EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/4/26

PIPELINE NEWS

• Law360: Tribe Says Pipeline Harm Statement Shouldn’t Be Dismissed

• Offshore Technology: Energy Transfer sanctions $1.6bn South Mississippi pipeline project

• RLS Media: Multiple Agencies Investigate Suspicious Activity Near Gas Pipeline in Bergen County

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Bloomberg: Permitting Bill Manager’s Amendment Expected With Small Changes

• Bloomberg: Permitting Revamp Back in Spotlight After Democrats’ Midterm Win

• Hill Heat: David Bookbinder: BAAJA Is ‘A Serious Threat To American Democracy’

• Bloomberg: Democrats Seek Wind Project Certainty Ahead of Permitting Vote

• Politico: Democrats draw up energy and environment agenda with control of Congress in sight

• Press Release: TWS Opposes S. 5653 over six threats to public lands

• Press release: Whitehouse, NAM Convene Roundtable with RI Manufacturing, Labor, and Business Leaders to Support Permitting Reform

• The Hill: Big Tech, environmental groups in talks for potential data center framework

• Heatmap: If This Was a Data Center Election, Data Centers Lost

STATE UPDATES

• Politico: Oregon judge allows climate lawsuit to proceed

• Courthouse News Service: Environmentalists successfully block California’s first carbon capture project

• Canary Media: A Michigan utility’s iffy plan to trap CO2 from its new gas plants

• New York Times: Governor Warns New Jersey Ports to Turn Away Russian Fuel

• Politico: Oil capital goes blue as Democrats romp in Texas

• Reuters: US agency approves deepwater port license application for $8.2 billion ST LNG project

EXTRACTION

• Edmonton Journal: Alberta’s oilsands tailings grow by 50 per cent in a decade

• Yellowknifer: MLAs demand action amid threat of toxic oil sands tailings being dumped into waterway

• Americans for Financial Reform: Private Equity, Private Credit, and the Data Center Bubble

CLIMATE FINANCE

• Bloomberg: Green-Debt Fees Hit Nearly $3 Billion, Topping Fossil Fuels For Fifth Year

OPINION

• Winnipeg Free Press: Trump’s pipeline claims likely pipe dream

• Planet Detroit: Wisconsin’s Line 5 spill is a warning to Michigan

• The Pantagraph: Carbon capture raises aquifer and drilling concerns

• Michigan Advance: Permitting reform bill will decimate protections in the National Historic Preservation Act

• Earthjustice: How the Permitting Bill Threatens our Historic and Cultural Sites
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Law360: Tribe Says Pipeline Harm Statement Shouldn’t Be Dismissed
Joyce Hanson, 11/3/26

“A Native American tribe has asked a D.C. federal judge not to strike its natural resources director’s statement about potential harm the Army Corps of Engineers will cause by allowing Enbridge Energy to reroute 41 miles of a pipeline around the tribe’s lands,” Law360 reports.

Offshore Technology: Energy Transfer sanctions $1.6bn South Mississippi pipeline project
Shree Mishra, 11/4/26

“US-based midstream company Energy Transfer has approved a final investment decision (FID) for the $1.6bn South Mississippi Pipeline Project in southern Mississippi, US,” Offshore Technology reports. “The project will involve the construction of a 215-mile, 36in pipeline capable of transporting up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas. The pipeline is scheduled to begin operations in 2030 and will be operated by Energy Transfer, which will hold a 51% ownership stake. The remaining interest will be owned by shippers, contingent on the results of the current open season for further customer commitments… “The company disclosed the two projects as part of its financial results for the third quarter of 2026. Energy Transfer’s net income attributable to partners for the quarter ended 30 September was $1.21bn, up 18% from $1.02bn in the same period last year.”

RLS Media: Multiple Agencies Investigate Suspicious Activity Near Gas Pipeline in Bergen County
Tracie Carter, 11/4/26

“Authorities in Bergen County are investigating suspicious activity near a secured gas pipeline facility in Carlstadt early Wednesday morning,” RLS Media reports. “According to preliminary reports, Carlstadt police apprehended several individuals who were allegedly accessing a manhole leading to a restricted area associated with the Williams Gas Pipeline… “Numerous local, county and federal law enforcement agencies reportedly responded to the scene to assist with the investigation.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Bloomberg: Permitting Bill Manager’s Amendment Expected With Small Changes
Kellie Lunney, 11/2/26

“Groups lobbying Capitol Hill on the bipartisan permitting legislation expect technical, noncontroversial changes to the text ahead of a planned Nov. 9 vote in the Senate,” Bloomberg reports. “Republican and Democratic Senate negotiators have been working for the last month on a manager’s amendment to the bill (S.5653), after publicly unveiling it Sept. 30 and gathering feedback from clean energy groups, utilities, the oil and gas industry, tribes, and environmental organizations. But the four negotiators — Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — already have cautioned that modifications to the bill’s language aren’t likely to be substantive given how carefully constructed the legislation is to garner broad support… “Dena Wiggins, president and chief executive officer of the Natural Gas Supply Association, told Bloomberg her organization, which strongly supports the bill, didn’t submit any proposed changes to the legislation… “Those opponents say the bill in its current form undermines longstanding efforts to reduce pollution and protect public health and wildlife, and fails to give voice to underrepresented interests most affected by climate change and the fossil fuel industry.”

Bloomberg: Permitting Revamp Back in Spotlight After Democrats’ Midterm Win
Kellie Lunney, 11/4/26

“Democrats’ projected control of the House and Senate gives them leverage to craft fresh permitting legislation, but there may be little appetite for throwing overboard a Senate-negotiated bipartisan measure because of the calendar and other priorities,” Bloomberg reports. “Many Democrats and the environmental community have expressed skepticism over a Senate-negotiated framework released in September — and headed to the Senate floor when lawmakers return to Washington Nov. 9. They’ve argued the proposal will undermine longstanding efforts to reduce pollution, protect public health and wildlife, and that it fails to give voice to underrepresented interests most affected by climate change and Big Oil. …”

Hill Heat: David Bookbinder: BAAJA Is ‘A Serious Threat To American Democracy’
Brad Johnson, 11/3/26

“In a recent public letter, David Bookbinder, one of the nation’s most prominent centrist climate-law experts, described the Senate industrial-expediting bill BAAJA (S. 5653) as “a serious threat to democracy,” Hill Heat reports. “Bookbinder, who has served as chief counsel for the center-right Niskanen Center and for the Sierra Club, and led an independent legal consultancy with former ExxonMobil climate policy manager David Bailey, summarized the legislation thusly: “On the one hand, it makes renewable energy permitting easier and significantly improves federal transmission policy. On the other hand, it makes fossil fuel infrastructure permitting even easier than it has already become, binds future administrations to the energy permitting policies of the Trump administration, seriously weakens the Clean Water Act, and effectively repeals the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act. Although he finds fault in every title of the bill, Bookbinder is most concerned by Title IV, “Project Certainty,” which “beggars belief.” “By placing corporations with any such federal permit not above the law so much as completely beyond its reach,” Bookbinder continued, “these ‘project certainty’ provisions seriously threaten American democracy.” BAAJA effectively repeals the National Environmental Policy Act: “These measures will make NEPA review largely meaningless, but ultimately that won’t matter because the Bill adds a new judicial review provision making whatever is left of NEPA unenforceable.”

Bloomberg: Democrats Seek Wind Project Certainty Ahead of Permitting Vote
Taylor Mills, Kellie Lunney, 11/3/26

“Senate Democrats are pushing for more assurances that the Trump administration won’t keep revisiting its approvals for renewable energy projects as lawmakers weigh the bipartisan permitting bill,” Bloomberg reports. “Their effort comes after the Trump administration moved in court in October to remand permits crucial to three offshore wind projects. The bill’s current permit certainty language aims to protect all approved energy projects from political interference after the fact. But many Democrats worry the administration ultimately will renege on commitments to give approved renewable energy projects a fair shake. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), who has worked on permitting bills, said Democrats …”

Politico: Democrats draw up energy and environment agenda with control of Congress in sight
Andres Picon, Nico Portuondo, 11/3/26

“Democrats’ expected sweep of both chambers of Congress will give the party the chance to flip the GOP agenda on energy and environmental issues — as well as a new perch to investigate Trump administration officials and their measures that benefited fossil fuel, mining and tech companies,” Politico reports. “…In the Senate, that push will be led by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) as chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He has focused much of his criticism of the Trump administration on what he says is political interference in the permitting of renewable energy projects, as well as the administration’s use of public lands funding for Trump’s pet projects… “Huffman has openly urged Democrats to kill the deal, arguing it undermines environmental protections and benefits fossil fuels without securing sufficient assurances that the Trump administration would approve clean energy projects it is currently blocking.”

Press Release: TWS Opposes S. 5653 over six threats to public lands
11/2/26

“The Wilderness Society calls on Congress to oppose the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. The United States can and must reach a clean energy future as soon as possible. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act is presented as a false choice between building renewable energy and protecting public lands, cultural resources, and the public’s ability to engage on what impacts shared landscapes. These tradeoffs are neither necessary nor acceptable—under this administration or any future administration. We can move toward a clean energy future while ensuring that America’s public lands, waters, and wildlife habitat are not sacrificed for future generations, and that is the standard elected officials should insist on as well… “The Wilderness Society has grave concerns about the provisions in the bill that threaten public lands below. We call on Congress to oppose this bill because of the threats it poses:”

Press release: Whitehouse, NAM Convene Roundtable with RI Manufacturing, Labor, and Business Leaders to Support Permitting Reform
11/2/26

“Today, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), and Jay Timmons, President of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), convened a roundtable with leaders from Rhode Island’s manufacturing, labor, and business communities to discuss Whitehouse’s Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). The roundtable followed a tour of the Cooley Group’s manufacturing facility in Pawtucket … ‘Rhode Islanders want lower energy bills and more well-paying union jobs. Passing this bipartisan bill will flood the grid with clean, affordable energy, make sure data centers start paying their fair share, and provide regulatory certainty to small businesses. A cleaner, safer, more abundant, and less expensive energy future awaits us on the other side of this permitting bill,’ said Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. ‘The Trump administration must now end their mischief and show some real regulatory good faith to unlock the votes necessary to seal this deal.”

Politico: Trump defends Iran war even as he concedes oil prices hurt GOP
James Bikales, 11/4/26

“President Donald Trump acknowledged in an interview with POLITICO on Tuesday night that oil prices had hurt Republican candidates at the polls but said his decision to go to war in Iran was the “absolutely correct” one,” Politico reports. “A lot of people say the oil price because of Iran, but I am totally convinced that my decision on Iran for the long-term good of our country and even the world was an absolutely correct one and it continues to be,” Trump told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns during an election night livestream. His comments come as Democrats are riding a wave of voter anger around inflation, driven largely by the jump in energy costs, to resounding victories in the midterms on Tuesday night, taking control of the Senate and on track to capture the House.”

The Hill: Big Tech, environmental groups in talks for potential data center framework
Rachel Frazin, 11/3/265

“Environmental activists and Big Tech appear to be working jointly on a framework for data center development, according to a document reviewed by The Hill. “The document states that the organizations are part of a “Responsible Data Center Development Collaborative” that seeks to create a “common national framework for responsible data development.” The apparent strange bedfellows arrangement includes hyperscale AI companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Google, as well as leading environmental groups like the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)… “The document states that the timeline for the organization’s work will be between this September and next February. “As the largest grassroots environmental organization in the country, Sierra Club is committed to using its power to elevate the people’s voices through direct dialogue on the issues that matter most in our communities. We have participated in the early stages of this collaborative to be in conversation with a broad set of stakeholders to uplift our calls for clear guardrails on AI data centers that will protect communities and ratepayers, stop the massive buildout of gas power plants to serve data center demand, prevent air and water pollution, and ensure that a community’s ability to speak for itself is never diminished,” Holly Bender, the Sierra Club’s chief program officer, told The Hill… “But at least one environmentalist whose organization is not part of the joint framework talks criticized the effort. “The notion that there will be a responsible data center buildout if this thing comes together … this feels to me like horrible greenwashing,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told The Hill.”

Heatmap: If This Was a Data Center Election, Data Centers Lost
Jael Holzman, 11/4/26

“…As Election Day approached, the data center industry sought to bat back claims that their sector’s poor reputation with the electorate would sway the results,” Heatmap reports. “…Results are still coming in, but so far congressional races heavily featuring these data center attacks are heavily going in Democrats’ favor. In addition, these races have so profoundly shifted that it’ll be challenging for the industry to argue they played no role in the outcome… “If you’re arguing this election was decided by data centers, your best proof point: Democrat Gina Hinojosa has taken control of the governor’s mansion in Texas, defeating incumbent Greg Abbott, who’d sought recently to take a hard line against the industry. Hinojosa ran on going further, calling to pass a law completely pausing data center development across one of the industry’s favorite states. She won a decisive victory… “On Election Night, Effingham County formally tabled any decision on the OpenAI data center. So at least on the ground level, people are paying close attention to these results.”

STATE UPDATES

Politico: Oregon judge allows climate lawsuit to proceed
Lesley Clark, 11/3/26

“A judge on Tuesday gave the green light to an Oregon climate lawsuit, denying the oil and gas industry’s motions to dismiss the case,” Politico reports. “Multnomah County’s lawsuit is one of dozens nationwide that seek to put oil and gas producers on the hook for the costs of a warming planet. The ruling comes as the Supreme Court last month heard arguments in Suncor v. Boulder over whether federal law precludes local governments from filing such cases … Reactions: Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the ruling ‘validated what we have been saying from day one. This case deserves to be heard on the merits and Multnomah County wants its day in court.’ Theodore Boutrous Jr., a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher who represents Chevron, one of the companies named in the suit, said the court order “runs counter to the growing consensus among federal and state courts dismissing similar climate lawsuits.”

Courthouse News Service: Environmentalists successfully block California’s first carbon capture project
Hillel Aron, 11/3/26

“A Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that Kern County’s approval of California’s first carbon capture and storage project violated the state’s bedrock environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act,” Courthouse News Service reports. “The ruling is a win for local environmental justice and conservation groups, including the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, who argued the county had left “multiple environmental, public health and safety issues” unaddressed when it approved the landmark project. “For years, Kern County residents have raised serious concerns about increased pollution and the safety of millions of tons of CO2 stored beneath their community,” Ileana Navarro of the Central California Environmental Justice Network said in a written statement. “We are so grateful that the court recognized what Kern County failed to see and gave community concerns the serious consideration they deserve.” “…Some environmental groups have said TerraVault I will, in effect, extend the life of the Elk Hills Oil Field, the seventh most productive in the U.S… “The issue of atmospheric leakage of CO2,” for example, was not “fully addressed.” He also found the report “fails to adequately mitigate the project’s greenhouse gas impacts.”

Canary Media: A Michigan utility’s iffy plan to trap CO2 from its new gas plants
Kari Lydersen, 11/4/26

“Can a utility commit to building massive gas plants and still achieve zero carbon emissions? DTE Electric in southeast Michigan says yes, and it outlines how in a 20-year plan currently being considered by regulators,” Canary Media reports. “The key, the utility says, will be carbon capture and sequestration — collecting carbon dioxide emissions from two proposed gas-fired power plants and storing them underground… “The problem, as critics see it, is that carbon capture and sequestration has not been successfully deployed by electric utilities in the U.S. thus far. Even if the technology becomes economically viable, public opposition to the technology is likely to remain strong, as evidenced by the response to the Michigan Legislature’s efforts to adopt a carbon sequestration law. Public outcry has also erupted in neighboring states over plans for carbon dioxide pipelines and injection wells. In other words, DTE proposes to invest billions of customers’ dollars in gas plants that are dependent on a nascent and uncertain solution to comply with state law on emissions that would harm the climate and public health… “The report cites cost, financial risk, market uncertainty, and the complexity of constructing and monitoring the infrastructure as reasons that the technology is used in only a small number of sites worldwide. Most of those are related to enhanced oil recovery, in which the carbon dioxide is used to push oil out of waning reservoirs, providing an additional revenue stream… “While some advocates would prefer not to see new data centers at all, they argue that if the facilities must be built, their need for electricity could be met without increasing emissions or relying on carbon capture.”

New York Times: Governor Warns New Jersey Ports to Turn Away Russian Fuel
Tracey Tully and Peter Eavis, 11/2/26

“Gov. Mikie Sherrill sent letters on Monday to a dozen port and terminal operators in New Jersey, warning them to “turn away” any tanker carrying Russian diesel or face what she called harsh penalties,” the New York Times reports. “Ms. Sherrill, a Democrat, told the Times that accepting the fuel would violate federal law and that she was prepared to use “every available legal and regulatory tool” to block any tanker from offloading Russian fuel in New Jersey. It is unclear if any Russian fuel is headed toward New Jersey, but Ms. Sherrill’s position could put the state on a collision course with President Trump, who last month lifted a ban on the import of Russian diesel as part of his efforts to bring down the cost of the fuel… “The owners of the diesel-importing facilities, some of which belong to large oil companies, would be forced to choose sides. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has also demanded that two shipping companies recall tankers “carrying illegal Russian diesel.”

Politico: Oil capital goes blue as Democrats romp in Texas
Edward Klump, Mike Lee, Shelby Webb, 11/4/26

“…It was a stunning turnaround that will give Democrats control of top jobs in state government — and a louder voice on national energy policies, given that Texas produces about 40% of U.S. oil,” Politico reports. “James Talarico’s election to the U.S. Senate, meanwhile, revives the dormant idea of an oil-state Democrat who defends the industry but who may also support cleaner energy sources… “Democrats also captured one of three spots on the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates oil and gas.”

Reuters: US agency approves deepwater port license application for $8.2 billion ST LNG project
Arathy Somasekhar, 10/28/26

“The Maritime Administration has approved a deepwater port license application ‌for the $8.2 billion ST LNG project, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Wednesday,” Reuters reports. “The project could further expand US liquefied natural gas export capacity. President Donald Trump’s administration has promised to ease permitting in a bid to speed up energy ​infrastructure development. The ST LNG deepwater port, set to be built about 10.4 miles (16.7 km) offshore ​Matagorda, Texas, will include four 2.1 million tonnes per annum liquefaction plants for a ⁠combined production capacity of 8.4 mtpa, the US Department of Transportation said… “Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the port expected to come online in 2029.”

EXTRACTION

Edmonton Journal: Alberta’s oilsands tailings grow by 50 per cent in a decade
Graison Foster, 11/4/26

“Eight oilsands mines north of Fort McMurray are storing about 1.6 billion cubic metres of tailings —- watery clay and silt laced with heavy metals and other chemicals — up by nearly 50 per cent since 2014,” the Edmonton Journal reports. “The Alberta Energy Regulator published the figures in its annual review of fluid tailings, the sludgy material left over from mining that stays suspended in pond water and can take decades to settle on its own. A regulator spokesperson told the Journal that the rising volume of tailings was expected under approved industry plans and reflects a 70 per cent increase in bitumen production since 2014… “Even as provincial regulators say they will not require a separate environmental assessment of the tailings release, Indigenous groups and environmental advocates are pressing Ottawa for a national review… “Without release, the company says, the water stored at oilsands mines keeps growing even after mining ends, and the work of restoring the mined land stalls… “But guidelines do not exist for naphthenic acids, the major class of chemicals of concern in tailings ponds, Orihel told the Journal. “I can’t say we really know enough about how industrial wastewater treated by the various technologies under development would affect aquatic life in the Athabasca River… “Five more requests have followed, the latest from Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society last week.”

Yellowknifer: MLAs demand action amid threat of toxic oil sands tailings being dumped into waterway
Kody Ferron, 11/3/26

“Multiple MLAs are making repeated calls for the Environment and Climate Change minister to do more in protecting the NWT’s water amid the threat of toxic oil sands mine tailings being dumped into the Athabasca River, which flows north,” Yellowknifer reports. “The Alberta Energy Regulator is not forcing Suncor to undergo a provincial environmental impact assessment in order to release 10 to 12 million cubic metres of “treated wastewater” annually from its oil sands Base Plant into the Athabasca River. Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya told the legislative assembly on Oct. 23 that, as stewards of the land, it’s our collective responsibility to ensure the continued protection and safety of the water for future generations. “Our people have depended on these waters for generations, both for drinking water and traditional harvesting,” she said. “Water is life. It sustains our people and gives life to the land and the animals that live alongside us. When the water suffers, the land and all living things suffer with it.”

Americans for Financial Reform: Private Equity, Private Credit, and the Data Center Bubble
10/29/26

“…Private equity has been a largely hidden backer in the controversial AI boom and data center land rush. This first, comprehensive assessment of private equity ownership, investment, and private credit lending in the data center landscape uncovers that a set of giant private equity firms—interconnected with Big Tech companies—are behind a major portion of these developments,” according to Americans for Financial Reform. “It identifies the U.S. facilities that have private equity backing, explores the harms of these projects on the ground, and highlights places where people are organizing to fight back… “Private equity firms own or back an estimated 25 percent to 30 percent of active U.S. data centers. As of December 2025, 78 private equity firms backed an estimated 13 to 17 gigawatts (GW) of active data center capacity across 670 data centers or campuses. These private equity-owned or -financed data centers make up an estimated 25 percent to 30 percent of the 54 GW of total U.S. active data center capacity. Private equity-owned or -financed companies have announced or initiated at least another 26.8 GW of U.S. data center capacity in development, under construction, or actively planned, amounting to over half of the total 50 GW of data centers in the pipeline by 2030… “The five largest private equity data center owners in the United States (by total active and planned capacity) are Brookfield Asset Management, Ares Management, Blue Owl Capital, DigitalBridge, and Apollo. These firms control or hold investments in 17 percent of existing capacity and 30 percent of planned capacity.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

Bloomberg: Green-Debt Fees Hit Nearly $3 Billion, Topping Fossil Fuels For Fifth Year
Tim Quinson, 11/2/26

“For a fifth straight year, the world’s biggest banks are making more money arranging bonds and loans for environmentally friendly projects than for fossil-fuel companies,” Bloomberg reports. “Lenders have generated roughly $3 billion of revenue so far this year from climate-related financing, exceeding the $2.9 billion from debt deals for oil, gas and coal producers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While the gap is narrowing, the revenue split marks a sharp reversal from 2020, when banks pocketed almost double the fees from fossil-fuel companies than they did backing green initiatives… “As for fossil-fuel bond and loan transactions, US banks were the top dealmakers, led by Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc… “The so-called energy supply banking ratio is climbing, but “progress remains gradual and significantly short of the rate necessary to reach climate goals,” the analysts said.”

OPINION

Winnipeg Free Press: Trump’s pipeline claims likely pipe dream
Editorial, 11/4/26

“There seems to be something of a thaw in the trade deal stalemate between Canada and the U.S. The two sides are talking again — but at the same time, the talk from one side is more than a little bizarre, with U.S. President Donald Trump claiming Canada is going to build an $8-billion pipeline (2021 prices) — and pay for it all as part of the deal,” the Winnipeg Free Press Editorial Board writes. “Before trade talks went off the rails in August, Trump was already claiming it would be part of a new Canada-U.S. trade deal… “Over this past weekend, Trump’s pipeline claims got even bigger: “We have a concept of a very good deal with Canada,” Trump said in Dubuque, Iowa on Nov. 1. “They’re going to build the Keystone pipeline. They’re going to pay for it. They’re going to pay for all of it.” “…So why isn’t the idea that Canada is now somehow going to be bankrolling Keystone XL getting much press? Simple. Too many of the things Trump claims are just empty blather… “The idea that Canada is going to jump in and pay for it all is, well, like a fever dream… “What’s coming out of Trump’s pipeline isn’t oil. More than likely, it’s a stinking river of something else entirely.”

Planet Detroit: Wisconsin’s Line 5 spill is a warning to Michigan
Zoe Zeerip of the Groundwork Center, 11/3/26

“…Rather than shutting down the pipeline, Enbridge has chosen to crisscross every major waterway that feeds tribal lands — creating new threats to the tribe’s way of life,” Zoe Zeerip writes for Planet Detroit. “…The landowners whose property I stood on had fought hard and successfully denied Enbridge’s easement request. Many of their neighbors had less luck… “On Aug. 25, Enbridge spilled around 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids, reportedly the largest spill in Wisconsin in at least 50 years, after an unoccupied truck struck the pipeline. Power was cut, homes were evacuated, and the entire pipeline shut down for nearly three weeks… “The tunnel is a false solution to a pipeline that shouldn’t exist in the first place… “Enbridge and its predecessor company Lakehead are responsible for some of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history; the recent Wisconsin spill; and the 1 million gallons that Line 5 has spilled during its lifetime. We should not entrust them with our precious Straits. The same corporate responsibility propaganda that plays on Wisconsin radio also plays to susceptible ears in Michigan. It’s the same playbook our neighbors have been fighting for years: the same extractive logic threatening our waters, the heart of Turtle Island, and the unity of our communities… “The spill and construction damage in Wisconsin don’t have to happen here. We must strengthen our resolve, commit to protect the Great Lakes for future generations, stand with tribal nations, and shut down Line 5 for good.”

The Pantagraph: Carbon capture raises aquifer and drilling concerns
Stephen Nickels, Simpson, 11/4/26

“First, Illinois has numerous abandoned oil and gas wells, so movement through the strata is not too hard to imagine,” Stephen Nickels writes for The Pantagraph. “Second, the sole aquifer for central Illinois is endangered by carbon capture and storage (CCS). Third, CCS serves to enhance oil drilling, which the planet can no longer afford.”

Michigan Advance: Permitting reform bill will decimate protections in the National Historic Preservation Act
Cassandra Talley is the co-founder and principal with Loggia Preservation, 11/3/26

“On September 30, 2026, a permitting reform bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that would significantly weaken the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The NHPA was passed in 1966 after thousands of historic places around the U.S. were demolished during urban renewal efforts in 1950s and 1960s,” Cassandra Talley writes for the Michigan Advance. “…The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act obliterates the public notice and input requirements that were purposefully inserted into the NHPA. Imagine a data center project that requires a federal permit because it’s close to a wetland: if passed, this bill will remove the requirement that federal agencies solicit the public’s input, rather, the public will only learn about federally permitted destruction when the bulldozers arrive on site… “At a time when some of our most important historic places are under threat, it is vital that we speak up when bad legislation is proposed and this bill is about as bad as it gets for historic places, places we cannot put back together once the wrecking ball starts swinging.”

Earthjustice: How the Permitting Bill Threatens our Historic and Cultural Sites
11/2/26

“…For over half a century, the National Historical Preservation Act (NHPA) has proven that we can protect the special places intrinsic to America’s DNA, like the African Burial Ground in New York, or the Crow Canyon Petroglyphs in New Mexico, and build new projects that keep our country moving forward. But federal attacks on NHPA regulations and the recently released Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) threaten to overthrow that delicate balance, and Tribal Nations are sounding the alarm,” according to Earthjustice. “Threats to the NHPA — and the historic places throughout the country that it protects — began earlier this year. In July, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which oversees NHPA implementation, advanced sweeping draft regulatory revisions that would make Tribal consultation and public participation largely optional, limit which culturally important places could be protected, and allow the federal government to ignore many types of harms caused by projects. Then, Senate negotiators released BAAJA, which would codify many of the draft regulation’s most troubling proposals. While the Advisory Council’s proposal could be challenged in court or reversed by a future administration, the permitting bill would set those provisions in stone. In some instances, the bill would go even further than the regulations to eliminate protections for historic places. Consequently, the National Congress of American Indians, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, Native American Rights Fund, and many Tribal Nations have called on Congress to reject the bill’s NHPA title.”