator could propose expedited public land sales in a future budget reconciliation bill and the Public Lands Integrity Act would eliminate that option. “Public lands make Colorado, Colorado,” said Bennet. “They’re the foundation of our economy, and they represent treasured parts of our communities, our geography and our history. Congress must never use fast-tracked Senate procedure to sell Americans’ public lands to fund short-term partisan spending. Not now, not ever.”
E&E News: Senate Dems tussle with Burgum over permitting
Ian M. Stevenson, 4/30/26
“Interior Secretary Doug Burgum sparred with Democrats during a hearing Wednesday about approval of renewable energy projects as broader legislation to change permitting laws hangs in the balance,” E&E News reports. “Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — who is helping lead the congressional permitting talks — pointedly questioned Burgum about the department’s moves to increase scrutiny of renewable energy while speeding permits for oil and gas and mining projects. “If permitting reform is a priority, the permitting system has to work,” Heinrich said, asking Burgum whether Interior would comply with a federal injunction last week that ordered Interior to lift a series of policies that have stymied permitting approvals for wind and solar on public land… “Interior has been more hostile to offshore wind projects and has negotiated deals with several companies to give up their leases. Those moves have yet to derail the Hill permitting reform talks, which Democrats paused last year when the administration tried to stop construction of several offshore wind projects off the East Coast.”
Latitude Media: Senators say permitting reform hinges on DOI advancing solar, wind permits
Catherine Boudreau, 4/29/26
“Two senators on Wednesday said their support for permitting reform legislation is conditional on the Interior Department approving solar and wind projects following a federal court order last week,” Latitude Media reports. “ Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Angus King (I-Maine) told Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that they have no reason to vote for permitting reform if they don’t have confidence the Trump administration will follow the law. “I think that we can make some progress on permitting reform,” King told Burgum during a hearing on DOI’s fiscal 2027 budget request. “But I can assure you, there won’t be the votes unless we can have some assurance. It would really help if you would move those permits that are sitting on your desk. That would be a gesture of good faith, because my concern is that if you’re not following a court order, we could pass a statute, and you wouldn’t follow that either.” “...Despite repeated questions on the topic, Burgum didn’t explicitly comment on whether DOI plans to comply with the ruling, stating only that the agency’s solicitor general will respond to the litigation. However, when asked by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), if he’s willing to process solar and wind permits, Burgum said yes. The muddled response reflects how the Trump administration’s opposition to solar and wind energy has become a major obstacle to bipartisan permitting reform in the Senate… “The chances of passing permitting reform this Congress remain unclear… “Burgum also denied that fossil fuels receive their own U.S. government subsidies, despite research by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which estimated the total at about $2.2 billion in 2024.”
Utility Dive: Senators vow to block permitting reform over Trump’s renewables obstruction
Diana DiGangi, 4/30/26
“Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Democratic caucus told Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during his Wednesday appearance at a hearing that their party will continue to obstruct bipartisan permitting reform if his department continues to ‘slow walk’ permits for renewable energy projects,” Utility Dive reports. “...Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with the Democratic party, told Burgum that in the current political climate, it would be “foolish” to pass permitting reform “that allowed fossil projects to move with more alacrity through the system, and theoretically would allow renewable projects, only to end on your desk or on somebody else’s desk or with some kind of action by another agency.”
E&E News: Republicans lack consensus on ‘reconciliation 3.0’
Andres Picon, 5/1/26
“Congress’ Republican majority is plowing ahead with a second filibuster-proof bill in the coming weeks that would fund immigration enforcement agencies for years to come,” E&E News reports. “But the will to craft a third party-line bill this session of Congress — one that could be loaded up with provisions on energy, fraud prevention and other Republican priorities — remains elusive. The tepid desire among some Republican leaders to navigate the reconciliation process for a third time in two years could tank the GOP’s chances of enacting new conservative policies on energy and the environment before November’s midterm elections — even as some prominent players within the party continue to push for it… “A number of those proposals aim to streamline the permitting of energy projects, kill energy efficiency standards, overhaul the government’s regulatory process or impose new restrictions on federal grants and subsidies. Some Republican leaders, such as Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), have also suggested that the GOP use the party-line process to enact conservative ideas on permitting reform. But Republican and Democratic lawmakers negotiating a bipartisan permitting package threw cold water on that idea.”
Associated Press: Trump pays offshore wind operators to walk away. Democrats say it’s a scam
Jennifer McDermott, 4/29/26
“The Trump administration is spending nearly $2 billion to get energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects. Now Democrats in Congress are investigating,” the Associated Press reports. “The Republican administration adopted its strategy after federal courts thwarted President Donald Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action. House Democrats are now demanding information about the first and the largest of the three agreements that have been announced. A French company is getting $1 billion if it invests the money in fossil fuel projects instead. That’s essentially a refund of the company’s leases for projects off North Carolina and New York… “Huffman told AP that is a “scam” and the administration is going to “light a lot of federal taxpayer money on fire if we let them.” In a letter sent Wednesday to TotalEnergies and provided to The Associated Press, Huffman and Raskin are letting the company know that Democrats have begun an investigation, are demanding documents and communications and are advising the CEO not to take the money. The letter outlines the ways they think the deal appears to be illegal.”
Heatmap: House Democrats to TotalEnergies: ‘We’re Coming for You’
Emily Pontecorvo, 4/29/26
“Two House Democrats are going after TotalEnergies after the company ignored an earlier request to defend its $1 billion settlement with the Trump administration to walk away from offshore wind,” Heatmap reports. “Jared Huffman, the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee from California, and Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee from Maryland, sent a letter on Wednesday informing Total’s CEO Patrick Pouyanné that they have opened a formal investigation into the company. “We’re going to get every document, every email, every last receipt on this deal, and every person who had a hand in this is going to answer for it,” Huffman said in a press release. “What I have to say to TotalEnergies is this: Consider yourself on notice, we’re coming for you.” The move comes just a day after the Trump administration announced two additional identical settlements resulting in the cancellation of two more offshore wind leases. The letter states that Total’s March 23 settlement with the Interior Department was unlawful in “at least four separate ways.” It demands that Total preserve all records related to the deal and requests that it put the $928 million it was granted by the settlement into escrow until the investigation concludes… “The settlements state that the agency would have ordered Total to suspend operations on the leases due to national security issues. This “appears to have been a fabricated justification for canceling the leases,” the letter says, citing a discrepancy between when the settlements suggest that the company had reached an agreement with the Trump administration — November 18 — and when the earliest reports of anyone reviewing the national security concerns occurred — November 26. “That timeline raises the troubling possibility that the national security assessment was not merely pretextual, but also that TotalEnergies may have negotiated the final settlement agreement with full knowledge that the rationale for canceling the leases was false,” Huffman and Raskin write.”
E&E News: Future unclear for House ESA overhaul
Kelsey Brugger, 5/1/26
”House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman said he has ‘work to do’ on an Endangered Species Act overhaul that got pulled from consideration last week because of internal Republican opposition,” E&E News reports. “The Arkansas lawmaker told E&E he expects to revive the bill at some point, though he was vague on timing. Florida GOP members worried about offshore drilling were among the bill’s skeptics. The ‘ESA Amendments Act,’ H.R. 1897, includes a grab bag of Republican priorities, including limiting Endangered Species Act lawsuits from environmental groups… “When we talk about some of the fundamental flaws within the current ESA — you’ve got 1,600 species on the list and only three have been effectively recovered, it’s clear it’s not working as intended,” she told E&E. “And so for those of us that are very much concerned about that and also balancing development and protecting sensitive ecosystems, there are serious reforms that need to be made.”
E&E News: GOP lawmakers launch new attack against climate education for judges
Lesley Clark, 5/1/26
“House Republicans are intensifying an investigation into alleged efforts to influence judges who could decide the fate of climate lawsuits that could cost the fossil fuel industry billions of dollars,” E&E News reports. “In one of three letters this week, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Judiciary Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Chair Darrell Issa of California said they are not satisfied with responses they’ve received from a legal education organization and “may be forced” to issue subpoenas against the group. Their Tuesday letter to the Environmental Law Institute marks the latest turn in a continued effort by Republicans to target the organization, which GOP lawmakers have probed since 2023, when industry and conservative groups raised questions about objectivity of judges handling climate liability lawsuits. The letter said the lawmakers last August requested information related to “credible reports” that ELI and its Climate Judiciary Project “had undertaken efforts to influence judges who potentially may be presiding over lawsuits related to alleged climate change.” “...The GOP inquiry comes amid an uptick in lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry brought by more than two dozen city, county and state governments seeking to hold oil and gas producers financially accountable for climate change.”
Press Release: Padilla Presses Interior Secretary Burgum on Reckless Proposed Cuts to Environmental Programs Amid Unpopular Offshore Drilling Push
4/29/26
“Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questioned Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about President Trump’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Padilla highlighted that the Trump Administration’s moves to drill off of California’s coast coupled with proposed cuts to funding for environmental programs and enforcement will endanger the coastline, the people who live there, and coastal economies… “Amid rumors surrounding the future of the Chuckwalla National Monument, Padilla secured a recommitment from Secretary Burgum to meet with Tribal representatives to understand the cultural significance of the monument and reminded him of Bureau of Land Management Director nominee Stevan Pearce’s commitment to protect the monument. And Senator Padilla pressed Secretary Burgum to recognize California’s major investments in water efficiency and water conservation in providing matching federal funding to address drought on the Colorado River and elsewhere in the West.”
E&E News: Zeldin hints at reprieve from Biden flaring rules
Jean Chemnick, 4/30/26
“EPA appears to be planning an eleventh-hour reprieve for oil producers facing a May 7 deadline to stop burning off gas from newer oil wells,” E&E News reports. “At a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday, Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency is planning to release a guidance document by next Thursday to allay producers’ concerns about their ability to meet the Biden-era flaring ban. “We are well aware of the issue,” Zeldin told Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.), who used Zeldin’s appearance at a fiscal 2026 budget hearing to ask him about EPA’s plans ahead of the deadline. She said the flaring ban would force North Dakota producers to shut in up to 40,000 barrels of oil a day. “We are extremely confident that the document that we’ll be putting out will be assisting the regulated community in interpreting the law and regulation,” said Zeldin. Fedorchak asked Zeldin whether the document would extend the May 7 deadline. Zeldin didn’t answer specifically, and EPA did not respond to calls to comment for this story.”
E&E News: Ex-Sierra Club chief of staff sues Ben Jealous for sexual harassment
Pamela King, 4/29/26
“The former chief of staff of one of the nation’s most prominent environmental groups has sued her ex-boss, accusing him of sexual harassment and the organization of retaliating against her,” E&E News reports. “In a complaint filed last week in D.C. Superior Court, Laura Maretich alleged that Ben Jealous, former executive director of the Sierra Club, repeatedly sent her sexualized texts, made unwanted comments about her body and exposed his genitalia to her while she was working as the organization’s traveling content manager… “The filing says the decision by the Sierra Club’s board to terminate Jealous’s employment last summer was ‘because, in whole or in part, of’ Maretich’s allegations. At the time of Jealous’ termination, the Sierra Club’s board said it had voted unanimously to fire him “for cause following extensive evaluation of his conduct.” “...The complaint includes a long list of allegations against Jealous, who told E&E the allegations were “investigated and discredited years ago.” “...She submitted a complaint to the Sierra Club’s board of directors on April 18, 2025, and was placed on paid administrative leave, the complaint said. Her employment was terminated last month, according to the court filing.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Washington state judge keeps tribal climate cases alive
Lesley Clark, 5/1/26
“A judge in Washington state has denied the oil and gas industry’s attempt to derail the first climate lawsuits from tribal governments to accuse energy producers of deceiving the public about climate change,” E&E News reports. “King County Superior Court Judge James Rogers on Wednesday denied three of four motions to dismiss the lawsuits brought by the Shoalwater Bay and Makah Indian tribes. The move comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised in its next term to consider the industry’s assertion that federal law bars local and state governments from suing the industry for compensation for the effects of climate change. The tribal governments filed suit in state court in 2023 against Exxon Mobil, Shell and other oil giants. The lawsuits accuse the oil industry of “deceptive and unfair conduct” and ask that companies “pay for the damage their deceptive conduct has caused and will cause for decades to come.”
LSU Manship School News Service: Damages cap on carbon-capture mishaps would be nullified under House bill
Sheridan White, 5/1/26
“A bill aimed at reshaping how Louisiana handles liability for carbon-capture incidents is gaining traction at the State Capitol, signaling a potential shift in how the emerging industry is regulated,” LSU Manship School News Service reports. “House Bill 79, sponsored by Rep. Robby Carter, D-Greensburg, advanced without opposition Monday from the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. The measure would remove the current $250,000 cap on damages related to carbon-capture release incidents, placing the industry on equal footing with most other sectors operating in Louisiana… “The bill’s advancement is notable given the historically contentious debate surrounding carbon capture in Louisiana. While the technology is often promoted as a key tool in reducing emissions, concerns about safety and long-term environmental risks have fueled opposition. Carter emphasized that carbon-capture operations can pose real dangers, highlighting the need for stronger accountability measures… “The debate highlighted a deep divide between those prioritizing economic development and those concerned about individual property rights and local control. Support for Carter’s bill, though, has crossed party lines, suggesting a growing bipartisan willingness to revisit how the industry is regulated.”
Grist: Can a carbon price lower power bills? Virginia is betting yes.
Jake Bittle, 5/1/26
“Abigail Spanberger won a landslide victory in the Virginia governor’s race last November with a platform that focused on reining in rising electricity costs,” Grist reports. “Virginia is home to the world’s largest concentration of artificial-intelligence data centers, and the state’s biggest utility is straining to meet an expected surge in power demand. Spanberger, a Democrat, promised on the campaign trail to “make Virginians’ bills more affordable.” It might seem surprising, then, that the new governor signed a bill last month that would return Virginia to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, a carbon pricing program that covers electrical utilities in states across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Spanberger’s Republican predecessor, Glenn Youngkin, pulled out of the program in 2022. “Cap-and-trade” programs like RGGI put a ceiling on the amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide that utilities are allowed to emit when they generate electricity, and they require utilities to pay for every ton of carbon they emit below that cap. These programs can help drive utilities toward cleaner fuels, but they also increase costs, and those costs get passed on to consumers. As a result, cap-and-trade programs have come under scrutiny as Democrats pivot to a focus on lowering costs for voters concerned about inflation… “Supporters of RGGI (pronounced “reggie”) say that rather than driving bills up for Virginia households, re-entering the carbon price alliance could protect many families in the state from shouldering the costs of the data center boom. The revenues from selling pollution permits could eventually lower.”
EXTRACTION
Financial Times: More than 50 countries agree to work on trade measures to cut out fossil fuels
Pilita Clark and Attracta Mooney, 5/1/26
“More than 50 countries have agreed to work on trade measures aimed at cutting demand for fossil fuels, among a series of proposed steps to drive down the production and use of coal, oil and gas,” the Financial Times reports. “The first international conference on shifting away from fossil fuels also pledged to expose how much participant nations each support or subsidise the planet-warming fuels, and to work on financial reforms to tackle the fiscal, debt and subsidy “traps” that locked countries into fossil fuels. “We decided that the transition away from fossil fuels could no longer remain a slogan but must become a concrete political and collective endeavour,” Irene Vélez Torres, environment minister of Colombia, which co-hosted the six-day gathering with the Netherlands at the coastal city of Santa Marta, told FT. Dutch climate minister Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer told the FT it was hoped that work on so-called fossil fuel-free trade systems would find ways to change “the need to use fossil fuels for the products that we use”... “The world’s biggest emitters, including China, the US and India, responsible for more than 40 per cent of greenhouse gases, were not present at the event, which took place outside the official UN climate negotiations. Organisers decided not to invite countries such as Russia and the US, which had what Veléz Torres described as an openly “extractivist agenda”.
Reuters: BP signs agreement with Venezuela to develop offshore gas fields
Deisy Buitrago and Marianna Parraga, 4/29/26
“BP will develop Venezuela’s Cocuina-Manakin gas field, on the maritime border with Trinidad and Tobago, as well as explore joint opportunities in the offshore Loran gas field, the company and government said on Wednesday after signing a memorandum of understanding,” Reuters reports. “Venezuela has recently signed exploration and other deals with several international producers, including Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol , as it opens its oil industry to foreign investment following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in January. “The return of BP is a clear sign of the future we want to chart for Venezuela and for international energy relations — relationships based on respect, cooperation grounded in a win-win approach, and shared benefits that contribute to the development of the Venezuelan people,” Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez told attendees at a brief signing ceremony broadcast on state television… “The MOU signed on Wednesday also “formalized the launch of gas development at the Cocuina-Manakin field,” a gas field that crosses the border between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, Rodriguez’s office said in a statement.”
Reuters: Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada, sources say
David French and Arathy Somasekhar, 4/30/26
“Apollo Global Management, Blackstone and KKR are battling it out to acquire a significant stake in the mammoth LNG Canada project from energy major Shell, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The trio, among the world’s largest asset management firms, are the remaining bidders in the auction process, run by Shell, which also garnered interest from other large money managers and infrastructure investors. Any deal is expected to be valued well north of $10 billion and could reach as high as $15 billion, some of the people told Reuters… “The sale will allow Shell, which on Monday announced a $16.4 billion deal to buy Canadian natural gas producer ARC Resources, an opportunity to sell a big portion of its 40% stake in LNG Canada and attract new capital to the export project ahead of the facility’s possible expansion… “All three asset managers are using capital from their insurance businesses – Apollo’s Athene, Blackstone Credit & Insurance, and KKR’s Global Atlantic – to boost their respective bids, some of the people told Reuters. Money managers have in recent years increased their use of insurance assets as a low-cost funding source for other strategic areas of their business.”
Canadian Energy Centre: Carbon capture incentives in Alberta-Canada energy accord could spur enhanced oil recovery
4/30/26
“The federal government is following through on a key element of its energy accord with Alberta. In its spring economic update, Ottawa confirmed plans to extend the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) investment tax credit to projects that include enhanced oil recovery (EOR),” according to the Canadian Energy Centre. “...“We were always puzzled; we were always concerned that EOR was removed from the conversation,” Mark Scholz, president of the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors, told reporters at the group’s December state of the industry luncheon. “I mean, EOR is a game changer for the conventional business.” “...Six of Canada’s eight operating commercial-scale CCUS projects involve using captured carbon for EOR… “Excluding enhanced oil recovery from federal investment incentives never made sense, lawyers Scott Masson and Tom Collopy of MLT Aikins’ energy group wrote in an analysis prior to the Canada-Alberta agreement… “As a result, “Canada can simultaneously advance its environmental goals and economic interests,” they wrote… “When you are looking at CCUS projects, the incentive structures required to build them are important. We’re seeing a lot of projects in the CCUS space hovering around this final investment decision,” Masson said.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Park Rapids Enterprise: Former Enbridge truck drafted into Park Rapids fire service
Robin Fish, 4/30/26
“Enbridge, Inc. has donated a 2016 International truck to the Park Rapids Fire Department to use in heavy rescue and wildland firefighting operations,” the Park Rapids Enterprise reports. “The Park Rapids City Council accepted the donation on Tuesday, April 28… “We’re just happy to help the local community and support firefighters and volunteers,” Jay Himango, pipeline maintenance supervisor with the energy company, told the Enterprise.”
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Canada should back away from carbon capture and storage and focus on infrastructure like pipelines
Martha Hall Findlay is director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and holds the Palmer Chair in Public Policy, 5/1/26
“...I devoted several years of my life to helping create the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero Alliance and its carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) project. I care deeply about climate change and Canada “doing its part,” as do my former colleagues at the Pathways companies. That has not changed. But as hard as it is, I am now recommending that Canada postpone the Pathways CCUS project,” Martha Hall Findlay writes for the Globe and Mail. “This is not the time. The world – and the facts – have changed dramatically. The Pathways CCUS project would have the federal and provincial governments (which means taxpayers), together with the five major companies, contribute billions of dollars – through tax credits and cash – to put carbon dioxide in the ground. This will not generate revenue, only significant cost – with, frankly, a negligible effect on global emissions. There are two reasons to change course. The first is that Canada’s priorities are now clearly economic diversification, national defence, national security – nothing less than our sovereignty. We can no longer afford to do what we would like to do; we must allocate our limited resources to what we must do. The second centres on our desire to “do our part” to combat climate change. This is a laudable sentiment, but Canada contributes only about 1.3 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions; we must be realistic about what Canada can effectively do to help what is a global challenge. The oil sands contribute about 12.4 per cent of Canada’s total emissions – a grand total of about 0.16 per cent of global greenhouse gasses. The proposed phase one of the Pathways CCUS project would likely reduce global emissions by less than 0.02 per cent, at a cost of billions. We care, and we want to help the planet. But we have to be realistic in today’s changed world where oil is at US$100 a barrel, there are liquefied natural gas and jet fuel price shocks and, most importantly, there are serious longer-term geopolitical risks to the reliability of core oil- and gas-producing regions in the Persian Gulf and Russia… “Let’s reframe the effort into a better version of Pathways, one that uses its public-private and federal-provincial collaborations to support more energy production and the building, instead of a CCUS project, of a pipeline to sell more of what we have to the world.”
Washington Post: Paying to kill wind projects is a blow to energy development
Editorial Board, 4/30/26
“The Interior Department seems to have forgotten that the United States is in desperate need of new energy capacity. In fact, this week it announced that it will pay two more companies to not pursue American wind energy projects,” the Washington Post Editorial Board writes. “The decision effectively cancels leases for new wind farms off the coasts of New York, New Jersey and California. Together, the payouts total $885 million, the amount the developers already paid for their leases… “The bigger principle, however, is that the feds are improperly intervening in the energy markets at a time when the U.S. needs all the production capacity it can muster. Administration officials claim the companies have agreed to reinvest their payouts into fossil fuel projects they prefer. But there’s no mechanism to ensure that happens. And there’s no guarantee such agreements will result in new capacity… “Why should the U.S. government, blessed with abundant breezes and coastlines, pay private companies not to compete? This would be unwise at any moment; it’s especially foolish when demand for new energy has never been greater.”