EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/10/25

PIPELINE NEWS

• Reason Magazine: Iowa Landowners Fight Seizure of Private Property for a Pipeline

• West Virginia Public Broadcasting: U.S. Appeals Court Denies Challenge To Mountain Valley Pipeline Extension

• The Center Square: Expedited approval continues for updates to Michigan pipeline

• Michigan Advance: Environmentalists celebrate stricter protections for Kirtland’s warblers in Ogemaw pipeline permit

• Seeking Alpha: Pembina Pipeline CEO sees demand for potential expansion to Cedar LNG project

• E&E News: Pipeline safety enforcement stats rebound after plunge

• Pipeline & Gas Journal: Enbridge Adds Turboexpanders at Pipeline Sites to Power Data Centers in Canada, Pennsylvania

• Pipeline & Gas Journal: Great Basin Gas Expansion Draws Strong Shipper Demand in Northern Nevada

• Pipeline Technology Journal: East Africa’s Longest Oil Pipeline Nears Completion, 60% of Work Completed

• Safety4Sea: Pipeline rupture causes oil spill in Thailand

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Power Engineering: Senate Committee Advances Budget With Fast-Tracked NEPA Option

• Cowboy State Daily: Will Senate Republicans Add Sale Of Federal Land Into Big Beautiful Bill?

• Albuquerque Journal: Chaco region ban on oil and gas drilling being reconsidered under Trump

• Guardian: Trump’s EPA set to claim power-plant emissions ‘not significant’ – but study says otherwise

• Politico: Don’t Look Now, But This Climate Tech Sector Is Weathering Trump As Well As Any

• Press release: Truckers Petition Feds to Enforce HAZMAT Rules on Oil and Gas Waste

STATE UPDATES

• KALB: ‘We are on the menu’ - Fiery community clash erupts over controversial Carbon Capture project in Cenla

• Wall Street Journal: How Hydrogen, the Fuel of the Future, Got Bogged Down in the Bayou

• Heatmap: Opponents say Texas well application is no good

• Crain’s Detroit Business: Carbon-capture bills would give state control of permitting to speed development of new industry

• WWMT: Carbon capture bills aim to keep Michigan competitive in green tech, lawmakers say

• OK Energy Today: Arkansas carbon capture moves ahead

• WZTV: David vs. Goliath: TVA versus the people of Cheatham County

• High Country News: Can fracking wastewater be reused?

EXTRACTION

• The Energy Mix: ‘Another Year, Another Record’: CO2 Peaks Above 430 ppm

• The Telegraph: Miliband warned carbon capture project faces collapse without £4bn injection

• Reuters: Chevron CEO warned staff of rising safety issues before fatal Angola platform fire

CLIMATE FINANCE

• Truthout: Gulf Coast Communities Take on Insurers Backing Trump-Approved Fossil Fuel Facilities

OPINION

• South Dakota Searchlight: We deserve better than costly, wasteful carbon capture schemes

• Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s energy renaissance awaits, and the One Big Beautiful Bill is the key to unlocking it.

• DeSmog: Earth to Mark Carney: ‘Decarbonized Oil’ Is as Real as Vitamin Cigarettes
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Reason Magazine: Iowa Landowners Fight Seizure of Private Property for a Pipeline
Sophia Mandt, 6/9/25

“A privately owned company is proposing a pipeline across five states. While some of the state governments appear to be on board, the project is facing backlash from a large and formidable population: property owners,” Reason Magazine reports. “The pipeline, known as Summit Carbon Solutions, would span 2,500 miles and transport carbon dioxide (CO2) captured at 57 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas to a permanent underground storage site in North Dakota… “Julie Glade and her husband, Paul, are Iowans who oppose the project because of its use of eminent domain. Their property aligns with the proposed route, and in 2022 the couple was visited by a land agent. "The guy who came to our door wanted us to sit down and sign it without reading it," Glade tells Reason. "They swooped in and tried to contact as many people as possible right away before the people knew what the consequences were. It's very unethical." “...The Glades visit the Iowa Capitol nearly every week to voice their opposition to the pipeline. They are joined by what the couple calls a diverse coalition united by their concern for the basic constitutional right to land ownership. "We have MAGA Republicans and we have lefties. We put our differences aside and we work together," she told Reason. The Glades' efforts could soon pay off. In May the state Senate passed House File 639, which would prevent CO2 pipelines from using eminent domain unless the company proves the pipeline meets the definition of public use. The bill would also prevent CO2 pipelines from operating longer than 25 years. The bill is awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is reportedly weighing opinions from pipeline supporters and detractors.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: U.S. Appeals Court Denies Challenge To Mountain Valley Pipeline Extension
Curtis Tate, 6/9/25

“A federal appeals court has cleared the way for an extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports. “In 2023, the Mountain Valley Pipeline received a three-year extension of its federal approval to build the Southgate Extension from Virginia into North Carolina. Groups challenged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. On Friday, a three-judge panel denied their petition, clearing the way for MVP to complete the 31-mile Southgate project… “Peter Anderson, director of state energy policy for Appalachian Voices, the lead plaintiff, called the D.C. Circuit’s decision “disappointing.” “The risks that MVP’s proposed Southgate pipeline poses to land, water and communities along the route persist,” he told WVPB. “We’re committed to making sure the people who would be affected by this unnecessary and polluting project are heard.”

The Center Square: Expedited approval continues for updates to Michigan pipeline
Elyse Apel, 6/0/25

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined the Line 5 tunnel project would have a “beneficial cumulative effect” on Michigan and its environment by reducing the risk of an oil leak,” The Center Square reports. “...While the report found there might be some “direct, short-term, detrimental impacts” during construction on the local environment and recreation, most “environmental consequences would be short-term with the effects resolving once construction is completed.” “...This report by the Army Corps sends another clear message that the Line 5 tunnel project is the safest and most efficient way to supply fuel to Michigan and the broader Midwest," state Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan told Center Square… “It’s an existential threat to tribes,” Matthew Fletcher, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, told Center Square. “This is a Canadian company that’s using America as its dirty transportation hub and we’re not getting anything out of it. If we’re interested in American energy independence, this does almost nothing to help us.” The report did acknowledge the project could have “an adverse impact to cultural resources.”

Michigan Advance: Environmentalists celebrate stricter protections for Kirtland’s warblers in Ogemaw pipeline permit
Kyle Davidson, 6/9/25

“Environmental attorneys secured stricter protections for one of America’s rarest songbirds, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placing additional requirements into a renewed permit for a pipeline within the Kirtland’s warbler Wildlife Management Area,” Michigan Advance reports. “Following input from the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the renewed permit clarifies that the Saginaw Bay Pipeline Company must obtain a special use permit to conduct any maintenance in the permitted area and bars the company from taking any action outside of maintaining the 16-inch natural gas pipeline located in Ogemaw County. Additionally, any pesticides or herbicides in the area must be approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service… “This is a good day for the Kirtland’s warbler, a bird listed as an endangered species through most of 2019 that deserves protection,” Wendy Bloom, a senior attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy center, told the Advance. “As a result of [our] work, the Service agreed to include express protections to ensure the health and habitat of this bird. While [the Environmental Law and Policy Center] submitted the comments without any partners, we are thankful for input prior to submission from Michigan Audubon.”

Seeking Alpha: Pembina Pipeline CEO sees demand for potential expansion to Cedar LNG project
6/9/25

“Pembina Pipeline CEO Scott Burrows said he expects enough demand to support an expansion to the Cedar LNG project on the British Columbia coast, as the company looks to sign on more shippers for the first phase now in early construction, Bloomberg reported Friday,” according to Seeking Alpha. “Pembina has shortlisted the preferred counterparties and has begun negotiating definitive agreements, the CEO said on the company's earnings conference call. The US$4B floating liquefied natural gas export terminal is a partnership between Pembina (PBA) and the Haisla Nation; the company has been looking to contract out its 1.5M metric tons/year share of capacity, and Burrows said talks are going well, Bloomberg reported. Burrows said it appears a second phase would be welcome, based on conversations around bringing more producers into Phase 1. "Based on early-stage negotiations on Cedar capacity, we believe there is demand for a Cedar 2," the CEO said on the call, although it is not certain there would be enough pipeline capacity to get the gas from inland to the coast.”

E&E News: Pipeline safety enforcement stats rebound after plunge
Mike Soraghan, 6/10/25

“Federal pipeline regulators filed more than two dozen enforcement actions last month, a surge in enforcement that followed a sudden drop in the early weeks of the second Trump administration,” E&E News reports. “The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration filed 29 cases in May, newly updated records show, after filing only five between President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration and early May. Of the new batch of cases, 22 were “warning letters” or “notices of amendment,” which are relatively minor but common actions. Seven cases were the more serious “notices of probable violation.” PHMSA did not seek a fine in any of the cases. The agency has not sought fines since former President Joe Biden left office. PHMSA filed only one case in February. In March, zero cases were brought, the first time in the agency’s 20-year history it went a month without filing an enforcement action. Agency data, which is updated monthly, showed the number of cases ticked up to four in April.”

Pipeline & Gas Journal: Enbridge Adds Turboexpanders at Pipeline Sites to Power Data Centers in Canada, Pennsylvania
6/9/25

“Enbridge is partnering with Anax Power and Magellan Scientific to deploy emissions-free power systems at pipeline sites in Ontario and Pennsylvania, marking a first-of-its-kind installation in Canada,” Pipeline & Gas Journal reports. “Anax Power has signed operating agreements with Enbridge to install its Anax Turboexpander System (ATE) at facilities in Hamilton, Ontario, and in Pennsylvania. The systems will generate electricity by harnessing the pressure and flow of natural gas—without combustion or greenhouse gas emissions… “Enbridge is the first major pipeline operator in North America to adopt the ATE, which could potentially be scaled to hundreds of locations… “By turning waste energy into clean electricity, this installation demonstrates how Anax makes existing energy infrastructure more sustainable—right now, with proven technology,” said Michael Longo, CEO of Anax Power.”

Pipeline & Gas Journal: Great Basin Gas Expansion Draws Strong Shipper Demand in Northern Nevada
6/9/25

“Southwest Gas Holdings announced June 5 that its subsidiary, Great Basin Gas Transmission Company, has closed the Binding Open Season for its 2028 Expansion Project, drawing significant interest from shippers seeking additional natural gas capacity in Northern Nevada,” Pipeline & Gas Journal reports. “...Pending successful contract negotiations and federal approvals, Southwest Gas estimates the expansion will include: Approximately 1.25 billion cubic feet per day of incremental transportation capacity; Minimum 20-year terms for each transportation service agreement; Capital investment of approximately $800 million to $1.2 billion. These estimates are subject to final engineering, successful execution of precedent agreements—expected by Q3 2025—and approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).”

Pipeline Technology Journal: East Africa’s Longest Oil Pipeline Nears Completion, 60% of Work Completed
6/10/25

“East Africa’s longest oil pipeline, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), has reached a new milestone, with 60% of the total 1,443 kilometers completed as of June 02, 2025,” Pipeline Technology Journal reports. “...EACOP is primarily owned by TotalEnergies, which has a 62% share, with Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC) and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) holding 15% each, while the Chinese oil company CNOOC holds 8%. Launched in August 2017, the cross-border pipeline planned to link Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani in Tanzania has faced many challenges, including legal battles and withdrawal of the initial financiers, significantly slowing the implementation progress. However, the project secured support from other investors, especially from China, allowing it to move forward. Recently, the EACOP Ltd., the company implementing the project, closed its first financing tranche from a consortium of regional financial institutions including African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), KCB Bank Uganda, Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, and The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD).”

Safety4Sea: Pipeline rupture causes oil spill in Thailand
6/10/25

“On the night of June 5, a crude oil spill occurred off the coast of Sriracha in Thailand’s Chonburi Province due to a ruptured pipeline,” Safety4Sea reports. “The incident happened at the SBM-2 (Single Buoy Mooring) terminal while the Phoenix Jamnagar, a Singapore-registered supertanker, was offloading oil during severe weather. High waves and strong winds caused the ship’s emergency breakaway system to activate, leading to a rupture in the pipeline and a leak of approximately 10,000 to 20,000 litres of crude oil over a 30-minute period. Thai Oil Public Company Limited, which operates the terminal, immediately halted the transfer and enacted its emergency response plan. The company deployed three containment booms and dispersant chemicals, and dispatched the clean-up vessel Chonthara Anurak to the spill site… “No injuries or environmental damage to marine life have been reported so far, though monitoring continues.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Power Engineering: Senate Committee Advances Budget With Fast-Tracked NEPA Option
James Leggate, 6/6/25

“Project owners willing to pay a fee would be able to fast-track their federal environmental reviews under a provision included in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s budget reconciliation proposal,” Power Engineering reports. “The legislative text, which committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) released June 4, includes a provision amending the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by adding a section creating “project sponsor opt-in fees for environmental reviews.” In exchange for fee payment equal to 125% of the cost to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, federal regulators would have new deadlines to complete their reviews. An environmental assessment would be due 180 days after the fee is paid, and an environmental impact statement would be due one year after publication of the notice of intent to prepare that review.”

Cowboy State Daily: Will Senate Republicans Add Sale Of Federal Land Into Big Beautiful Bill?
David Madison, 6/6/25

“Riverfront acreage near Teton Village. Parcels close to scenic lakes outside Pinedale. Lots above the mountain hamlet of Shell. These, along with thousands of other public, federally owned parcels are identified as potentially up for sale as the U.S. Senate explores letting go of some public land as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed the House in May and was taken up by the Senate on Thursday,” the Cowboy State Daily reports. “A U.S. Interior Department map shows hundreds of BLM parcels throughout Wyoming that appear designated for potential ‘disposal.’ The renewed push for public land sales comes as Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, works to include land disposal provisions in what Republicans are calling a ‘megabill.’ The BLM map identifies numerous Wyoming parcels categorized for either ‘Sale’ or ‘Sale Exchange’ across some of the state’s most desirable locations. The Wilderness Society reports there are 849,000 ‘disposal acres’ identified by BLM maps.”

Albuquerque Journal: Chaco region ban on oil and gas drilling being reconsidered under Trump
Cathy Cook, 6/6/25

“The Trump administration’s focus on domestic energy production has pushed the Bureau of Land Management to reconsider a rule against oil drilling in a 10-mile area surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park,” the Albuquerque Journal reports. “As Department of the Interior secretary, New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland issued an order in 2023 to prevent oil and natural gas drilling in the 10-mile radius surrounding Chaco Canyon for 20 years. The All Pueblo Council of Governors wants those protections to stay in place for the sake of protecting sacred sites in the Chaco region. But the Navajo Nation is suing to revoke the protections, arguing the withdrawal causes significant economic harm to its members. Increasing domestic energy production and mining is a Trump administration priority.”

Guardian: Trump’s EPA set to claim power-plant emissions ‘not significant’ – but study says otherwise
Oliver Milman and Dharna Noor, 6/9/25

“Donald Trump’s administration is set to claim planet-heating pollution spewing from US power plants is so globally insignificant it should be spared any sort of climate regulation,” the Guardian reports. “But, in fact, the volume of these emissions is stark – if the US power sector were a country, it would be the sixth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reportedly drafted a plan to delete all restrictions on greenhouse gases coming from coal and gas-fired power plants in the US because they “do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution’ and are a tiny and shrinking share of the overall global emissions that are driving the climate crisis. However, a new analysis shows that the emissions from American fossil-fuel plants are prominent on a global scale, having contributed 5% of all planet-heating pollution since 1990. If it were a country, the US power sector would be the sixth largest emitter in the world, eclipsing the annual emissions from all sources in Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Canada, among other nations.”

Politico: Don’t Look Now, But This Climate Tech Sector Is Weathering Trump As Well As Any
Debra Kahn, 6/6/25

“The bloodbath that Republicans are making of federal incentives for climate projects has stopped — for now — at the border of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s district. That’s where Heirloom Carbon is planning to build its first commercial-scale plant capable of extracting carbon dioxide from the air, by way of shallow trays of crushed limestone that absorb the planet-warming gas,” Politico reports. “The project was on the Trump administration’s draft “kill list” of federally funded climate tech projects, as my colleagues reported in March. But it wasn’t on the final list that came out last week… “Carbon capture has plenty of enemies on the left, where it’s often viewed as a nascent, expensive distraction from reducing emissions in the near term. But it’s the right that wields influence over the huge pots of money that are the Biden administration’s biggest climate legacy — and as Republicans prepare to decimate incentives for renewable resources like solar, wind and geothermal energy, carbon capture has managed to weather the storm better than many other climate technologies. Heirloom is as savvy an operator as any, having announced its Louisiana facility in 2023 in conjunction with Climeworks and Battelle on the back of an initial $50 million award from the bipartisan infrastructure law. The company is pursuing a two-pronged policy strategy: It’s trying to win over the right with the promise of jobs and heavy industry in their districts, and the left with the additional promise of a way to tackle climate change — with caveats about it not being a substitute for other emissions reductions. To that end, it takes pains to make a key distinction between “carbon capture” — which includes technologies that filter CO2 from industrial sources — and “carbon removal” like Heirloom’s, which draws existing carbon out of the atmosphere… “For now, much of Heirloom’s fate is in the hands of the Senate, where their industry-friendly pitch to the right might allow them to slip through the Trump administration’s net once again.”

Press release: Truckers Petition Feds to Enforce HAZMAT Rules on Oil and Gas Waste
6/9/25

“Truckers and environmentalists have joined together to demand Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies enforce existing hazardous material rules when it comes to hauling oilfield waste—including the water and sands used to frack and extract oil and gas. The organizations, led by Truckers Movement for Justice, claim hazardous payloads are often not tested, leaving drivers and communities vulnerable to exposure to hazardous materials. “These guys put their lives on the line every day, and they deserve the proper training and certifications to handle these hazardous loads,” says Billy Randel, leader of Truckers Movement for Justice and retired hazmat truck driver. “If we start testing the waste coming from the oilfields, we’ll all be safer when we get on the highways. That means justice for the workers and safety for the public.” The groups allege truck drivers are transporting hazardous oil and gas production and extraction materials without the proper HAZMAT certification. That’s because many truckloads of oil and gas production byproducts are not being tested before they are loaded and transported across U.S. highways and communities. Some truckloads can be more than 2,000 times the threshold for radioactive material under Department of Transportation regulations. “The hazardous materials laws on the books aren’t being enforced which is seriously concerning for worker and public safety,” says Megan Hunter, senior attorney for Earthjustice. “We’re saying: Follow the rules. Train your truckers. Pay your workers. Keep our highways safer.” The petition to the DOT focuses on two agencies that oversee safety enforcement: Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).”

STATE UPDATES

KALB: ‘We are on the menu’ - Fiery community clash erupts over controversial Carbon Capture project in Cenla
Jay McCully, 6/9/25

“Carbon Capture Sequestration, commonly known as CCS, has quickly become a lightning rod issue in Central Louisiana,” KALB reports. “With plans quietly underway for a CCS project in Rapides Parish, residents gathered on June 9 at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Deville to voice their concerns, learn more and demand transparency. The meeting, organized by Cenla native Melody Slocum, drew dozens of locals, many of whom say they feel blindsided by the proposed project. Slocum emphasized the importance of community awareness, telling the crowd, “In politics, there’s a saying that if you don’t have a seat at the table, you are on the menu. Well, guess what? Big Money, they have a seat at the table, and we are on the menu.” Among the featured speakers was geoscientist Brad LeBlanc, who outlined the potential dangers of a CCS operation. LeBlanc warned about the possibility of carbon dioxide leaks, which he said could lead to suffocation or acidification of local water supplies if the gas were to seep into aquifers… “All you’re hired to do is (expletive) everybody in there. That’s all you do,” one resident said as he confronted Johnson outside during KALB’s interview with him. The resident accused the company of aiming to contaminate local land and water, infringe on property rights and exploit long-standing farming and ranching operations. “You’re going to come in here and contaminate our property, take over our property, fifth-generation farmers, ranchers, crawfish…You know the deal,” the resident said passionately. “They’re taking it. They’re making bills, and they’re going to take our property. They’re going to contaminate our water.” In response to the residents’ claims, Johnson stated that he is unaware of any use of eminent domain for this project.”

Wall Street Journal: How Hydrogen, the Fuel of the Future, Got Bogged Down in the Bayou
Ed Ballard, 6/7/25

“The chief executive of Air Products & Chemicals visited the Louisiana governor’s mansion in 2021 to unveil the industrial-gases supplier’s biggest-ever investment: a $4.5 billion facility that would make the fuel of the future by the Mississippi River. Seifi Ghasemi’s plan was to produce hydrogen from natural gas, capture the carbon dioxide, pipe it through wildlife-rich wetland and sequester it below picturesque Lake Maurepas,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “...Nearly five years after his visit, the project’s price tag has swelled to $8 billion, the construction timeline has slipped and the company is still seeking customers. Ghasemi has been ousted as CEO, and his successor is reining in spending. The idea that low-carbon hydrogen could replace oil and gas in many applications was taking off when Ghasemi visited Baton Rouge, La., as politicians and executives were vowing to slash emissions. But sentiment has since soured. This fossil-fuel alternative remains stubbornly expensive, and governments in the U.S. and elsewhere have shied away from putting their weight behind it… “Companies that once looked like early movers—such as the steel producer ArcelorMittal and Airbus, the plane maker—have delayed plans to use hydrogen… Blue hydrogen is more controversial. Carbon-capture facilities often catch less pollution than hoped—Air Products says it will capture more than 95%—and using natural gas ties this ostensible climate solution to a source of emissions. The House tax bill would eliminate tax credits for hydrogen production, which would kill most green-hydrogen projects, Tengler expects, but not the carbon-capture credits that benefit blue-hydrogen producers.”

Heatmap: Opponents say Texas well application is no good
Emily Pontecorvo, 6/10/25

“The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed approving Texas’ application to regulate carbon dioxide injection wells, kicking off a 45-day comment period,” Heatmap reports. “...Last year, a group of Texas Democrats sent a letter to the agency advising it to reject Texas’ application due to the state’s history of poor enforcement. The EPA had opened a probe into the state’s oversight of other types of injection wells after a petition from environmental groups said Texas had failed to protect groundwater. The agency will hold one virtual public hearing on the decision on July 24.”

Crain’s Detroit Business: Carbon-capture bills would give state control of permitting to speed development of new industry
David Eggert, 6/9/25

“Business, labor and other interests are mobilizing in support of pending legislation designed to spur a nascent industry in Michigan — one to capture, store and utilize planet-warming carbon dioxide,” Crain’s Detroit Business reports. “They warn the state is at risk of falling behind Illinois, Ohio and Indiana in speeding the development of carbon-sequestration systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, despite the state having optimal geologic features for storage… "Do you want these decisions made by a federal bureaucrat or do you them made here in the state by us and our neighbors?" Rich Bowman, policy director for The Nature Conservancy’s state chapter, said during a virtual news conference Monday. The environmental group is part of MI SUCCESS, which stands for Safe Utilization of Carbon Capture for Environmental & Economic Success. Other members include business associations, companies like Dow, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, and the Michigan Laborers District Council union. The coalition is backing bipartisan legislation that could be reintroduced in the Democratic-led Senate as soon as this week… "The Michigan Environmental Council is opposed ... because the bills lack needed protections for our drinking water, foist unknown and potentially significant long-term liability on the people of Michigan, omit a needed permitting system for the actual capture technology, and fail to prepare communities and first responders in the event of a pipeline rupture or sequestration project leak," Charlotte Jameson, the group's chief policy officer, wrote to the Senate Energy and Environment Committee in November.”

WWMT: Carbon capture bills aim to keep Michigan competitive in green tech, lawmakers say
Stephanie Forth, 6/9/25

“Michigan is making new steps towards Governor Gretchen Whitmer's goal to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. A package of bipartisan bills, or Senate Bills 1131 and 1133, is set to be reintroduced in Lansing that would create a state-run carbon capture permitting program,” WWMT reports. “If passed, it would essentially create regulatory framework for a carbon capture facility, allowing potential developers to go through the application process and get it up and running. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said this will allow Michigan to remain competitive with neighboring states, like Illinois and Indiana, that have already moved forward with this process. A roundtable discussion was held Monday by the MI Success Coalition to show support for the legislation. Those who spoke said this would be a big move for Michigan, for the environment, and the economy.”

OK Energy Today: Arkansas carbon capture moves ahead
6/9/25

“Oklahoma City-based LSB Industries is on its way in becoming one of the suppliers of low-carbon or “blue” ammonia as it moves ahead in a joint project with carbon management expert Lapis Energy,” OK Energy Today reports. “Lapis Energy recently finalized its investment decision and intends to provide 100% funding of the capital and operations expenditures of the new carbon capture and sequestration project, which is to be set up at LSB’s El Dorado, Arkansas, facility. The project will also be the first carbon capture system in Arkansas and only the third project from ammonia production in the nation.The first such carbon capture injections into the deep geological formations aren’t expected until sometime in 2026 or 2027… “This project will capture the CO2 from the plant, condition it to remove any water or other impurities, compress the CO2 into a liquid and inject it into deep saline reservoirs more than a mile below the plant site… “The captured CO2 will be injected into rocks thousands of feet below the United States Drinking Water (USDW) supply, and below a 1,000-foot thick, impermeable layer of shale. These rocks held oil and gas deposits for millions of years, without contaminating the USDW, because of the effectiveness of the shale layer.”

WZTV: David vs. Goliath: TVA versus the people of Cheatham County
Dennis Ferrier, 6/9/25

“A controversial proposal by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to construct a massive methane gas plant in rural Cheatham County has sparked widespread opposition from residents, farmers, and local officials who say the plan threatens the area’s environment, community, and way of life,” WZTV reports. “...The facility would also require miles of high-pressure methane pipelines, transmission lines, and a 240-foot borehole beneath Spring Creek, a federally protected waterway in the county. The backlash has been swift and intense in this largely rural community. More than 460 homes, farms, schools, and century-old family properties lie within close proximity of the proposed site. Many residents describe the project as incompatible with the area’s peaceful, agrarian lifestyle. “It’s like something out of Tom Sawyer—beautiful, wild, and pristine,” George Wade, whose property sits at what he calls “ground zero” for the plant, told WZTV. “There’s no reason to despoil it.” County Mayor Kerry McCarver voiced deep frustration at what he sees as TVA’s unchecked authority. “When we first heard about this, I turned to the county attorney and said, ‘How do we stop it?’ He called back in 20 minutes and said, ‘You don’t. It’s TVA.’ Nobody holds them accountable except Congress,” McCarver told WZTV.”

High Country News: Can fracking wastewater be reused?
Shi En Kim, 6/9/25

“On Oct. 2, 2024, a geyser erupted in Toyah, a town in west Texas 50 miles from the New Mexico border. This was not a case of water miraculously appearing in the desert, a deliverance from the area’s long-standing drought. Rather, it was an environmental disaster: a blowout from an orphaned oil and gas well. What gushed from the ground wasn’t actually water, but rather a vile brine of heavy metals, radioactive substances, chemical additives and noxious organics — the by-product of fracking,” High Country News reports. “The Toyah incident is the latest of at least eight leaks over the preceding 12 months in the Permian Basin, a fracking hub across west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It highlights the increasingly urgent challenge of what to do with fracking’s wastewater — what fossil fuel companies euphemistically call “produced water.” But some New Mexico legislators have a solution in mind: For the last few years, they’ve proposed reusing the wastewater off the oil field for industrial purposes, such as data center cooling and hydrogen production… “Political pressure is mounting on New Mexico’s lawmakers to tap into fracking wastewater as a new resource. Environmental groups, however, strongly oppose the idea, arguing that there is still no way to make the wastewater safe for off-field use. Year after year, the New Mexico Legislature finds itself at a crossroads. “We are, as a state, very beholden to oil and gas,” Carlos Matutes, the New Mexico director at the advocacy group Green Latinos that’s part of the coalition opposing produced water reuse told HCN. Any bill that sanctions produced water, he told HCN, “is almost guaranteed to come back.” “...Currently, most of New Mexico’s produced water is either injected underground or transported across state lines for disposal elsewhere. By contrast, neighboring Texas permits repurposing treated wastewater for other uses or discharging it into the environment… “Additionally, environmental organizations like Amigos Bravos have raised concerns about the safety of fracking wastewater, whether it’s treated or untreated. Radioactivity levels around several injection wells in Ohio and West Virginia exceed the federal safety limit by several hundred-fold; and in one Pennsylvanian river, radium still persists among mussels even five years after the last discharge of produced water.”

EXTRACTION

The Energy Mix: ‘Another Year, Another Record’: CO2 Peaks Above 430 ppm
6/9/25

“Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere peaked above 430 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in May, scientists with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported last week,” The Energy Mix reports. “When [a] man first walked on the moon, the carbon dioxide concentration in Earth’s atmosphere was 325 parts per million,” CBC reports. “By 9/11, it was 369 ppm, and when COVID-19 shut down normal life in 2020, it had shot up to 414 ppm. This week, our planet hit the highest levels ever directly recorded.” “Another year, another record,” said geochemistry professor Ralph Keeling, director of the Scripps CO2 Program. “It’s sad.” Keeling added: “This problem is not going away, and we’re moving further and further into uncharted territory, and almost certainly, very dangerous territory.” Atmospheric CO2 levels ebb and flow through the year, peaking each year in May. Scripps recorded a concentration of 430.2 ppm at the University of California San Diego, an increase of 3.5 ppm since 2024, the institute said in a release. NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawai’i recorded a high of 430.5 ppm, an increase of 3.6… “Every May, we’re going to see a new record of atmospheric CO2 until we actually make a lot more progress on climate mitigation than we have today,” Concordia University climate scientist Damon Matthews, a member of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, told CBC, adding that Canada’s emission efforts lag behind other countries. “There’s lots of policy options,” he told CBC, but “certainly focusing on expanding the oil and gas industry in Canada right now is not going to get us where we need to go in terms of climate.”

The Telegraph: Miliband warned carbon capture project faces collapse without £4bn injection
Jonathan Leake, 6/9/25

“A green technology project pioneered by Ed Miliband faces collapse without an additional £4bn in funding, industry chiefs have warned,” The Telegraph reports. “Olivia Powis, the chief executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, said the fledgling technology must receive support from Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, at her spending review on Wednesday despite having been recently awarded almost £22bn in public subsidies. It wants the money – funded by consumers and taxpayers – to expand the two carbon-capture projects already approved by Mr Miliband, the Energy Secretary, and to kick-start two more, including one in Scotland. Ms Powis said there was a “critical need” for further funding commitments from the Government. She warned that, without the extra cash, even the two schemes approved by Mr Miliband may never go ahead… “Jeremy Pocklington, the permanent secretary at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, told the public accounts committee last December that 75pc of the money to fund carbon capture would come from levies on consumer and business energy bills and the rest from taxes. Experts warn that CO2 capture may only be 50 to 60pc efficient, meaning some CO2 still enters the atmosphere… “But Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said the policy would add to consumer bills and do little for the environment. He said: “We should scrap this technology. This is an outrageous demands for unproven technology that will make zero difference to climate change. Even the Greens reject it.” Carla Denyer MP, co-leader of the Green Party, added: “Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is being used as green-wash by the fossil fuel industry, allowing them to continue extracting coal, oil and gas.”

Reuters: Chevron CEO warned staff of rising safety issues before fatal Angola platform fire
Sheila Deng, 6/9/25

“Gulf offshore drilling operation Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told employees they needed to reinforce safety standards after a growing number of injury near-misses in an internal video message on April 29, just weeks before three workers died due to a fire on one of the company’s oil platforms in Angola,” Reuters reports. “We’ve seen a concerning increase in serious near-misses, especially over the last few weeks,” Wirth said in the video, which Reuters has viewed. “Some of these events could have resulted in fatalities.” “...In the two-minute video titled “do it safely or not at all,” Wirth told staff to double down on safety practices, regardless of challenges inside and outside Chevron. “I know there’s a lot going on right now, with changes underway both inside the company and in the world around us,” he said. “I learned some people feel that speaking up and stopping work is risky in the current environment. It is not.” “...Last year, the company recorded 12 serious injuries and one fatality, according to its corporate sustainability report. Some of the injured workers from the Angola fire are still receiving treatment, said Clay Neff, Chevron’s recently named president of upstream, in a separate video message to staff on May 30, which was also viewed by Reuters… “Chevron has held what Wirth called safety stand-downs across the business, or meetings to discuss safety. “We prioritize safety above production, and we show it through actually stopping production, and have the time to talk to folks and hear from them as well,” said Marissa Badenhorst, Chevron’s vice president of health, safety and environment, in an interview with Reuters.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

Truthout: Gulf Coast Communities Take on Insurers Backing Trump-Approved Fossil Fuel Facilities
Derek Seidman, 6/6/25

“Promising U.S. ‘energy dominance,’ the Trump administration is moving to accelerate fossil fuel production. Key to this agenda is the approval of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities across Gulf Coast communities that are disproportionately Black, Brown, and low-income, long treated as expendable ‘sacrifice zones’ by the fossil fuel industry,” Truthout reports. “Just recently, on May 23, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reauthorized the massive CP2 LNG in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, which will be the biggest LNG export facility in the U.S. Local organizers and climate groups have been fighting the expansion of these ‘methane export facilities’ which they say will intensify climate chaos and environmental racism. To try to halt them, they’re focusing on key actors behind these fossil fuel projects: the big financiers and insurers whose services these projects need in order to gain regulatory approval and to be built and operated.”

OPINION

South Dakota Searchlight: We deserve better than costly, wasteful carbon capture schemes
Autumn Hanna is vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent, nonpartisan government watchdog based in Washington, D.C.; Rick Bonander is a lifelong South Dakotan and member of Dakota Rural Action. He and his wife, Tammy, live near Valley Springs on land his family homesteaded in 1873, 6/9/25

“Across the Northern Great Plains, opposition to carbon capture projects is growing — nowhere more so than in South Dakota, where lawmakers recently blocked carbon capture companies from using eminent domain. The backlash to these projects is driven by concerns about the impact on farmers and ranchers, public safety, private property rights, and the billions in taxpayer dollars being funneled into unproven technology,” Autumn Hanna and Rick Bonander write for the South Dakota Searchlight. “Let’s be clear: oil and gas and ethanol companies want to use public subsidies to bury millions of tons of pollution underground — threatening South Dakota’s land, water and communities. To protect our communities and prevent waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer funds, we deserve better than carbon capture schemes. That’s why one of us is working to protect taxpayers from wasting billions on subsidies for a technology that has never been proven to deliver net reductions in carbon emissions. In fact, it may actually result in public health and safety liabilities for nearby communities. The other is organizing to defend rural communities from the false promises and harmful impacts of carbon capture and storage. We agree: Carbon capture and storage should not be propped up at the expense of federal taxpayers and South Dakotans. In recent years, we’ve watched Summit Carbon Solutions try to win support for a multi-state carbon dioxide pipeline — and when that failed, attempt to force it through using eminent domain. That’s a process meant for public benefit, not private industry. After the Legislature blocked carbon capture companies from using it, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission required Summit to reapply for a permit — another major setback for the company’s risky proposal… “Despite a well-documented history of tax fraud and project failures, Congress continued to expand CCS in recent years, providing over $12 billion for research and demonstration projects and expanding the 45Q tax credit, which is now expected to cost taxpayers over $36 billion over the next decade. The reality is simple: Carbon capture has become a conduit for shifting public dollars into corporate bank accounts with no real results to show for it. South Dakotans deserve better. Real clean energy solutions start with protecting what already works — our native prairies — and not schemes that waste public resources.”

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s energy renaissance awaits, and the One Big Beautiful Bill is the key to unlocking it.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, DOI Secretary Doug Burgum, and DOE Secretary Chris Wright, 6/9/25

“Americans have felt the impact of federal overreach and excessive red tape everywhere, from gas stations to grocery stores. Nowhere is that overreach more evident than in the efforts to hold back the American energy powerhouse of Alaska. For four years, the previous administration waged an unprecedented assault on Alaska’s sovereignty and ability to responsibly develop resources that could help power America’s Golden Age, devastating many Alaska communities left to contend with the consequences,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, DOI Secretary Doug Burgum, and DOE Secretary Chris Wright write for the Anchorage Daily News. “President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill represents the most comprehensive energy and economic package in a generation, sending a clear signal that America is open for business. Alaska stands to benefit enormously from provisions that strategically unleash its bounty of natural resources. The state’s energy sector employs about 8% of all payrolls and generates nearly one-fifth of total business earnings, the fourth highest share of any state. This legislation will protect approximately 14,000 full-time equivalent jobs over the next four years while creating thousands more. Expanding these resources means lower energy costs, higher dividend checks and more jobs in the state.”

DeSmog: Earth to Mark Carney: ‘Decarbonized Oil’ Is as Real as Vitamin Cigarettes
Mitch Andersonon, 6//9/25

“Decarbonized oil” is now apparently a thing. Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke glowingly about this mythical substance in the context of new bitumen pipelines after his meeting last week in Saskatoon with Canada’s premiers,” Mitch Andersonon writes for DeSmog. “Alberta Premier Danielle Smith chimed in her support for carbon-free unicorn oil as part of a new “grand bargain” where Ottawa would facilitate another bitumen pipeline to tidewater in exchange for the highly profitable companies within the Pathways Alliance finally moving forward with their carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. To be clear, decarbonized oil is as absurd as talking about vitamin cigarettes or weight-loss ice cream. Bitumen and crude oil are sold to make transportation fuels that are burned in engines and contribute to our accelerating climate emergency. These downstream emissions represent 80 percent of the carbon burden and are utterly unavoidable unless we somehow affix bags onto all the world’s tailpipes. Pretending that we can perfectly prevent the remaining 20 percent of emissions has apparently become official public policy, and the public will likely pay the lion’s share for this fool’s errand. Besides demanding that the taxpayer provide two thirds of the upfront cost of the $16.5 billion construction costs, Pathways recently called for an end to federal industrial pricing and prevailed in Alberta to freeze their price at $95 per tonne… “In this “grand bargain,” Premier Smith audaciously claimed that further pot-sweetening was required for Pathways members to finally pony up their portion for the long-promoted CCS project. “If you want to be able to pay for the decarbonization project, which is the Pathways project, you do need to have a new source of revenue to be able to do that, and that means a new …pipeline.” Really? The six member companies of the Pathways Alliance had combined net revenues of $35 billion in 2022. Suncor’s CEO was paid over $36 million in 2023, or about $18,000 per hour. In spite of vast profits generated from the extraction of a publicly-owned resource, Alberta oil sands operators have repeatedly stalled taking action, demanded ever more taxpayer largess, and allowed their emissions to balloon by 143 percent since 2005… “Even if the Pathways Alliance carbon capture hub finally got built, CCS technology is far from perfect with well-known safety concerns, declining economics and poor performance… “The continued goodwill enjoyed by Prime Minister Carney in transforming Canada’s economy could be fleeting if he quickly bows to uncosted demands from the oil patch at the expense of Indigenous rights, fiscal prudence, and our climate future.”