EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/1/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• WGLT: ‘Not in the public interest’: Commission staff recommends denial of CO2 pipeline in eastern McLean County

• KELO: Senate calls for negotiation on third CO2 pipeline bill

• Sioux Falls Argus Leader: After heavy debate, SD House passes bill to lay the groundwork for Summit Carbon’s pipeline

• KELO: A landowners group doesn’t like pipeline amendments

• Brownfield Ag News: CARBON PIPELINE BILLS MOVE THROUGH SD LEGISLATURE

• Successful Farming: The end of the pipeline? Carbon pipelines are key to the ethanol’s survival, but regulation challenges have clouded the industry’s future.

• South Dakota Searchlight: CO2 pipeline opponents doubt certainty of $1 billion corn-based jet fuel project

• KLMI: Wright supervisors provide an update on the Summit pipeline project

• Bloomberg: Pipeline Company Showed Property Access Critical to Safety

• NC Newsline: Three large natural gas pipeline projects are proposed for NC: where they are and what’s next

• Allegheny Front: DEP: CNX pipeline project in Westmoreland County withdrawn for lacking wildlife permits

• OK Energy Today: BlackRock finances gas pipeline but remains banned in West Virginia

• BTU Analytics: Enbridge Gray Oak Expansion Alone Won’t Relieve Future Permian Constraints

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Politico: Fossil fuel companies ask Supreme Court to ‘put a stop to’ climate lawsuits

• E&E News: Oil Companies Launch Next Supreme Court Climate Fight 

• Reuters: Exxon, Chevron ask US Supreme Court to toss ruling in Honolulu climate change suit

• Associated Press: EPA delays rules for existing natural gas power plants until after the November election

• E&E News: Brown, Merkley introduce bill to ban LNG exports to China

• Politico: White House Taps 3 FERC Nominees 

• E&E News: What To Know About The 3 FERC Nominees 

• Politico: Whitehouse Eyes Permitting Package To Move Offshore Wind, Transmission Bills 

• Law360: Judge Asks When Feds Will Consider Climate In Oil Leases 

• Bloomberg: How One Methane Scientist Influenced Biden’s Pause On LNG Approvals

• KWES: Texas To Consider Suing EPA Over New Emissions Rule.

• E&E News: Gap Widens Between Dems, GOP In New Green Scorecard 

STATE UPDATES

• Financial Times: US Landowners Sue To Force Oil Company Clean-Up Of Abandoned Wells 

• Texas Tribune: “Nobody Really Knows What You’re Supposed To Do”: Leaking, Exploding Abandoned Wells Wreak Havoc In West Texas 

• E&E News: Abandoned Oil Wells Imperil Native Sites In Southwest, Report Says 

• Missouri Independent: Lawmakers across the U.S. seek to curb utility spending on politics, ads and more extras

• County17: Department of Energy to give up to $49M for carbon capture testing near Gillette

EXTRACTION

• Wall Street Journal: Frackers Are Now Drilling For Clean Power 

• My Prince George Now: Council supportive of Tidewater’s carbon capture project

CLIMATE FINANCE

• E&E News: SEC sets vote on landmark climate rule

• DeSmog: NYC Pensions Are Sued for Shedding Fossil Fuels

OPINION

• Kossuth County Advance: Power players in Iowa Senate are aiding and abetting
  

PIPELINE NEWS

WGLT: ‘Not in the public interest’: Commission staff recommends denial of CO2 pipeline in eastern McLean County
Eric Stock, 2/29/24

“An engineer with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has testified that the regulatory body should deny a permit to allow a carbon capture pipeline in McLean and Ford counties,” WGLT reports. “Gibson City-based One Earth Sequestration wants to capture and store carbon produced at its ethanol plant into three wells near Saybrook in eastern McLean County. The McLean County Board voted in December to deny a special-use permit for installation of the wells, citing the lack of a safety plan, though the project remains pending before the ICC. In testimony submitted to the ICC board on Wednesday, ICC senior gas engineer Mark Maple said the project “is not a benefit to the citizens of Illinois nor in the public interest.” “With the endpoint of the route uncertain, it is impossible to determine what the route’s effect on landowners will be,” Maple said, adding the ethanol company has failed to obtain permits and land rights needed to build a sequestration facility. Maple also said the One Earth has failed to submit an emergency response plan and commit to a “definitive budget” for training and equipping emergency response units. That concern was also raised by Ford County Emergency Management Agency coordinator Terry Whitebird. He testified that the project’s proximity to Gibson City, Ford County’s only hospital, multiple retirement homes, and the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley school district “poses a multitude of risks.” Whitebird told WGLT One Earth indicated last week that its response plan is not yet ready for review… “This is a demonstration that organizing works. These CO2 projects only benefit corporations while putting thousands of people at risk and endanger our water supply that over 1,000,000 residents depend on. People just won’t stand for it,” Dawn Dannenbring, lead climate organizer for Illinois People’s Action (IPA), told WGLT… “The ICC has scheduled hearings on the proposal the week of May 20. The five-member board has a Sept. 18 deadline to issue a ruling.”

KELO: Senate calls for negotiation on third CO2 pipeline bill
Bob Mercer, 2/29/24

“The days left are few for South Dakota lawmakers to get something done on carbon pipelines this year,” KELO reports. “As the main run of the 2024 session headed toward its final week, the Senate on Thursday decided against accepting the House version and instead sent SB201 to a conference committee for negotiation. The move by Senate Republican Casey Crabtree came less than two hours after a Senate committee had made amendments at his request to two other pipeline bills that he and House Republican Will Mortenson have also sponsored. “Conference committees are a vital part of the process for us,” Crabtree told senators. He said the HB1185 and HB1186 are still out there. “So no matter which side of this issue you’re on, there’s still a problem to solve,” he said… “That brought the discussion back to Crabtree’s original call to send it to a conference committee of three senators and three representatives to try to work out the differences. That passed 24-10.”

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: After heavy debate, SD House passes bill to lay the groundwork for Summit Carbon’s pipeline
Dominik Dausch, 2/28/24

“After nearly two hours of emotionally charged debate, South Dakota lawmakers passed a bill to help lay the foundation for Summit Carbon’s CO2 pipeline to come to the state,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “…The bill passed the House on a 40-30 vote, reinforcing the language on federal preemption of local ordinances and regulations affecting carbon dioxide pipelines. This makes it easier for pipeline developers to make the case that any county ordinance based on zoning or safety rules — which invariably have been in South Dakota — are overruled by similar standards already set in federal law… “A previous version of SB 201 would have removed the affected counties’ ability to enforce any standing setback ordinances affecting gas or liquid transmission pipelines, but this provision was amended out of the passed bill… “Opposing lawmakers largely centered their pleas for “no” votes on the bill’s intended effects on county-level pipeline ordinances. Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer, R-Aberdeen, told the legislative body SB 201 would “destroy” local decision-making on gas and liquid pipelines. “We are talking about the fundamental change that will take place in South Dakota with the passage of this bill,” Schaefbauer said. “If we are truly a state that prides ourself [sic] in freedoms and personal responsibility, then we must … leave the people who are elected to represent those counties, towns and municipalities the ability to do what is best for the people that live in that area.” “…Chase Jensen, a registered lobbyist for Dakota Rural Action, told the Argus Leader on Wednesday the group “was disappointed to see the bill move forward today.” However, Jensen told the Argus Leader the currently-amended form of SB 201 is “likely … the least damaging version of the bill.” He expressed concern the conference committee may bring back the more heavy-handed provisions affected local land use.”

KELO: A landowners group doesn’t like pipeline amendments
Bob Mercer, 2/29/24

“Legislation on carbon pipelines that House Republican leader Will Mortenson said would give South Dakota landowners the strongest protections in the nation no longer is quite so strong. That’s because the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee has adopted amendments that rub wrong members of Landowners for Eminent Domain Reform,” KELO reports. “The anti-pipeline group is locked in a struggle with Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions over the company’s attempts to cross private property… “Removed from the House version of the legislation are a 50-year limit on easements, as well as an annual payment of at least $1 per linear foot that landowners were to receive for letting a carbon pipeline cross their properties… “According to Koenecke, the $1 per foot would have benefited only those landowners who hadn’t yet reached agreement with Summit, and he isn’t going back to reopen the completed deals… “Jeremiah Murphy, a lobbyist for the opposition landowners group, told the committee that the two provisions for a dollar per foot weren’t the same thing. He said there would be different beneficiaries and removing the dollar per foot from HB1186 would do “real damage” to landowners who didn’t yet have contracts. Joy Hohn, who farms in the Hartford area, was one of several landowners who spoke against the changes. “We have not been involved in any of the negotiation process in any of the legislation that’s been brought forward. We’re asking for help. We really need help,” she pleaded. Chase Jensen, a community organizer for Dakota Rural Action, opposed the changes, too. “We don’t think we should be passing lip-service bills saying they’re accomplishing things they’re not,” he said… “The full Senate will consider HB1185 and HB1186 on Tuesday at the earliest. The Legislature is scheduled to wrap up the main run of its 2024 session on Thursday.”

Brownfield Ag News: CARBON PIPELINE BILLS MOVE THROUGH SD LEGISLATURE
Carah Hart, 2/29/24

“The South Dakota House passed a bill on Wednesday that would make it easier for the Summit Carbon Pipeline to move forward and some state agriculture groups are responding positively,” Brownfield Ag News reports. “…South Dakota Corn Growers Association Executive Director DaNita Murray tells Brownfield it’s a good bill and there are also two other bills being considered in the state legislature. “There’s a lot of work yet to do between that version and House Bill 1185 and 1186. There are differences between those bills. Our farmer members have said they want a carbon pipeline and that’s the policy position we’re supporting.” “…South Dakota Soybean Association Executive Director Jerry Schmitz told Brownfield the carbon pipeline has the support of the state’s soybean growers and it has been a very contentious issue in South Dakota… “Murray told Brownfield state lawmakers are expected to combine all three bills into one in a conference next week.”      

Successful Farming: The end of the pipeline? Carbon pipelines are key to the ethanol’s survival, but regulation challenges have clouded the industry’s future.
Alex Gray, 2/29/24

“On Oct. 20, 2023, an announcement sent shock waves throughout the ethanol industry: Navigator CO2 was canceling the Heartland Greenway carbon pipeline project,” Successful Farming reports. “Without this pipeline, the ethanol plants it was supposed to connect will have limited ability to sequester carbon, receive tax credits, and be poised to grow. While the outcome for Navigator’s pipeline is clear, the cancellation brought into question what the future looks like for ethanol… “Shaw cites Trump as the genesis to “every one of these pipeline projects,” but the Biden administration made the tax credits so lucrative, they were necessitated to the ethanol industry. “If you don’t find a way to access the 45Q tax credits, you could lose out on 50 or 60 cents per gallon of ethanol compared to your competitors who do access those tax credits,” Shaw told SF. “If three neighboring ethanol plants are all getting 60 cents a gallon because they’re sequestering their carbon and you’re not, the market will move past you. They will expand and survive. You will not.” “…Navigator had rights to execute an easement option on a landowner’s ground within a three-year window, after which the land would revert to the owner. Burns-Thompson describes the easement as not purchasing the land, just the right to cross it… “What is unfortunate about this is the IUB also requires an explanation about the eminent domain process in that letter, too,” Burns-Thompson told SF. “That doesn’t always come across as a positive first impression with landowners.” “…In early October 2023, Navigator withdrew its application for the Illinois portion of the pipeline before the Illinois Commerce Commission and asked Iowa regulators to suspend action there. “Other developers had reached decisions on permits — most of those were not favorable as well,” Burns-Thompson told SF. “Our board was looking at whether those were the exception or the rule. Ultimately, the board just did not see a commercially viable pathway under current circumstances.” “…I think the other [pipelines] are moving forward and will ultimately be successful, but we’ve had a very lengthy process here in Iowa,” he told SF. “The federal law is clear, the state law is clear:  Both say CO2 pipelines qualify as utilities, and eminent domain can be used if necessary, so you’re working through the system.” 

South Dakota Searchlight: CO2 pipeline opponents doubt certainty of $1 billion corn-based jet fuel project
JOHN HULT, 2/29/24

“The largest economic development project in South Dakota history hinges on two things: a carbon pipeline and a $950 million federal loan guarantee,” the South Dakota Searchlight reports. “If the former doesn’t happen, according to the company’s CEO, the money secured through the latter won’t land in South Dakota. But opponents of the project and the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline tied to it doubt the company will build in South Dakota or anywhere else. The project in question is an approximately $1 billion sustainable aviation fuel facility in Lake Preston, dubbed “Net-Zero 1” by Gevo, the Colorado-based carbon abatement firm. Many state leaders, including Gov. Kristi Noem, have expressed enthusiasm for Net-Zero 1. Her son-in-law, Kyle Peters, is a registered lobbyist for Gevo. Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree has described both the pipeline and Gevo projects as critical to the future of South Dakota’s ag industry… “Doug Sombke of the South Dakota Farmers Union isn’t as enthusiastic. He thinks Gevo’s business plan is a house of cards, built on sustainable aviation fuel tax credits that could disappear under a Republican presidential administration and uncertainty on the method the federal government will use to calculate carbon sequestration values. “This is such a wild-ass dream it’s not even funny,” Sombke told Searchlight. In public forums and legislative hearings on pipeline-related bills, opponents have begun pointing to Gevo’s stock price to suggest that the company isn’t healthy enough to trust. It trades below $1 on the NASDAQ and has since mid-January, and has made a handful of recent lists of stocks to avoid in the business press. “I think they’re desperate,” Ed Fischbach, a Mellette-area farmer and vocal opponent of the pipeline and aviation fuel projects, told Searchlight. “To be honest with you, I don’t think they’re financially stable, and they’re running out of time.” The question of time has created a measure of desperation from pipeline opponents, as well. Lawmakers in Pierre are debating Senate Bill 201, which in its current form would offer counties per-mile payments from pipeline companies and certain landowner protections while forcing the state Public Utilities Commission to overrule “unreasonable” local ordinances that restrict pipeline siting. Fischbach sees the bill as an attempt by lawmakers to fast-track the pipeline, and to secure Gevo’s future… “We seem to just bend over backwards and give these companies free rein, basically, to try to get them here,” Fischbach told Searchlight.

KLMI: Wright supervisors provide an update on the Summit pipeline project
BRIAN FANCHER, 2/29/24

“During this week’s Wright County Board of Supervisors meeting, an update was provided on the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline project.  Snyder & Associates reported to the board on February 17th that they were nearly 90 percent complete with creating parcel and inspection folders for the counties they have been representing,” KLMI reports. “…After Snyder explained the work the organization had been performing pursuant to guidelines from the Iowa Utilities Board, Snyder stated there would be a pause in activity on the project from their end beginning in May.  Hearing this, Summit Carbon Solutions agreed to resume issuing payments for pre-construction activities. Then this week the Wright supervisors were informed that the C-O-O’s of Snyder and Summit held a telephone call, and both men agreed to improve upon communication, and that Summit will pay the invoices for county inspector pre-construction work.”

Bloomberg: Pipeline Company Showed Property Access Critical to Safety
Shayna Greene, 2/29/24

“A TC Energy Corp. unit won a court order allowing it access to property in West Virginia to perform subsidence mitigation efforts for a natural gas pipeline,” Bloomberg reports. “The company, Columbia Gas Transmission LLC, showed it’s likely to succeed on the merits because its easement gives it the right to use the entire property to operate and maintain the pipeline, Judge John Preston Bailey of the US District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia on Wednesday. “This Court finds that Columbia will likely suffer irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief,” Bailey said.

NC Newsline: Three large natural gas pipeline projects are proposed for NC: where they are and what’s next
LISA SORG, 3/1/24

“They have sunny, optimistic names: MVP Southgate. T15 Reliability Project. Southeast Supply Enhancement. Three companies — Equitrans Midstream, Dominion Energy and Williams — have proposed building major natural gas pipelines in North Carolina, primarily in the middle third of the state,” NC Newsline reports. “The energy companies justify these projects by claiming natural gas must serve as a “bridge fuel” to meet power demands while coal-fired plants are mothballed. Environmental and clean energy advocates argue that methane emissions from these projects — starting at the fracking operations where gas is extracted, to the compressor stations that move the gas through the system, to the pipelines themselves — will accelerate climate change… “The locations of these pipelines also have environmental justice implications… “MVP Southgate: A separate project, but a continuation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the southern leg starts in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and enter North Carolina near Eden, in Rockingham County… “This pipeline is regulated by FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and will need state environmental permits… “T15 Reliability Project: Dominion Energy recently announced it plans to construct a 45-mile pipeline between Eden and Roxboro. It would connect the MVP Southgate project to Duke Energy’s two proposed natural gas plants at Hyco Lake, which will replace the coal-fired units… “Since this pipeline would not cross state lines, it would not require FERC approval, but would be regulated by the N.C. Utilities Commission. However, Dominion would have to secure permits from N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and, if the pipeline crosses navigable rivers, creeks or streams, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers… “Southeast Supply Enhancement: Williams Companies, which operates the Transcontinental Pipeline over 10,000 winding miles from Texas, through the Southeast to New York City, plans to expand… “The company has set an operational date of late 2027. Since it spans several states, the project will require FERC approval.”

Allegheny Front: DEP: CNX pipeline project in Westmoreland County withdrawn for lacking wildlife permits
Reid Frazier, 3/1/24

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has shelved a natural gas pipeline project in Westmoreland County after the company behind it failed to get necessary federal wildlife approvals,” Allegheny Front reports. “CNX Midstream had proposed to build the “Slickville Trunkline,” a pair of pipelines along a 13.9-mile stretch of Bell, Loyalhanna, and Salem townships in Westmoreland County. Another pipeline would transport fracking wastewater between well pads in the area. But the DEP found deficiencies in the company’s application for its erosion and sedimentation permit, including failure to get proper clearance from the federal Fish and Wildlife Service. The clearances are needed to ensure projects will have a minimal impact on sensitive wildlife. The company didn’t provide the clearances within the required 60-day time period, so the agency told the company on February 26 that it considered the application ‘withdrawn.’ Heather Hulton VanTassel, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper, which opposed the permit, told AF the project could have affected two federally endangered bat species, the northern long-eared and the Indiana bat, and several threatened species, including the tri-colored bat, the bald eagle, and 10 migratory bird species. “One of the things that they have to do is get a certificate from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to explain that their work won’t impact threatened and endangered species, and they failed to do this,” she told AF… “The fracking wastewater pipeline CNX had proposed was particularly concerning for VanTassel. The waste, or brine, can contain chemicals and radioactive materials.”

OK Energy Today: BlackRock finances gas pipeline but remains banned in West Virginia
2/29/24

“Oklahoma isn’t the only state that banned investment bank BlackRock from handling state government contracts because of its reported policies against oil and gas, yet it continues financing energy projects,” OK Energy Today reports. “As OK Energy Today has reported over the past month, BlackRock continues to have investments in major oil and gas companies in Oklahoma, yet it remains on the state Treasurer’s list of firms banned from state business because of its ESG policies. Another of the latest? West Virginia where West Virginia Public Broadcasting recently reported while BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm, is banned from state contracts by the state Treasurer’s Office, it is financing the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline… “Two years ago, the West Virginia Treasurer riley Moore issued the first such list of banned firms and accused BlackRock of putting Chinese interests over West Virginia’s and encouraging companies to distance themselves from coal, oil and natural gas.”

BTU Analytics: Enbridge Gray Oak Expansion Alone Won’t Relieve Future Permian Constraints
Camille Buckley, 2/29/24

“In Enbridge’s recent 4Q23 earnings call, the company highlighted their plans for the Permian basin. More specifically, they announced record 2023 volumes and spoke on the progress of the Gray Oak expansion,” according to BTU Analytics. “Currently, the Gray Oak Pipeline stretches 840 miles, bringing crude oil from the Permian to Corpus Christi and Houston. The phased expansion of up to 200 Mb/d on Gray Oak is almost complete, with open season set to begin this quarter (1Q24), offering full path export service from the Permian to Enbridge’s terminal and planned Phase VI storage project in Ingleside, TX… “However, despite the fact that Gray Oak expansion will likely relieve bottlenecks in the near term, BTU Analytics still believes that the basin will be constrained again by late 2025, thus requiring another expansion… “However, if wells to sale were to maintain the same pace as January 2024, production would grow 380 Mb/d per year on average over the next five years before eventually becoming pipeline constrained at 100% utilization in mid-2026 if no pipeline infrastructure is added… “Not only does current activity support the need for additional infrastructure out of the basin but so does the historical utilization rate.” 

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Politico: Fossil fuel companies ask Supreme Court to ‘put a stop to’ climate lawsuits
Alex Guillén, 2/28/24

“A coalition of fossil fuel companies on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to severely restrict or even end the growing list of climate change lawsuits brought by states, cities and counties around the United States,” Politico reports. “The companies want the justices to declare that federal law bars state-level claims related to interstate and international greenhouse gas emissions. That would significantly weaken — if not outright end — all similar litigation. Background: The Supreme Court of Hawaii unanimously ruled in October that state-law claims brought by Honolulu could proceed to trial. The federal Clean Air Act does not preempt Honolulu’s state-level claims because they were based on consumer protection concerns, the court found. “This suit does not seek to regulate emissions and does not seek damages for interstate emissions,” wrote Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald. One other state-level court has ruled on these issues — a Delaware judge who in January found that federal law precludes damages that come from out-of-state greenhouse gas emissions. That decision significantly narrowed Delaware’s claims, though it did not end the case outright.”

E&E News: Oil Companies Launch Next Supreme Court Climate Fight 
PAMELA KING, LESLEY CLARK, 2/29/24

“Some of the world’s biggest oil companies are once again vying for the Supreme Court to rescue them from a legal quagmire that could cost their industry billions of dollars,” E&E News reports. “Their petition asks the high court to examine a question the justices have previously declined to answer: whether federal law prevents dozens of U.S. cities, states and counties from suing Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other oil majors in state court for lying to the public about the dangers of fossil fuels. Industry lawyers wrote in the petition that there is now ‘clear conflict’ among lower courts on that question. “Without this Court’s intervention, years might pass before another opportunity to address this pressing question comes along,” the companies wrote. The petition, Sunoco v. City and County of Honolulu, appeals a decision last year by the Hawaii Supreme Court that blocked oil companies from dismissing Honolulu’s legal challenge against them. As in other climate liability lawsuits across the country, Honolulu is asking the fossil fuel industry to help foot the bill as the city and county respond to intensifying storms, rising seas and other effects of climate change.”

Reuters: Exxon, Chevron ask US Supreme Court to toss ruling in Honolulu climate change suit
Clark Mindock, 2/28/24

“Fossil fuel companies including Exxon (XOM.N), opens new tab, Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab and Sunoco (SUN.N), opens new tab, on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to scrap a decision that allowed Honolulu’s lawsuit alleging the companies misled the public for decades about the dangers of climate change to proceed to trial, according to a lawyer for the companies,” Reuters reports. “The petition for certiorari challenges an October Hawaii Supreme Court decision that rejected the oil companies’ argument that the lawsuit is preempted, or blocked, by federal law because it seeks to regulate interstate emissions or commerce, powers reserved for the federal government. It said the case instead focused on allegedly misleading statements the companies made, which Honolulu claims led to property and infrastructure damage caused by climate change. The oil companies told the justices Wednesday that the state’s high court got its ruling wrong, since the source of Honolulu’s alleged climate-related injuries is “most certainly” the greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels burned in vehicles and power plants across the country, which are beyond the scope of Hawaii law. They said that pollution is an inherently federal issue and that the federal Clean Air Act does not permit state-law claims based on emissions from other states that are properly regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency… “The companies, which are represented by Kannon Shanmugam and Theodore Wells of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Theodore Boutrous of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, said the case provides the court with the “ideal opportunity” to address the issue “before the energy industry is threatened with potentially enormous judgments” from Honolulu’s case and others nationwide.”

Associated Press: EPA delays rules for existing natural gas power plants until after the November election
MATTHEW DALY, 2/29/24

“The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it is delaying planned rules to curb emissions from existing natural gas plants that release harmful air pollutants and contribute to global warming,” the Associated Press reports. “The agency said it is still on track to finalize rules for coal-fired power plants and new gas plants that have not come online, a key step to slow planet-warming pollution from the power sector, the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. But in a turnaround from previous plans, the agency said it will review standards for existing gas plants and expand the rules to include more pollutants. The change came after complaints from environmental justice groups, who said the earlier plan allowed too much toxic air pollution which disproportionately harms low-income neighborhoods near power plants, refineries and other industrial sites. “As EPA works towards final standards to cut climate pollution from existing coal and new gas-fired power plants later this spring, the agency is taking a new, comprehensive approach to cover the entire fleet of natural gas-fired turbines, as well as cover more pollutants,’’ EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. He called the new plan a “stronger, more durable approach” that will achieve greater emissions reductions than the current proposal. It also will better protect vulnerable frontline communities suffering from toxic air pollution caused by power plants and other industrial sites, Regan said. Still, the plan was not universally welcomed by environmentalists, who the said the new approach will likely push rules for existing gas plants past the November presidential election… “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, called EPA’s decision “inexplicable,’’ adding: “Making a rule that applies only to coal, which is dying out on its own, and to new gas power plants that are not yet built, is not how we are going to reach climate safety.’’ But some environmentalists hailed the decision, saying the new plan would ultimately deliver better results. “We have always known that the fight for a clean power sector wouldn’t be a quick one,’’ Charles Harper of Evergreen Action told AP. “EPA’s first order of business should be finalizing strong and necessary limits on climate pollution from new gas and existing coal plants as quickly as possible.’’

E&E News: Brown, Merkley introduce bill to ban LNG exports to China
Nico Portuondo, 2/29/24

“Progressive and moderate senators are teaming up on a new fossil fuel exports bill following significant division within the Democratic caucus over President Joe Biden’s natural gas export review pause,” E&E News reports. “The “Protecting American Households from Rising Energy Costs Act,” led by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), seeks to unite Democrats around a common goal: ensuring China and other adversaries aren’t aided by American fossil fuel production. “We should not allow American liquid natural gas to fuel China’s state-sponsored industries,” Brown told E&E. “The Chinese Communist Party uses that energy to cheat and undermine Ohio production and Ohio jobs.” The bill would indefinitely ban the export of U.S. crude oil or liquefied natural gas to China, Iran, North Korea or Russia, unless a waiver is granted by the secretary of Energy. A violation could result in a fine of up to $250 million and potential jail time.”

Politico: White House Taps 3 FERC Nominees 
Catherine Morehouse, 2/29/24

“The White House named three nominees to fill seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday — a move that could significantly revamp the agency charged with permitting new fossil fuel infrastructure and regulating the power system,” Politico reports. “President Joe Biden tapped two Democrats — Judy Chang, former undersecretary of energy and climate solutions for Massachusetts, and FERC analyst David Rosner — and a Republican, West Virginia Solicitor General Lindsay See to fill the vacant and soon-to-be vacant seats on the commission. Rosner was long rumored to be a top pick of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that will hold the nominees’ confirmation hearings. Chang was first rumored to be a candidate to fill former Chair Richard Glick’s seat last year and has since reemerged as a front-runner. Republicans had remained tight-lipped about their pick, but E&E News reported earlier today that they’d decided to go with See, the attorney who successfully argued on behalf of West Virginia and other states in a Supreme Court challenge to President Barack Obama’s Clean Air Act in West Virginia v. EPA.”

E&E News: What To Know About The 3 FERC Nominees 
CARLOS ANCHONDO, NICO PORTUONDO, 3/1/24

“The White House’s announcement of three candidates Thursday to fill seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission moves the panel closer to full strength, but the agency is likely to remain split over many energy and climate issues,” E&E News reports. “E&E News first reported President Joe Biden’s plans to pick Democrats David Rosner and Judy Chang and Republican Lindsay See as FERC nominees. The move could soon bring the panel back to five members as the agency is weighing major electricity rules and is set to play an important role in determining the fate of many liquefied natural gas projects. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said a “fully-seated, bipartisan” commission offers “more opportunity for advancing long-lasting, sensible energy infrastructure policy.” “I look forward to reviewing the qualifications of the three individuals nominated today to be FERC Commissioners and assessing their commitment to American energy security,’ Manchin told E&E.”

Politico: Whitehouse Eyes Permitting Package To Move Offshore Wind, Transmission Bills 
Catherine Morehouse, 2/29/24

“Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said he is hoping a permitting package that includes his proposals to speed power line approvals and boost the ailing offshore wind industry could move by the end of the year.,” Politico reports. “I don’t know that there’s going to be a general permitting reform bill,” but it appears to at least be progressing, he told an audience at the American Council on Renewable Energy’s Policy Summit Thursday. “And if the circumstances are right, I think it can move fairly quickly. So we want to be ready for that.” “…The Rhode Island Democrat also told Politico that he’s been working closely with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) about combining the text of their transmission permitting bills and that they’re hoping to get those bills into a potential permitting package as well.”

Law360: Judge Asks When Feds Will Consider Climate In Oil Leases 
Jared Foretek, 2/28/24

“A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday voiced frustration at the Bureau of Land Management’s inability to account for the total impact of carbon emissions from six western oil and gas leases, but cautioned that previous circuit courts have upheld federal agencies’ reluctance to block projects based on climate change predictions,” Law360 reports. “A coalition of environmental groups, the federal government, an oil and gas industry association and five intervenor states met in district court to argue competing summary judgment motions in a challenge to the leases, with the environmental advocates telling U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper during oral argument that the BLM had failed to appropriately assess the impact of greenhouse gas emissions when it issued Findings of No Significant Impact for the projects.”

Bloomberg: How One Methane Scientist Influenced Biden’s Pause On LNG Approvals
Aaron Clark, 2/29/24

“When the Biden administration paused approval of new liquefied natural gas export licenses in January, the decision was driven by a recognition that the climate impact from the fossil fuel needs to be reassessed,” Bloomberg reports. “The fight over just how much LNG contributes to global warming was rekindled in part by a study with explosive findings. Compiled by Robert Warren Howarth, a professor at Cornell University, the analysis — which was released in October but remains in peer review — uses leak and emissions data from an array of sources. It finds that total greenhouse gas emissions from US LNG in the best case scenario are comparable to coal. In the worst case, emissions could be more than two-fold greater.”

KWES: Texas To Consider Suing EPA Over New Emissions Rule.
2/28/24

“The Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on the oil and gas industry by issuing a new rule that will soon be posted in the Federal Register. According to an e-mail sent to members of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, the Texas Railroad Commission is asking the Texas Attorney General to consider suing the EPA over the new rule,” KWES reports. “A climate review is expected to be published next Friday, March 8, 2024, that will outline how methane emissions can be reduced by oil and gas operators.” 

E&E News: Gap Widens Between Dems, GOP In New Green Scorecard 
Timothy Cama, 2/28/24

“The divide between the environmental voting records of Democrats and Republicans widened last year, the League of Conservation Voters said,” E&E News reports. “The major environmental group, which almost overwhelmingly supports Democratic lawmakers and legislation, released its annual National Environmental Scorecard on Wednesday. It gave 129 House Republicans and 11 Senate Republicans scores of zero, while 140 House Democrats and 26 Senate Democrats got 100. Compared with 2022, that’s about 30 more zeros for House Republicans and seven more for Senate Republicans. On the Democratic side, 40 more House Democrats scored a 100, as did 17 more Senate Democrats. That year featured Democratic majorities in both chambers in addition to Joe Biden’s presidency. “On the heels of the 117th Congress, which was one of the most productive in history, the first session of the 118th Congress was one of the least productive and most dysfunctional ever,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, LCV’s senior vice president for government relations, told reporters Wednesday in rolling out the scorecard.”

STATE UPDATES

Financial Times: US Landowners Sue To Force Oil Company Clean-Up Of Abandoned Wells 
Jamie Smyth, 2/23/24

“Land owners are suing a Denver-based oil and gas company, alleging it systematically avoided cleaning up old operations, in a case that spotlights the prospect of US taxpayers shouldering billions of dollars of costs to remediate pollution from wells previously owned by energy majors,” the Financial Times reports. “The lawsuit addresses the problem of abandoned wells, which can leak toxic chemicals into the air, contaminate groundwater and emit methane gas unless they are plugged with cement. Less than half of the nation’s estimated 3.7mn abandoned wells have been plugged, according to US government estimates. The Colorado-based property owners allege that HRM Resources, a company backed by private equity group Kayne Anderson, bought uneconomic wells from Chevron and other producers and used a corporate restructuring and bankruptcy scheme to dodge its liability to properly close them down. ClientEarth, the non-profit legal group that filed the suit on Wednesday, told FT it was aimed at industry practices broadly.”

Texas Tribune: “Nobody Really Knows What You’re Supposed To Do”: Leaking, Exploding Abandoned Wells Wreak Havoc In West Texas 
CARLOS NOGUERAS RAMOS, MARTHA PSKOWSKI, 2/29/24

“Mounds of dirt towered over Bill Wight, who stared helplessly at the piles that had once been pasture for his cattle. After a few moments, he turned his head and surveyed a vast pool of water that had spilled over his land after an abandoned well exploded in early December,” the Texas Tribune reports. “The water that sprang from the forgotten hole drilled searching for oil or water contained so much salt that it scrubbed the life off the land. It decimated the soil. A rancher who spent a decade tending to the sprawls of this West Texas ranch, Wight was suddenly a stranger in his own land. “Nobody really knows what you’re supposed to do about something like this,” Wight told the Tribune. The massive pool of salt water on Wight’s ranch is the latest man-made disaster resulting from abandoned oil and water wells across the state. The incident here offers a reminder of the ambitious work that Texas faces mapping and securing thousands of wells left behind by oil and gas companies over a century of drilling across the state.” 

E&E News: Abandoned Oil Wells Imperil Native Sites In Southwest, Report Says 
Heather Ricahrds, 2/29/24

“Aging and abandoned oil and gas infrastructure threaten archaeological sites on public lands in the Southwest, according to a report released Thursday by a New Mexico preservation group,” E&E News reports.”Sacred areas for Native American tribes, like Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Bears Ears in Utah, are particularly marred by the legacy of oil and gas drilling, according to the report by Archaeology Southwest. “Leasing and development have left a legacy of orphaned wells that have destroyed archaeological sites,” Paul Reed, an archaeologist with Archaeology Southwest and author of the report, told E&E. Reed told E&E that pumpjacks and well pads alter the landscape. In addition to risking pollution to the natural resources, they fundamentally reshape areas that should be preserved for their cultural, indigenous and historical values, he told E&E. The report builds on earlier findings from the National Parks Conservation Association that more than 30,000 abandoned wells lie within 30 miles of a national park, including more than 200 wells deemed orphaned by the group in the vicinity of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico.” 

Missouri Independent: Lawmakers across the U.S. seek to curb utility spending on politics, ads and more extras
ROBERT ZULLO, 2/28/24

“After a string of scandals and amid rising bills, lawmakers in statehouses across the country have been pushing legislation to curb utilities spending ratepayer money on lobbying, expert testimony in rate cases, goodwill advertising, charitable giving, trade association membership and other costs,” the Missouri Independent reports. “At least a dozen states have considered bills to limit how gas, water and electric utilities can spend customers’ money, according to a tracker maintained by the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog group funded by environmental and climate-focused foundations that concentrates on utilities and fossil fuel interests. Another, Louisiana, has opened a proceeding at its public service commission to investigate use of ratepayer cash on trade association dues, “activities meant to influence the outcome of any local, state, or federal legislation,” advertising expenses and other costs. Michigan joined the party last week with the introduction of legislation to ban utility political spending. In states like Illinois, the push has been joined by groups like the AARP and the Citizens Utility Board, a state watchdog group, which said the legislation would “stop electric, gas and water utilities from charging us for a long list of expenses they rack up trying to raise our rates and further increase their political power.” Three states  – Maine, Colorado and Connecticut – have already signed similar bills into law… “It absolutely is a growing trend,” Matt Kasper, the Energy and Policy Institute’s deputy director, told the Independent. “There’s a lot of eyes on the industry, how it’s operating.”

County17: Department of Energy to give up to $49M for carbon capture testing near Gillette
RYAN LEWALLEN, 2/28/24

“An energy technology developer has been selected to negotiate an award worth millions of dollars to test a carbon capture system at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center near Gillette,” County17 reports. “TDA Research Inc. — a company developing cutting-edge products for customers in the defense, aerospace, energy and chemical industries — was recently announced as the recipient of an award worth up to $49 million for a large-scale pilot project to test a sorbent-based, post-combustion carbon capture system. The project is in collaboration with energy technology company SLB… “The company is a current Wyoming ITC tenant that began testing several carbon capture technologies based on novel sorbents and sorbent-membrane hybrids to remove carbon dioxide from flue gas in 2019… “The technology could be scaled up for use at coal plants worldwide.”

EXTRACTION

Wall Street Journal: Frackers Are Now Drilling For Clean Power 
Amrith Ramkumar,  Benoît Morenne, 2/29/24

“Oil-and-gas companies are accelerating investments in geothermal energy, betting the technologies that fueled the shale revolution can turn the budding industry into a large producer of clean power,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Chevron, BP and Devon Energy are part of a group of fossil-fuel companies investing hundreds of millions of dollars in modern geothermal startups and projects. Many of these companies are using the same technology employed by frackers, but instead of searching for oil and gas, they are looking for underground heat. The new geothermal industry is the result of a surprising confluence of interests among the oil-and-gas, technology and green power industries. The heat that the drillers find underground can be used to generate a steady, round-the-clock supply of carbon-free electricity, which is coveted by tech companies for their power-hungry data centers. Finding pockets of underground heat is relatively easy in places with lots of geothermal activity, including parts of the U.S., Indonesia and New Zealand. When the heat is deeper in the earth, it is more difficult and more expensive to find. Those constraints have kept the sector’s share of U.S. electricity generation at less than 1%.”

My Prince George Now: Council supportive of Tidewater’s carbon capture project
Darin Bain, 2/29/24

“Prince George City Council will be providing a letter of support to Tidewater Renewables for the proposed addition of carbon capture technology at their complex in Prince George,” My Prince George Now reports. “The company is proposing the technology at their Hydrogen Derived Renewable Diesel Complex to further lower the carbon intensity of the renewable diesel produced at the facility. Tidewater is applying for funding through the federal government’s “Low Carbon Economy Challenge” to support the project. The capital expenditures for the project are estimated to be $120 million, which the company says approximately half of which will be invested into the local economy through construction contracting.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

E&E News: SEC sets vote on landmark climate rule
AVERY ELLFELDT, 2/29/24

“The Securities and Exchange Commission faces its moment of truth next week on climate change. And some of the agency’s main cheerleaders already are bracing for disappointment,” E&E News reports. “The SEC is set to vote Wednesday on a rule that would force public companies to divulge a swath of information about their climate risks, plans and planet-warming emissions… “But the rule — long hailed as a big step forward for climate policy — is no longer expected to deliver the punch it initially promised. In the nearly two years since its introduction, Republicans and business groups have threatened the SEC with legal challenges and urged the agency to weaken the proposal, which they argue would be unworkable for companies and is outside the agency’s authority. Now, the agency is pulling back. In the latest draft, the SEC dropped a requirement that certain large companies disclose the planet-warming emissions produced by their suppliers and customers, known as Scope 3, POLITICO reported last week. The agency also is likely to weaken a measure that would have required companies to report the emissions resulting from their operations and energy usage, known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 — which could amount to a larger pullback than proponents originally expected. And that could turn longtime supporters of the rule into future adversaries. “The SEC should consider that litigation risk runs both ways,” Andres Restrepo, senior attorney with the Sierra Club, told E&E… “The Sierra Club and Earthjustice, for their part, have indicated they’re willing to challenge the rule in court if the agency drops major provisions from the proposal, including Scope 3.”

DeSmog: NYC Pensions Are Sued for Shedding Fossil Fuels
Liz Rosenbergon, 2/28/24

“…By the end of 2021, three of the city’s five pensions — the Employees’ Retirement System, the Teachers Retirement System, and the Board of Education Retirement System —  had divested close to three percent of their total funds from more than 150 oil and gas related companies or funds, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell, and stated that they would pace further divestment with ongoing evaluation of the risks,” DeSmog reports. “…But the move has come under attack. Last May, four former and current city employees, joined by Americans for Fair Treatment, an anti-union advocacy group, sued the pension funds. They contend that current city Comptroller Brad Lander, who was elected in January 2022,  is following his predecessor Stringer in “using that office to advance an environmental agenda at the expense of retirement security.” On February 28, the Supreme Court of the State of New York is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. “This is a meritless case, and we await the court’s decision,” said Nick Paulocci, director of public affairs and press secretary of the NYC Law Department. Trump-era labor secretary Eugene Scalia, a partner with the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is the plaintiffs’ lead counsel, and has publicly stated that the case is aimed at discouraging other institutional investors from shedding fossil fuel holdings. As a lawyer, Scalia has an anti-union history, and has represented Chevron and the American Petroleum Institute in the past. Gibson Dunn employs nearly 90 lawyers involved in defending the oil and gas industry… “The suit has already had some of the desired chilling effect, according to Brooks, who campaigned alongside Monica Weiss nearly a decade ago to divest New York City’s pension funds from fossil fuels. “It has perhaps slowed down the announcement of some new divestment commitments,” he told DeSmog. “But I don’t think it will stop the movement.”

OPINION

Kossuth County Advance: Power players in Iowa Senate are aiding and abetting
Bonnie Ewoldt, Milford Crawford County landowner, 2/27/24

“The Iowa legislature is considering a bill designed to combat “organized retail theft” of property from stores. Lawmakers supporting the measure said they wanted to deter looting, which has happened in some U.S. cities.,” Bonnie Ewoldt writes for the Kossuth County Advance. “…We naively think such lawlessnes cannot happen here – but it can – and it is. Summit Carbon Solutions has been using strong-arm tactics to take farmland for a pressurized CO2 pipeline. Meanwhile, power players in the Iowa Senate, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Waylon Brown, block all attempts at legislative intervention… “Landowners’ testimony at the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) hearing is filled with tales of unrelenting phone calls and visits to homes and workplaces. The agents told landowners that neighbors had signed when they had not. They frightened the elderly, like my ninety-year-old brother, by telling them they’ “get their land one way or another.” Summit also downplayed safety concerns, telling us the gas was harmless – the same stuff that puts bubbles in our pop. Two years later, at the IUB hearing, the gas had become so dangerous that Summit refused to release its plume study because the pressurized CO2 pipeline is a national security risk… “Unlike the retail theft bill that has leadership support, most pipeline bills dies because they did not move out of committee – or even get a hearing in subcommittee. It is rumored that party leaders told the GOP caucus that no bills relating to CO2 pipeline would make it to the floor… “Power players in the Iowa Senate are aiding and abetting this criminal activity… “State Senators must take courage and stand up to Whitver and Brown’s orders to stand down. Eminent domain reform and CO2 pipeline bills deserve a committee hearing, floor debate, and passage into law.”