EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 8/30/21
PIPELINE NEWS
St. Paul Pioneer Press: Minnesota troopers arrest 69 protesting Line 3 pipeline outside the governor's mansion
WDIO: Troopers arrest 69 pipeline protesters at Walz's residence
WCCO: Pipeline Protesters Arrested After Refusing To Leave Minnesota State Capitol [VIDEO]
Associated Press: Line 3 opponents descend on Minnesota Capitol to seek a stop
Roanoke Times: DEQ taking public comments on Mountain Valley Pipeline stream crossings
Radio Iowa: Proposed carbon dioxide pipeline would cross 30 Iowa counties
Arkansas Business: For Welspun's Rajesh Chokhani, Pipe Dreams Continue Without Keystone
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Utility Dive: EPA urges FERC to use social cost of carbon in gas project reviews
Politico Morning Energy: INTERIOR SEEKS ANWR INPUT
EXTRACTION
Globe and Mail: Liberals unveil climate plan, pledge cap on oil sector emissions
Bloomberg: Gas Producer’s Net Zero Pledge Challenged in Court by Activist
OPB: Portland denies Zenith Energy’s essential certification
Pioneer Press: Three-train crash spilled estimated 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel near Mississippi River in St. Paul
World Oil: Baker Hughes conducts CO2 sequestration study at California ethanol plant sites
Anchorage Daily News: Exploration analysis suggests another billion-barrel oil prospect on Alaska’s North Slope
OPINION
Healing MN: State of Intimidation: Minnesota law enforcement’s in-your-face approach to ‘Treaties Not Tar Sands’ rally
Toronto Star: Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline is ‘genocide against my people.’ Why it’s ‘climate suicide’ for insurance companies
Mackinac Center for Public Policy: Nessel’s Approach to Higher Energy Costs
Forbes: As Biden Promises Big Moves On Methane, U.S. Businesses Are Poised For Growth
PIPELINE NEWS
St. Paul Pioneer Press: Minnesota troopers arrest 69 protesting Line 3 pipeline outside the governor's mansion
Deanna Weniger, 8/29/21
“Minnesota state troopers on Saturday, Aug. 28, arrested 69 people protesting Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 replacement pipeline project in front of the Governor’s Residence in St. Paul,” the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. “The group moved their protest to the residence on Summit Avenue after being told to remove rally structures from the Capitol grounds Friday after their event permit expired Thursday evening. Four people were arrested there. The demonstrators, who are part of a series of events called Treaties over Tar Sands, are calling for Gov. Tim Walz and President Joe Biden to pull permits and shut down the replacement pipeline project. Line 3 carries oil from Canada and passes through North Dakota and northern Minnesota on its way to Superior, Wisconsin The 337-mile segment in Minnesota is the last phase in replacing the deteriorating pipeline. Indigenous and environmental activists say the project violates Native American treaty rights and will aggravate climate change and risk contamination from spills. The group was asked to leave multiple times by Minnesota State Patrol officers, who cited that the gathering was illegal. Several buses were brought in to remove protesters from the street… “Those arrested face various charges including disorderly conduct, third-degree riot and felony threats of violence. They were all booked into the Ramsey County Jail. “If you swarm someone’s home, chain yourself to the fence and pull on the gate in an attempt to tear it down, you should expect to be arrested,” Col. Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, told the Pioneer Press.
WDIO: Troopers arrest 69 pipeline protesters at Walz's residence
8/29/21
“Troopers arrested 69 people outside Gov. Tim Walz’s residence in St. Paul in a protest against an oil pipeline replacement project,” WDIO reports. “The Minnesota State Patrol says demonstrators at Saturday's gathering were booked into the Ramsey County Jail under several charges, including third-degree riot, disorderly conduct and felony threats of violence. The demonstrators are calling for Walz and President Joe Biden to shut down the Enbridge Line 3 project that carries oil from Alberta, Canada and passes through North Dakota and northern Minnesota on its way to Superior, Wisconsin. The 337-mile segment in Minnesota is the last phase in construction. Opponents of the project say construction would destroy land that is protected by treaty agreements and would violate cultural and religious rights.”
WCCO: Pipeline Protesters Arrested After Refusing To Leave Minnesota State Capitol [VIDEO]
8/27/21
“Videos posted to social media showed troopers telling the protesters over loudspeaker that their permit to protest expired Thursday night, adding that they'd be arrested if they didn't leave the mall,” WCCO reports.
Associated Press: Line 3 opponents descend on Minnesota Capitol to seek a stop
Mohamed Ibrahim, 8/25/21
“Protesters descended upon the Minnesota State Capitol on Wednesday to rally against Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline as the project nears completion,” the Associated Press reports. “The rally, part of a series of events called Treaties over Tar Sands organized by Indigenous and environmental activists, called on Gov. Tim Walz and President Joe Biden to pull permits and shut down the Line 3 replacement pipeline project. Construction began in December and oil is expected to start flowing before the end of the year. More than a dozen tipis stood on the state Capitol mall as rallygoers carrying flags and signs that read “Defend the Sacred” and “Honor our Treaties” gathered before the building. Opponents of the pipeline, which would carry Canadian tar sands oil and lighter crude, argue the project violates Native American treaty rights and will aggravate climate change and risk spills that would contaminate areas where Indigenous people hunt, fish and gather wild rice… “Organizers estimated the crowd at more than 2,000 while Capitol Security put it at about 1,000. State troopers watched from the steps of the Capitol building behind fencing reinstalled by state officials last week in anticipation of the event — a move that was criticized by protesters ahead of the event. Hundreds of “water protectors” have been arrested or ticketed in protests across northern Minnesota since major construction began in December. “They have arrested 800, almost 900 people all for a Canadian corporation to make a buck in the middle of climate chaos,” Winona LaDuke, executive director of the Indigenous based environmental group Honor the Earth, told AP. “It’s poor policy and it’s worse practice and we’re here to ask the governor why he continues with such egregious policies and how we’re going to change that.”
Roanoke Times: DEQ taking public comments on Mountain Valley Pipeline stream crossings
Laurence Hammack, 8/29/21
“For those fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline, scattered stretches of water, wetlands and national forest may soon be all that’s left to defend,” the Roanoke Times reports. “Construction crews working through the summer have completed large sections of the 303-mile natural gas pipeline that starts in northern West Virginia, passes through the New River and Roanoke valleys, and connects with another pipeline near the North Carolina line. The latest question — whether Mountain Valley should be granted permission to cross water bodies — is now reaching a key stage. On Saturday, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality began taking public comments on a draft permit that would allow Mountain Valley to dig trenches for the buried pipe through streams and wetlands, impacting surface water in 428 locations. That’s an area of slightly more than 9 acres and 17,000 linear feet of streams and rivers along the pipeline’s 107-mile path through Southwest Virginia. Two public hearings, in Rocky Mount and Radford, will be held in late September. The deadline for written comments is Oct. 27, and the State Water Control Board is expected to make a final decision in December on whether to grant a water quality certification to MVP. The process is off to a rocky start, with pipeline opponents saying that a recommendation by DEQ’s staff to approve the permit foreshadows what will happen. “This proposal is an abdication of DEQ’s duty to protect Virginians and our precious resources,” read a statement from Appalachian Voices, Sierra Club, the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights coalition and Wild Virginia, four organizations that have long opposed the project. “We now call on the citizen-led State Water Control Board to reject DEQ’s recommendation and deny the certification,” the groups said.
Radio Iowa: Proposed carbon dioxide pipeline would cross 30 Iowa counties
DAR DANIELSON, 8/30/21
“The process is underway that could lead to the construction of the first carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa,” Radio Iowa reports. “Iowa Utilities Board spokesman, Don Tormey told Radio Iowa Summit Carbon Solutions is considering the pipeline. “It’s referred to as the midwest carbon express, proposed to run through several midwest states, including Iowa. The project in Iowa would be proposed to cross 30 Iowa counties,” Tormey says. Summit Carbon Solutions is an affiliate of the Summit Agricultural Group owned by Bruce Rastetter of Alden. Tormey says the project would be classified as a hazardous liquid pipeline — and that is why it falls under the IUB’s jurisdiction… “After all the meetings have concluded, the company has to wait at least 30 days to file a petition with the IUB for a new pipeline permit,” he explains. Tormey says if you can’t attend the meeting in your county you can attend one in another county, and the IUB will offer a virtual meeting on October 12th at 5:30 p-m. Tormey says there are other ways you can also comment on the pipeline with written comments or objections electronically using the IUB open docket form on their website, or through an email to customer@IUB@iowa.gov. The first public hearing is in Hardin County at noon on September 13th.”
Arkansas Business: For Welspun's Rajesh Chokhani, Pipe Dreams Continue Without Keystone
8/30/21
“Six months later, are your worst fears about the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline coming to pass?,” Arkansas Business reports. “Not really. The cancellation of the KXL project has created a huge gap in the pipe manufacturing industry. There are more than a million tons of pipes sitting on the ground, and it may discourage new pipe manufacturing. What is next for Welspun? We have no choice but to hold tight until the market rebounds. The industry is experiencing some tough times. But we are very confident that these tough times will not last for very long. Who are Welspun’s biggest clients? Almost all the oil and gas majors are our clients. What are the biggest business challenges for Welspun? Our biggest challenges are to surpass the gap created due to the cancellation of the KXL project, domestic steel pricing and workforce availability when business rebounds. Our business has been tremendously affected by the cancellation of projects, including KXL.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Utility Dive: EPA urges FERC to use social cost of carbon in gas project reviews
Robert Walton, 8/27/21
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in a pair of August letters, urged federal regulators to revise draft environmental reviews for two natural gas projects, to include a social cost of carbon calculation in order to better understand their impacts,” Utility Dive reports. “Columbia Gulf Transmission has proposed new gas facilities in Louisiana that EPA says would cause "over $205 million dollars in climate damages per year." Separately, Iroquois Gas Transmission has a proposed Northeast project that could do more than $144 million in annual damage, the agency said. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is independent and does not have to follow EPA's recommendations, according to Gillian Giannetti, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. But the agency is "extremely influential" and using the carbon cost calculation could help meet President Joe Biden's plans to decarbonize the U.S. economy… "EPA strongly recommends that FERC use the social cost of greenhouse gases to assess climate impacts generated by each additional ton of greenhouse gas emitted," EPA wrote in an Aug. 16 letter regarding the Columbia Gulf project. It made similar comments in an Aug. 9 letter regarding the Iroquois project. The agency also acknowledged "the uncertainty associated with these methods," but encouraged using estimates "that reflect the best available science and methodologies to incorporate the value to society of net changes in direct and indirect [greenhouse gas] emissions resulting from a proposed action."
Politico Morning Energy: INTERIOR SEEKS ANWR INPUT
Matthew Choi, 8/27/21
“The Interior Department announced three dates for planned meetings for the public to comment on the new environmental review it’s planning for potential drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “The meetings, which would be held virtually twice a day on Sept. 14-16, would allow the public to voice their opinions on the current drilling plan and flag any issues for the new review that the Biden administration plans to finish in October. But ME plans to see how the House Natural Resources Committee budget markup scheduled for next week could impact the review, given that a leaked memo from earlier this week shows that the committee is mulling whether to repeal the ANWR leasing program that was included in the 2017 tax legislation that opened up ANWR to drilling in the first place.”
EXTRACTION
Globe and Mail: Liberals unveil climate plan, pledge cap on oil sector emissions
MARIEKE WALSH, 8/29/21
“Greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector would not be allowed to grow under a re-elected Liberal government, Justin Trudeau said Sunday as he unveiled his party’s climate plan that would also set a faster pace for the country’s transition to zero-emissions vehicles,” the Globe and Mail reports. “...Mr. Trudeau’s proposals for the oil and gas sector will likely be the most contentious of his climate plan and risk fanning regional divisions. The Liberals said they would set five-year targets for emissions reductions in the sector starting in 2025. The party did not say what baseline level of emissions it will use for the targets and did not say how it would be tracked or enforced. The Liberals also propose a tougher limit on methane emissions from the sector, requiring a 75-per-cent cut below 2012 levels by 2030… “Emissions in the oil and gas sector will no longer rise, will decrease every year,” Mr. Trudeau said in Cambridge, Ont. Data from Environment Canada show that overall emissions from the sector have been relatively stable since 2014. Oil and gas companies are already working to cut their carbon footprints – testing out new technologies to lower emissions per barrel and capture and store the carbon that is still emitted… “There is great concern that the move to a ‘just transition’ is code for shutting down the oil and gas sector, rather than allowing the sector to innovate and reduce green house gas emissions, which is what needs to happen to address climate change,” Mr. Masson told the Globe and Mail.
Bloomberg: Gas Producer’s Net Zero Pledge Challenged in Court by Activist
James Thornhill, 8/26/21
“Australian oil & gas producer Santos Ltd. will be challenged in court on its claim to have a “clear and credible” path to net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its operations, in a case brought by a climate activist group,” Bloomberg reports. “The Adelaide-based company engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct when it said in its 2020 annual report that natural gas provides clean energy, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility alleged in proceedings filed to a federal court on Wednesday. The group also called into question Santos’ plan to reach zero emissions by 2040… “While some producers have faced general skepticism over their green goals in the past, the Santos case is the first to legally challenge the validity of a company’s plan to reach net zero, according to the ACCR… “Santos’ roadmap to net zero relies heavily on carbon capture and storage technology, which ACCR said was unproven, expensive and unreliable. The group also said the extraction and processing of fossil gas involves the release of “significant quantities” of carbon dioxide and methane.”
OPB: Portland denies Zenith Energy’s essential certification
Monica Samayoa, 8/27/21
“The city of Portland dealt a big blow Friday to an oil-by-rail operation when it denied an essential certification for Zenith Energy’s controversial Northwest Portland oil terminal,” OPB reports. “The Portland Bureau of Development Services denied a land use compatibility statement, or LUCS, which Zenith needed to renew its air quality permit with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The Texas-based company’s Portland oil terminal receives crude oil and renewable fuels from trains, stores it in tanks and sends it through pipes to outgoing ships. The company has said it plans to expand its transloading and shipping of renewable fuels. But it was the shipping of fossil fuels that factored in Friday’s decision… “Zenith said it plans to appeal the city’s decision. “We are confident that our operations are compliant with current zoning codes and the City’s comprehensive plan,” W. Grady Reamer, a vice president with the Texas-based company, said in a statement… “Zenith had announced on Thursday a nearly three-fold increase in the amount of renewable diesel handled and stored at the facility. It also projected that renewable fuels will constitute nearly half of the facility’s capacity by 2026.”
Pioneer Press: Three-train crash spilled estimated 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel near Mississippi River in St. Paul
FREDERICK MELO, 8/27/21
“A three-train crash by the freight yards near Warner and Childs Road in St. Paul on Wednesday spilled approximately 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel, leading Canadian Pacific Railway workers to dig protective trenches and deploy containment booms on the Mississippi River,” the Pioneer Press reports. “The booms were placed as a precaution, and crews did not observe any fuel on the waterway, said Canadian Pacific spokesman Andy Cummings in an email. The fuel spilled from the lead Canadian Pacific locomotive involved in the crash, which took place around 5 p.m. Wednesday. Workers remain on site recovering spilled fuel. Rick Schute, director of Emergency Management for St. Paul, informed Prince and the deputy mayor by email Thursday that he had received word from the state duty officer indicating the crash location was within 1,000 feet of the river. “No sheen has been spotted, however booms are being placed at the outfalls and a trench is being dug to catch any runoff between the spill and the river,” Schute wrote… “Think what might have happened if the trains were mile-long unit trains carrying oil, chemicals or ethanol and leaking material ignited when struck by the locomotive,” said former city council member Tom Dimond, in an email to state officials and neighborhood advocates on Friday.”
World Oil: Baker Hughes conducts CO2 sequestration study at California ethanol plant sites
8/26/2021
“A new study concluded that more than 2 million metric tons (MT) per year of CO2 can be removed from the atmosphere and injected safely into the earth at two ethanol plant sites in California,” World Oil reports. “...The Baker Hughes study estimated that 1.0 million MT per year of CO2 can be sequestered in the saline formations located deep underground at or near the Aemetis Keyes ethanol plant site. The study noted that up to 1.4 million MT per year of CO2 should be injectable at or near the Aemetis Riverbank site due to the favorable permeability of the saline formation and other factors.”
Anchorage Daily News: Exploration analysis suggests another billion-barrel oil prospect on Alaska’s North Slope
Elwood Brehmer, 8/27/21
“A junior Australian outfit that has been exploring the North Slope for years has likely hit more than 1 billion barrels of oil in a formation that has quickly become the go-to target in the basin,” Anchorage Daily News reports. “88 Energy has tapped into a reservoir estimated to hold more than 1.6 billion barrels of light oil with its Merlin-1 well drilled last winter in the southeast corner of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, according to an independent analysis of the well conducted by Australian firm ERCE… “The recoverable oil resource is currently estimated at 652 million barrels… “88 Energy Director Ashley Gilbert said in an Aug. 16 statement that the company is thrilled by the results of the well warranting further seismic exploration as well as a nearby appraisal well on tap for next winter.”
OPINION
Healing MN: State of Intimidation: Minnesota law enforcement’s in-your-face approach to ‘Treaties Not Tar Sands’ rally
8/26/21
“What’s wrong with this picture? It implies a significant and violent threat where there was none. The ‘Treaties Not Tar Sands’ rally at the Capitol Wednesday drew 1,000 to 2,000 people. It was a beautiful and powerful event. I will write more about it in the coming days. It deserves more attention. Tonight, I’m focusing on law enforcement’s massive and intimidating response — and how rally-goers responded,” according to Healing MN. “At one point I counted 33 officers on or near the front steps of the Capitol. And there were many others spread out around the Capitol complex. The question is: Why is it when large numbers of black and brown people show up for some event, law enforcement feels compelled to use a show of force? Given all the racial tensions around policing, law enforcement had to know this approach was bad optics. It did it anyway. That means law enforcement either had little concern about making people feel unwelcome, scared, and/or angry, or in fact that was the intention. Arriving at the Capitol on Tuesday, I was surprised to see two law enforcement officers guarding the Capitol’s west wing. It was barricaded and fenced. No one was anywhere near this entrance. Yet there they were.”
Toronto Star: Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline is ‘genocide against my people.’ Why it’s ‘climate suicide’ for insurance companies
Kayah George ‘Halth-Leah’ proudly carries the teachings of her Tulalip and Tsleil-Waututh Nations which have inspired her to become a young Indigenous and environmental leader, scholar, and activist. 8/27/21
“My people are descended from the sea. That is the meaning of our name: Tsleil-Waututh, “people of the inlet,” Kayah George writes in the Toronto Star. “Our creation story tells us that we were created from the sediment in the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, Canada. The inlet is our grandmother, our oldest relative. The lands along this inlet have been my peoples’ home since time immemorial. At 22 years old, I have spent over half my life fighting alongside my family, for our home and for all of your homes and this land that is slowly eroding along with the climate. The Trans Mountain pipeline has threatened our land and our livelihoods since it was built in 1953, with 84 reported oil spills to date. Instead of listening to our cries on this stolen land, the federal government has used public dollars to buy the project and approved an expansion pipeline (TMX) which would triple the flow of oil… “One of the ways this risk manifests is insurance. Like all commercial projects, Trans Mountain needs insurance to begin construction and operation. Difficulty securing insurance for the pipeline has become such a struggle that Canada recently decided to hide the names of the pipeline’s insurers, but we know who they are from last year’s certificate of insurance: insurance giants like Liberty Mutual, AIG, Chubb, and Lloyd’s of London, among others are part of it. We call on these companies to publicly drop Trans Mountain. A project that can only be insured in secret should not exist. Other insurers have already cut ties with this environmental and human rights travesty: Argo recently announced it would not renew its coverage. A total of fifteen insurers have committed not to insure the pipeline. It is time for all insurers to drop this pipeline and to adopt policies that commit them not to back any projects that do not have the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples who are affected.”
Mackinac Center for Public Policy: Nessel’s Approach to Higher Energy Costs
Jennifer Wiland, 8/26/21
“...Nessel’s intervention is the proper response, made necessary because state government is the only check on monopoly utilities that do not have to compete in a free market. She should use the same standard of costs and benefits when evaluating any issue that will raise energy prices for Michiganders – including her efforts to shut down Line 5,” Jennifer Wiland writes for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “...Shutting down Line 5 has significant ramifications for Michigan’s energy market and economy. Considering the costs of closing Line 5, Nessel should consider whether the proposed benefits justify the costs to Michigan consumers. Advocates say that the pipeline is old, damaged by anchor strikes and at risk of rupturing, causing an oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac. Nobody wants that kind of disaster. The Great Lakes are a precious natural feature, as well as vital to Michigan’s economy, so protecting them is a high priority… “A Line 5 shutdown would raise energy costs. Propane prices could rise by 10 to 14 cents per gallon, which is a 5-7% increase from residential propane prices in Michigan last March. If households in the Upper Peninsula opt to switch to electric heat, it could cost them over $25,000 initially and an additional $3,400 to $3,900 every year. And the regional economic impact would be devastating: Michigan alone could lose over $3 billion in economic activity, $1 billion in gross state product, and $58.6 million in state tax revenue, according to a report by the Consumer Energy Alliance. This report also notes that closing Line 5 could cost 6,692 Michiganders their jobs. From refinery workers to engineers to maintenance staff, everyone whose work relies on the pipeline would be forced to seek employment elsewhere. Union leaders say shutting down Line 5 would immediately cost 1,200 union jobs, and members of Steelworkers International and Local 912 have protested on the lawn of the state Capitol.”
Forbes: As Biden Promises Big Moves On Methane, U.S. Businesses Are Poised For Growth
Jon Goldstein, Director, Regulatory & Legislative Affairs at Environmental Defense Fund, 8/27/21
“New research reveals that an entire employment sector has rapidly grown to tackle methane emissions from oil and gas fields across the country — the largest industrial source in the U.S. of this potent greenhouse gas,” Jon Goldstein writes for Forbes. “What’s more, the sector is poised to dramatically expand operations and services as the Biden administration prepares nationwide rules to limit pollution… “New EDF research conducted this July and August in the Permian Basin, the nation’s biggest oil and gas field, showed how urgent and persistent this problem still is, and that we’ll need comprehensive state and federal rules to address it. The research uncovered over 900 plumes of methane from roughly 500 sites — many of which had similar emissions events documented in previous research flights from 2019. With the EPA expected to propose new rules next month to reduce methane emissions, there is a critical opportunity to dramatically limit rogue pollution from oil and gas sites across the country. The question now is how far the EPA will go to cover all significant emission sources, resist carve-outs and deliver rules that curb pollution, act on climate and create jobs… “Delivering strong protections is one of the Biden administration’s fastest, highest impact opportunities to act on the climate crisis. The EPA’s rules must take advantage of advanced technologies to tackle emissions and protect our climate and communities, ensuring all significant pollution sources are covered comprehensively. The latest science has demonstrated that even older, lower producing wells leak at similar rates as others and are often an outsized source of pollution, making up a significant portion of the oil and gas sector’s total methane emissions.”