EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/30/26
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Supreme Court grants North Dakota pipeline case
E&E News: Supreme Court pipeline case is a clash of conservative principles
CTV: Alberta’s Danielle Smith to announce next steps for pipeline proposal on Thursday
Alaska Public Media: Gas pipeline developer raises issues with LNG tax bill as lawmakers work out final draft
Michigan Advance: Public comment deadline for Michigan Line 5 project ends Tuesday
Chatham Journal: Enbridge pipeline debate raises questions about land, growth, and trust
KIOW: Pipeline Safety Investigation Launched
WEWS: Underground utility drilling halted in some cities after explosion damaged dozens of homes
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Heatmap: FERC Was Already Losing Its Independence. Now It’s Gone.
New York Times: Oil Industry Lawyers Fight a $50 Billion Climate Case in Oregon
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Amid stark opposition, data center developers think twice about Florida
Chicago Sun-Times: Unionized BP oil refinery workers picket at Chicago HQ for end of 100-day lockout
EXTRACTION
Energy Intelligence Group: Exxon Drops US Gulf Leases as Interior Shelves CCS Rules
S&P Global: Private developer to propose Canada’s first crude oil SPR on eastern coast
CLIMATE FINANCE
E&E News: World Bank drops climate finance target amid US pressure
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Press release: Enbridge Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary; Announces $2.5M Founding Gift to Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota
OPINION
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska has waited 50 years for a gas line. Don’t kill this chance now.
Juneau Empire: All coupons have an expiration date, even for a gas pipeline
Globe and Mail: Alberta plays weak hand in poker game over Pathways carbon capture project
Toronto Star: Can Danielle Smith’s West Coast pipeline withstand treaty headwinds?
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Supreme Court grants North Dakota pipeline case
Niina H. Farah, 6/29/26
“The Supreme Court on Monday granted a petition from North Dakota landowners asking the justices to weigh in on how much compensation companies owe for using eminent domain to take land to build natural gas pipelines,” E&E News reports. “The landowners are seeking to overturn a March 2025 ruling finding that they were not entitled to compensation for legal fees and other costs associated with determining how much WBI Energy Transmission owed them for taking their land to build a 12-mile gas pipeline in northwestern North Dakota… “The 8th Circuit ruled that the Natural Gas Act did not explicitly allow compensation for additional legal fees and that the landowners in the case were not entitled to compensation for that expense. This is in contrast to other federal laws, which do require coverage for attorneys fees for federal takings, the court ruled. The 8th Circuit decision overturned a ruling from a lower bench, which granted the landowners more than $383,000 in attorneys’ fees. The district court had held that because federal law did not explicitly mention legal fees, then state law could be applied to determine an amount owed to the landowners.”
E&E News: Supreme Court pipeline case is a clash of conservative principles
Mike Soraghan, 6/30/26
“The gas pipeline case the Supreme Court accepted Monday pits conservative priorities against each other,” E&E News reports. “On one side, there’s states’ rights and property rights. On the other is the need for gas pipelines and other energy development. In the middle is a $383,000 tab for legal work, racked up as attorneys for a group of North Dakota ranchers fought with a gas company about a pipeline across their land. The landowners didn’t oppose the pipeline, but they said the company was offering far less money than they’d gotten from other pipeline companies. They settled their case but left to the courts the question of who pays the fees. And the courts haven’t been able to agree. North Dakota state law says the company should pay, and federal law doesn’t. That’s the legal question. But the conflict presents the conservative-dominated Supreme Court with questions about what rights landowners should have when the federal government authorizes energy projects that affect their property… “The conflict between property rights and energy development makes it hard to predict how the court will rule, Frances Morris, an environmental lawyer at Kelley Drye & Warren, told E&E… “But she doesn’t think the case will have much effect on pipeline construction, even if the justices open the door for more landowners in eminent domain cases to be reimbursed for attorney fees.”
CTV: Alberta’s Danielle Smith to announce next steps for pipeline proposal on Thursday
Stephanie Ha, 6/29/26
“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is expected to announce the next steps in her push for a new oil pipeline to Canada’s west coast on Thursday,” CTV reports. “...In a statement to CTV News on Monday, Smith’s press secretary Samuel Blackett said the premier “will have a major announcement on July 2 to share new details about the Government of Alberta’s submission to the Major Projects Office for a new one-million-barrel-per-day pipeline to Canada’s west coast.” “...But there remains no clear private sector investor to pay for it. So far, Alberta has acted as the proponent for the project. When asked if Alberta expects to have a private sector proponent by the July 1 deadline, a provincial official said in a May briefing to reporters to “stay tuned” and that “work continues.” “...In an interview with CTV Question Period in May, Smith said she and the federal government are looking at five potential routes for a pipeline. The issue has been a point of contention between Alberta and British Columbia for months, with B.C. Premier David Eby opposed to a route that would lead to the northwest coast, because it would require lifting a maritime tanker ban.”
Alaska Public Media: Gas pipeline developer raises issues with LNG tax bill as lawmakers work out final draft
Eric Stone, 6/29/26
“A group of state lawmakers tasked with drafting a final version of an Alaska LNG tax relief bill kicked off its work Friday and Saturday, a week after Gov. Mike Dunleavy rejected the version passed by the Senate and called lawmakers back into special session,” Alaska Public Media reports. “...Glenfarne Alaska LNG LLC President Adam Prestidge and AGDC Commercial Director Matt Kissinger suggested numerous changes to the bill, saying some sections be deleted or reworked… “Much of Saturday was devoted to a long-sought tax change that would subject some privately held companies to the state’s corporate income tax… “Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski, one of the tax change’s primary advocates, told APM by text message he believed including the provision in the bill “will be necessary in order to get 11 votes in the Senate.” That sets up a clash with Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who said in an op-ed published on the website of conservative political writer Suzanne Downing on Sunday he would veto any bill that included it… “Adding a targeted income tax on oil and gas producers and on Glenfarne and its investors is not a negotiating tactic. It is a poison pill, and it must be treated as one,” he wrote… “But Glenfarne opposes the tax, even if lawmakers eliminate some of the technical questions about how it would apply, Prestidge said… “Glenfarne and AGDC also raised issues with a number of transparency provisions in the bill, saying disclosure requirements regarding foreign investors, cost figures, and the status of the project could hurt its ability to attract investors and lenders.”
Michigan Advance: Public comment deadline for Michigan Line 5 project ends Tuesday
Chrystal Blair, 6/30/26
“The public has until the end of the day Tuesday to comment on a proposed wastewater permit for Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac,” the Michigan Advance reports. “...Environmental groups are urging regulators to closely examine the amount of treated wastewater that could be discharged, what it could contain and Enbridge’s proposal to use artificial intelligence to monitor the tunnel. Enbridge says the project would add new layers of environmental protection, and that wastewater would be treated to meet state requirements. However, Ashley Rudzinski, climate and environment program director for the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, told the Advance she is concerned Enbridge would be allowed to discharge about 7 million gallons of treated industrial wastewater into the Great Lakes every day… “The wastewater permit is one of several state and federal approvals Enbridge still needs before construction can move forward. Comments can be submitted to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy… “State regulators are expected to make a decision sometime this summer.”
Chatham Journal: Enbridge pipeline debate raises questions about land, growth, and trust
Gene Galin, 6/29/26
“…In our June 24 conversation with Chatham County landowner and environmental scientist John Alderman, the lunch table became an informal classroom for residents trying to understand Enbridge Gas North Carolina’s proposed pipeline — and what landowners may need to do next,” the Chatham Journal reports. “...For residents whose properties may lie in or near the proposed corridor, however, the issue is not abstract. It involves certified letters, survey access, possible easements, environmental concerns and the fear that rural land could become part of a much larger industrial energy network… “One of the clearest pieces of advice that emerged from our discussion was procedural: document every communication. Greg told the Journal that if a land agent contacts a property owner, the owner should promptly write back and summarize what was said. He said doing so protects both parties and creates a record while the conversation is still fresh… “John Alderman told the Journal he has taken that idea one step further. He said he prefers email communication and has told land agents and surveyors to communicate with him in writing. He also described copying or blind-copying others on communications, creating a network of residents who are informed in real time. That strategy, Alderman told the Journal, allows individual property owners to become less isolated. A single landowner may feel overwhelmed by a utility company, survey firms and legal language. A group of residents sharing information can compare letters, timelines, questions and tactics. For landowners, the legal process can be intimidating. A certified letter from a company attorney or land agent can sound final, even when the project is still in an early stage. Our lunch conversation served as a reminder that residents should not ignore letters, but also should not assume they have no rights… “For residents, the immediate takeaway is practical: pay attention, keep records, ask questions, attend public meetings and seek qualified advice before signing anything. For local and state officials, the message is broader: people want transparency before survey stakes, drilling rigs, easements or compressor stations become facts on the ground.”
KIOW: Pipeline Safety Investigation Launched
AJ Taylor, 6/29/26
“The Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) has opened a comprehensive investigation to review Black Hills Energy’s (Black Hills) compliance with state and federal pipeline safety regulations across Iowa,” KIOW reports. “The decision in today’s order in Docket No. PSA-2026-0001 follows a June 2025 inspection of Black Hills’ Spencer Unit, which includes natural gas pipelines in 18 communities in northwest Iowa. IUC inspectors identified more than 100 safety issues spanning 16 violation categories. None of the findings included an immediate threat to the public, but because of the high volume of problems found, the IUC initially opened an investigation in Docket No. PSA-2025-0001 in September 2025 to address the Spencer Unit concerns and determine whether civil penalties were warranted… “The sheer number of violations, delays in making necessary corrections, and the increased risk to public safety prompted the IUC to broaden its investigation.”
WEWS: Underground utility drilling halted in some cities after explosion damaged dozens of homes
Scott Noll, 6/26/26
“At least five municipalities halted underground drilling by utility companies after Thursday’s gas leak and explosion in Twinsburg Township that damaged three dozen homes including three which were destroyed,” WEWS reports. “Twinsburg, Hudson, Stow and Green all announced the cities halted all directional drilling following the explosion… “In a statement Friday, a spokesman for Uniti, the fiber optic company laying the cable, confirmed a subcontractor working for the company struck the gas line and wrote, “based on our initial findings, we believe this damage was the result of inaccurate markings of underground utilities by a third-party utility locating service.” “...In the meantime, some living near the devastation told WEWS they supported the pause on utility work until more is known about what went wrong. “I’d hate to see this happen again, this is bad,” Apple told WEWS. “These people lost everything yesterday. Their homes, their memories. Everything. It’s gone.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Heatmap: FERC Was Already Losing Its Independence. Now It’s Gone.
Matthew Zeitlin, 6/29/26
“The Supreme Court on Monday morning effectively OK-ed the firing of commissioners at independent agencies with no showing of cause, overturning a 90-plus-year-old precedent and granting the president seemingly vast powers to reshape the federal regulatory state,” Heatmap reports. “That likely includes agencies crucial to energy planning and governance, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (though not, notably, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors)... “In her dissent on the decision, which split 6-3 along the usual partisan lines, Justice Sonia Sotomayor listed FERC and the NRC as among the “dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the President’s hands.” “...While it’s not foreordained that FERC chairs will agree with the presidents that appointed them, even if they’re both members of the same party, Monday’s decision makes disagreement more dangerous for current and future FERC chairs to consider. “There’s a bigger risk that they’ll have to ultimately yield to political pressure because they’ll have this very overt threat that they’ll be fired,” Freeman told Heatmap. “We’re going to see decisions that look more political, that look less expertly driven, and they probably will wax and wane with every new administration, which undermines stability.”
New York Times: Oil Industry Lawyers Fight a $50 Billion Climate Case in Oregon
Karen Zraick, 6/26/26
“Nearly five years to the day that an unprecedented heat dome descended on the Pacific Northwest, dozens of lawyers coalesced in a Portland courtroom this week to debate an extraordinary lawsuit that attempts to hold oil companies responsible for the deaths that resulted,” the New York Times reports. “The $50 billion lawsuit argues that the deadly heat dome — the most extreme heat event in the region’s recorded history — was a result of the defendants’ decades-long campaign to cover up the dangers of global warming… ”The case is one of nearly 40 lawsuits that have been filed by state and local governments across the country arguing that the fossil fuel industry should be held accountable for its role accelerating climate change. But Multnomah County’s is unique in its focus on one specific disaster, the five-day heat wave that struck in 2021. Temperatures at the time hit 116 degrees and 69 people died, according to health officials… “The defendants’ principal argument, that federal law effectively blocks the lawsuit from proceeding, is the same one the Supreme Court is expected to hear this fall, in a closely watched climate lawsuit filed by the city and county of Boulder, Colo… “The plaintiffs have taken pains in many of these cases to argue that they are not seeking to regulate global or interstate emissions, which would fall under federal law. Multnomah County’s lawyers argued that the companies’ in-state emissions have caused extreme weather, including the 2021 heat wave.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Amid stark opposition, data center developers think twice about Florida
Kylie Williams, 6/29/26
“Florida’s pro-business aura and the AI-driven data center boom across the South seem like a perfect match on paper. The only problem: Communities statewide are not on board,” E&E News reports. “At least 20 Sunshine State counties and municipalities have passed or discussed a temporary — and, in some cases, permanent — moratorium on data centers. In many others, residents have packed local commission meetings armed with T-shirts, signs and petitions urging elected officials to restrict data center projects. And the staunch opposition from local residents, alongside similar animosity from top state officials like GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, has the data center industry rethinking its interest in Florida — and scuttling some large-scale projects. “Everybody’s concerned about their quality of life, and nobody wants to lose it for a data center next door,” Margaret Kirkland, the chair of Conserve Nassau, a local conservation group in the Northeastern corner of Florida, told E&E.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Unionized BP oil refinery workers picket at Chicago HQ for end of 100-day lockout
David Struett, 6/26/26
“As unionized British Petroleum oil refinery workers reached the 100th day of being locked out of their jobs in northwest Indiana, they took the fight to BP’s headquarters in Downtown Chicago to demand the company accept their contract offer,” the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “The 800 locked out workers say their livelihoods are at stake, as well as nearly 100 union jobs that BP insists on laying off at the refinery in Whiting, Indiana. David Wesolowski, 50, has one of the dozens of union positions that BP wants to eliminate and replace with contractors. He, along with hundreds of others who rallied outside BP’s Chicago office at 30 S. Wacker on Friday, told the Sun-Times BP’s hardball negotiating tactics — and quick move to lock out the workers just two months into contract bargaining — are deeply unfair. “It’s union busting. It’s a power move,” Wesolowski, of Bourbonnais, who has worked for 12 years as an in-house carpenter for BP, told the Sun-Times… “BP may have locked out the employees to force the hand of the employees, but it’s not working, United Steelworkers Local 7-1 President Eric Schultz, who leads the union that represents the workers, told the Sun-Times.”
EXTRACTION
Energy Intelligence Group: Exxon Drops US Gulf Leases as Interior Shelves CCS Rules
Isaac Windes, 6/29/26
“Exxon Mobil has begun relinquishing more than 160 federal offshore oil and gas leases in the US Gulf of Mexico that it acquired earlier this decade for potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) development,” Energy Intelligence Group reports. “The energy giant acquired these specific blocks earlier this decade with the intent to convert them into carbon capture and storage (CCS) developments, but is dropping them after the US Department of the Interior shelved the anticipated offshore CCS regulations.”
S&P Global: Private developer to propose Canada’s first crude oil SPR on eastern coast
Ashok Dutta, 6/29/26
“Private developer Triple Point Resources is proposing construction of Canada’s first strategic petroleum reserves for crude storage in salt caverns on the nation’s eastern coast, with a nameplate capacity up to 100 million barrels, driven primarily by changes in global energy security and a growing need for sovereignty, CEO Julie Lemieux said June 29,” S&P Global reports. “...With the current geo-political crisis, Canada was not caught off-guard in terms of production,” Lemieux told S&P. “But we are the only G7 nation without a SPR, and we believe the time has come for that scenario to change.” The proposed facility would be at Fischells, Bay St. George, in Newfoundland and Labrador, and would entail an overall investment of some C$1 billion ($705 million) over time, which would include storage tanks and transshipment facilities, she told S&P… “The stockpile of oil for the planned SPR can be sourced from offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, another sovereign country that would like to store crude on the Eastern seaboard of North America and benefit refineries in the East Coast of Canada and the US, she told S&P.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
E&E News: World Bank drops climate finance target amid US pressure
Sara Schonhardt, 6/30/26
“The World Bank is ditching its commitment to steer 45 percent of its spending toward projects with climate benefits, after facing pressure from the Trump administration,” E&E News reports. “The move, announced Monday following a meeting of the bank’s board of directors last week, marks a victory in President Donald Trump’s effort to purge climate policies from U.S. foreign policy. His administration has described the target as “distortionary” and “nonsensical.” “...The decision to drop the climate finance target follows months of pressure from the Trump administration. People with knowledge of the negotiations told E&E the U.S. was firm that the target must go despite other countries indicating their support for the bank’s climate goal. The U.S. has sway over the bank’s decisions as its largest shareholder… “The bank said it would honor a board request to undertake an independent evaluation of the climate plan to determine if it’s helping countries grapple with rising temperatures. The decision effectively extends the plan beyond its expiration at the end of June. The climate target was supported by many of the bank’s shareholders. It’s also been a prominent signal of the bank’s support for climate action at a time when the impacts of rising temperatures are accelerating.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Press release: Enbridge Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary; Announces $2.5M Founding Gift to Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota
6/29/26
“As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge or the Company) (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) is announcing a $2.5M founding gift to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL) which opens July 4, 2026, in Medora, North Dakota. Enbridge’s funding supports the library’s sustainability certification and conservation initiatives. Enbridge’s investment will also help to restore 400,000 native plants to the surrounding prairie ecosystem, enhancing biodiversity and wildlife habitat. “Theodore Roosevelt is often called the ‘conservation president’ so it’s fitting that his Presidential Library is designed to exist within the rugged landscape of the North Dakota Badlands,” said Greg Ebel, Enbridge President and CEO… “The gift reflects Enbridge’s focus on sustainability.”
OPINION
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska has waited 50 years for a gas line. Don’t kill this chance now.
Mike Dunleavy is governor of Alaska, 6/29/26
“Alaskans have been hearing about a natural gas pipeline for 50 years. Fifty years of studies, proposals, false starts and broken promises. For most of that time, the project was either too expensive, too complicated or too dependent on a federal government that had other priorities,” Mike Duleavy writes for the Anchorage Daily News. “But something changed. A private developer stepped forward, signed binding agreements, hired contractors, found buyers in Japan and South Korea, and put real money on the table. After half a century of waiting, the pipeline is no longer a dream. There is a plan. But that very plan is at risk… “Rather than passing a bill that works, senators turned it into something else entirely. They added a new corporate income tax on pass-through entities, imposed construction deadlines that have nothing to do with how a project like this actually gets built and inserted a forfeiture clause that will strip the developer of any compensation if the project falters. These amendments do not protect Alaska. They guarantee that nothing gets built. Glenfarne, the company that has committed billions of dollars to this project, said exactly that… “There is time to get this right, but no time to waste. I remain committed to supporting a bill that moves this project forward. Alaska should not support one that kills it. The choice now belongs to the Legislature, and Alaskans are watching.”
Juneau Empire: All coupons have an expiration date, even for a gas pipeline
Larry Persily, 6/29/26
“Businesses routinely offer discounts and coupons as enticements to get people to spend money or to buy something they wouldn’t normally purchase if they had to pay full price. It’s the same for the proposed Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline project,” Larry Persily writes for the Juneau Empire. “The dream has been around for almost 60 years, but no one has been willing to pay full price. So now, the Legislature and the governor are welded together in a political debate over just how much of a discount coupon the state should offer to get the project built. The governor and the developer, a private company named Glenfarne, want a massive discount on property taxes. Without the tax relief, they say, the project will never get built and the state treasury and the public will be the losers. The political fight isn’t so much whether tax relief is a valid incentive for the state to offer, but how much of a discount the state should offer and when it should expire… “But no business issues coupons without an expiration date. The cost of goods change, economics and business plans change. Stores need the flexibility to protect their own interests. The state needs to think the same as a supermarket and put an expiration date on its tax coupon so that lawmakers can change the terms up or down if the discount does not result in a sale… “If the company does not commit to build and put the line into operation by the just-right deadline in the Senate version, the state should have the right to cancel the coupon and reconsider how much of a discount is in Alaska’s best interests.”
Globe and Mail: Alberta plays weak hand in poker game over Pathways carbon capture project
Andrew Willis, 6/30/26
“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has thrown away her best cards in a high-stakes showdown with the province’s biggest energy companies by promising a quickly-forgotten $100 payout to provincial residents,” Andrew Willis writes for the Globe and Mail. “...The negotiations between the governments and the producers – Canadian Natural Resouces Ltd., Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips Canada – are expected to result in a second bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast… “The grand bargain also features a plan to reduce carbon emissions by building a massive carbon capture and storage or CCS facility in Alberta, a project seen as necessary to winning social license for the pipeline and oil sands expansion. That’s where a poker game is playing out. Oil sands producers, some of the canniest negotiators in business, are balking at the prospect of paying for the Pathways Project, which is expected to cost up to $20-billion. One of their arguments is Pathways will spend a great deal of money to make a minimal reduction to global carbon emissions… “In return for funding Pathways, the CEOs will demand Alberta defer or reduce the royalties they pay on oil sands production. Their grand bargain with the Premier will be higher profits in return for any investment in a cutting-edge CCS facility and increased production… “Lower royalties will make carbon taxes and an expensive Pathways project easier to swallow… “Ms. Smith risks giving up a solid negotiating position with oil sands CEOs in a multibillion-dollar showdown for zero political gain.”
Toronto Star: Can Danielle Smith’s West Coast pipeline withstand treaty headwinds?
Gina Starblanket (Cree/Saulteaux) and James Rowe are both associate professors at the University of Victoria, 6/30/26
“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wants to deliver another pipeline to the Alberta oil and gas industry. But can her pipeline get built, given the strong headwinds it faces from First Nations are likely to punt the project into a protracted court battle?,” Gina Starblanket and James Rowe write for the Toronto Star. “Smith’s flirtation with separatism is not only to protect her job as leader of a party with strong support for Alberta independence, but also as a tactic to gain federal support in the bid for a pipeline to the B.C. coast. And yet to secure that pipeline, she also needs Indigenous rights holders to be on board. By aligning with separatists, who actively deny treaty rights, Smith may have helped sink the very pipeline she is so eager to see built. Smith and the separatists’ ongoing disregard for Aboriginal and treaty rights has set the conditions for powerful solidarity among Alberta and B.C. First Nations that was not present in previous pipeline battles, making this project even riskier for the private sector proponent the Alberta government is still trying to secure… “The 2025 MOU requires that the pipeline include Indigenous ownership, among other conditions. This will secure some level of buy-in, but it will not quell opposition. Not only is First Nation resistance to the proposed pipeline historically stiff on the B.C. coast, but the political context has profoundly shifted in Alberta as well, with First Nations treaty chiefs recently accusing Smith of treason and encouraging civil disobedience because the separatism vote she is pursuing violates treaty rights and threatens Canadian sovereignty. Given the divisive context Smith has sown, First Nations in Alberta will surely resist overtures from her government and seek to stop her pipeline. This resistance is even less of a question on the B.C. coast.”