EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/7/26

PIPELINE NEWS

• Bloomberg: Michigan Governor Appeals Loss Over Enbridge’s Line 5 Regulation

• WDBJ: Residents voice concerns of Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Project

• Cedar Rapids Gazette: New proposal from new leader adds wrinkle to Iowa lawmakers’ property rights, pipeline debate

• Gasworld: API publishes new CO2 pipeline guidance

• Santa Barbara Independent: Santa Barbara County Supervisors Weigh Legal Options to Stop or Slow Down Restart of Sable Offshore’s Oil Pipeline

• San Diego Union-Tribune: Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?

• Industrial Cyber: TSA opens 30-day comment period on pipeline security, cyber reporting requirements under OMB review

• Canadian Press: Alberta launches website for potential new West Coast oil pipeline

• BNN Bloomberg: Eby says Canada should build refineries, not pipelines, after Venezuela attack

• Reuters: Energy Transfer expects to spend up to $5.5 billion in 2026 on natgas network

• CFJC Today: High Bar First Nation signs agreements with owner and operator of proposed pipeline expansion project

• Pipeline & Gas Journal: North Dakota 36-Inch Gas Pipeline Advances Toward 2029 Service

• Enbridge: Texas Eastern Line 31 Expansion Project

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Reuters: Trump administration has not consulted US oil majors about Venezuela, oil execs say

• E&E News: Markey presses oil companies over Venezuela involvement

• Reuters: Trump offers US oil companies a poisoned chalice in Venezuela

• E&E News: Senate Dems’ demands on permitting go beyond offshore wind

• E&E News: Trump admin targets local gas bans in new lawsuit

• Washington Post: The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape

• SF Gate: A sticker covering Trump’s face could now void your national park pass

• E&E News: Ex-feds sound caution over refuge review

• E&E News: EPA delays next round of air cleanup plans for national parks

STATE UPDATES

• E&E News: California Republicans aren’t fighting Trump’s offshore drilling plan

• E&E News: Chevron’s demise buoyed a Sierra Club win in Detroit smog case

• New Jersey Monitor: Environmentalists applaud court ruling upholding disputed regulations

• E&E News: New Mexico, Oklahoma lease sale nets nearly $327M, BLM says

EXTRACTION

• New York Times: Why Chevron Could Reap the Biggest Rewards From Venezuela

• Capital B News: Venezuelan Oil Brought to the U.S. Would Be Refined in Black Gulf Communities

• Reuters: Canadian oil will stay competitive, even if Venezuelan output rises, Carney says

• The BMJ: Carbon capture: the “distracting, dangerous scam” governments are relying on to reach net zero

• BBC: Carbon capture company lands nearly £1m in backing

OPINION

• Times Citizen: Pipeline looms over 2026 session

• Financial Post: Alberta’s MOU net-zero pledge will cost it dearly

• Financial Times: Are exports to blame for surging US gas and electricity prices?
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Bloomberg: Michigan Governor Appeals Loss Over Enbridge’s Line 5 Regulation
Eric Heisig, 1/6/26

“Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Monday appealed a federal judge’s decision that blocked the state from enforcing its order to effectively shut down Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 international oil and gas pipeline,” Bloomberg reports. “The governor notified the judge who ruled against her in December that she’d ask the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to review his ruling. The challenged ruling by US District Court for the Western District of Michigan Judge Robert J. Jonker prevents the state from enforcing its 2020 notice revoking a 1953 state easement for a segment of the aging pipeline…”

WDBJ: Residents voice concerns of Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Project
Austin Hicks, 1/6/26

“The Mountain Valley Pipeline has been on the minds of so many for more than a decade,” WDBJ reports. “…Twelve years later, MVP is looking to amend it’s permit to expand its Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Project in Pittsylvania County. “We don’t believe that the crossing methods have been adequately assessed,” Associate Attorney with Southern Environmental Law Grace Gibson said. “We also don’t think that the potential impacts to water quality have been adequately assessed, and we also think there could be potential impacts to species and also cumulative impacts.” During Tuesday’s Department of Environmental Quality’s public hearing, many people voiced their concerns about MVP being held accountable for possible damages to the environment and the desire for stricter guidance to protect the wildlife in the area. “We’re hoping that they can bring forth either more evidence that they say they have, where they’ve been more consistent and followed these legal guidelines that they’re supposed to follow with consulting DWR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, VDACs, all of these things,” Kensley Yeattes said Other concerns brought to the DEQ was the thought the project needed to go through the application process again and give residents more chances to voice their concerns.”

Cedar Rapids Gazette: New proposal from new leader adds wrinkle to Iowa lawmakers’ property rights, pipeline debate
Erin Murphy, 1/7/26

“For five years, attempts to pass legislation that would deal with Iowans’ property rights and state government allowing a company to access private land for the construction of a hazardous liquid pipeline has vexed state lawmakers at the Iowa Capitol,” the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports. “…New Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, a Republican from Spillville, told the Gazette he plans early in the session to propose legislation that would allow pipeline projects to amend their planned and approved routes in order to enter into voluntary easements with landowners and avoid using eminent domain… “And I think by allowing companies building infrastructure in the state to go outside the corridor, they will find those willing partners. At the end of the day, we can all but eliminate the need to utilize eminent domain to construct infrastructure in the state,” Klimesh told the Gazette… “Landowner activists who have been involved in the legislative debate for years are not sold on Klimesh’s plan. They point out that it does not stop a private company like Summit from using eminent domain — it only allows the company to alter its route if it chooses. In a press release, the Sierra Club called Klimesh’s proposal a “false solution” because it does not prohibit eminent domain. The landowner activists are calling for legislation that would simply prohibit eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, similar to a law passed in South Dakota last year. “Expanding the pipeline corridor means even more landowners can be abused with the threat of eminent domain. That makes matters worse for landowners — not better,” the Sierra Club press release says. “Eminent domain must be off the table, period. Iowans deserve property right protection from our elected officials, not watering our individual rights down in favor of billionaires and their profit motives.”

Gasworld: API publishes new CO2 pipeline guidance
Molly Burgess, 1/7/25

“The American Petroleum Institute (API) has published recommended practices for carbon dioxide pipeline transportation as infrastructure expands across the US,” Gasworld reports. “API’s RP 1192 outlines safe and reliable CO2 pipeline transport, from design and construction through to operation and management. The document focuses on system components and operations impacting performance and integrity, including operating pressure ranges, ductile fracture control, pressure fluctuations, corrosion considerations, and non-metallic component interactions. Additionally, it provides guidance on repurposing existing assets for CO2 service and considerations for emergency response planning for CO2. Anchal Liddar, Senior Vice-President of Global Industry Services at API, said the practice provides operators with structured guidance to manage the unique characteristics of CO2 pipeline systems. “By consolidating technical knowledge into a single document, it supports the safe, reliable operation of CO2 pipeline systems.”

Santa Barbara Independent: Santa Barbara County Supervisors Weigh Legal Options to Stop or Slow Down Restart of Sable Offshore’s Oil Pipeline
Nick Welsh, 1/6/26

“Capping the last meeting of Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps’s tenure as board chair, the Board of Supervisors held a closed-door special hearing Monday to discuss possible legal actions to stop or slow down Sable Offshore from restarting production at the Santa Ynez Unit located up the Gaviota Coast and transporting any oil pumped from the company’s three offshore platforms via the 120 miles of repaired pipeline that have been under such intense contention,” the Santa Barbara Independent reports. “No reportable action reportedly took place as the supervisors reportedly found themselves deadlocked 2-2. Although there are five members of the board, Supervisor Joan Hartmann had been recused at the instigation of Sable Offshore because her Buellton home is located close enough to Sable’s pipeline to constitute a conflict of interest, according to the state’s Fair Political Practice Committee… “On Tuesday morning, criminal arraignment proceedings against the Houston-based oil company for alleged violations of state environmental law — unearthing pipelines that cross creeks and streams to make repairs without permits — brought by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office were again postponed. Typically, arraignment proceedings involve little more than a simple declaration of guilty or not guilty. Given that the defendant involved — Sable Offshore — is a corporation, bail is not an option or consideration. The next arraignment is scheduled for February 24.”

San Diego Union-Tribune: Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?
Rob Nikolewski, 1/7/26

“Plenty of financial and regulatory hurdles still need to be cleared, but a fuels pipeline project that may lead to lower gas prices in San Diego and Southern California has received a healthy amount of interest from other companies,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. “Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan have proposed building what they’ve dubbed the Western Gateway Pipeline that would use a combination of existing infrastructure plus new construction to establish a corridor for refined products that would stretch 1,300 miles from St. Louis to California. If completed, one leg of the pipeline would be the first to deliver motor fuels into California, a state often described as a fuel island that is disconnected from refining hubs in the U.S. The two companies recently announced the project “has received significant interest” from shippers and investors from what’s called an “open season” that wrapped up on Dec. 19 — so much so that a second round will be held this month for remaining capacity. “That’s a strong indicator that people would be willing to commit to put volume on that pipeline to bring it west long enough for them to be able to pay off their investment and provide a return for their investors,” David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, a transportation energy consulting company in Irvine, told the Tribune. “They won’t build this thing on spec. They’ll need commitments from shippers to do this.” The plans for the Western Gateway Pipeline include constructing a new line from the Texas Panhandle town of Borger to Phoenix. Meanwhile, the flow on an existing pipeline that currently runs from the San Bernardino County community of Colton to Arizona would be reversed, allowing more fuel to remain in California. A spokesperson for Kinder Morgan told the Union-Tribune in October that there are no plans for the project to construct any new pipelines in California and the proposal “should put downward pressure” on prices at the pump.”

Industrial Cyber: TSA opens 30-day comment period on pipeline security, cyber reporting requirements under OMB review
1/7/26

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), issued a 30-day notice announcing revisions to its information collection activities under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review, covering Pipeline Corporate Security Reviews and the TSA Security Directive Pipeline-2021-02 series,” according to Industrial Cyber. “…Aimed at the hazardous liquids and natural gas pipeline industry, the TSA is soliciting public comments to evaluate whether the proposed information requirements are necessary for the proper performance of the agency’s functions and whether the information has practical utility. The agency is also seeking input on the accuracy of its burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and methods to minimize the reporting burden on respondents, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other information collection technologies.”

Canadian Press: Alberta launches website for potential new West Coast oil pipeline
Lauren Krugel, 1/6/26

“The Alberta government has launched a website for the bitumen pipeline it wants to see built to the northwest B.C. coast,” the Canadian Press reports. “It says the page will act as a central hub for project information and updates to ensure transparency and open dialogue. It includes a section dedicated to debunking myths, such as that construction has begun, the province is paying for the project and that a route has been decided… “The province says it plans to have an application ready on or before July 1 to the new federal major projects office, which aims to speed along infrastructure projects deemed in Canada’s national interest… “The early work includes engaging Indigenous communities, determining the pipeline’s route and size and demonstrating the market demand, economic viability and need for a new pipeline… “Alberta plans to develop the project with the backing of an advisory group that includes three major Canadian crude pipeline operators: Enbridge Inc., Trans Mountain Corp. and South Bow Corp. No company has stepped forward to actually build the pipeline.”

BNN Bloomberg: Eby says Canada should build refineries, not pipelines, after Venezuela attack
Todd Coyne, 1/6/26

“British Columbia Premier David Eby says Canada should prioritize building more oil refinery capacity over new export pipelines amid the threat that Venezuelan oil could begin to displace Canadian crude in U.S. refineries,” BNN Bloomberg reports. “The premier was responding to recent calls from the Alberta government to expedite new pipeline infrastructure from the oilsands to the B.C. coast, following the American capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Trump administration’s stated plans to take control of that country’s vast oil resources… “If we’ve got tens of billions of dollars to spend, I think we should spend it on a refinery, and we should develop oil products for Canadians and for export, instead of being reliant on American and Chinese refineries to do it for us,” the premier said ahead of his departure on a planned trade mission to India later this week. “We’ve got to stand on our own feet here, and building that capacity and jobs in our country is something we should be talking about as opposed to shipping raw resources out as quickly as possible,” he added. The premier reiterated his opposition to building new oil pipelines through northern B.C., and said the existing Trans Mountain pipeline to Burnaby is not at full capacity and could be expanded further within its existing right of way. “If we’re going to do public investment into our resources here in Canada, I think it might be time to pivot that discussion to a refinery,” he said. “We still buy oil products from the United States.”

Reuters: Energy Transfer expects to spend up to $5.5 billion in 2026 on natgas network
Dharna Bafna, 1/6/26

“Pipeline company Energy Transfer said on Tuesday it expects to invest $5 billion to $5.5 billion in capital in 2026, primarily on its natural gas network projects,” Reuters reports. “This follows the company’s announcement last month to prioritize natural gas pipeline projects for their superior risk and return profiles, and move away from liquefied natural gas due to concerns of global oversupply… “Energy Transfer on Tuesday said it expects several natural gas pipeline projects to ramp up or come online in 2026, including the Nederland Flexport NGL, Mustang Draw I and Mustang Draw II processing plants in the Permian Basin as well as natural gas pipeline projects serving data center facilities in Texas.”

CFJC Today: High Bar First Nation signs agreements with owner and operator of proposed pipeline expansion project
Aaron Schulze, 1/6/26

“A First Nation north of the Village of Clinton has signed a pair of agreements with an energy delivery company that has a proposed pipeline expansion project crossing into its territory,” CFJC Today reports. “Llenllenéy’ten (High Bar) First Nation (HBFN) announced it signed a relationship agreement and project benefits agreement with Westcoast Energy Inc. (Enbridge)… “According to the regulator, the project involves building nearly 137 kilometres of 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline, with new stretches of pipeline proposed to be built near Williams Lake, south of 100 Mile House and near Savona. HBFN says the relationship agreement sets a framework for consultation, engagement and information sharing regarding Enbridge’s proposed and ongoing projects while supporting business development, community investment, environmental stewardship and training that benefits its members. Meantime, HBFN says the projects benefit agreement ensures that resources will be allotted to cross-cultural and technical training, along with supporting economic growth, while upholding the First Nation’s rights.”

Pipeline & Gas Journal: North Dakota 36-Inch Gas Pipeline Advances Toward 2029 Service
1/6/26

“Intensity Infrastructure Partners and Rainbow Energy Center said firm transportation commitments are now in place to support advancing Phase I of a proposed 36-inch natural gas pipeline in North Dakota, marking a key step toward final development,” Pipeline & Gas Journal reports. “…Phase I is planned with a design capacity of about 1.1 million Dth/d and is targeted for an early 2029 in-service date. The pipeline will source gas from multiple receipt points, including the Northern Border Pipeline, WBI Energy’s transmission and storage network, and direct connections to six Bakken-area natural gas processing plants. The developers said the system will operate without compression fuel surcharges, a design intended to simplify operations and improve tariff transparency for shippers.”

Enbridge: Texas Eastern Line 31 Expansion Project
1/6/26

“With the growing demand for reliable energy sources with lower emissions, Texas Eastern Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern) is proposing an expansion of its interstate natural gas pipeline system in Mississippi called the Texas Eastern Line 31 Expansion Project,” according to Enbridge. “The scope includes the installation of approximately 10.2 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline looping the existing pipeline, 1.7 mile, 16-inch diameter delivery lateral to connect with Entergy’s proposed Ridgeland Advanced Power Station in Madison County. Additionally, Texas Eastern will construct a compressor station called the Ridgeland Compressor Station in Madison. The Line 31 Expansion Pipeline will expand Texas Eastern’s existing pipeline system capacity to provide the additional gas required to serve both existing and future downstream customers. The Project will provide up to 125,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of additional natural gas transportation capacity on the Texas Eastern system. All necessary regulatory authorizations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other federal and state agencies are required before construction of the project can commence. Pending the approval and receipt of all necessary permits, construction would begin in August 2027 with a target in-service date of September 2028.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Reuters: Trump administration has not consulted US oil majors about Venezuela, oil execs say
Jarrett Renshaw, Sheila Dang, Richard Valdmanis, 1/5/26

“The Trump administration did not consult with oil companies Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, or Chevron Corp about Venezuela before or after U.S. forces captured the South American country’s president Nicolas Maduro Jan. 3, according to four oil industry executives familiar with the matter,” Reuters reports. “That contradicts President Donald Trump’s assertion aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he had spoken to all of the U.S. oil companies “before and after” Maduro’s capture about his plans for investing in the country. “Nobody in those three companies has had conversations with the White House about operating in Venezuela, pre-removal or post-removal to this point,” one of the sources told Reuters. The three other sources also told Reuters the three companies had no prior knowledge about the U.S. operation to seize Maduro, and had held no conversations with the Trump administration about investing there as of Sunday… “Trump said hours after Maduro’s capture on Saturday that he expects the biggest U.S. oil companies to spend billions of dollars boosting Venezuela’s oil production… “I don’t think you’re going to see any company other than Chevron, who’s already there, you know, commit to developing this resource,” one of the executives told Reuters.”

E&E News: Markey presses oil companies over Venezuela involvement
Amelia Davidson, 1/7/26

“Climate hawk Sen. Ed Markey on Tuesday continued his pursuit of information about the exact role President Donald Trump allowed oil companies to play in the administration’s recent military action in Venezuela,” E&E News reports. “The Massachusetts Democrat pressed three companies — Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips — to provide any communications they had with the Trump administration about the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “President Trump and his Administration lied about and concealed their plans to attack the territory of, and conduct regime change in, Venezuela, keeping the American public and Members of Congress — who have the sole constitutional power to declare war — in the dark. The only outside entities that appear to have known the truth are oil executives,” Markey wrote in letters to the three companies… “But Reuters reported Monday that neither Exxon, ConocoPhillips nor Chevron had conversations with Trump ahead of or immediately after the Venezuela operation.”

Reuters: Trump offers US oil companies a poisoned chalice in Venezuela
Ron, Bousso 1/6/25

“U.S. President Donald Trump is giving U.S. energy companies the opportunity to revive Venezuela’s massive, derelict oil industry. It’s an offer they may want to refuse,” Reuters reports. “After the U.S. military’s ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at the weekend, representatives of the Trump administration plan to meet with oil executives later this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production, Reuters reported on Monday. Tapping Venezuela’s vast oil reserves – the world’s largest at over 300 billion barrels, or roughly one-fifth of the global stock – may be a tempting prospect for Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips… “But Trump’s proposal is far from a slam-dunk. To start, most of Venezuela’s oil reserves, located in the Orinoco belt, are classified as heavy and extra-heavy. These highly viscous grades must be blended with diluent and upgraded into lighter oil to be extracted, transported and processed. All this raises the production costs… “Breakeven costs for key grades in the Orinoco belt already average more than $80 a barrel, according to estimates by consultancy Wood Mackenzie. That places Venezuelan oil at the higher end of the global cost scale for new production. By comparison, heavy oil produced in Canada has an average breakeven cost of around $55 a barrel… “Convincing U.S. majors to invest billions to extract pricey Venezuelan barrels may therefore be a rather hard sell… “But even by these standards, the current situation in Venezuela – with its highly uncertain power transition – looks like more trouble than it’s worth. Until Caracas has a new government capable of gaining the confidence of international investors and banks, oil companies will be reluctant to make any major commitments.”

E&E News: Senate Dems’ demands on permitting go beyond offshore wind
Nico Portuondo, Kelsey Brugger, 1/7/26

“Top Senate Democrats are pressing the Trump administration on more than just offshore wind as a condition for resuming permitting talks,” E&E News reports. “Last month, Environment and Public Works ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) halted bipartisan negotiations because of the Interior Department’s decision to stop construction of several offshore wind projects in the Atlantic. On Tuesday, Heinrich told E&E he would also continue the pause on permitting talks until Interior Secretary Doug Burgum lifts what Democrats describe as a “shadow ban” on solar energy that has stalled projects nationwide. “There are these very pedestrian things, like rights of way, that are all landing on the secretary’s desk, and none of it’s moving,” Heinrich told E&E. “All these electrons that we potentially could add to the grid and bring down prices are tied up on the secretary’s desk, and that is not an acceptable way of doing business.”

E&E News: Trump admin targets local gas bans in new lawsuit
Niina H. Farah, 1/7/26

“The Trump administration filed new litigation this week calling for a federal court to permanently block two Northern California city ordinances banning gas hookups in new construction, city officials say they already aren’t enforcing,” E&E News reports. “Justice Department attorneys alleged the ordinances passed by Morgan Hill and Petaluma in 2019 and 2021, respectively, were preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The law gives the federal government the authority to regulate energy conservation standards for appliances.. “The Trump administration also warned that the ordinances went against precedent in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found in 2023 that a similar Berkeley ordinance barring gas pipes in newly constructed buildings was preempted under EPCA. The 9th Circuit later upheld that decision in 2024, following a request for rehearing.. “But both cities claimed they were not enforcing the ordinances following the 9th Circuit decision, and they called the Trump administration’s litigation “unnecessary.”

Washington Post: The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape
Evan Halper, 1/6/26

“…This city bordering Tulsa is a battleground, one of many across the country where companies seeking to build massive data centers to win the AI race with China are coming up against the reality of local politics,” the Washington Post reports. “Sand Springs leaders were besieged with community anger after annexing an 827-acre agricultural property miles outside of town and launching into secret talks with a tech giant looking to use it for a sprawling data center. Hundreds of aggrieved voters showed up at community meetings. Swarms of protest signs are taking route along the rural roads. “It feels like these data center companies have just put a big target on our backs,” Kyle Schmidt, leader of the newly formed Protect Sand Springs Alliance, told the Post. “We are all asking: Where are the people we elected who promised to protect us from these big corporations trying to steamroll us? The people who are supposed to be standing up and protecting us are standing down and caving.” From Archibald, Pennsylvania, to Page, Arizona, tech firms are seeking to plunk down data centers in locations that sometimes are not zoned for such heavy industrial uses, within communities that had not planned for them. These supersized data centers can usurp more energy than entire cities and drain local water supplies. Anger over the perceived trampling of communities by Silicon Valley has entered the national political conversation and could affect voters of all political persuasions in this year’s midterm elections. Many of the neighbors fighting the project in Sand Springs voted for Trump three times and also backed Republican Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, who implores tech firms to build in his state. “We know Trump wants data centers and Kevin Stitt wants data centers, but these things don’t affect these people,” Brian Ingram, a Trump voter living in the shadow of the planned project, told the Post. “You know, this affects us.” “…The grassroots blowback comes from deep red states as much as from left-wing groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America, which have helped draw hundreds of residents to hearings in Arizona, Indiana and Maryland.”

SF Gate: A sticker covering Trump’s face could now void your national park pass
Sam Hill, 1/5/26

“Covering up Donald Trump’s face on an America the Beautiful pass may come with an extra cost at national park entrance gates this year,” SF Gate reports. “The Department of the Interior recently updated its ‘Void if Altered’ rules for 2026, explicitly flagging stickers and other coverings as alterations that could invalidate the pass. The move appears to respond to visitors preparing to cover the image of Trump, which was set to begin appearing on passes Jan. 1 despite legal challenges… “Defacing the pass in any way, including writing on it or adding stickers or other coverings, is a form of altering the pass,” reads the policy. “Altering a pass can cover up important information and required security features necessary to prevent fraud.” “…The dispute over altered passes is unfolding alongside a broader legal fight over the design itself. In December, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit arguing that including Trump’s face on the America the Beautiful pass violates federal law governing how pass artwork is selected. The group alleges the Interior Department bypassed a required public process and turned the pass into a partisan platform — a claim the department has not publicly addressed. Legal experts previously told SFGATE the move likely overstepped the president’s authority under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.”

E&E News: Ex-feds sound caution over refuge review
Michael Doyle, 1/5/26

“Seven former high-ranking Fish and Wildlife Service employees on Monday voiced their concerns over the agency’s newly ordered self-assessment of the nation’s wildlife refuges,” E&E News reports. “…In his Dec. 16 directive, Nesvik stated that the National Wildlife Refuge and National Fish Hatchery systems require a “programmatic, comprehensive review” that would “ensure that the Service is directing its resources (e.g., staff, funds, and assets) to best meet our highest mission priorities.” “Congress has established the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System through statute, and requires that each unit of the System has established purposes, and any review should use these as a guideline, not the overall mission of the FWS,” the letter states… “All told, FWS oversees 573 refuges. The review will also include five marine national monuments that the agency manages along with NOAA Fisheries.”

E&E News: EPA delays next round of air cleanup plans for national parks
Sean Reilly, 1/5/26

“EPA is giving states three more years to turn in new plans for improving visibility in some of the nation’s best-known hiking and recreational areas, overriding objections from conservation groups,” E&E News reports. “States will now have until July 2031 to submit the blueprints instead of July 2028, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in giving the final stamp of approval to the proposal issued more than a year ago during former President Joe Biden’s term. If Zeldin’s decision marks a rare point of agreement with the Biden administration, it cites a different rationale for the delay: EPA’s initiative under President Donald Trump to broadly restructure the regional haze program, which aims to cut pollution from power plants, oil drillers and other industries that clouds vistas in Yosemite National Park, the Sipsey Wilderness and other prized federal lands… “Besides threatening ‘grave harm’ to public health, the three-year delay would make it harder for states and industries to achieve visibility improvements on time, they said.”

STATE UPDATES

E&E News: California Republicans aren’t fighting Trump’s offshore drilling plan
Timothy Cama, 1/7/26

“Unlike their colleagues in Florida, California’s congressional Republicans aren’t lining up with their Democratic colleagues to fight against the Trump administration’s offshore drilling proposal,” E&E News reports. “The Golden State’s 26 House Democrats and two senators are united in their opposition to the Interior Department’s draft plan, writing in a December letter that allowing oil and natural gas drilling in all of California’s coastal waters by 2030 “would be devastating to the communities we represent.” And Florida’s entire congressional delegation is standing up against President Donald Trump’s plan to let rigs drill in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, writing in their own bipartisan letter: “The risks posed by new offshore drilling far outweigh any short-term gains.” But so far, GOP lawmakers in California haven’t taken a similar stance. And while some of the lawmakers told E&E that they have concerns over the plan, others were neutral or supportive. “I strongly support it,” Rep. Tom McClintock, who represented a coastal area when he was in the state Legislature, told E&E… “Certainly in places like Florida and Virginia and others on the Atlantic coast, you see that. You see Republicans who are willing to stand up for the interests of their states and their districts. Our California Republicans are a little different these days. They tend to follow Donald Trump wherever he wants to take them,” Huffman told E&E, calling Congress a “MAGA echo chamber.”

E&E News: Chevron’s demise buoyed a Sierra Club win in Detroit smog case
Sean Reilly, 1/5/26

“Environmentalists predictably cheered last month after a federal appeals court overruled EPA and found that one of the nation’s largest metro areas needed to do more to clamp down on lung-searing smog pollution,” E&E News reports. “…In its unanimous ruling in a Sierra Club lawsuit, a three-judge panel on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited the justices’ majority opinion before launching into an analysis which found that EPA erred two years ago in reclassifying the Detroit metro area to compliance with the agency’s latest smog standard. The ruling, if not appealed, means that Michigan regulators will have to take added steps to limit emissions of the pollutants that spawn ground-level ozone, which can trigger asthma attacks and is the main ingredient in smogs.”

New Jersey Monitor: Environmentalists applaud court ruling upholding disputed regulations
Nikita Biryukov, 1/6/26

“Environmentalists are cheering after a New Jersey appellate court upheld controversial new state environmental regulations and rejected a challenge from scrap recyclers and a labor union that alleged regulators had acted arbitrarily and exceeded their statutory authority,” the New Jersey Monitor reports. “The court’s Monday decision will keep in place, for now, the landmark New Jersey law that requires additional environmental reviews for projects in overburdened communities and allows the Department of Environmental Protection to block those projects if they would disproportionally worsen public health there. “Today’s decision was a win for all New Jersey residents, but primarily for the environmental justice communities that have long championed this fight. When our environmental laws protect our most vulnerable communities, they protect us all,” Casandia Bellevue, an attorney with Earthjustice, which represented supporters of the law, told the Monitor.”

E&E News: New Mexico, Oklahoma lease sale nets nearly $327M, BLM says
Ian M. Stevenson, 1/7/26

“The Bureau of Land Management pulled in almost $327 million from a lease sale on Tuesday, which included the highest oil and gas bid for an acre of land recorded since at least 1987,” E&E News reports. “…’This sale brought in over $218,751 for a single acre, the highest ever earned during a BLM competitive oil and gas lease sale since at least the 1987 Leasing Reform Act and shows the bureau’s ongoing commitment’ to fulfill President Donald Trump’s ‘mandate to unleash American energy,” said acting BLM Director Bill Groffy in a statement. As part of its effort to boost U.S. oil and gas production, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress slashed federal onshore royalty rates — or the portions of money that drillers earn from their oil that is paid to the federal government.”

EXTRACTION

New York Times: Why Chevron Could Reap the Biggest Rewards From Venezuela
Rebecca F. Elliott, 1/5/26

“The company was the last major U.S. oil company still producing oil in the South American country, many years after others, like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, had left. For years, Chevron muddled along under short-term exemptions from U.S. sanction policies. Then, in late February, President Trump said he would effectively block the company from producing in Venezuela,” the New York Times reports. “Ten months later, the situation could not look more different. Mr. Trump reversed course over the summer, allowing Chevron to continue operating in Venezuela. Now the company is in prime position to benefit after U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend in Caracas and ramped up pressure on the country to welcome greater investment from U.S. energy businesses. That remarkable turnaround is due in part to a spirited lobbying effort that included several conversations over the past year between Mr. Trump and Mike Wirth, Chevron’s mild-mannered chief executive… “Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company, and ConocoPhillips walked away and have been pursuing, with little success, billions of dollars in claims against Venezuela. Chevron saw opportunity. “If we left every time we had a disagreement with the government, we would be leaving everywhere, including this country,” Mr. Wirth told The Wall Street Journal last month… “Staying the course in Venezuela could pay off for Chevron in even more ways. As the only Western oil company with U.S. government authorization to export oil from Venezuela, it is positioned, given the right political conditions, to increase production more quickly than companies that have no presence in the country.”

Capital B News: Venezuelan Oil Brought to the U.S. Would Be Refined in Black Gulf Communities
Adam Mahoney, 1/5/26

“On Saturday morning, John Beard woke up to news that he’d been dreading, but preparing for: A global oil crisis could hit closer to home in Texas. The southeastern part of the state is home to more than a dozen oil refineries, and he’d spent decades working at one of them. But after attending more funerals than he could count for loved ones that died from cancer, he began to feel differently about the job,” Capital B News reports. “…Nearly half of the people living in his neighborhood report living with “poor” health, according to federal data. And the risk for developing cancer caused by air pollution is essentially the highest in the country at 1 in every 53 residents. Beard fears it may get worse. For him, the recent U.S. airstrike on Venezuela, which killed at least 40 citizens and has been framed as a push to restore democracy, has landed as something far more familiar: a fight over oil… “President Donald Trump has said the U.S. will be taking over the nation’s oil reserves — keeping some for the U.S. while selling millions of barrels to other countries. For Beard’s home and dozens of other Black communities along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas, “that’s going to be more pollution and cancer,” the community advocate told the News. “This is an extenuation of the problem the industry has already created and a fight to make sure there is no way out.”

Reuters: Canadian oil will stay competitive, even if Venezuelan output rises, Carney says
David Ljunggren, 1/6/26

“Canadian crude oil is low risk and will stay competitive even if output in Venezuela rises after the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “…Venezuelan crude is heavy, similar to that produced in Canada’s oil sands, leading some analysts to speculate that Canadian product could eventually be displaced… “Canadian oil will be competitive because it is low risk – clearly low risk – (and) low cost,” he said. Canadian oil is considered to have less risk for investors and buyers than crude from some countries because of Canada’s stable governance. Carney added that a proposed carbon capture project in the oil-producing province of Alberta would make crude more attractive to buyers with concerns about greenhouse gas emissions. “That makes Canadian oil competitive for the medium and long term … We welcome the prospect of greater prosperity in Venezuela, but we also see the competitiveness of Canadian oil,” Carney continued.”

The BMJ: Carbon capture: the “distracting, dangerous scam” governments are relying on to reach net zero
Jennifer Richardson, 1/7/26

“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) may sound simple and promising enough. It involves the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) at its source—such as an industrial plant—before it can enter the atmosphere, storing it deep underground in geological formations such as oil wells,” The BMJ reports. “…Critics, however, point to problems with the technology, not least that it has yet to be proved at scale. It is also, they say, energy intensive, expensive, and inefficient, while failing to tackle pollutants other than carbon and their impact on health (box). Worse, they claim that it serves as a distraction from other, more impactful, solutions to the climate crisis—as well as a deliberate and industry sponsored smokescreen for the continued, and even expanded, extraction and burning of fossil fuels. “The bottom line is that carbon capture just increases CO2,” Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, California, told the BMJ. “It increases air pollution. It increases fossil fuel mining, fossil fuel infrastructure, pipelines, and it results in more oil being drilled. In the end, all it does is keep the fossil fuel industry in business . . . so it’s basically a scam.” There are three major reasons why carbon capture is contentious, Mike Berners-Lee, professor in practice at Lancaster University’s Lancaster Environment Centre, UK, told the BMJ. “It’s untested at scale,” he told the BMJ. “It’s expensive. And it’s dodging the real issue”—namely, that we need to use less energy, increase non-fossil fuel (especially renewable) energy, and reduce the extraction and use of fossil fuels… “Berners-Lee adds that CCS is part of a longtime “distraction and sabotage campaign” by people with vested interests in the continued use of fossil fuels. In 2022 a BMJ investigation found that oil and gas companies had poured money into the climate change research centres of elite US universities, including Berkeley and Stanford, funding research on CCS and even whole centres dedicated to it… “On top of the technology not capturing all the carbon at source—Jacobson told the BMJ that the proportion is 20-80%—the vast majority of CO2 captured worldwide is used for “enhanced oil recovery,” a process using the CO2 to make oil less dense so that more can be extracted. Between the CO2 released during this process and the extra oil burned, says Jacobson, “You end up with anywhere from 50% to 120% of the CO2 that was captured going right back to the air.”

BBC: Carbon capture company lands nearly £1m in backing
Molly Armstrong, 1/6/26

“A carbon capture company has landed support of nearly £1m from South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE),” the BBC reports. “It allows The Carbon Removers – based near Crocketford – to launch a major fundraising drive towards its aim of removing one million tonnes of carbon every year by 2030… “The firm specialises in capturing and storing CO2 released from organic processes such as fermentation, whisky distillation or biogas plants. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes told the BBC carbon capture and storage was of the “utmost importance to Scotland’s climate and economic transition to net zero.”

OPINION

Times Citizen: Pipeline looms over 2026 session
Kathy Stockdale, 1/6/26

“Last year the Iowa legislature passed HF 639 concerning C02 pipelines, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Reynolds,” Kathy Stockdale writes for the Times Citizen. “…On Jan. 12 the new legislative session will begin. Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh has already stated to the Capital Dispatch that he will “introduce legislation within the first week of session that would allow companies (including, all utility companies or other infrastructure projects) to seek voluntary easements within a 10-mile radius of the corridor approved by the Iowa Utilities Commission in the permit process.” “…Sen. Klimesh’s 10-mile corridor is on each side of the pipeline, for a total of a 20-mile corridor. As a reference to how big this corridor would be, I looked up the size of Hardin County. It is roughly 24 miles wide from north to south and 24 miles east to west. What this means is basically all of Hardin County would be in the corridor! An even bigger problem is that they could still use eminent domain. The landowners took to heart what the Governor said and have been working with other legislators to bring forth a simple, “No eminent domain for carbon oxide pipelines (Federal government uses this term)” written into the proper place in Iowa Code… “Please call Senator Sweeney 1-641-373-4899 and Representative Josh Meggers 1-319-330-5208 and ask them to pass the No Eminent Domain Bill and not to support Senator Klimesh’s bill. On Jan. 13 Landowners will be meeting at noon at the Iowa State Historical Building, just west of the capital, for some training on how to talk to legislatures and then walk over to the capital. Would love to see you there!”

Financial Post: Alberta’s MOU net-zero pledge will cost it dearly
Lennie Kaplan spent over two decades in the public service of Alberta, where his work included evaluating the fiscal and economic impacts of federal and provincial energy and climate-change policies, 1/7/25

“The Alberta-Ottawa “memorandum of understanding” on oil and gas development has focused attention on pipeline development and carbon capture, utilization and storage. But little has been said about the impact of the Smith’s government’s MOU commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050,” Lennie Kaplan writes for the Financial Post. “My own analysis, using data drawn from a 2024 custom research project by Navius Research, is that net zero will cost the province, big time. Over 25 years, it stands to reduce economic activity by $559 billion and provincial revenues by $140 billion. It could also lead to lost oilsands output of 1.8 million barrels per day — effectively cutting business-as-usual oilsands production in half… “When you compare the net-zero scenario to the rollback scenario, Alberta’s cumulative economic activity falls $559 billion between 2025 and 2050 (all $ are 2021$). That’s a cumulative loss of four per cent of 2025-2050 Alberta GDP… “It was surprising to see the Smith government double-down on its net-zero by 2050 commitment in the MOU without providing any comprehensive impact analysis. The provincial government’s climate-change plan should emphasize policies that drive private-sector deployment of technologies like carbon capture that preserve oil and gas production and sustain economic growth… “Unless the Alberta government can produce persuasive numbers suggesting the impact will be much lower than my analysis implies, it should scrap its net-zero 2050 mandate and establish realistic and achievable emission reduction targets for the province.”

Financial Times: Are exports to blame for surging US gas and electricity prices?
Jamie Smyth, 1/6/26

“On the campaign trail Donald Trump promised to “drill, baby, drill” and slash energy prices within 12 months of taking office. But just weeks before that milestone, soaring gas and electricity prices have led to rising complaints about affordability for the average American,” Jamie Smyth writes for the Financial Times. “…But since his election the cost of gas and electricity piped into people’s homes has continued climbing, with rates increasing by 9.1 and 6.9 per cent in the 12 months to the end of November… “So, what has gone wrong for a president who promised American voters lower prices? On his first day in office Trump declared a ‘national energy emergency’ and has fast-tracked the permit process for projects, slashed environmental regulations and scrapped a pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas terminals… “But there are concerns among consumer and business organisations that the surge in exports — currently 10 per cent of US gas production and expected to rise to 20 per cent by 2030 — is pushing up domestic prices, particularly when household demand peaks. Last month, in the midst of freezing temperatures, wholesale gas prices reached the highest level since the 2022 energy crisis after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Such a trend also pushes up electricity prices, as about 40 per cent of US electricity is generated in gas-fired power plants… “A Department of Energy official added government research showed that exports had negligible impacts on domestic wholesale natural gas prices and that US LNG was essential to expanding the supply of low-cost, reliable American energy. The US president will have to hope that the LNG industry is correct. “What the president has done is accommodate the LNG export industry with no regard whatsoever for energy affordability,” Tyson Slocum, director of the energy programme at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, told FT.”