EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/12/26

PIPELINE NEWS

• Iowa Capital Dispatch: Here’s what Iowa ag and environmental groups want in the ’26 legislative session

• Hartford Courant: CT Mirror: CT group moves to block CT gas pipeline expansion

• KFYR: Intensity moving forward with natural gas pipeline

• CBC: Chance of privately developed pipeline almost ‘zero’ if no government backstop: former Alberta energy minister

• CBC: How a new natural gas pipeline could fuel changes in this quaint mountain hamlet

• Natural Gas Intelligence: Golden Pass LNG Cleared for Trident Pipeline Link to Permian Gas

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• New York Times: Trump’s $100 Billion Venezuela Oil Plan Gets a Cool Reception

• Bloomberg: US Unlikely to Fund Venezuela Oil Revival, Interior Secretary Burgum Says

• Reuters: Trump says he might keep Exxon out of Venezuela after CEO called it ‘uninvestable’

• E&E News: Trump vows to ‘cut a deal’ with oil companies

• Reuters: Trump urges US oil giants to repair Venezuela’s ‘rotting’ energy industry

• Reuters: Trump pushes ‘drill baby drill’ agenda to Venezuela, hurts producers at home

• Reuters: Chevron sees pathway to grow Venezuela production by 50%, US energy secretary says

• FOX Business: Behind the scenes of who is attending Trump’s oil executive meeting after Maduro operation

• The National Interest: Plumbing the History of the US Oil Industry in Venezuela

• New York Times: Supreme Court to Hear Case on Louisiana’s Eroding Coast

• E&E News: EPA endangerment finding repeal goes to White House for final review

• E&E News: DOE sees bigger role for climate contrarians, records show

• E&E News: Greens push Senate to reject Trump’s BLM nominee

• E&E News: Trump’s pay hike for law enforcement leaves out EPA, IGs

• Powell Tribune: New nonpartisan PAC aims to put a stop to selling off public lands

• E&E News: Oil and gas drilling permits surge 55% under Trump

STATE UPDATES

• Salinas Californian: Monterey County joins California coalition opposing offshore drilling plan

• Monterey Herald: ‘Stand Up, Save Our Coast’ takes stand against Big Oil

• Carbon Herald: Alabama Watershed Authority Supports Legislation To Block CO2 Storage Project

• WICS: Decatur community revisits carbon capture project under Lake Decatur

• Philanthropy News Digest: With investment, Texas could lead on carbon capture, report finds

• Bakersfield Californian: How carbon capture is impacting communities

• E&E News: Father of climate activists running to unseat Zinke

• Courthouse News Service: Environmentalists decry Trump deal giving Utah control of national park land

• Colorado Public Radio: Bureau of Land Management oil and gas auction gets zero bids in Colorado

• Wyoming Public Radio: Industry bids on less than 1% of oil and gas leases in bonus sale

• KJCT: Crews cleaning up oil spill from tanker crash near Rangely

EXTRACTION

• Canadian Press: Alberta’s Smith calls on Carney to speed up major project approvals

CLIMATE FINANCE

• E&E News: US ditches world’s biggest climate fund

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• The Intelligencer: Enbridge Gas funds safety training support for Prince Edward County firefighters

OPINION

• The Courier: Pipeline developers should get eminent domain rights

• Substack: The Ignominious Death of Drill, Baby, Drill
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Iowa Capital Dispatch: Here’s what Iowa ag and environmental groups want in the ’26 legislative session
Cami Koons, 1/9/26

“Water quality, property rights and pesticide labeling are top issues that Iowa agriculture and environmental groups hope to see addressed in the 2026 legislative session,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “Property rights issues center on the use of eminent domain for a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline… “Debate around eminent domain and a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline have filled the halls of the Iowa State Capitol for the past four years and dominated the final days of the 2025 session, when lawmakers passed a bill restricting carbon sequestration pipelines’ abilities to build in certain areas. The bill was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Landowners and lawmakers, however, are already preparing for renewed policy and debate over the issue. Iowa Corn Growers Association noted in its 2026 legislative priorities that it will back “all efforts to lower (the) carbon intensity score of corn-based ethanol and promote ethanol as a carbon reduction solution across all markets while maintaining property rights.” The association, along with renewable fuel groups, have been supportive of the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which would transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to an underground storage site and give the ethanol and corn industry access to low-carbon fuel markets. Leading up to session, Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, has said he plans to introduce legislation that would allow pipeline companies to route around landowners without the use of eminent domain.”

Hartford Courant: CT group moves to block CT gas pipeline expansion
John Moritz, 1/9/26

“Opponents of a proposed natural gas expansion project in the town of Brookfield filed a legal appeal on Wednesday to block the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection from issuing a final permit to the project’s developers, the Iroquois Gas Transmission System,” the Hartford Courant reports. “The move came in a lawsuit alleging procedural errors by DEEP regarding the type of hearing that was scheduled this week for opponents to raise concerns about the project. It was also part of a larger campaign to stop Iroquois from expanding its existing compressor station in Brookfield, which will in turn allow the company to push more gas through its 414-mile pipeline. In July, DEEP issued draft permits indicating its support for the project. In response to that decision, the town of Brookfield and the environmental group Save the Sound requested that DEEP hold an adjudicatory hearing that would give both parties an opportunity to challenge the permits under Connecticut’s Environmental Protection Act. Chiefly, they presented concerns that the new gas-fired compressors would release large amounts of pollutants and greenhouse gases, worsening local air quality. While the agency did agree to hold an public informational hearing, DEEP rejected the request for a more robust adjudicatory hearing, citing issues with the town and Save the Sound’s applications. Without such a hearing, opponents argue, they will be left without means to appeal the agency’s final decision.”

KFYR: Intensity moving forward with natural gas pipeline
Michael Anthony, 1/11/26

“A pipeline company says it plans to move forward with a new natural gas pipeline in North Dakota,” KFYR reports. “Intensity Infrastructure Partners says it has enough transportation commitments to build a 36-inch natural gas pipeline. It will run through western and central North Dakota, connecting with six Bakken natural gas processing plants. The company anticipates it running in early 2029.”

CBC: Chance of privately developed pipeline almost ‘zero’ if no government backstop: former Alberta energy minister
Joel Dryden, 1/9/26

“A former Alberta energy minister says a proposed bitumen pipeline to the northwest B.C. coast is unlikely to materialize if Canada relies on the private sector alone to build it,” the CBC reports. “I would say it’s not just diminishing, the likelihood of a private sector proponent.… I would almost say it is zero at this point,” Sonya Savage said on CBC’s West of Centre podcast… “After the MOU was signed, industry watchers told CBC News that pipeline companies might want a financial commitment from Alberta or Ottawa to backstop cost overruns that are outside of a company’s control. Savage, who has worked as a senior executive for the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association and Enbridge, told CBC that is not a new concept for Canada. “The TransCanada mainline gas line in the 1950s would not have been built without federal government intervention,” said Savage. “They set up a Crown corporation, they backstopped it. Enbridge’s Line 9 in the 1970s would not have been built without a federal government backstop.” Though Alberta and Ottawa have referred to the northwest coast oil pipeline as “nation-building” infrastructure, that sentiment is not uniformly shared amongst Canada’s leaders. Earlier this week, B.C. Premier David Eby said if tax dollars are being considered, Canada should instead consider building a new oil refinery rather than a pipeline to the province’s north coast.”

CBC: How a new natural gas pipeline could fuel changes in this quaint mountain hamlet
Nadeer Hashmi, 1/10/26

“For decades, the mountain hamlet of Nordegg, about 170 kilometres west of Red Deer, Alta., has relied on hundreds of propane tanks to heat homes and fuel businesses. But that will soon change. In the coming weeks, a natural gas pipeline will go live, connecting the community to the Tidewater Stolberg Gas Plant, 11 kilometres away,” the CBC reports. “It’s a significant development for Nordegg, a former coal-mining town between 1911 and 1955, home to nearly 3,000 residents at the time. Currently, Nordegg is a quiet community of a few hundred people and a popular spot to enjoy the mountains. Rocky Gas Co-op broke ground on the $8-million pipeline last spring, with $2.5 million in funding coming from the province, around $2 million coming from Rocky Gas Co-op and the rest coming from Clearwater County… “Paul Paridaen, a Nordegg developer, told CBC switching to natural gas will also help save money. He told CBC it costs more than twice as much to operate a building on propane.”

Natural Gas Intelligence: Golden Pass LNG Cleared for Trident Pipeline Link to Permian Gas
Jacob Dick, 1/9/26

“Golden Pass LNG has been authorized to build key pipeline facilities that would connect the terminal to up to 1 Bcf/d in Permian Basin feed gas supply on Kinder Morgan Inc.’s (KMI) Trident Intrastate Pipeline project,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. ”At A Glance: Trident startup timed for 2027; Golden Pass moves to diversify feed gas; Permian gas demand poised to rise.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

New York Times: Trump’s $100 Billion Venezuela Oil Plan Gets a Cool Reception
Rebecca F. Elliott, 1/9/26

“President Trump has put a number on how much he wants the biggest U.S. and European oil giants to pour into Venezuela: at least $100 billion,” the New York Times reports. “During a meeting at the White House on Friday afternoon, oil executives made it clear that they were not yet prepared to follow through. Darren Woods, who leads the largest U.S. oil company, Exxon Mobil, was especially blunt during a televised portion of the meeting. “We’ve had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes,” he said. “Today it’s uninvestable.” For the company to return to Venezuela, legal changes would have to be made, and there would need to be “durable investment protections,” Mr. Woods, Exxon’s chief executive, said. But he offered an olive branch to the White House, saying Exxon was prepared to send an exploratory team to Venezuela within the next few weeks if it received security guarantees. Exxon and ConocoPhillips, another large American oil company, have been pursuing substantial claims against Venezuela’s government for assets it seized during a nationalization wave two decades ago. Recouping that money seemed on Friday to be of little interest to Mr. Trump, who said, “We’re not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault.” “…But even Harold Hamm, an Oklahoma oil tycoon and one of Mr. Trump’s closest oil-industry allies, stopped short of committing to work in the country. “It excites me as an explorationist. Everybody has that in their blood,” Mr. Hamm said at the White House. But, he added, Venezuela has “got its challenges.” The question of how much money oil companies may spend in Venezuela will come down to how those investments are defined. Simply maintaining Venezuela’s oil output at current levels, around one million barrels per day, would cost more than $50 billion over the next 15 years, according to estimates from the consulting firm Rystad Energy.”

Bloomberg: US Unlikely to Fund Venezuela Oil Revival, Interior Secretary Burgum Says
Ari Natter, 1/9/26

“The Trump administration is unlikely to provide financial support to help US oil companies revitalize Venezuela’s oil sector, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Friday, throwing cold water on hopes the multibillion-dollar effort would be subsidized by the US government,” Bloomberg reports. “The capital is going to come from the capital markets and come from the energy companies,” Burgum, who also leads the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council, told Bloomberg. “I don’t see that these companies are going to need support from the US, other than things around security. If we can provide a secure, stable environment, the resource here is so significant and so large that it’s going to be attractive for people to go in and develop.” “…Oil companies, which are set to meet with Trump, Burgum and other administration officials at the White House later Friday, have been wary of committing tens of billions of dollars to Venezuela over the next decade. Executives have sought assurances on physical and financial security amid concerns about the stability of a post-Nicolás Maduro government.”

Reuters: Trump says he might keep Exxon out of Venezuela after CEO called it ‘uninvestable’
Jarrett Renshaw, 1/12/26

“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he might block Exxon Mobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil major’s CEO called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week,” Reuters reports. “Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during the high-profile meeting on Friday with at least 17 other oil executives. Trump had urged the group to spend $100 billion to revitalize Venezuela’s oil industry in a meeting less than a week after U.S. forces captured and removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power in a brazen overnight raid. Woods’ skeptical remarks quickly emerged as the dominant headline, undercutting the White House’s hopes of building momentum from its engagement with the world’s most prominent oil executives. “I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington on Sunday. “I’ll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn’t like their response. They’re playing too cute.”

E&E News: Trump vows to ‘cut a deal’ with oil companies
Robin Bravender, 1/9/26

“Oil industry officials met with senior Trump administration officials at the White House on Friday as President Donald Trump pledged a forthcoming “deal” with oil companies to access Venezuela’s crude oil reserves,” E&E News reports. “…The administration is “going to cut a deal with the companies” they are “going to allow to go in,” Trump said Friday. “We’ll probably do that today or very shortly thereafter,” he told the crowd. “We’re dealing with the country, so we’re empowered to make that deal, and you have total safety, total security.” Trump posted on social media prior to the meeting, “The largest Oil Companies in the World are coming to the White House. … Everybody wants to be there. It’s too bad that the Ballroom hasn’t completed because, if it were, it would be PACKED.” A big factor in the U.S. involvement in Venezuela, Trump said, will be “the reduction of Oil Prices for the American People.”
“…Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, told E&E Friday’s closed-door meeting proves that “Trump’s violent imperialism is all about handing billionaires control over Venezuela’s oil.” As “fossil fuel tycoons meet to divide the wealth of Venezuela, U.S. taxpayers may be set to shoulder an enormous amount of the risk of drilling and exporting the dirty crude oil.”

Reuters: Trump urges US oil giants to repair Venezuela’s ‘rotting’ energy industry
Sheila Dang, Nathan Crooks, David French, Jarrett Renshaw, and Shariq Khan, 1/9/25

“U.S. President Donald Trump began a meeting to discuss Venezuela with executives from some of the world’s largest oil companies at the White House on Friday, saying he wants them to invest $100 billion in the country to vastly expand its production,” Reuters reports. “…We’re going to discuss how these great American companies can help rapidly rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated oil industry and bring millions of barrels of oil production to benefit the United States, the people of Venezuela and the entire world,” Trump said at the opening of the meeting. “We’re going to be making the decision as to which oil companies are going to go in, that we’re going to allow to go in,” he said… “One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices,” he said… “Reuters has reported that companies including Chevron, Vitol and Trafigura are competing hard for U.S. licenses to market Venezuela’s existing crude oil, but that oil majors are hesitant to commit to big, longer-term investments in Venezuela due to high costs and political instability. Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said at the White House meeting that the company is committed to investments in Venezuela… “Exxon CEO Darren Woods said the company sees Venezuela as currently “uninvestable” and needs to see significant changes there for it to return.”

Reuters: Trump pushes ‘drill baby drill’ agenda to Venezuela, hurts producers at home
Georgina McCartney and Arathy Somasekhar, 1/9/26

“U.S. oil producers already reeling from low oil prices are facing renewed pressures, as President Donald Trump pushes them to boost output in Venezuela – a move that would weaken the oil market, cut revenues and hurt industry at home,” Reuters reports. “Trump has enacted policies that he says would unleash American energy and lower prices at the pump – a promise that would help U.S. consumers but squeeze oil industry revenues. It’s hard to do both – because lower profits mean oil companies drill less, not more… “But with oil markets well supplied, OPEC members sitting on spare capacity – and with abundant opportunities to pump oil more cheaply elsewhere – U.S. oil producer executives are facing the prospect of another hit to profits in the short term if more Venezuelan oil flows to the United States. Oil prices in the U.S., the world’s largest producer, are already below the $65 a barrel level many need to turn a profit, prompting mass layoffs, idled oilfield equipment and spending cuts… “The reality on the ground for U.S. producers is stark, particularly as Trump moves Venezuelan barrels to the already well-supplied market. Top producers Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and the world’s largest oil service providers SLB and Halliburton collectively cut thousands of jobs in 2025. “This recent move to redirect Venezuelan crude to the U.S., potentially tens of millions of barrels will put pressure on domestic shale producers,” Linhua Guan, CEO of Surge Energy America, one of the largest private U.S. crude producers, with operations in the Permian Basin, told Reuters. “With U.S. output near record highs, smaller U.S. shale operators face tighter margins and increased vulnerability in an already oversupplied market.”

Reuters: Chevron sees pathway to grow Venezuela production by 50%, US energy secretary says
Kanishka Singh, 1/9/25

“U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that Chevron saw a pathway to grow its Venezuela production by 50%, with his comments coming after a meeting that President Donald Trump had with oil companies on the South American nation,” Reuters reports. “Chevron “said with the actions that were taken and some additional things we can do for them… which is just permissions, approvals,” Wright said. He added that the company sees “a pathway to grow their production by 50% in the next 18-24 months.” Wright also said that Washington’s interactions with Venezuela have been “fantastic” after ousted leader Nicolas Maduro was seized by the U.S. military in a raid in the South American country last weekend.”

FOX Business: Behind the scenes of who is attending Trump’s oil executive meeting after Maduro operation
Emma Colton, 1/9/26

“…Following the announcement of President Trump’s historic energy deal with Venezuela, American oil companies will come to the White House to discuss investment opportunities that will restore Venezuelan oil infrastructure,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital Friday morning,” FOX Business reports. “…Fox News Digital learned that the lengthy lineup of oil companies includes Chevron, Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Continental, Halliburton, HKN, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Trafigura, Vitol Americas, Repsol, Eni, Aspect Holdings, Tallgrass, Raisa Energy and Hilcorp. Trump will be joined by a handful of Cabinet members as well, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum… ”The oil leaders are expected to discuss plans for investing in Venezuela to allow oil production to ramp up in the country.”

The National Interest: Plumbing the History of the US Oil Industry in Venezuela
Richard M. Sanders, 1/9/26

“Coaxing US oil companies back to investing in Venezuela won’t be as easy as it seems to Donald Trump,” The National Interest reports. “…But as we enter this new phase, we would do well to remember the history here. Oil has long been crucial to US relations with the South American country, which has passed through two major cycles of foreign investment in the sector, followed by nationalizations… “But many uncertainties could inhibit a new oil bonanza. Venezuela’s political future remains cloudy, as are the Trump administration’s plans. Will the current regime remain in power indefinitely with US acquiescence, or will there be a transition to democratic rule? And what will be the legal framework under which foreign investment returns? And political and legal concerns aside, the economics of any new petroleum investment are unclear. Production could ramp up somewhat with an infusion of cash to simply repair Venezuela’s battered infrastructure. But for a big, sustained increase, billions of dollars would be required to further develop the heavy crude locked in the sands of eastern Venezuela. And while Venezuela’s production capacity has deteriorated, neighboring Guyana and Brazil have developed large offshore fields, Argentina has joined the United States in producing shale oil, and Canadian heavy oil production is reaching new highs. Venezuela will have to compete with them for investment dollars. At his press conference following the seizure of Maduro, Trump was clear about the centrality he gave to petroleum, saying: “We are going to have our very large United States oil companies—the biggest anywhere in the world—go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure…” Subsequently, he went so far as to suggest that the US government would, if necessary, reimburse them for the money needed for this effort.”

New York Times: Supreme Court to Hear Case on Louisiana’s Eroding Coast
Karen Zraick and Abbie VanSickle, 1/11/26

“Who should pay for saving southern Louisiana’s endangered coastline? The Supreme Court is set to take up a sliver of that question on Monday, as the justices hear arguments in connection with more than 40 lawsuits filed by Louisiana officials seeking to hold energy companies liable for environmental damage linked to oil and gas production, some of it dating back to World War II,” the New York Times reports. “Louisiana’s Republican leaders, including Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill, have supported the lawsuits even as they endorsed President Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda, leading to sharp criticism from the political right. At stake, potentially, are billions of dollars in damages that could be used to restore wetlands and forestall further erosion. In April, a jury awarded Plaquemines Parish near New Orleans, the state’s southernmost parish, $745 million in one of the cases. The issue before the justices is whether the cases belong in federal court, which is seen as a friendlier venue for businesses, or before juries and elected judges in state courts. The companies, led by Chevron and Exxon Mobil, contend that they belong in federal court. They have highlighted their argument that oil companies were under federal contracts during the war, playing a key role providing aviation fuel to the United States and its allies. The Trump administration has joined the case in support of the oil companies and will argue alongside them before the court… “The parishes, which are roughly analogous to counties, that have sued argue that the cases are based on decades of illegal activity — including drilling, dredging and waste disposal without proper permits — that has accelerated coastal erosion. The cases cite a 1978 Louisiana law, the State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act, and allege that many of the violations took place after its passage.”

E&E News: EPA endangerment finding repeal goes to White House for final review
Alex Guillén, 1/9/26

“EPA this week sent its draft final rule repealing the endangerment finding and ending the regulation of tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions to the White House for review,” E&E News reports. “…The review likely will take at least a few weeks, if not months, before the rule is finalized and issued. As proposed in July, EPA argued that the Clean Air Act does not give it the authority to address climate change because of the global nature of greenhouse gas emissions. By revoking the 2009 endangerment finding that concluded greenhouse gas emissions do pose a threat to public health and welfare, the agency would also end all regulation of carbon emissions from new vehicles and make it virtually impossible to regulate emissions from most other sectors. Environmentalists and Democratic-led states have assailed the proposed rule and are expected to mount legal challenges once it is finalized.”

E&E News: DOE sees bigger role for climate contrarians, records show
Scott Waldman, 1/12/26

“Trump administration officials have for months considered using a small group of climate contrarians to help write the nation’s preeminent report on global warming, new court records reveal,” E&E News reports. “The documents show that Energy Department officials, as early as last May, were weighing the possibility of having five climate contrarians contribute to the National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated document that outlines the ways that global warming threatens the United States. The court records confirm what Judith Curry, one of the five climate contrarians and a former climatologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told E&E in December. They also raise the possibility that DOE officials were skirting federal records laws — as some of the communication was made through personal email accounts… “Taken together, the newly revealed emails suggest the Trump administration has for months looked at turning the sixth version of the National Climate Assessment into a climate contrarian treatise that cuts against the findings of the previous five versions, which have come out every few years since 2000… “Erin Murphy, a senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, told E&E the content of the emails — as well as their timing — is evidence that a key goal of the Climate Working Group is to help roll back climate regulations. “The Trump Administration’s Climate Working Group was meeting in secret to recklessly attack the National Climate Assessment and seek to undermine the law,” Murphy told E&E.”

E&E News: Greens push Senate to reject Trump’s BLM nominee
Scott Streater, 1/9/26

“Conservation groups are pressing the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to reject President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, as the panel prepares for an expected confirmation hearing in coming weeks,” E&E News reports. “Pearce, a former seven-term Republican congressman from New Mexico who was considered a staunch ally of the oil and gas industry in Congress, “has based his political career in absolute disdain for the 245 million acres of public lands he has now been nominated to administer,” the letter states. If confirmed, the coalition writes, Pearce “will severely undermine protections for recreation and cultural resources, air and water, and the nation’s most imperiled wildlife.” “…Pearce reported that he earned as much as $1 million last year from a business often associated with oil and gas development, and that he owned interests in oil leases in two states.”

E&E News: Trump’s pay hike for law enforcement leaves out EPA, IGs
Kevin Bogardus, 1/8/26

“EPA special agents and investigators with internal watchdog offices won’t get President Donald Trump’s special salary bump for federal law enforcement,” E&E News reports. “Former EPA special agents questioned the different pay hikes, saying they are like other federal law enforcement officers — highly trained to investigate complex crimes with full authority to serve search warrants, arrest suspects and carry firearms. Those agents work in the agency’s law enforcement arm, the Criminal Investigation Division, and can have specialized tasks, such as supporting investigations of environmental disasters like chemical spills and radiation leaks… “The Diplomatic Security Service, the Forest Service’s criminal investigators and the U.S. Park Police are also marked for the greater pay raise in OPM’s memo. In addition, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear materials couriers, who drive armored, unmarked tractor-trailer trucks carrying hazardous nuclear materials around the country, will receive the special salary increase.”

Powell Tribune: New nonpartisan PAC aims to put a stop to selling off public lands
Mark Davis, 1/9/26

“Believing that efforts to sell off public lands and what they see as the privatization of wildlife and abandonment of scientific management threaten residents’ livelihoods, two Cowboy State outdoors enthusiasts have come together to create a Political Action Committee with the primary goal of taking the sale of public lands off the table,” the Powell Tribune reports. “Protect Wyoming is by Wyoming people, for Wyoming people. We are not being organized by out-of-state money or by political money seeking to use these issues and sportsmen for their own purposes,” the two-man team of Zach Lentsch of Cody and Chris Allen of Clearmont said in its initial press release. “Protecting public land and public wildlife is foundational to our state, and we believe it is the responsibility of the people to hold these resources in trust and to protect them.” “…The PAC supports appropriate land transfers that increase access and make management of public lands easier, but it does not support wholesale transfers of public land to the state or private entities… “Instead, he and Allen hope to help shape the 2026 election cycle so that candidates who support public lands, public wildlife and science-based management ‘have the strongest opportunity to succeed,’ he said.”

E&E News: Oil and gas drilling permits surge 55% under Trump
Ian M. Stevenson, 1/12/26

“The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management approved 5,742 permits to drill between Jan. 20, 2025 — the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term — and Jan. 6 of this year, according to data from the agency,” E&E News reports. “That dwarfs the 3,696 approvals issued over the comparable period in 2024-2025 under former President Joe Biden. BLM also held 22 lease sales in 2025, leasing some 328,000 new acres of public land across 10 states for oil and gas development… “‘This surge in permit approvals will lock in decades of fossil fuel production at a time when we should be sprinting toward a clean energy future,” Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. campaign manager at Oil Change International, told E&E.”

STATE UPDATES

Salinas Californian: Monterey County joins California coalition opposing offshore drilling plan
Roseann Cattani, 1/9/25

“Monterey County is joining other California coastal communities and environmental groups to oppose President Donald Trump’s proposal to expand offshore oil drilling in federal waters off the state,” the Salinas Californian reports. “On Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors issued a resolution opposing the Trump Administration’s plans while authorizing an initial financial contribution to a regional coalition opposing proposals for new offshore drilling and deep‑sea mining near California coasts. Called the Local Governments Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Coordination Program, the group, which currently includes Santa Cruz County, city of Santa Cruz and Sonoma County, was formed in 1980 and remained active through the mid-1990s, its collaborative actions instrumental in creating the state’s “Blue Wall,” a series of more than two dozen local ordinances that restricted or prohibited onshore support facilities for new offshore drilling. Now with the new federal proposal, the program has been revived, with Monterey County officials approving $15,000 and the option to raise it to $30,000 once the coalition finalizes membership and cost-sharing.”

Monterey Herald: ‘Stand Up, Save Our Coast’ takes stand against Big Oil
Arianna Nalbach, 1/10/26

“More than 200 attended a “People’s Hearing” Friday evening to listen and voice their concerns about a draft proposal by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to issue oil and gas drilling leases off the California coast,” the Monterey Herald reports. “The “Stand Up, Save Our Coast” event was hosted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Oceana, Save Our Shores and Surfrider Monterey. It was originally scheduled to be in the held at the Portola Hotel & Spa’s Bonsai room, but was it relocated to the larger De Anza Ballroom to accommodate the event’s turnout. “This region is no stranger to this fight,” said Save Our Shores Executive Director Katie Thompson. Federal law explicitly states that oil and gas leasing is prohibited in national marine sanctuaries, like the Monterey bay, yet they are currently included in the draft proposal. Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson shared that Monterey Bay’s waters are “protected because it’s valuable, not just environmentally, but economically and culturally. Offshore drilling puts all of that at risk for short term gain.” “…With the deadline for public comments to be submitted quickly approaching, and the federal government having scheduled no hearings for public comment, California’s coastal communities decided to hold their own People’s Hearing. Elected officials from both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties spoke at the event, along with other community leaders. California State Senator John Laird encouraged attendees to Friday’s People’s Hearing to make sure their voices were heard by submitting comments through the official channels before the Jan. 23 deadline.”

Carbon Herald: Alabama Watershed Authority Supports Legislation To Block CO2 Storage Project
Violet George, 1/12/26

“A regional watershed management authority in Alabama has passed a resolution backing proposed legislation that would block a planned CO2 injection and storage project in Covington County, adding to growing local opposition to the development,” the Carbon Herald reports. “The Choctawhatchee, Pea, and Yellow River Watershed Management Authority voted to support legislation sponsored by State Senator Josh Carnley and State Representative Matthew Hammett that would prohibit Reliant’s proposed CO2 injection and storage site from moving forward in the county. The authority was established by state law in 1991 to protect and manage Alabama’s watershed systems. Local officials said the resolution reflects concern among residents about the long-term environmental implications of underground CO2 storage, particularly in a region reliant on clean and secure water resources. Glen Zorn, the at-large director representing Covington County on the authority’s board, said uncertainty around the project’s potential impacts played a central role in the decision… “Representative Hammett has already prefiled the bill ahead of the upcoming legislative session, with Senator Carnley expected to carry the measure in the Senate should it pass the House.”

WICS: Decatur community revisits carbon capture project under Lake Decatur
Emily Jordan, 1/12/26

“Community members will have the chance to have their voices heard on Decatur’s easement with ADM to store carbon dioxide beneath Lake Decatur,” WICS reports. “It all began back in 2024 when ADM came under federal scrutiny for violating the Safe Drinking Water Act when a leak occurred at a carbon capture site in Decatur… “Decatur council member David Horn told WICS in 2024, while ADM was negotiating with the City of Decatur for additional carbon capture projects, city council members weren’t aware that a carbon dioxide leak was happening. “How confident can we be in permanency? We’re not talking about relations now. We’re talking about relations decades from now. Centuries from now. Thousands of years from now,” Horn told WICS. Horn argues the agreement should be revisited– starting with a community forum session Monday… “Lake Decatur is one of our crown jewels,” Horn told WICS. “We should not be using our drinking water source as an experiment for can we scale up CO2 sequestration.” “…ADM confirmed they will be attending Monday’s session.”

Philanthropy News Digest: With investment, Texas could lead on carbon capture, report finds
1/12/26

“The state of Texas has the potential to become a national leader in carbon capture and carbon management, a report from the Great Plains Institute (GPI) finds,” according to Philanthropy News Digest. “The report, the Texas Carbon Management Roadmap (132 pages, PDF), developed with support from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, found that Texas is “uniquely positioned” to drive the rapidly expanding carbon management industry and could attract an estimated $150 billion in climate-mitigation technology investments by 2050. The state already boasts the nation’s largest CO2 pipeline network and an ideal geological storage capacity alongside well-established refining, petrochemical, and industrial sectors and a ready-to-scale energy workforce. Targeted investments from public and private stakeholders could help pave the way for the deployment of carbon capture at an industrial scale—a key strategy for reducing greenhouse gases—alongside innovative transportation and storage technologies, all while sustaining economic growth, protecting public health, and supporting the state’s energy workforce.”

Bakersfield Californian: How carbon capture is impacting communities
1/9/26

“Carbon capture is being promoted as a climate solution to help reduce emissions and support energy jobs,” the Bakersfield Californian reports. “Doctor Tat Acharya, an associate professor at California State Bakersfield, joined Arc Bakersfield to share how it impacts the community.”

E&E News: Father of climate activists running to unseat Zinke
Timothy Cama, 1/9/26

“Ryan Busse, the father of two plaintiffs in a landmark Montana climate change lawsuit, is running to challenge Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke,” E&E News reports. “…Zinke’s abandonment of working people is exposing century-old Montana scars left here by the insanely wealthy mining barons who once poisoned our rivers and rigged the economic system against working people,” Busse wrote in a Substack post about his campaign launch. “I’m not trying to cash in like Zinke or live in some fancy gated community built to keep the real Montana out; in fact, that disgusts me. I just want the people of this state to have a chance to experience the magic of Montana.” “…Busse’s sons were part of a group of more than a dozen young people who sued Montana in 2016 with the goal of requiring the state to institute new climate change policies to comply with the state constitution’s guarantee of a ‘clean and healthful environment.”

Courthouse News Service: Environmentalists decry Trump deal giving Utah control of national park land
Quinn Welsch, 1/8/26

“The Trump administration announced a deal on Tuesday that gives the state of Utah control over 8 million acres of national forest land for potential timber production, among other things. But environmental groups in Utah and the Rockies denounced the 20-year cooperative agreement between Utah and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, saying it would weaken environmental review and public oversight of the lands while opening them up to commercial enterprise,” Courthouse News Service reports. “The new agreement builds on a similar partnership from 2018 … “Utahns love our national forests — from the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache to the Manti-La Sal to the Dixie — and the incredible opportunities they provide for recreating with family and friends, often right out our back doors,” Steve Bloch, legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, told CNS. “It’s essential that our national forests remain in public hands and are not handed over to the state of Utah for short-term gain or other forms of destructive mismanagement.”

Colorado Public Radio: Bureau of Land Management oil and gas auction gets zero bids in Colorado
Ishan Thakore, 1/9/26

“On Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management auctioned off leases on more than 20,000 acres of public land in Colorado for oil and gas drilling,” Colorado Public Radio reports. ”…But during the sale: crickets. Not a single parcel received a bid, and only two companies had even registered for the sale. The sale reveals the limits of the Trump administration’s push to open more public land to oil and gas drilling. Simply put, many areas across the West with easily accessible oil are already developed. “In general, everything that is really high value across the West that will ever produce oil has already been sold,” Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, an environmental group, which criticized the auction,” told CPR.”

Wyoming Public Radio: Industry bids on less than 1% of oil and gas leases in bonus sale
Caitlin Tan, 1/8/26

“Oil and gas companies snatched up less than 1% of acres offered up in a bonus federal lease sale in Wyoming. But an industry group says that’s not for a lack of interest in drilling,” Wyoming Public Radio reports. “Of the 26,050 federal acres offered, 160 were bid on at the minimum $10 per acre bid. “It indicates lack of interest of the companies that are there at that moment and in that particular location at that moment,” Petroleum Association of Wyoming President Pete Obermueller told WPR. “It’s not an indication of overall interest in production in Wyoming.” Obermueller told WPR many of the parcels were in the far northern reaches of Wyoming, which had peak activity in the 2010s. “There’s just not a lot of activity there anymore. It’s very much on the fringes of the Powder River Basin,” he told WPR. “Companies that are doing active drilling programs aren’t interested in something that’s out on the fringes like that. It would take somebody else willing to take a risk to do it.”

KJCT: Crews cleaning up oil spill from tanker crash near Rangely
Kacie Sinton, 1/9/25

“Crews are working to clean up oil from West Douglas Creek after a tanker crashed earlier this week,” KJCT reports. “…Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency said roughly 9,250 gallons of oil spilled into West Douglas Creek because of the crash… “Public land was not impacted by the spill, but EPA said the spill affected BLM grazing land. EPA also said there is no estimated time when the cleanup of the spill will finish.”

EXTRACTION

Canadian Press: Alberta’s Smith calls on Carney to speed up major project approvals
Jack Farrell, 1/9/25

“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on Ottawa to further speed up its approval process for major projects, saying she wants to see applications approved within six months,” the Canadian Press reports. “Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Major Projects Office, established last year, currently aims to complete regulatory reviews within two years. Smith says in a letter to Carney that two years is too long, considering the recent U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to ramp up oil production in the South American country. Smith says renewed production in Venezuela would see more crude bound for U.S. refineries and create further competition for Canadian oil… “The Alberta government said it plans to submit an application for a pipeline to the projects office this summer, though neither a route nor a private-sector proponent has been determined.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

E&E News: US ditches world’s biggest climate fund
Sara Schonhardt, 1/8/26

“The U.S. announced it will abandon the world’s largest climate fund a day after President Donald Trump moved to withdraw from 66 international organizations, including the world’s benchmark climate treaty,” E&E News reports. “The Green Climate Fund was established in 2010 and serves as the main financial mechanism for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. It has provided billions of dollars to help poorer nations grapple with the effects of extreme weather, drought and rising seas. The move follows Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that he’s leaving the UNFCCC as part of a sweeping effort to remove the U.S. from organizations that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called “wasteful, ineffective and harmful.” “…Departing the Green Climate Fund, or GCF, is the latest effort that could have destabilizing effects on international programs to reduce climate pollution. “Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement Thursday… “So these institutions are really going to have to figure out their financial model and make it less reliant on external funding and that’s going to be a huge challenge,” Clemence Landers, a former Treasury official who now serves as a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development,” told E&E.

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

The Intelligencer: Enbridge Gas funds safety training support for Prince Edward County firefighters
1/11/26

“:Enbridge Gas Ontario has provided funding to Prince Edward County Fire and Rescue to purchase firefighting training materials not long after a similar presentation recently to Belleville Fire and Emergency Services,” The Intelligencer reports. “The funds are being made through Enbridge’s Safe Community Project Assist–a program with the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council (FMPFSC) that supplements existing training for Ontario volunteers and composite fire departments. This year’s $125,000 investment from Enbridge Gas will be shared by 25 Ontario fire departments, including Prince Edward County Fire and Rescue.”

OPINION

The Courier: Pipeline developers should get eminent domain rights
Michael Henning, Waterloo, 1/9/25

“Across Iowa, landowners and tenants are gearing up for the 2026 legislative session in hopes of passing a law to restrict the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines,” Michael Henning writes for The Courier. “…As it stands, nearly 850 parcels of land are facing condemnation for Summit Carbon Solution’s proposed CO2 pipeline, with hundreds of additional landowners and tenants living with the threat of eminent domain from an expansion plan for the proposed pipeline. Landowners are advocating for straightforward, commonsense legislation to be passed in 2026: a bill to prohibit the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. It would not ban carbon pipelines, and it would not affect other types of infrastructure. Instead, it would remove eminent domain authority for privately owned CO₂ pipelines to allow for a fair negotiation process. Companies could still build carbon pipelines simply by reaching agreements with landowners who are willing participants. Protecting our property rights is an issue all Iowans should be fighting for. You can join the fight by attending upcoming property rights and lobby days Jan. 13 or Feb. 10.”

Substack: The Ignominious Death of Drill, Baby, Drill
Paul Krugman, 1/12/26

“On Friday Donald Trump met with top energy executives to discuss his plans for Venezuela,” Paul Krugman writes for Substack. “…The idea, presumably, was to show a chorus of business leaders praising Trump and begging for a chance to participate in his excellent adventure. But that’s not what happened. In fact, the meeting was basically a debacle. None of the oil executives were willing to make specific commitments to invest in Venezuela, although some of them talked about possible increases in Venezuelan production… “After decades of oil extraction, gushers are a thing of the past. Today, most of the oil extracted by the U.S. petroleum industry is shale oil. To extract that oil sedimentary rocks must be fractured with pressurized liquids — “fracking.” Now, there are many environmental issues associated with fracking. But even if you ignore those concerns, drilling a new well isn’t worth doing unless the price of oil is sufficiently high. As I pointed out a few days ago, the breakeven price for drilling in America’s major shale areas — the price at which drilling a new well is just worth doing — is around $62 a barrel. And current oil prices are slightly below that. So it makes perfect economic sense that oil companies aren’t interested in bidding on public land in Colorado. It’s simply not an investment worth making. So if oil companies are unwilling to invest in drilling in Colorado, why would they want to sink money into Venezuela?… “In other words, “drill, baby, drill” is dead, at home and abroad. It was killed not by woke environmentalists but by profit-and-loss arithmetic. Trump may continue to promise huge production increases and sharply lower prices. Oil industry executives will humor him and pretend to go along. But it’s obvious now (and always was) that Trump’s energy dreams rested on crude delusions.”