EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 9/21/21
PIPELINE NEWS
ABC News: Line 3 pipeline resistance continues as activists ask Biden admin to shutdown project
Reuters: Dakota Access pipeline asks U.S. Supreme Court to scrap environmental study order
Facebook: Camp Migizi: A brave water protector placed themselves INSIDE the Posiedon tanks for the hydrostatic testing
Guardian: ‘They screwed up our lake’: tar sands pipeline is sucking water from Minnesota watersheds
Facebook: Indigenous Environmental Network: New Frac-Out Spill Discovered near Firelight Camp on September 17, 2021
Bloomberg: Enbridge Oil-Sands Pipeline Bottleneck Eases Before Line 3 Start
Politico: Democratic support for carbon dioxide pipelines spurs backlash
Oil & Water Don’t Mix: Call for Investigation Follows Straits Corridor Authority Disclosures
Law360: Investors Seek Class Approval In Suit Over $3B Pa. Pipeline
The City: New York officials call on governor to revisit rate hike tied to controversial Brooklyn pipeline
Press release: Enbridge Gas Binding Open Season for Long-Term Transportation Service From St. Clair (DTE) and/or Bluewater to Dawn
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: This Powerful Democrat Linked to Fossil Fuels Will Craft the U.S. Climate Plan
Colorado Sun: Bureau of Land Management headquarters will head from Colorado back to Washington, Biden administration says
STATE UPDATES
Bloomberg: Wisconsin Launches Probe Into Methane Plume Spotted From Space
Bismarck Tribune: 17 carbon storage projects eye North Dakota; state loses status as 2nd-biggest oil producer
EXTRACTION
InsideClimate News: Does Nature Have Rights? A Burgeoning Legal Movement Says Rivers, Forests and Wildlife Have Standing, Too
Bloomberg: How Frackers Can Turn Methane Into Methane-aid
OPINION
Calgary Herald: Varcoe: Canadian oilpatch hopes for policy stability with another Liberal victory
Duluth News Tribune: National View: Dakota Access Pipeline brings power to the people
Forbes: There’s Safety In Pipelines
Georgia Straight: Fossil-fuel industry disinformation about the climate under scrutiny in U.S. corridors of power but not in Canada
Reuters: Guest view: Hold auditors to account on climate
The Daily Sentinel: The time is now for oil and gas bonding reform
PIPELINE NEWS
ABC News: Line 3 pipeline resistance continues as activists ask Biden admin to shutdown project
Stephanie Ebbs and MaryAlice Parks, 9/21/21
“Opposition to the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks with the project nearly complete. Environmentalists, Hollywood celebrities and Democratic lawmakers have called on the White House to intervene at the eleventh hour, arguing that the risk of a potential spill is too great and tribal sovereignty has been violated,” ABC News reports. “If completed and fully operational, the Line 3 pipeline will be able to carry 760,000 barrels a day of Canadian oil from North Dakota to Wisconsin. Most of the opposition has centered around 337 miles of the pipeline in Minnesota that crisscrosses dozens of bodies of water, including near the start of the Mississippi River. Hundreds of people have been arrested in protests around the pipeline… “The Department of Justice, so far, has defended the Corps, and the White House has deflected questions, citing that case. Activists argue the president and his team could, if they chose, take a more active role and ask the Corps to conduct further impact studies… “Still, climate scientist Heidi Roop, a professor at the University of Minnesota, told ABC it is hard to imagine the president meeting his own emission goals with a new pipeline like this bringing more oil to market. “If we just consider the consequences to climate change investments in fossil fuel infrastructure that will increase our ability to consume fossil fuels, which are the root cause of our warming planet, sets us in the wrong direction,” Roop told ABC. “If we want to avoid the worst impacts of a changing climate. We have to start considering other tools in our toolbox that are going to support and sustain society.”
Reuters: Dakota Access pipeline asks U.S. Supreme Court to scrap environmental study order
By Devika Krishna Kumar, 9/20/21
“Dakota Access on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the largest pipeline out of the North Dakota oil basin requires additional environmental review,” Reuters reports. “The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia revoked a key environmental permit for the pipeline last year and ordered an additional environmental study. The pipeline entered service in 2017 following months of protests by environmentalists, Native American tribes and their supporters. Opponents said its construction destroyed sacred artifacts and posed a threat to Lake Oahe, a critical drinking supply, and the greater Missouri River… “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was expected to complete its review of the pipeline in March 2022. The pipeline's operators said in their petition additional review is unnecessary and that it would impose burdens for other large infrastructure projects. "This case carries enormous ramifications for the oil industry, its workers, and the nation," the companies said in the petition.
Facebook: Camp Migizi: A brave water protector placed themselves INSIDE the Posiedon tanks for the hydrostatic testing
9/18/21
“On September 16th 2021 A brave water protector placed themselves INSIDE the Posiedon tanks for The hydrostatic testing causing Enbridge to have to cease and desist work for multiple hours, as they Row row rowed their boat to stop line 3, Water Protectors from Camp Migizi sang songs and chanted encouragement to the relative literally placing themselves inside the stolen water. #StopLine3 #StopLine4 #StopLine5”
Guardian: ‘They screwed up our lake’: tar sands pipeline is sucking water from Minnesota watersheds
Will Parrish, 9/19/21
“...Minnesota is weathering an historic drought, but there is another problem beyond the weather: Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline has taken a substantial toll on watersheds in the region, including through a permit to pump five billion gallons of water for construction,” the the Guardian reports. “In the case of Upper Wild Rice Lake, a road construction contractor named Knife River Construction stuck a pump directly in the lake this past June, sucking out an unknown quantity of water, which locals suspect was related to the use of heavy trucks for the pipeline. “As far as I’m concerned, Enbridge screwed up our lake, and they’re taking money directly away from our families,” Jerry Libby told the Guardian. “It makes us feel anguished – this is our staple food, you know.” The Indigenous-led struggle against Line 3, which seeks to move 930,000 barrels of tar sands bitumen daily from Alberta to a shipping and refinery hub in Superior, Wisconsin, has been the biggest environmental and Indigenous land protection campaign in the US this summer. More than 900 people have been arrested opposing the pipeline, including nearly 70 who were kettled in late August during protests outside Minnesota governor Tim Walz’s residence in Minneapolis… “The effects of Line 3 construction on wild rice are at the center of a first of its kind lawsuit brought by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe in which wild rice is itself the plaintiff. Under a series of treaties that Chippewa Anishinaabe people signed with the US government during the mid-19th century, the lawsuit asserts, wild rice “possesses inherent rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve, as well as inherent rights to restoration, recovery, and preservation.” The suit seeks an injunction against the Department of Natural Resources to void Enbridge’s water permit, though the case may not be decided until after construction is completed.”
Facebook: Indigenous Environmental Network: New Frac-Out Spill Discovered near Firelight Camp on September 17, 2021
9/20/21
“A massive drill mud release containing harmful additives was discovered by Anishinaabe photographer and videographer, Ron Turney, on September 17, 2021. The spill, which contains harmful additives, is "ACTIVELY spilling into the Mississippi River, just 7 miles from the Headwaters and 20 miles upstream from Bemidji," wrote Turney. "This frac-out was hidden below the easement and bridge on the East side of the river. Recent rains and rising water levels have now proven that there were more frac-outs that went unreported. Enbridge has removed the easement, so they plan on leaving this mess behind. This is a MAJOR violation of their Clean Water Act 401/404 Permits. THIS DESTRUCTION NEEDS TO END NOW!! Clean up your mess and go back to Canada!"
Bloomberg: Enbridge Oil-Sands Pipeline Bottleneck Eases Before Line 3 Start
By Robert Tuttle, 9/20/21
“Enbridge Inc.’s rationing of its heavy oil pipelines plummeted in October ahead of the imminent start up of the company’s newest export conduit to the U.S.,” Bloomberg reports. “The company curtailed its rationing on the heavy oil lines to 33% in October from 55% in September out of Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, spokesperson Tracy Larsson said in an email. The decline comes as Enbridge prepares to start operation of its new Line 3 replacement pipeline, that will boost export capacity to the U.S. Enbridge oil pipeline rationing falls ahead of start of Line 3. Enbridge has said that the pipeline is scheduled to start operation in the fourth quarter but the company is offering 620,000 barrels a day of capacity on the new Line 3 next month versus 390,000 barrels a day available on the old Line 3. The pipeline is expected to alleviate a shortage of export conduits for Canadian oil sands producers.”
Politico: Democratic support for carbon dioxide pipelines spurs backlash
BEN LEFEBVRE, 9/20/21
“Democrats hoping to score their biggest-ever win on climate change in a pair of infrastructure bills are drawing pushback from environmental activists and some climate hawks on the Hill over an issue that usually unites them against oil companies: new pipelines,” Politico reports. “But rather than pipelines like Keystone XL, Dakota Access or Line 3, the new dispute is over proposed federal money to build infrastructure that would ship carbon dioxide from the industrial sites where the greenhouse gas is emitted to places where it can be stored underground. While the $2 billion included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill for new CO2 pipelines is only a small percentage of the $550 billion in new spending in that package, opponents say any money that enables the oil and gas industry to keep producing fossil fuels is a bad idea — and could prove dangerous for the communities that lie in the paths of the pipelines… “Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party who spearheaded efforts against the now-canceled Keystone XL pipeline, said she and other activists have received calls from farmers in Nebraska complaining they were receiving letters from pipeline companies seeking meetings to consider their land for siting of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline system. Now Kleeb and her allies are holding seminars, calling lawyers and urging Democrats to push back against the technology, even as the infrastructure bill nears a vote in the House later this month. “There is such little education on this out there, even among climate champions, that people feel like they’re getting sold, just like they got sold with fracking early on,” Kleeb told Politico. “That money for pipelines shouldn't be in there, I’m sorry. If these measures are necessary, let oil companies handle them, not taxpayers.” “...Joye Braun, a community organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, said her group would assist native tribes who want to protest proposed carbon dioxide pipelines that would run through their land, including any that follow the routes mapped for the Dakota Access pipeline or that had been set aside for Keystone XL. “You would need vast amounts of pipeline to even make a dent in what we are polluting,” Braun told Politico. “Again, our Indigenous communities will be on the front lines, with [the pipelines] going through our territories without our informed consent. ... We are saying enough is enough.”
Oil & Water Don’t Mix: Call for Investigation Follows Straits Corridor Authority Disclosures
9/20/21
“Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority members were asked today to investigate actions by its chair amid questions raised surrounding possible conflicts of interest and Chair Michael Nystrom’s newly disclosed attempt to have Enbridge take over funding of consultants hired to help oversee Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel project,” according to Oil & Water Don’t Mix. “Today’s request was made by the Oil & Water Don’t Mix coalition at an authority meeting where a key document related to tunnel construction is on the agenda for discussion but has been blocked from public disclosure by Enbridge and Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) staff. In addition to Nystrom, Anthony England, and Paul Novak are also on the three-member body created by the state Legislature in 2018. “Given there are so many questions and so much secrecy and power concentrated in the authority’s chair, the two other corridor authority members have a responsibility to ensure there is transparency and accountability,” said Sean McBrearty, Oil & Water Don’t Mix coordinator. “Dr. England and Mr. Novak as fully appointed authority members need to know the commitments, plans, and conversations Chair Nystrom has had on their behalf, and on behalf of the people of Michigan.” In documents obtained by Oil & Water Don’t Mix under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Nystrom is revealed last year to have repeatedly pushed for Enbridge to take over funding of the authority’s expert consultants. The consultants were hired to assist the authority in providing oversight of Enbridge’s proposed tunnel project. Nearly $500,000 in authority consulting contracts came under scrutiny after being signed by Nystrom during an 11-month period where there were no public meetings held by the three-member authority.”
Law360: Investors Seek Class Approval In Suit Over $3B Pa. Pipeline
Nathan Hale, 9/20/21
“A group of institutional investors suing Energy Transfer over misleading statements about its Mariner 2 and Revolution pipeline projects have urged a Pennsylvania federal court to certify a class with them as class representatives,” Law360 reports.
The City: New York officials call on governor to revisit rate hike tied to controversial Brooklyn pipeline
Samantha Maldonado, 9/20/21
“A group of 31 New York state and local officials on Friday called on Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to review a state commission decision that will result in customers paying for fossil fuel projects, including parts of a controversial pipeline in Brooklyn,” The City reports. “Representing Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island, the signatories of the letter — including Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and State Sens. Julia Salazar, Jabari Brisport, Liz Krueger and Diane Savino — ask Gov. Kathy Hochul to uphold the state’s climate law, which mandates cuts of greenhouse gas emissions in a way that provides substantial benefits to “disadvantaged communities.” “At a time when we are seeing the impacts of climate change and New Yorkers owe nearly $2 billion in unpaid debt to corporate utilities it is unconscionable to force 1.9 million customers to pay for new pipelines and other fracked gas projects,” the letter reads. The missive follows the state Public Service Commission’s August approval of a gas bill rate increase averaging about $5 per month for National Grid customers in New York City and on Long Island… “Now, the plaintiffs’ appeal hinges on an argument that the judge ruled erroneously and that construction should again be stopped while the lower court decides on the need for an environmental review. “We’re not saying there needs to be a permanent stop on LNG trucking-related construction forever,” Ruhan Nagra, an attorney with the University Network for Human Rights, told The City. “We’re saying stop the construction until you complete the required environmental review.” National Grid must file its response in Appellate Court by Sept. 29. The court will rule after that on whether construction should be stopped.”
Press release: Enbridge Gas Binding Open Season for Long-Term Transportation Service From St. Clair (DTE) and/or Bluewater to Dawn
9/20/21
“Enbridge Gas is holding a binding open season for C1 transportation services from St. Clair (DTE) and/or Bluewater to Dawn starting Nov. 1, 2023 for a minimum of five years. Shippers seeking access to a reliable, cost-effective means to move gas from St. Clair (DTE) and/or Bluewater to Dawn can submit bids for up to 62,000 GJ/d of annual capacity (12 month term) and up to 107,000 GJ/d capacity for winter only (5 month term). The Enbridge Gas Dawn Hub is the largest integrated natural gas storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America. It offers customers, such as power generators, distribution and pipeline companies and energy marketers, an important link in the movement of natural gas from key supply basins to markets in central Canada and the northeast U.S.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: This Powerful Democrat Linked to Fossil Fuels Will Craft the U.S. Climate Plan
Coral Davenport, 9/19/21
“Joe Manchin, the powerful West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate energy panel and earned half a million dollars last year from coal production, is preparing to remake President Biden’s climate legislation in a way that tosses a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry — despite urgent calls from scientists that countries need to quickly pivot away from coal, gas and oil to avoid a climate catastrophe,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Manchin has already emerged as the crucial up-or-down vote in a sharply divided Senate when it comes to Mr. Biden’s push to pass a $3.5 trillion budget bill that could reshape the nation’s social welfare network. But Mr. Biden also wants the bill to include an aggressive climate policy that would compel utilities to stop burning fossil fuels and switch to wind, solar or nuclear energy, sources that do not emit the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Manchin holds the pen and the gavel of the congressional panel, with the authority to shape Mr. Biden’s ambitions. But Mr. Manchin is also closely associated with the fossil fuel industry. His beloved West Virginia is second in coal and seventh in natural gas production among the 50 states. In the current election cycle, Mr. Manchin has received more campaign donations from the oil, coal and gas industries than any other senator, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets, a research organization that tracks political spending. He profits personally from polluting industries: He owns stock valued at between $1 million and $5 million in Enersystems Inc., a coal brokerage firm which he founded in 1988. He gave control of the firm to his son, Joseph, after he was elected West Virginia secretary of state in 2000. Last year, Mr. Manchin made $491,949 in dividends from his Enersystems stock, according to his Senate financial disclosure report. “It says something fascinating about our politics that we’re going to have a representative of fossil fuel interests crafting the policy that reduces our emissions from fossil fuels,” Joseph Aldy, who helped craft former President Barack Obama’s climate change bill and now teaches at Harvard, told the Times.
Colorado Sun: Bureau of Land Management headquarters will head from Colorado back to Washington, Biden administration says
Jesse Paul, 9/17/21
“The Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters will move back to Washington, D.C., from Grand Junction, the Biden administration announced Friday in a decision that comes despite objections from Colorado Republicans and Democrats, including the state’s two U.S. senators and its governor,” the Colorado Sun reports. ““The Bureau of Land Management is critical to the nation’s efforts to address the climate crisis, expand public access to our public lands and preserve our nation’s shared outdoor heritage. It is imperative that the bureau have the appropriate structure and resources to serve the American public,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who oversees the BLM, said in a written statement. “There’s no doubt that the BLM should have a leadership presence in Washington, D.C.— like all the other land management agencies — to ensure that it has access to the policy-, budget-, and decision-making levers to best carry out its mission.” Haaland said, however, that “the BLM’s robust presence in Colorado and across the West will continue to grow.” Grand Junction will serve as the BLM’s “official western headquarters,” according to the Interior Department, which lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said is a silver lining. The Interior Department said the regional headquarters “will reinforce western perspectives in decision-making and have an important role to play in the bureau’s clean energy, outdoor recreation, conservation, and scientific missions, among other important work as a leadership center in the West.”
STATE UPDATES
Bloomberg: Wisconsin Launches Probe Into Methane Plume Spotted From Space
By Naureen S Malik and Aaron Clark, 9/17/21
“Wisconsin is investigating a methane plume that was spotted by a satellite last week,” Bloomberg reports. “The state launched a probe after being contacted by Bloomberg News about a plume of methane detected in southwest Wisconsin by Kayrros SAS, which relied on a Sept. 10 satellite observation from the European Space Agency. The geoanalytics company estimated an emissions rate of 30 tons of methane an hour was needed to generate the release. The Sept. 10 methane plume over Wisconsin, near pipelines and compressor stations.Source: Kayrros SAS. “The DNR was made aware of a potential methane plume in Southwest Wisconsin, and commenced investigations immediately,” spokeswoman Molly Meister told Bloomberg. “No reports of planned or unplanned work or releases by regulated sources in the area of the plume have been identified by DNR thus far.” “...Like many other states, Wisconsin has no methane reporting requirements, and often such releases are never reported or are under-reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
Bismarck Tribune: 17 carbon storage projects eye North Dakota; state loses status as 2nd-biggest oil producer
AMY R. SISK, 9/17/21
“North Dakota has officially lost its status as the nation’s second-biggest oil producer, but a new industry rapidly gaining momentum in the state has offset officials’ disappointment,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “In the last three weeks, State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms has heard from companies interested in pursuing as many as 17 projects in North Dakota to store carbon emissions underground. North Dakota for years has worked to create regulations and assume authority from the federal government surrounding the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from coal and ethanol plants and other industrial facilities. Researchers have also spent considerable time studying the geology of rocks deep underground in various parts of the state to see if they hold the right characteristics to store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Helms spoke Friday in Bismarck at his monthly press conference, which typically focuses on oil and natural gas production. But his department is also tasked with permitting carbon storage projects, which are finally starting to come before regulators. Last month, the Oil and Gas Division held a first-of-its-kind hearing regarding a permit for the underground storage area that will make up part of Red Trail Energy’s carbon capture project at its Richardton ethanol plant. That project could be operational early next year, Helms told the Tribune.”
EXTRACTION
InsideClimate News: Does Nature Have Rights? A Burgeoning Legal Movement Says Rivers, Forests and Wildlife Have Standing, Too
Katie Surma, 9/19/21
“For Chuck O’Neal, a lifelong outdoorsman and environmentalist, the moment of truth came on election night 2020, as results rolled in from perhaps the most partisan campaign season in American history. He wasn’t watching Trump or Biden. O’Neal had spent the past two years running a campaign in Orange County, Florida, based on an unorthodox legal doctrine that holds that rivers, mountains and forests should have legal rights, just like people,” InsideClimate News reports. “His effort involved amending the county’s charter, its mini-constitution, with a so-called rights of nature provision. The provision would protect waterways like the glassy Wekiva River from harmful pollution, such as that linked to toxic algae blooms fueled by fertilizer runoff from agriculture, septic systems and poor stormwater management… “In the United States, rights of nature laws have taken root in more than 30 localities across the country, in, among other states, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Florida, home to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a leading Trump supporter, has become an unlikely epicenter, while other Florida cities like Titusville, Venice, Fort Myers, Naples and other jurisdictions are in varying stages of developing their own rights of nature ordinances, following Orange County’s example. Still, no U.S. court has ever upheld a rights of nature law, although some remain on the books, in effect awaiting litigation. The U.S. laws, so far mostly local ordinances, face unique obstacles because of legal precedent that subordinates local government laws and lawsuits to state legislation. A hearing scheduled for November on Orange County’s charter change could be the most consequential legal moment to date for the rights of nature concept in the American courts. The doctrine holds that nature and its component parts are not “things” or property but living beings with intrinsic value and an inherent right to exist. The idea is centuries old, existing primarily in Indigenous and other land-based cultures.”
Bloomberg: How Frackers Can Turn Methane Into Methane-aid
By Liam Denning, 9/17/21
“Methane is both the energy sector’s big lost opportunity and, for some, a potential future one,” Liam Denning writes for Bloomberg. “President Joe Biden on Friday confirmed he is working with the European Union on a pledge to cut global methane emissions by roughly a third by 2030. More consequentially, a $1,500-per-tonne penalty on emissions of methane forms part of the green-tinged budget package now being drafted in Congress… “Most importantly, lobbyists pushing for free rein on methane were defending the indefensible — so much so that the biggest oil companies were actually lobbying in the other direction. Apart from their deleterious effect on climate and local air quality, methane emissions are just natural gas the industry hasn’t successfully contained. It’s like dairy farmers pouring their own milk down the drain. The cost of plugging leaks, especially on new projects, is minimal: Analysts at the Boston Consulting Group found “most methane emissions are negative to near zero cost to abate.” “...There is no shortage of gas reserves, but there is dwindling tolerance of their emissions. In an uncertain decade for fossil fuels, U.S. LNG cargoes that combine open trade with verified lower emissions could yet turn a political own goal into a grab for market share.”
OPINION
Calgary Herald: Varcoe: Canadian oilpatch hopes for policy stability with another Liberal victory
Chris Varcoe, 9/20/21
“Another federal election is over, capping more moments of anxiety, uncertainty and unpredictability for Canada’s oil and gas industry,” Chris Varcoe writes for the Calgary Herald. “The 2021 election campaign delivered new policy proposals about climate action and curbing emissions, and more talk about promoting carbon capture and storage technology and hydrogen development. And in the end, it brought about another Liberal minority government. “We have had an understanding of where this government wants to go … there’s a continued focus on us to improve our GHG emissions,” Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said Monday evening. “The No. 1 thing we need is stability and certainty because we know what the policies are.” With the oil and gas industry recovering from a pandemic-driven downturn last year, producers and oilfield service firms are now looking for policy certainty as commodity prices have stabilized, along with industry fortunes… “Heading into the campaign, the Liberals had already pledged to introduce a tax credit to promote carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) for the sector, a key technology for producers to get to net-zero emissions. The Liberal’s existing climate program will see the national price on carbon rise to $170 per tonne by the end of this decade, up from $40 a tonne, while a new federal clean fuel standard is expected to come into play in 2022. As part of its platform, the Liberals vowed to put in a “decisive plan” to make sure the oil and gas sector hits net-zero emissions by 2050. Trudeau promised to introduce five-year targets on industry to reach the goal. The platform also said it would set 2025 and 2030 emissions milestones for the sector, based on the advice of an advisory body. The Liberal party also set its sights on reducing methane emissions; it promised to require producers to cut their methane emissions by at least 75 per cent by 2030.”
Duluth News Tribune: National View: Dakota Access Pipeline brings power to the people
Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (cei.org), a free-market, nonprofit think tank, 9/17/21
“Activists opposed to American energy projects like the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline often pretend that the impacted communities are solidly on their side. In reality, those communities support such projects because of the jobs, tax revenues, and affordable energy they provide,” Ben Lieberman writes in the Duluth News Tribune. “The faux populism is especially flimsy when environmentalists target fossil-fuel production and transport projects based on climate-change grounds, as those projects typically enjoy strong local support. One example is the undeniable pro-coal attitude almost everywhere coal mines are located. Indeed, much of the opposition comes from out of town or even out of state. Similarly, people from the nation’s traditional “oil patch” regions disproportionately favor drilling, and a clear majority of communities that have recently been transformed by the shale revolution consider it a change for the better and don’t want to go back to the pre-shale days. It is worth noting that the local support for energy in such places is often nonpartisan, as Democrats in states like West Virginia, Louisiana, and Alaska frequently join Republicans in supporting the job-creating projects that extract energy and put it into the stream of commerce… “Even assuming the pipeline opposition is based on genuine concerns and not a fundraising ploy by activists, those concerns are not grounded in fact. New pipelines like DAPL reduce the need to transport oil through older pipelines or alternatives like rail, which are less safe and efficient and pose a greater risk to the environment. The pipeline’s excellent record of safety in its first years of use is further evidence that its continued operation is the right thing to do. Overall, DAPL doesn’t just bring North Dakota oil to Illinois. In a very real sense, it also brings power to the people across multiple states. That’s an outcome we should all want.”
Forbes: There’s Safety In Pipelines
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, 9/20/21
“With the price of natural gas reaching record highs around the world, it’s time to take another look at speeding up pipeline construction in order to bring more natural gas from where it is produced to businesses and consumers,” Diana Furchtgott-Roth writes for Forbes. “U.S. natural gas prices topped $5 per million British thermal units (BTUs) in September, the highest since 2014, and Europe and Asia are seeing prices four times as high. Because America now exports natural gas, high prices abroad will affect U.S. prices. This means that more, rather than fewer, pipelines should be approved. But in New York, the Constitution Pipeline, the Northern Access pipeline, and the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipelines have been postponed due to protests. Many other pipelines are being delayed. About 20 pipelines are pending review at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC is now for the first time including potential greenhouse gases and effects on environmental justice communities in its pipeline approval process. Those who profess concern for the environment are trying to block construction of pipelines, a safe way of transporting natural gas. Natural gas is also transported by road and rail, and all methods of transportation have low accident rates. When natural gas is in a pipeline, the pipeline stays still and the gas moves, away from people, with little risk of accident… “America should continue to ramp up production of natural gas. We need additional pipelines to get natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and the Utica Shale in Ohio to the rest of the country. America’s ability to export gas will enable us to help our friends. Pipelines are safe, and safety matters.”
Georgia Straight: Fossil-fuel industry disinformation about the climate under scrutiny in U.S. corridors of power but not in Canada
Charlie Smith, 9/20/21
“On September 16, the U.S. Congress oversight and reform committee revealed that it's conducting a probe into ways in which the fossil-fuel industry has misled people about the climate crisis,” Georgia Straight reports. “The congressional committee's decision to hold a hearing comes after several U.S. states and the District of Columbia have sued large oil companies. The attorneys general in these states and D.C. have alleged that the defendants have systematically and intentionally misled consumers about the role that their products have played in causing climate change. Here in Canada, no parliamentary committee has demonstrated any interest in investigating disinformation from the fossil-fuel industry on this side of the border. And not a single provincial attorney general north of the border has filed a lawsuit along the lines of the litigation taking place in the U.S… “Nowadays, Big Oil is promising that it will achieve net-zero carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions by 2050 in Canada. That's thanks in part to an approach known as carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Canadian governments at different levels, including the B.C. NDP regime headed by John Horgan, have bought into this notion. That's despite the lack of evidence that it can be achieved on a scale necessary to continue with business-as-usual drilling in the Canadian oilsands and fracking for gas in northeastern B.C. Nobody at any official level in Canada has suggested that carbon capture, utilization, and storage is yet another example of Big Oil's disinformation efforts. This is notwithstanding the investigative zeal to uncover disinformation from the fossil-fuel sector in the United States. A recent report by Environmental Defence, Équiterre, and Stand.earth noted that 70 percent of oilsands production in Canada is owned by foreign companies and shareholders. Much of this foreign ownership is American. So if it turns out that these companies and their associations have misled U.S. decision-makers on the climate crisis, wouldn't it stand to reason that this has also occurred in Canada? If so, why isn't anyone in any official capacity looking into this?”
Reuters: Guest view: Hold auditors to account on climate
By Natasha Landell-mills, 9/20/21
“Greenwashing is insidious. Companies that give an impression of combating climate change while doing little discourage more determined steps to protect the planet. Those that mask the risks from global warming in their financial statements are particularly harmful,” Natasha Landell-mills writes for Reuters. “Few are better placed to police potential accounting misstatements than company auditors. Yet they remain silent. Aside from a handful of exceptions including at Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), , BP (BP.L), National Grid (NG.L) and Enel (ENEI.MI), auditors continue to sign off company accounts as if the climate crisis did not exist. Investors have the power to demand better. But governments can also help speed up the process. That is why money managers and advisors representing more than $2.5 trillion last week wrote to Alok Sharma, president of the United Nations’ upcoming COP26 climate conference, asking for heads of state to set a clear timeline for companies to produce accounts consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels; and for auditors to call out where they don’t. Right now, auditors are falling short. Audit opinions published alongside 2020 accounts for listed fossil-fuel related companies in Europe and the United States hardly mentioned climate change. Where they did, it was cursory and most claimed there was no risk of material misstatement, according to a recent report by Carbon Tracker. These “clean” audit opinions are being issued while accountants proclaim leadership on climate change. Alongside grand pledges to achieve net-zero carbon emissions before 2050, the “Big Four” audit firms are expanding their lucrative units that advise companies on how to report climate risks and develop carbon-neutral strategies. The hypocrisy is breathtaking.”
The Daily Sentinel: The time is now for oil and gas bonding reform
Don Lumbardy is a fourth-generation rancher born in Mesa County, CO, 9/19/21
“Making a living as a rancher on the Western Slope isn’t easy. Working the land in an arid environment, keeping livestock, and negotiating in turbulent market conditions is hard work at the best of times, Don Lumbardy writes for The Daily Sentinel. “...For many like myself who sought to build a career feeding our community from the land that I call home, drought is threatening to wither our way of life. Protecting what little water we have and taking action to slow the change in climate is vital to sustaining agriculture in Western Colorado, which is why we must urge state and federal decision makers to adopt protective rules that require oil and gas operators to set aside enough money to clean up their oil and gas wells after they are finished with production… “Large operators will frequently drill wells, extract most of the resource, and then sell them off to smaller operators towards the end of the well’s productive life. After the small operator pumps the last dredges, they often declare bankruptcy, and leave the orphaned wells for the government (that is, taxpayers) to clean up. Unfortunately, we already have a number of these orphaned wells here in Mesa County’s own backyard. For example, Fram Operating LLC has left a number of wells orphaned in the Grand Junction watershed. Fram only posted some $310,000 in bonds to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, despite the total bill for cleanup being about $5 million. These wells are a direct threat to the community’s water supply. In my own experience, Fram has tried to strong-arm landowners such as myself into allowing them to drill on their property without regard to the potential impacts that their extraction might have on our water supply. Despite my protests and explanation that any drilling could divert away water that I needed to grow crops and raise cattle, their landman told me that my concerns didn’t matter, and that they would drill anyway. Fortunately, this did not come to pass, but there is no doubt in my mind that if they hadn’t filed for bankruptcy, they would have tried.”