EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/19/26
PIPELINE NEWS
Daily Yonder: Proposed Bill Would Stop Eminent Domain for Carbon Dioxide Pipelines in Illinois
Law360: Native, Enviro Groups Challenge Calif. Oil Pipeline Waiver
Guardian: Orcas could be casualty in Carney’s push for pipeline, environmental groups fear
Reuters: Alaska LNG secures supply deal with ConocoPhillips for pipeline project
Alaska Beacon: Pipeline-for-pension deal falls apart as the Alaska Legislature’s regular session nears end
Durango Herald: Southern Utes estimate gasoline spill south of Durango closer to 200,000 gallons
KMTV: In Bennington, WM can now turn landfill biogas into pipeline-quality gas
Sky News: The carbon capture problem: How dangerous are dioxide pipes? [VIDEO]
Upstream: Pipeline reforms boost Australia’s CCS industry
KSBY: Community commemorates 2015 oil spill; protests against offshore drilling
Press release: Trump’s Transportation Department Announces 11 Grant Funding Opportunities to Improve Pipeline and Hazmat Transportation Safety
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Permitting, EV fees, climate rollbacks: Inside the House’s highway bill
Montana Free Press: Senate confirms Steve Pearce to lead the BLM in a party-line vote
E&E News: Hearing to examine green group legal fees
E&E News: EPA rejects Hawaii plan to shutter oil-fired power plants
E&E News: Ben Jealous asks court to drop sexual harassment claim against him
STATE UPDATES
National Law Review: California Air Resources Board Advances CCUS Program with Draft Concepts for Potential Regulations
EXTRACTION
New York Times: The Quest for an Elusive Clean Fuel Is Moving Underground
Copenhagen Post: Aalborg Portland wins billion-krone carbon capture deal
Eos.org: The Fiery Tornadoes That Could Mop Up Oil Spills
OPINION
Edmonton Journal: It’s time to move on from the Pathways carbon capture project
InForum: Summit Carbon Solutions has left North Dakota wounded
Canada’s National Observer: Carney puts climate policy on the ropes
Denver Post: Hickenlooper: If confirmed to lead the BLM, Steve Pearce will spearhead Trump’s assault on public lands
Pipeline Safety Trust: PHMSA’s Abdication of its Duty on Sable’s Santa Ynez Pipeline
NOLA.com: Carbon capture and storage: A win for Louisiana’s economy, communities, and future
PIPELINE NEWS
Daily Yonder: Proposed Bill Would Stop Eminent Domain for Carbon Dioxide Pipelines in Illinois
Ilana Newman and Julia Tilton, 5/19/26
“When central Illinois farmer Steve Hess found out that his community had won a fight against Navigator CO2 Ventures, a Dallas, Texas-based company building a pipeline to transport carbon dioxide across the region for storage underground, he threw a party,” the Daily Yonder reports. “...At the time, Navigator was calling for eminent domain, the right of a company to purchase private land for public good, to route the Heartland Greenway pipeline through farmland across the region… “Now, the Illinois legislature is considering a bill that would ban companies from using eminent domain to seize land for CO2 pipelines. The bill was brought to the state legislature by Hess, Sangamon County resident Kathleen Campbell, and other members of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, the group that formed in 2022 to fight Navigator and other CO2 pipelines in Illinois… “In 2023 and 2024, corrosion in a Class VI well caused carbon to migrate at a facility operated by Archer Daniels Midland in Decatur, Illinois, prompting significant community concern and fueling opposition groups like the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines… “But some CCS opponents, including the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, worry that there isn’t enough oversight for the 45Q tax credits. “You can make a lot of money doing [CCS] thanks to our tax credits,” Pam Richart, one of the coalition’s organizers, told Daily Yonder. “The worst part about those tax credits is that there’s really very little accountability. The transparency is not there.” “...In central Illinois, fears of a pipeline leak are not unfounded. Many landowners we spoke with for this story mentioned a 2020 incident in Satartia, Mississippi, a small town along the Yazoo River, where 45 people were hospitalized after a CO2 pipeline ruptured. There, residents described a disorienting, dense fog that caused nausea and dizziness, and stopped cars in their tracks – car engines sputter when they encounter carbon dioxide instead of oxygen. At the time, the community wasn’t prepared for the unique risks posed by leaked CO2… “McClure told Daily Yonder there’s a chance that the bill will be rolled into an omnibus package before the state legislative session ends on May 31, 2026. If that doesn’t happen, McClure told Daily Yonder, the bill could get taken up again in the fall.”
Law360: Native, Enviro Groups Challenge Calif. Oil Pipeline Waiver
Zak Kostro, 5/18/26
“California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection granted safety regulation waivers without proper review, allowing Sable Offshore Corp. to restart operations of a Santa Barbara oil pipeline system a decade after a catastrophic oil spill, environmental and Native organizations said in a suit removed to federal court,” Law360 reports.
Guardian: Orcas could be casualty in Carney’s push for pipeline, environmental groups fear
Leyland Cecco, 5/19/26
“Environmental groups in Canada fear endangered orcas could become a casualty of Mark Carney’s push for a new oil pipeline, as the rush to develop fossil fuel infrastructure collides with laws meant to protect threatened species,” the Guardian reports. “...While there were more than 200 at the beginning of the 20th century, nowadays only about 70 swim the waters between British Columbia and Washington state. Environmental groups have raised the alarm over increased ship traffic along the south-west coast of British Columbia – the result of a busy Trans Mountain oil pipeline that terminates near Vancouver and a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal further north… “But critics told the Guardian that while the government has made key promises to protect whales, they also appear to be looking for a carve-out by exempting projects of national interest from stringent reviews where endangered species might be affected… “Recovery [of the orca population] requires improvements in habitat quality, including reductions in underwater noise and disturbance. Weakening the protective provisions of [endangered species laws] to enable projects that worsen these conditions would push southern residents closer to extinction,” MacDuffee told the Guardian. Environmental law charity Ecojustice told the Guardian the move “jeopardiz[ed]” Canada’s ability to protect whale habitats... “Nature Canada, one of the country’s oldest conservations groups, told the Guardian it was calling on supporters to urgently contact lawmakers to vote against any fast-tracked legislation, warning it could lead to zones of “environmental lawlessness”.
Reuters: Alaska LNG secures supply deal with ConocoPhillips for pipeline project
Pranav Mathur, 5/18/26
“Glenfarne’s Alaska LNG said on Monday it had signed a long-term natural gas supply deal with ConocoPhillips and that it now had agreements for enough volumes to support a final investment decision for Phase One of its project and meet Alaska’s in-state natural gas needs,” Reuters reports. “...Phase One includes a 739-mile, 42-inch pipeline to transport natural gas to Alaska consumers as the state faces looming supply shortfalls from declining Cook Inlet production.”
Alaska Beacon: Pipeline-for-pension deal falls apart as the Alaska Legislature’s regular session nears end
James Brooks, 5/19/26
“A high-stakes quid pro quo deal fell apart in the Alaska Capitol on Monday as legislators failed to approve a tax break for the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline and Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill that would have restored public pensions in the state,” the Alaska Beacon reports. “...Days ahead of Monday’s veto deadline, Dunleavy offered a deal to legislators — pass a tax break for the proposed gas pipeline, and he would allow the pension bill to become law… “If enacted, the governor’s proposal would largely exempt the gas pipeline and supporting infrastructure from state and local property taxes levied on petroleum property. In place of the property tax, the state would levy a tax on gas transported by the pipeline. The pipeline’s lead developer, multinational firm Glenfarne, has said the change is necessary for it to successfully obtain financing needed to build the pipeline project… “While state legislators generally support the idea of a pipeline, they have balked at the governor’s planned tax breaks, particularly because Glenfarne has thus far declined to provide new estimates for the cost of construction or its expected cost of gas when the pipeline is complete. That has made it impossible for them to determine whether the proposed tax break is too large, too small, or just right.”
Durango Herald: Southern Utes estimate gasoline spill south of Durango closer to 200,000 gallons
Jessie Bowman Herald Staff Writer, 5/15/26
“Nearly two years ago, a 40-year-old gasoline pipeline owned and operated by Enterprise Products ruptured on Southern Ute Indian land in La Plata County, sending tens of thousands of gallons of fuel into the ground and contaminating waterways,” the Durango Herald reports. “While Enterprise estimates roughly 97,000 gallons of gasoline were spilled, the tribe believes the spill more likely exceeded 200,000 gallons, according to a Thursday news release from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Tribal leaders are frustrated with the pace of cleanup, and this week state Sen. Jessie Danielson, a candidate for secretary of state, joined the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in its continued criticism of the state’s response… “Because of what the tribe called, “prolonged under reporting and miscalculation,” Enterprise did not begin significant groundwater remediation efforts until June 2025, six months after the spill was identified. As a consequence, the gasoline plume migrated through the groundwater, is now three-quarters of a mile south of the initial release point, has been identified within three-tenths of a mile of the Animas River, and has contaminated more than 110 acres of the drinking water aquifer. The tribe estimated the plume is migrating about 10 feet per day. With no public water system in the area, reservation residents have lost their homes because of contamination of their drinking water wells, according to the news release. Other landowners are at risk of losing their homes as the plume migrates.”
KMTV: In Bennington, WM can now turn landfill biogas into pipeline-quality gas
5/18/26
“...Though construction at the Pheasant Point Landfill took longer than anticipated, in opening this year instead of last, the company says the facility is now ready to produce up to 720,000 MMBtu of renewable natural gas each year,” KMTV reports. “According to WM, that output does the equivalent of heating roughly 11,500 homes a year or fueling about 865 heavy-duty trucks. The renewable natural gas (RNG) facility is designed to convert biogas (produced by organic material like food that’s thrown away) into pipeline-quality gas. That product is then sent into a commercial transmission and distribution network. In the end, WM expects to ‘avoid or reduce’ approximately 50,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year through its efforts in Bennington.”
Sky News: The carbon capture problem: How dangerous are dioxide pipes? [VIDEO]
5/18/26
“Sky’s science correspondent Thomas Moore speaks to those living near a planned carbon dioxide pipeline route in the north west of England,” Sky News reports. “Carbon dioxide pipelines could help the UK towards net zero, but residents near a planned route fear the potential for deadly gas leaks.”
Upstream: Pipeline reforms boost Australia’s CCS industry
Amanda Battersby, 5/18/26
“The government of Australia’s Northern Territory has passed landmark legislation to reduce red tape and improve regulatory certainty for gas, oil, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, calling it a pivotal step in securing the Territory’s long-term energy future,” Upstream reports.
KSBY: Community commemorates 2015 oil spill; protests against offshore drilling
5/17/25
“Environmental groups gathered at Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the Plains All American Oil Spill. The disaster was one of the worst oil spills in California history, taking place in 2015,” KSBY reports. “On Sunday, people held a community paddle-out to oppose new offshore drilling in state waters. The event was held by Surfrider Foundation and several other organizations. The groups said they also want to stop Sable’s oil operations on the Gaviota Coast.”
Press release: Trump’s Transportation Department Announces 11 Grant Funding Opportunities to Improve Pipeline and Hazmat Transportation Safety
5/18/26
“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today announced a $22,032,987 investment into pipeline and hazardous materials safety programs. That includes funding to support safety awareness, training, research, and other activities to help communities avoid or respond to hazardous materials-related transportation incidents. The investment will go towards: Training first responders; Safety education programs for communities; Developing new pipeline safety technologies; Supporting States, tribes, and local government partners. “Under President Trump and Secretary Duffy, we are ensuring the safety of the communities our pipeline and hazmat transportation networks run through,” said PHMSA Administrator Paul Roberti. “This investment will support first responders as well as help raise awareness at the local level so everyone is on the same page about how to reduce risk and what to do in case of an incident where you live or work.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Permitting, EV fees, climate rollbacks: Inside the House’s highway bill
Andres Picon, Josh Siegel, 5/19/26
“The House’s new surface transportation bill would make major investments in federal infrastructure while streamlining the permitting process for some projects and rolling back some Biden-era environmental initiatives,” E&E News reports. “The “BUILD America 250 Act,” expected to be marked up by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday, represents a bipartisan effort to address some of the nation’s most pressing transportation needs under a relatively restrained top line. Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) crafted a $580 billion proposal that quickly drew praise from a number of transportation and construction industry groups — but also derision from environmental advocates who are incensed about ways in which the bill could undermine efforts to slash emissions from the country’s highest-polluting sector.”
Montana Free Press: Senate confirms Steve Pearce to lead the BLM in a party-line vote
Amanda Eggert, 5/18/26
“The U.S. Senate narrowly voted to approve Steve Pearce’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management,” the Montana Free Press reports. “Pearce, a 78-year-old Republican, has deep ties to the oil and gas industry and a record of supporting federal land sales… “As head of the BLM, Pearce will oversee 245 million acres of public land and 700 million acres of its subsurface mineral estate… “More than 80 conservation and public land access groups wary of Pearce’s record on public land sales and environmental protection opposed his nomination in a January letter to the Senate Energy Committee… “In an emailed statement, Western Energy Alliance President Melissa Simpson told the Press that Pearce understands the agency’s multiple-use mission, which directs BLM to consider natural resource development alongside the conservation of resources for future generations.”
E&E News: Hearing to examine green group legal fees
Timothy Cama, 5/19/26
“House Republicans are renewing their scrutiny of legal fees paid by the federal government to environmental groups that sue agencies,” E&E News reports. “The House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is planning a hearing Wednesday titled, ‘The Profit Engine Driving Environmental Nonprofits,’ with an eye specifically to fees paid under the Endangered Species Act and the Equal Access to Justice Act when a group’s lawsuit is successful. Those laws’ fee-shifting provisions were meant to combat federal government wrongdoing, but green groups “have built a business model of siphoning taxpayer dollars by weaponizing environmental statutory fee-shifting provisions, settling vexatious lawsuits that sometimes include additional grants, and fundraising off all these efforts,” the subcommittee wrote in a memo.”
E&E News: EPA rejects Hawaii plan to shutter oil-fired power plants
Alex Guillén, 5/18/26
“EPA on Friday rejected Hawaii’s long-term haze reduction plan that would have required two oil-fired power plants to shut down,” E&E News reports. “The agency earlier this year made a similar move to prevent Colorado from closing a coal-fired power plant as part of its haze plan and reflects the Trump administration’s broader effort to boost fossil fuels. The Hawaii plan included the shuttering of two plants: the 21-megawatt Kanoelehua-Hill Generating Station on the island of Hawaii and the 34-MW Kahului Generating Station on Maui… “Hawaiian Electric now opposes shuttering the plants “due to concerns that they would result in potential energy reserve shortfalls which would endanger grid reliability,” EPA said in its decision.”
E&E News: Ben Jealous asks court to drop sexual harassment claim against him
Pamela King, 5/18/26
“In a Friday filing in D.C. Superior Court, attorneys for Ben Jealous argued that Laura Maretich waited too long to file her claims against him,” E&E News reports. “The document does not address the validity of Maretich’s claims, but Jealous has called the allegations ‘totally and completely false.’ Maretich’s claim against Jealous — that he repeatedly harassed her between February 2024 and ‘early’ April 2025 before he was ousted from the organization last summer — is time-barred under a one-year statute of limitations under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, attorneys for Jealous said… “The motion — if successful — would invalidate the only count raised against Jealous. Maretich’s complaint includes two other counts of retaliation and negligent retention against the Sierra Club.”
STATE UPDATES
National Law Review: California Air Resources Board Advances CCUS Program with Draft Concepts for Potential Regulations
Samuel L. Brown, Alexandra Hamilton, Clare Ellis, Abigail Contreras, Hunton Andrews Kurth, 5/18/26
“On May 7, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced “Concepts for Potential Regulations for Establishing the Carbon Capture, Removals, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Program.” This draft document released by CARB staff furthers the agency’s obligation under California’s Senate Bill 905 (SB 905), which we previously reported on here, to adopt regulations establishing a state permitting framework for approval of CCUS projects,” the National Law Review reports. ”...The draft identifies potential standardized definitions both for CCUS and for carbon dioxide removals (CDR), as well as outlines key aspects of potential regulations, including applicability, monitoring, reporting, financial responsibility, and CCUS and CDR protocols… “One of the key components of the program would be the creation of an online reporting database through which the public could access project data, project plans, and compliance status… “The draft reiterates that carbon dioxide injection into Class II wells for purposes of enhanced oil recovery is prohibited in California except for those projects that predated S.B. 905’s enactment… “For example, CARB is seeking input on whether the program should apply to “non-CO2 geologic storage methods, such as bio-oil, storage in building materials, and other storage mediums.” The draft also seeks feedback on whether CARB should adopt key definitions from US EPA’s Class VI regulations or CARB’s own Low Carbon Fuel Standard Carbon Capture and Sequestration Protocol, or create a hybrid set of definitions.”
EXTRACTION
New York Times: The Quest for an Elusive Clean Fuel Is Moving Underground
Brad Plumer, 5/17/26
“...A start-up called Vema Hydrogen has drilled two test wells into the bedrock, each 1,000 feet deep, and is starting to inject treated water into the iron-rich rocks below. The goal is to trigger a special type of chemical reaction that could eventually produce large quantities of hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel that may one day play a vital role in tackling climate change,” the New York Times reports. “...The dream of clean hydrogen has tantalized energy experts for decades. When burned, hydrogen emits only water vapor. It could theoretically be used instead of fossil fuels in ships, airplanes, steel mills or chemical plants, all industries where it’s difficult to find viable alternatives for oil, gas and coal and cut planet-warming emissions. Most of the hydrogen the world uses today — mainly for fertilizer and refining — is produced using natural gas in a process that creates lots of emissions. In recent years, the United States and other countries have invested billions of dollars trying to make “green” hydrogen with wind and solar power, but it has proved difficult and expensive… “Dozens of start-ups are trying to find large reservoirs of natural hydrogen thought to exist below the surface… “This could be transformational if we can figure it out,” Madeline Schomburg, a vice president at the Energy Futures Initiative, a nonprofit research organization, told the Times. “Even if the likelihood of success is low, the potential rewards are so high that it’s worth exploring.”
Copenhagen Post: Aalborg Portland wins billion-krone carbon capture deal
5/6/26
“Cement manufacturer Aalborg Portland has won a Danish government tender for state support to capture and store CO2,” the Copenhagen Post reports. “The agreement entails the annual capture, transport, and storage of 1.25 million tons of CO2… “The state has allocated 28.7 billion DKK ($4.5 billion USD) to the CCS pool to help Denmark reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. However, this project’s volume is lower than the government’s original 2.3 million-ton target. Industry organization Dansk Fjernvarme expressed regret that more energy sector companies—which made up most of the original bidders—were not included in the final allocation.”
Eos.org: The Fiery Tornadoes That Could Mop Up Oil Spills
Jonathan Feakins, 5/18/26
“It’s been more than a decade since Michael Gollner and his colleagues first watched a viral YouTube video of a fire tornado fueled by Jim Beam bourbon,” Eos.org reports. “A warehouse in Kentucky had just been struck by lightning, funneling almost a million gallons of the flammable spirit into a nearby retention pond. As the flames whipped across the surface of the water, however, something in the atmospheric stars aligned: The flames coalesced into a towering fire whirl, more commonly known as a fire tornado. “We saw that and went, ‘Wow, that would be a neat application’” for cleaning up oil spills, Gollner, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley Fire Research Lab, told Eos. “I wonder if we could do that on purpose.” They could, in fact. As Gollner and his collaborators recently reported in Fuel, fire whirls offer the potential to clean up oil spills more quickly and cleanly than existing methods… “Alongside other major techniques, such as containment and recovery and chemical dispersal, in situ burning via “fire pools” has been adopted as an imperfect but unavoidable tool for addressing oil spills. Fire pools stop the spread of an oil spill but send clouds of smoke into the atmosphere and leave behind a layer of tar that sinks to the seafloor.”
OPINION
Edmonton Journal: It’s time to move on from the Pathways carbon capture project
Chief Allan Adam is the chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta; Amil Shapka is a landowner in Northern Alberta and co-founder of NO CO2 Pipelines Alberta, 5/19/26
“Prime Minister Mark Carney says a new oil pipeline to the West Coast is conditional on a new carbon capture hub in northern Alberta, but on May 1, Martha Hall Findlay, former Liberal MP, Suncor executive, and the political muscle behind the $20-billion Pathways Plus carbon capture project, pulled a 180 and wrote in the Globe and Mail that “now is not the time” for the scheme she’s been trumpeting for the past five years,” Chief Allan Adam and Amil Shapka write for the Edmonton Journal. “Hall Findlay’s reasoning is that if Canada truly cares about economic and political sovereignty, we should build oil pipelines across the Rockies, not fritter taxpayer money away on an expensive, complicated plan that she now admits has “frankly, a negligible effect on global emissions.” ’s unclear why Carney is doubling down on carbon capture when even industry — which has long touted the unproven claim that carbon capture and storage (CCUS) is the technology that will make its oil green — is backing off. Industry is not alone. As the farmers, First Nations, and rural landowners who would be living in the 20-kilometre wide “hazard corridor” on either side of the 600-kilometre pipeline, we have our own reasons for thinking it’s a bad idea. One reason is that in February 2020, a few weeks of heavy rain shifted the ground under a high-pressure CO2 pipeline outside of Satartia, Miss. At about 7 p.m., the pipe exploded, sending a plume of cold, dense, powdery fog rushing into the town, stalling cars, causing seizures, knocking people unconscious, and sending 45 people to the hospital… “Another reason is that the five major oil companies behind the Pathways Project (who took in about $167 billion dollars in revenue in 2025, including $30 billion in pure profit) want taxpayers to pay for the $20-billion (originally $16.5-billion) project. So far, the federal government’s promised a 50-per-cent tax credit and Alberta’s promised 12 per cent, but the oil companies say that’s not enough. And that’s before it’s built: No one knows who’ll be footing the bill for operating costs once it’s up and running. The third reason we think this is a bad idea is that most CCUS projects around the world are failures… “The fourth reason is that the Alberta Energy Regulator has ruled that an environmental assessment isn’t necessary, while the federal government has suspended the timeline on its review… “We can’t get unbiased answers out of politicians or oil executives. Martha Hall Findlay’s been both, and if she says CCUS is a waste of time and money, it’s time to turn the page and be done with carbon capture for good.”
InForum: Summit Carbon Solutions has left North Dakota wounded
Rob Port, 5/18/26
“I did not want that thing going through my grandpa’s land,” a friend texted me in response to my recent column about Summit Carbon Solutions redirecting its carbon pipeline past North and South Dakota. “Some guy kept harassing me. Southern drawl. ‘We gonna get your property.’” My friend told me Summit’s representatives were “aggressive” and “condescending,” Rob Port writes for InForum. “Maybe come at me like you understand how much the land is a part of me. Not like some thief that’s gonna bully me. Immediately turned off,” she said. “How would that kind of company treat us if there was a leak? Probably about as nice as they were at my front door.” “I don’t have a problem with a pipe in general. I had a problem with them,” she added, and that was perhaps the most interesting part of the conversation. Carbon capture and carbon pipelines have, alongside the unrelated issue of data centers, become a hot topic in state politics. Some of that has to do with national politics, where a horseshoe political coalition of the far left and far right has formed in opposition. But I wonder how much of the opposition to carbon pipelines and carbon capture in North Dakota — where citizens are no strangers to pipeline projects — is because Summit Carbon Solutions did a really crummy job working with landowners?... “North Dakota needs carbon, and pipelines are the only practical method to bring it here. While I would argue the average North Dakotan is OK with that, there is very noisy opposition coming from some landowners. For how many of those people was Summit Carbon Solutions their first experience with a carbon pipeline company? The anecdotes about poor dealings with Summit are plentiful and hardly a secret. I’ve been hearing them for years, and I’m not exactly breaking news with this column. Aggressive tactics. Strong-arm maneuvers in court. Even something as reasonable as asking permission to get on land for things like surveying were apparently too much to ask from Summit. Toward the end, Summit put in a new team in North Dakota and tried to turn things around, but it was too little, too late. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, as the saying goes. Much of the opposition to carbon pipelines — that they’re unnecessary, that they’re somehow uniquely dangerous compared to the thousands and thousands of miles of pipelines already built in our state — is nonsense, but in North Dakota the opposition hasn’t had to rely on said nonsense. They’ve gathered plenty of momentum from people who were either bullied by Summit Carbon Solutions directly, or know someone who was… “Our experience with Summit is going to leave a scar. Any future hope we have of carbon-related projects is going to have to acknowledge it.”
Canada’s National Observer: Carney puts climate policy on the ropes
Chris Hatch, 5/19/26
“...In a matter of days, the feds have released a “plan to weaken clean electricity regulations,” moved to “fast-track federal approval for major projects — from pipelines to powerlines,” and then capitulated to Alberta’s demands to “weaken industrial carbon pricing” and paved the way for a new oilsands pipeline to the Pacific,” Chris Hatch writes for Canada’s National Observer. “...Tim Gray, a veteran of the Harper government’s assaults, and now executive director of Environmental Defence, says the proposed process would “sacrifice the rule of law and our most sensitive species and ecosystems in order to build pipelines and other projects… “Several government sources told Althia Raj that the proposal is specifically designed to facilitate projects (like a West Coast pipeline or ports) that would impact the critically endangered southern resident orcas… “And then on Friday, the right hook landed: Mark Carney travelled to Calgary to meet with Danielle Smith and spread the ashes of his predecessor’s climate policies. The industrial carbon tax will be weakened and its implementation delayed. A new pipeline to the West Coast will get the full federal red carpet, provided the oil industry takes advantage of our governments’ tax largesse and negotiates another MOU about its long-promised Pathways carbon capture project. The goal is to get construction started on a new pipeline as soon as Sept. 1, 2027… “The Pembina Institute’s executive director, Chris Severson-Baker, called it “a failure for Canada and Alberta both in the global clean energy economy, and in doing our share to tackle the climate crisis.”
Denver Post: Hickenlooper: If confirmed to lead the BLM, Steve Pearce will spearhead Trump’s assault on public lands
John Hickenlooper is a U.S. Senator representing Colorado, 5/19/26
“...Even as support for public lands grows louder, the Trump administration seems determined to hand more of them over to private interests and the highest bidder,” John Hickenlooper writes for the Denver Post. “...Then last summer, some Congressional Republicans tried to sneak through a provision to sell off more than three million acres of public lands – all to help fund $4 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations… “Last week, the Trump administration rescinded BLM’s new Public Lands Rule – an effort to promote conservation and equal the playing field with uses like mining and grazing – in a blatant attack against the long-term health of our preserved spaces. Every American should care who leads BLM and oversees 245 million acres of our public lands. We can’t have someone who wants to sell them running the agency. Yet that’s exactly who President Trump has nominated. In his time in Congress, former Rep. Steve Pearce backed proposals to open the door to large-scale disposal of federal lands and urged congressional leadership to sell public lands to pay down the national debt, arguing that “most of it we do not even need.” This December, I came out as the first Senator to publicly oppose Pearce’s nomination… “Senate Republicans are expected to confirm Pearce. I will vote no, but that isn’t the end of our fight… “Public lands are part of our shared Colorado heritage. If we fail to protect them now, future generations will lose something money can’t buy.”
Pipeline Safety Trust: PHMSA’s Abdication of its Duty on Sable’s Santa Ynez Pipeline
Erin Sutherland, 5/11/26
“In 2015, Plains All American Pipeline’s line 901 (now CA-324, part of what is known as the Las Flores Pipeline System) ruptured and leaked 123,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Gaviota Coast. The community and the environment were devastated, and ultimately Plains was found criminally liable for its actions,” Erin Sutherland writes for the Pipeline Safety Trust. “...At the same time, Sable has been the subject of or the complainant in nearly a dozen lawsuits relating to restarting this pipeline. It has also received significant attention from the executive branch and the Department of Energy, all while its supporters have made false statements about the pipe and made claims that restarting this one pipeline will contribute to solving the nation’s energy crisis… “In March 2026, the U.S. Secretary of Energy directed Sable to restart the pipeline by invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA). PHMSA then extended the public comment period and sought input on, among other things, “the impact that the DPA order might have on this proceeding, including whether the special permit remains necessary.” PHMSA should not have framed whether it retains its statutory safety obligations as an open question for public input. The DPA is a national defense contracting tool. It does not amend, repeal, or supersede the Pipeline Safety Act… “Whatever effect the Secretary of Energy’s order may have on other frameworks, it has no bearing on PHMSA’s congressionally assigned safety mandate. The special permit process remained necessary the day the order was issued and remains necessary today. PHMSA’s mission is to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials. That mission cannot bend to operator convenience, political pressure, or assertions of an energy emergency. The special permit process exists to allow limited, safety-justified flexibility, not to provide a mechanism for deregulation by accommodation. PHMSA should deny the special permit application as substantively and procedurally deficient.”
NOLA.com: Carbon capture and storage: A win for Louisiana’s economy, communities, and future
Sponsored Content: This article is brought to you by ExxonMobil, 5/19/26
“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a win-win-win for Louisiana,” ExxonMobil writes for NOLA.com. “...It’s a safe and proven technology of over 50 years, and it delivers real benefits to our state by: Reducing CO2 emissions from hard-to-decarbonize facilities; Positioning Louisiana as a global technology leader; Strengthening our industrial economy; Setting the stage for decades of growth; Creating opportunity across Louisiana… “Companies like ExxonMobil work closely with landowners to establish agreements that compensate landowners for the use of their underground pore space or CO2 pipeline right-of-way access… “Companies like ExxonMobil negotiate in good faith and compensate fairly. This process does not require “taking” of land. Eminent domain is used sparingly and only in rare cases where agreement cannot be reached on infrastructure deemed critical by federal and state governments… “By embracing CCS, Louisiana can lead the nation and the world in delivering practical, large-scale solutions that benefit our economy, our environment, and our people.”