EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/5/23

PIPELINE NEWS

• Common Dreams: 151 Groups Blast Biden Admin for Backing ‘Destructive’ Mountain Valley Pipeline

• Fergus Falls Journal: An open discussion: Summit Carbon public hearing held at Bigwood Event Center

• WCCO: Wadena County prosecutor drops misdemeanor charge against Winona LaDuke

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Republican debt bill, climate cuts get Senate thrashing

• The Hill: Top environment Democrat to release permitting proposal focused on emissions cuts

• Press release: Barrasso, Capito, Unveil Comprehensive Permitting and Environmental Review Reform Legislation

• Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources: Full Committee Hearing to Examine Opportunities for Congress to Reform the Permitting Process for Energy and Mineral Projects

• Washington Post: What environmentalists want Biden to do in a second term 

• E&E News: EPA power plant rules are coming. Are utilities ready?

STATE UPDATES

• Guardian: In ‘Cancer Alley’, US chemical giants mount campaign against grassroots organizers

• The West Side Journal: WBR Chamber discusses carbon capture and its potential effect on the parish

• New Orleans Public Radio: Carbon capture bills, spurred by residents’ concerns, make it to committee; not all move forward

• Casper Star-Tribune: First major carbon capture projects break ground at Wyoming test site

• Mother Jones: Utah’s Suicide Pact With the Fossil Fuel Industry

• Vox: The gas industry is losing its most valuable customer: Blue states

• KTVX: Utah State Board of Education considers removing ‘climate change’ from curriculum

EXTRACTION

• Chronicle of Higher Education: Big Oil Helped Shape Stanford’s Latest Climate-Research Focus

• Reuters: Canada opens formal investigation into Imperial’s oil sands tailings leak

• Quartz: French oil giant Total is suing Greenpeace for $1.10 in damages

OPINION

• Mitchell Republic: Letter: Summit Carbon Solutions is no friend to farmers

• Daily Press: Opinion: Virginia Reliability Project puts communities at risk

• NOLA.com: Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré: With carbon capture, fossil fuel companies see a permit to pollute

• NOLA.com: BRAC supports state-level regulation of carbon capture

• Ted Glick: Does Manchin Own Biden on Energy Policy?

PIPELINE NEWS

Common Dreams: 151 Groups Blast Biden Admin for Backing ‘Destructive’ Mountain Valley Pipeline
JESSICA CORBETT, 5/4/23

“A coalition of climate groups this week called out the Biden administration’s support for the partially completed Mountain Valley Pipeline, highlighting how its ongoing construction and potential operation threaten “the well-being of people, endangered species, streams, rivers, farms, national forests, and the planet,” Common Dreams reports. “The letter, led by Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) and 7 Directions of Service and backed by 149 other organizations, is in response to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm writing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last month to reiterate the administration’s position on the contested 303-mile fracked gas pipeline across Virginia and West Virginia. “We are incredibly disappointed with your recent actions to promote the destructive and unneeded Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP),” the climate coalition wrote to Granholm, noting that her letter to FERC coincided with President Joe Biden signing an executive order to implement “environmental justice policy across the federal government.” “…After condemning the administration’s endorsement of the pipeline and recent approvals of the Willow oil and Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects as “hypocritical betrayals,” given Biden’s campaign trail pledges, the coalition laid out how the MVP impacts “livelihoods, drinking water sources, property values, and important cultural resources,” pointing to Indigenous cultural sites as well as communities of “low-income, elderly, and medically underserved populations” dependent on private wells… “Asking the commission to proceed “expeditiously” with any further action on the project and misstating the project’s relation to “national security” while providing no evidence undermines the administration’s commitment to advancing environmental justice… “Your letter contains open appeals for dangerous distractions that will prop up the fossil fuel industry for decades to come… “We request that you immediately rescind your letter of support for the project,” the coalition concluded, “and that you meet with directly impacted communities as soon as possible who live on the route of the project, so you can gain an increased understanding of the destruction and danger that you are promoting.”

Fergus Falls Journal: An open discussion: Summit Carbon public hearing held at Bigwood Event Center
James Allen, 5/4/23

“In a sparsely attended public hearing for a proposed CO2 (captured carbon dioxide) pipeline project, stakeholders, landowners and the public heard an overview of the Summit Carbon Solutions plan as well as officials from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission,” the Fergus Falls Journal reports. “…After a presentation from Charley Bruce and Bret Ecknes with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission when public’s portion was opened up, Fergus Falls Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Workman said their organization fully supports the project and touted the jobs and economic benefit to the city, followed by a written question from a member of the public asking in layman’s terms what the project was and why they wanted to capture CO2… “Another local landowner, Craig Winters, commented that he thought the whole concept of carbon capture was “bull” and questioned whether the company was aware that sometimes during the winters in the area that it could possibly freeze five or six feet down. Winters also brought up the safety aspect and if they would have sufficient and properly trained emergency teams. Winters referenced a CO2 pipeline rupture in Mississippi that occurred in February of 2020 that forced a mass evacuation and sent a cloud of carbon dioxide toward a small town. During the incident around 45 people became ill.”

WCCO: Wadena County prosecutor drops misdemeanor charge against Winona LaDuke
5/4/23

“A prosecutor in Wadena County dismissed the last charge against activist Winona LaDuke, who was arrested in July of 2021 while protesting Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline,” WCCO reports. “LaDuke and five other women chained themselves together to protest the pipeline, which they say violates an 1855 treaty that guarantees the rights of Native Americans to hunt, fish, and gather wild rice… “The six women were arrested, along with an independent photojournalist, and LaDuke spent three days in jail. They were charged with and pleaded not guilty to two counts of gross misdemeanor trespassing and one count of misdemeanor obstruction. The charges against the six women were dismissed in October of 2022. LaDuke was scheduled to go on trial in June. In the past two weeks, many cases have been dismissed against the activists who protest Line 3, who call themselves Water Protectors. As of the end of April, there were 74 open cases.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Republican debt bill, climate cuts get Senate thrashing
Emma Dumain, 5/5/23

“How far apart are Republicans and Democrats on the debt limit crisis? Very, very far, if a Thursday hearing on the matter is any indication,” E&E News reports. “…Specifically, those witnesses predicted mass job losses and climate devastation, among other calamities, if the House Republican debt limit proposal were to be signed into law. The warnings about H.R. 2811, the “Limit, Save, Grow Act” — the GOP plan that would raise the debt limit but cut clean energy tax credits that have spurred a domestic manufacturing boom and slash a fee on methane emissions that are toxic to the environment — provided plenty of ammunition for Democrats… “Whitehouse, who has made the economic costs of the climate crisis the centerpiece of the Budget Committee under his chairmanship, framed the Republican plan in that context. He called the bill a “field day for polluters,” with “275 of the 315 pages of the dirty ‘Default on America’ bill are devoted to giveaways to the fossil fuel industry.” “…H.R. 1 would also repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s methane fee, which Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp framed the protection against methane leaks a matter of national security. “At a time of uncertainty and instability in global energy,” he said, “allowing companies to waste this energy resource is unconscionable.”

The Hill: Top environment Democrat to release permitting proposal focused on emissions cuts 
RACHEL FRAZIN, 5/4/23

“Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) will soon release his own proposal to reform the country’s system for approving infrastructure projects — marking a mainstream Democratic foray into the issue,” The Hill reports. “In a written statement that was first shared with The Hill on Thursday, Carper said he plans to introduce a bill based on reducing the country’s contribution to climate change, keeping communities involved in the process and providing certainty for industry.  “In the weeks ahead, I intend to build off of that work and release a permitting proposal that would accomplish three objectives: reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve the nation’s bedrock environmental laws, encourage early and frequent engagement with communities, and provide businesses with certainty and predictability,” he said, referring to work done in his committee to hear from stakeholders… “We have an opportunity to pass meaningful reforms that support the deployment of clean energy projects across our nation and uphold essential environmental protections,” Carper said in his statement. House Democrats also recently put forward a left-wing permitting proposal, while House Republicans included their own efforts to shorten the energy approval process as part of their larger energy package.” 

Press release: Barrasso, Capito, Unveil Comprehensive Permitting and Environmental Review Reform Legislation
5/4/23

“Today, U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee and Shelley Moore Capito, Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, introduced two pieces of legislation to substantively reform the nation’s broken permitting and environmental review processes, which are currently delaying key energy, infrastructure, and transportation projects across America. Ranking Member Barrasso’s bill, the Spur Permitting of Underdeveloped Resources (SPUR) Act, covers key reforms in ENR’s jurisdiction, including provisions to increase domestic energy and mineral development, ensure federal lands remain open to productive uses, and streamline permitting of energy infrastructure. Ranking Member Capito’s bill, the Revitalizing the Economy by Simplifying Timelines and Assuring Regulatory Transparency (RESTART) Act, covers key reforms in EPW’s jurisdiction, including provisions to streamline the agency review process with enforceable timelines, implement time limits to prevent endless legal challenges, and modernize current laws while maintaining environmental protections. “The two bills Senator Barrasso and I are introducing fix this broken system with substantive changes that cut red tape, modernize and streamline the permitting process, and prevent endless delays that have plagued job-creating projects across the country,” EPW Ranking Member Capito said.

Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources: Full Committee Hearing to Examine Opportunities for Congress to Reform the Permitting Process for Energy and Mineral Projects
5/4/23

“The hearing will be held on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 10:00 am in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC,” according to the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources. “The purpose of this hearing is to examine opportunities for Congress to reform the permitting process for energy and mineral projects. The hearing will be webcast live on the committee’s website, and an archived video will be available shortly after the hearing concludes. Witness testimony will be available on the website at the start of the hearing.”

Washington Post: What environmentalists want Biden to do in a second term 
Maxine Joselow, 5/5/23

“Mainstream environmentalists coalesced around President Biden in 2020 despite initial misgivings. But now that he’s running for a second term, they’re airing concerns that he’s falling short on his ambitious climate promises,” the Washington Post reports. “I think there’s going to need to be a lot that he does in order to win trust back with young people and be able to mobilize them at the same rate that he did in 2020,” Michele Weindling, the Sunrise Movement’s electoral director, told the Post… “Rhetoric and more promises of great things to come in a second term are not enough,” Kierán Suckling, president of the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, told the Post. “Biden needs to start acting with true boldness and urgency today.” Where has Biden disappointed climate activists? Weindling points to the Biden administration’s recent pro-fossil-fuel dealings, including the approval of a massive oil project in Alaska and an embrace of liquefied natural gas exports to help the European Union move away from Russian oil… “Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, told the Post Biden has made “historic climate achievements, bigger than any president in our history.” But she also said Biden has been slow to actually meet many of his own commitments. As a candidate in 2020, Biden vowed to end new oil drilling on federal land and later cautioned that such a transition would happen “over time.” Moffitt told the Post she wants explicit promises from Biden that he’ll stop allowing new fossil fuel infrastructure in a second term… “Yes, we need more clean energy in this country, we need it connected to an enhanced grid,” Moffitt told the Post. “And that cannot come at the expense of communities being able to have a say, particularly over polluting facilities that are being put into their neighborhoods. And certainly not in a way that fast tracks fossil fuel infrastructure.”

E&E News: EPA power plant rules are coming. Are utilities ready?
Jason Plautz, 5/5/23

“In the nearly eight years since EPA announced the nation’s first carbon emissions limits on power plants, the utility sector has undergone a rapid shift,” E&E News reports. “Retirements of coal plants are accelerating, replaced with a flood of wind and solar projects competing to get on the grid. Unlike in the Obama era, the largest U.S. power producers are generally striving to meet net-zero carbon goals. But new EPA rules set to restrict emissions from power plants will test the limits of the sector’s transition, raising questions about whether businesses are ready to meet President Joe Biden’s most ambitious climate goals. Technologies that can capture and store carbon dioxide are not used at major U.S. power plants, for example, and the ability of utilities to decarbonize faster than currently planned is uncertain. Final details of the EPA rules have not been released, though reporting by E&E News suggests they could require coal- and gas-fired plants to cut or capture almost all of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2040… “An E&E News review of the climate commitments from the nation’s largest power producers shows that most have set a target date of 2050 to achieve carbon neutrality, although the details differ as to whether companies plan to achieve net-zero emissions or completely eliminate them. Among the nation’s top ten producers based on power generating capacity, the only ones with earlier goals are NextEra Energy Inc. (2045), American Electric Power Co. (2045) and Constellation Energy Corp. (2040). Calpine Corp., a competitive power producer, doesn’t have a net-zero carbon goal at all. Those goals signal the widespread differences in how utilities are approaching the climate crisis across different regions and generation sources, as well as the challenges they may face with an earlier target.”

STATE UPDATES

Guardian: In ‘Cancer Alley’, US chemical giants mount campaign against grassroots organizers
Pam Radtke, 5/4/23

“After residents of America’s “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana put a national spotlight on their fight for a healthy environment, the state’s economic interests and petrochemical giants are backing the creation of a new “sustainability council” to counter grassroots activists, documents show,” the Guardian reports. “In recent years, the activists have successfully fought construction of two multibillion-dollar plastics facilities and what would have been the nation’s largest methanol plant. The growing concerns have caught the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency, which earlier this year sued a manufacturer of neoprene in the state for not doing enough to reduce its cancer-causing air emissions. Now, those same groups are receiving millions of dollars from Michael Bloomberg and his Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, and the Louisiana energy and chemical companies along with the states’ business-boosting groups have, in turn, created the Louisiana Industry Sustainability Council – originally called the Industry Defense Council. “If they could do this with no money, imagine what would happen if they in fact had money,” Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, one of the recipients of money from the Bloomberg campaign, an $85m effort in Louisiana, Texas and Pennsylvania targeting 120 new proposed petrochemical facilities, told the Guardian. “They should be scared.” Matt Wolfe, vice-president of communications at Greater New Orleans Inc, one of the groups leading the sustainability council, told the Guardian the council wasn’t created in response to any specific project. “The members of the group are not acting out of fear, but rather, the recognition that it is important that we inform a balanced, fact-based discussion, and one that recognizes that the best future for Louisiana is one that takes into account both the economy and the environment,” Wolfe wrote in an email to Floodlight. When asked if the council was created out of fear because of the activists’ recent successes, a representative of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, one of the other groups leading the council, told the Guardian: “Not that we’re aware of.” “…But slides and strategies from early meetings of the group, shared with Floodlight, specifically highlight Bloomberg and efforts to counter the “small, but influential groups”. “…Proposed development includes dozens of proposed carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, and ammonia projects. Opponents of those proposals question their effectiveness to reduce carbon emissions and their impact on the communities that have already been harmed by the petrochemical industry.”

The West Side Journal: WBR Chamber discusses carbon capture and its potential effect on the parish
Kristie Hendricks, 5/2/23

“Clay Schexnayder, Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives spoke to the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce on April 25 at the monthly luncheon,” The West Side Journal reports. “…The chamber provided its bullet points on 12 proposed house bills in relation to the subjects of carbon capture and carbon sequestration affecting WBR business operations… “The chamber also welcomed Tommy Faucheux, President of the Louisiana Mid-Content Oil and Gas Association (LMOGA) to speak at the April luncheon. After speaking on the Association’s efforts to reduce the Gas and Oil industry’s carbon footprint to the WBR Chamber, the LMOGA President expanded on some of his points for the West Side Journal. Attention was drawn to outside lobbyists and organizations putting pressure on the Gas and Oil industry at the luncheon and in answering follow-up questions, the LMOGA also stated “customers of Louisiana’s resources are demanding products with lower carbon footprints.” They went on to add, “we are creating additional processes that allow us to enhance and expand our current infrastructure while lowering emissions and increasing efficiency to meet the world’s future energy demands.”

New Orleans Public Radio: Carbon capture bills, spurred by residents’ concerns, make it to committee; not all move forward
Halle Parker, 5/4/23

“The House natural resources committee was divided on Tuesday after hearing the first round of bills that would tighten restrictions on carbon capture projects in Louisiana,” New Orleans Public Radio reports. “Republican lawmakers from the Florida Parishes filed nine bills this session in response to local backlash against a major project that would store carbon dioxide about a mile beneath Lake Maurepas, a recreational and cultural hub for the area. On Tuesday, the committee heard five of those bills. During the meeting, oil, gas and chemical industry representatives opposed stricter regulations, while residents who live near or visit Lake Maurepas and the nearby swamp spoke up in favor. The heated debate over the five bills took more than six hours, forcing an afternoon recess before lawmakers returned to the room to finish their business. Some of the bills moved forward, while others were essentially killed in committee. See where the bills stand after a day full of debate. HB453 proposed that any carbon capture project planned in Louisiana could only store its carbon beneath the Gulf of Mexico, effectively banning any storage of carbon beneath state land or inland water bottoms. After an extensive lineup of testimony, the committee involuntarily deferred the bill, effectively killing it unless two-thirds of the natural resources committee votes to put it back on the schedule… “This was the bill that kicked off the hours-long, passionate debate between residents, parish officials and industry officials over the future of Lake Maurepas and the surrounding swamp. Residents, often clad in matching light blue shirts, and local officials backed the bill, all citing their own experiences and frustration with the Air Products proposal, feeling as though it was being imposed on them. Repeatedly, the industry representatives said the bill could cause Louisiana to miss out on new investments from industry around building out carbon capture infrastructure — spurred by new incentives in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.”

Casper Star-Tribune: First major carbon capture projects break ground at Wyoming test site
Nicole Pollack, 5/4/23

“The carbon capture testing ground built at a Wyoming coal plant in 2018 is positioned, at last, to launch a pair of promising technologies from the lab to the market,” the Casper Star-Tribune reports. “During a Tuesday afternoon ceremony attended by some of the highest-profile figures in the state’s energy sector and several Japanese diplomats, California-based gas separation developer Membrane Technology and Research and Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries each broke ground on their respective carbon capture test sites at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC). Many of Wyoming’s leaders believe carbon capture will be the key to preserving the struggling coal industry, which is being squeezed out of the electricity market by lower-emitting and increasingly affordable alternatives… “There is a vision here, which has been consistent, and that vision tells us that if we’re going to do something about powering our world consistently, reliably and dispatchably, 24/7, we’re going to have to do that by looking at all of our energy sources — none more important than coal,” Gov. Mark Gordon said during the event… “If carbon capture can be proven effective and affordable at a commercial scale, Chris Baumgartner, a senior vice president at Basin Electric, told the Tribune, “our hope would be that Dry Fork Station absolutely would be able to utilize this technology to continue to serve membership.”

Mother Jones: Utah’s Suicide Pact With the Fossil Fuel Industry
STEPHANIE MENCIMER, 5/4/23

“The GPS coordinates weren’t especially helpful last May as we drove across the remote Tavaputs Plateau in Utah’s Uinta Basin,” Mother Jones reports. “Cell service was spotty in the vast expanse of land crosshatched with unpaved roads identified on the map only as “Well Road 4304735551” or “Chevron Pipeline Road.” Photographer Russel Albert Daniels and I had set off that morning from Vernal (population 10,241), in search of a 15-square-mile plot of undeveloped land purchased in 2011 by the Estonian-government-owned energy company Enefit. On that land, the Estonians had hoped to create the first commercial-scale oil shale mining and processing facility in the United States, with a 320-acre industrial plant that would process 28 million tons of strip-mined shale and turn it into 50,000 barrels of oil every day for 30 years… “As Russel and I bumped along the dirt roads of eastern Utah in search of Enefit’s land, it became painfully obvious that the Estonians had overlooked a major problem when they plunked down $42 million to acquire 30,000 acres of sagebrush in the basin: water, or the lack of it… “What little it does have comes from the critical watershed of the dying Colorado River, which more than 40 million people in the West rely on for agriculture and drinking water. The dire state of the Colorado River hasn’t stopped Utah officials from enthusiastically supporting policies to encourage Enefit’s oil shale production and all sorts of other thirsty, ill-conceived fossil fuel projects in the Uinta Basin in what some environmentalists have dubbed a “suicide pact.” These projects and priorities generally, and Enefit’s in particular, illustrate how a state, run largely by people who don’t believe in climate change, still presses ahead with carbon-belching fossil-fuel developments that, if successful, will only exacerbate the megadrought that has brought the Colorado River—and the West—to the brink of disaster.”

Vox: The gas industry is losing its most valuable customer: Blue states
Rebecca Leber, 5/4/23

“Republicans have eagerly jumped to the gas stove’s defense ever since it entered the culture war fray. But there’s one major miscalculation: The natural gas industry needs blue states much more than it needs red ones,” Vox reports. “The clearest sign yet that the natural gas industry is losing ground among its most valuable customer base is in New York. On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the first budget to include a statewide ban on gas in new buildings. The law requires new buildings shorter than seven stories to have all-electric heating and cooking by 2026, and taller buildings to meet the requirements by 2029… “More than 100 municipalities have taken action to halt gas expansion, and Washington and California have also weighed statewide action… “But because parts of the country are more reliant on gas than others, some cities and states count for a disproportionate share of these climate emissions. New York is one of them. So are a bunch of other blue states weighing action.”

KTVX: Utah State Board of Education considers removing ‘climate change’ from curriculum
Megan Pickett, Nate Larsen, 5/4/23

“When the Utah State Board of Education meets on Thursday, May 4, they will have a controversial topic to discuss — whether the term “climate change” is too politically charged to be taught to students,” KTVX reports. “The discussion would affect core standards for elective high school courses, specifically for a meteorology course. According to the board, they want to avoid language they feel may be politically charged… “Would there be anything wrong with using ‘changing climate’ instead of climate change?” Board of Education Dist. 13 Rep. Randy Boothe said. “Because everybody sees that there is a change in climate and that’s really what these meteorologists are wanting to talk about.” “…On social media, an image of a section from the potential new standards has the words “climate change” crossed out. According to board members, while they appreciate the engagement of the public, they would encourage them to look at the whole process. “I appreciate the engagement of the public, I think it’s healthy if people have information that they want to share with board members, I think that’s a really healthy part of our process,” Dist. 1 Rep. Jennie Earl said. “[But] I would encourage the public to take a little more of a deep dive and not just take one element and hyper-inflate it or sensationalize it beyond where it’s at.”

EXTRACTION

Chronicle of Higher Education: Big Oil Helped Shape Stanford’s Latest Climate-Research Focus
Stephanie M. Lee, 5/4/23

“Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability recently unveiled its first institutionwide research focus: greenhouse-gas removal,” the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. “…What the announcement didn’t mention was that the choice of topic had been shaped by meetings organized and attended by representatives of some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies — Shell, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies — as well as Bank of America, a top financier of the industry, according to emails obtained by The Chronicle. The decision also relied on input from a group of faculty with backgrounds that don’t represent all of the school’s departments. Some faculty and students fear that the Stanford Doerr School — which began last year with a $1.1-billion gift from the venture capitalist John Doerr and his wife Ann Doerr — is helping greenwash the corporations perpetuating the very climate crisis they’re trying to combat. The fossil-fuel industry has been promoting and investing in technologies that aim to capture carbon emissions from industrial plants or, more recently, suck carbon dioxide directly out of the air. But critics say that these nascent, expensive projects are distracting from the need to cut emissions in the first place. Jef Caers, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the Stanford Doerr School, told the Chronicle that he was “concerned about the way these decisions are made, with the input of the oil and gas industry and seemingly without the input of several important parts of our school.” And Yannai Kashtan, a Ph.D. candidate in earth system science, told the Chronicle he was disappointed that people with “obvious conflicts of interest” were given seats at the table. “It is hard to convey how demoralizing it is to know that my university and my school are actively collaborating with, taking money from, and burnishing the image of the very same companies that pay to undermine my and my colleagues’ work,” Kashtan, an organizer with the Coalition for a True School of Sustainability, which is calling for Stanford to reject all fossil-fuel funding, told the Chronicle.

Reuters: Canada opens formal investigation into Imperial’s oil sands tailings leak
Nia Williams, 5/4/23

“Canada’s federal environment ministry on Thursday opened a formal investigation into a months-long tailings leak at Imperial Oil’s (IMO.TO) Kearl oil sands mine in northern Alberta, signalling a potential prosecution,” Reuters reports. “Environment Canada is investigating a suspected contravention of the Fisheries Act, which prohibits the “deposit of a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish,” or any place where such substances could enter fish-bearing water. Tailings, a toxic mining by-product containing water, silt, residual bitumen and metals, have been seeping from Imperial’s site since last May, angering local Indigenous communities who hunt and fish on the lands downstream from Canada’s oil sands mines… “Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told reporters in Ottawa the decision to move from an inspection to a full investigation means officers will decide whether charges are warranted… “The company first discovered discolored water on its Kearl site in May 2022 and informed the AER and some local Indigenous communities, but failed to update those communities when testing showed the water contained tailings.”

Quartz: French oil giant Total is suing Greenpeace for $1.10 in damages
Aurora Almendral, 5/4/23

“TotalEnergies, the French oil giant, filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace France and climate consulting company Factor-X over a report that claimed that Total had significantly underestimated its emissions from burning fossil fuels,” Quartz reports. “The report, released in November by Greenpeace France, said that Total massively undercounted the emissions it reported in 2019, which amounted to 455 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Greenpeace’s report alleged that Total’s emissions were four times higher, at 1.6 billion tons of CO2. Total countered that Factor X, the Brussels-based firm contracted by Greenpeace to do the accounting, used flawed methodology that double-counted emissions. Total’s civil complaint, served on April 28, claims that Greenpeace’s report contains “false and misleading information,” echoing the accusations Greenpeace levied at Total. Additionally, Total wants the court to recognize what it says were knowingly false claims by Factor-X, challenging the company’s expertise in carbon emissions accounting… “Total’s suit seeks a judicial order to withdraw the report and cease all references to it, with a penalty of €2000 ($2,213) per day, and a symbolic €1 ($1.10) in damages… “In a statement, Greenpeace France director Jean-François Julliard, suggested that the oil company’s lawsuit was part of an effort to silence them. “TotalEnergies wants to drag Greenpeace through a long legal process … erase our reports and prevent us from denouncing their misleading and climate-killing practices,” Julliard told Quartz. “We will continue to lift the veil on their responsibility in global warming.”

OPINION

Mitchell Republic: Letter: Summit Carbon Solutions is no friend to farmers
Doug Sombke, President, South Dakota Farmers Union, 5/4/23

“Summit Carbon Solutions has violated farmers’ landowner rights,” Doug Sombke writes for the Mitchell Republic. “The company attempting to build a CO2 pipeline across the state is suing more than 80 South Dakota farmers who do not want the company and its pipeline on their land. South Dakota Farmers Union members addressed the importance of landowner rights decades ago in their policy. It still stands as a major issue for today’s members. Our policy strongly supports farmers’ control and use of their own land. News of Summit Carbon Solutions suing 80 South Dakota farmers claiming eminent domain with more to come strikes a nerve at South Dakota Farmers Union. During the 2023 Legislative Session Farmers Union joined with others to support HB1133. This is a House Bill which would have protected landowners from Summit Carbon Solutions. Unfortunately, the majority of state legislators did not support landowners. The bill failed. Once again, South Dakota Farmers Union calls on state legislators and our Congressional leaders to not allow misuse of eminent domain laws. No private company should be allowed to rob family farmers of their land rights. If this is allowed what is next? Summit Carbon Solutions has shown its true colors and it is no friend to farmers or landowners — period. Summit Carbon Solutions is a privately held company with millions to lose if they are not able to complete their plans for this CO2 pipeline. They claim eminent domain with the excuse that this pipeline will benefit the public. The facts are Summit Carbon Solutions in many cases has not dealt fairly in valuing the land or the farmers on an individual case by case bases. Nor have they been up front with them when discussing specifics of safety. Pipelines can and do leak. And because the CO2 is converted to a liquid when it is pumped into the pipeline, if it springs a leak, the scary fact is, it could explode. Experts say a CO2 gas explosion would result in death of any human, livestock or wildlife in the vicinity of the pipeline. To help preserve landowner’s rights, please visit this website and sign this petition: https://sdpropertyrights.com/.” 

Daily Press: Opinion: Virginia Reliability Project puts communities at risk
Carolyn White is assistant secretary of the Pughsville Civic League. She wrote this on behalf of Chesapeake Climate Action Network & CCAN Action Fund, 5/4/23

“Ripping up wetlands, exposing low-income communities to pollution, and building guaranteed-to-be stranded assets. No one in their right mind would invest in a project with such grevious consequences, right?” Carolyn White writes for the Daily Press. “Unfortunately, TC Energy — formerly TransCanada, the company behind the infamous Keystone XL Pipeline — disagrees. The company has a plan to bring more methane gas to our region. Really? It’s called the “Virginia Reliability Project,” but it’s more like a “Virginia Ripoff Project,” because it’s terrible news for families and taxpayers. VRP would dig up 49 miles of a 12-inch pipeline running from Hampton Roads to central Virginia and replace it with a 24-inch pipeline, quadrupling its capacity in order to bring up to 750 million more gallons of dangerous, planet-warming methane gas flowing through Virginia every day. Right now, regulators with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are accepting comments on a draft environmental impact statement which plainly states that the project would exacerbate climate change… “Within 1 mile of the pipeline’s route, more than half the population are communities of color and nearly half the population live below the poverty line. Virginia is legally bound to move away from gas-powered electricity thanks to the landmark Virginia Clean Economy Act. This is not the time to build new fossil fuel infrastructure that will soon be obsolete. Instead, we should rapidly expand clean energy infrastructure by subsidizing rooftop solar panels, expanding community solar, and protecting programs by proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that provide weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades to low-income communities. This will help clean up our air while we transition to a clean energy future.”

NOLA.com: Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré: With carbon capture, fossil fuel companies see a permit to pollute
Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré is a retired U.S. Army general and leader of the nonprofit Green Army, 5/4/23

“For decades, fossil fuel companies have done all they could to make their businesses seem environmentally friendly,” Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré writes for NOLA.com. “British Petroleum, the multinational corporation that once desecrated the Gulf of Mexico, launched a PR campaign to convince the public its initials actually stood for “beyond petroleum.” “…In recent years, attempts like these and countless others have earned the name “greenwashing.” The term broadly applies to any time a company tries to better its image as a climate-conscious business… “Now, fossil fuel companies are touting a new technology, carbon capture and sequestration, as a method to take greenhouse gas emissions and trap them underground. To hear industry officials describe it, this will be the technology that will save the world by hiding away emissions that would otherwise accumulate in the atmosphere and further warm the planet. Despite their promises and proclamations, we have no evidence that this is anything other than the next frontier in greenwashing by the fossil fuel industry. Carbon capture and sequestration, or storage, is not a proven technology. Yet the industry’s lobbyists have already been able to convince the federal government to underwrite its implementation at taxpayer expense. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 uses, among other mechanisms, tax credits to induce the owners of CO2-emitting industrial facilities to capture and store the carbon they emit… “Across the South, and especially in my home state of Louisiana, oil and gas companies are using the false promise of carbon capture to justify the expansion of yet even more fossil fuel infrastructure. Their thinking goes as follows: They already have plans in the works for new refineries and gas export terminals, all of which require approval from government regulators. If they promise to integrate carbon capture systems into their plans, whatever that would look like, then they can claim the environmental and climate impact of their proposed facilities will be far less than it would otherwise be… “It’s past time to move our global economy toward true renewable energy and stop finding ways to justify more fossil fuels.”

NOLA.com: BRAC supports state-level regulation of carbon capture
Adam Knapp, president and CEO, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, 5/4/23

“The Baton Rouge Area Chamber applauds the recent news that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is actively working to complete its evaluation of Louisiana’s application for Class VI primacy on carbon capture and storage,” NOLA.com reports. “Awarding primacy to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources will allow Louisiana to permit and regulate carbon capture and storage in a more timely, safe and efficient manner… “Working with industry, we formed the Baton Rouge Carbon Reduction Alliance last year to help the region’s manufacturers work collaboratively toward their goals to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Carbon capture and storage can be a win-win for our environment and our economy… “The EPA has posted official notice beginning the public comment and hearing process. On behalf of our board of directors, we support Louisiana’s application for Class VI well primacy and we are hopeful the EPA will move forward in a timely manner to give Louisiana the authority and tools needed to take the next step toward this important opportunity.”

Ted Glick: Does Manchin Own Biden on Energy Policy?
Ted Glick has been a progressive activist, organizer and writer since 1968, 5/4/23

“It’s understandable that, when the Senate Dems need 50 of their 51 members to vote on something for it to pass, Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema have a lot more influence than they should,” Ted Glick writes. “But it has been maddening to see, on the one hand, corrupt coal baron Joe Manchin using that power to advance his and corporate fossil fuelers’ interests as head of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee while, on the other hand, President Joe Biden says nothing publicly to counter him. Over a year ago Manchin effectively took over FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This happened right after a 3-2 vote by the then-Democratic majority of commissioners to strengthen FERC’s analysis of environmental justice and greenhouse gas emissions impacts when a methane/fracked gas company applies for a permit to build a new pipeline, an LNG export terminal and/or other gas infrastructure. Manchin and Republicans were able to get one of the three Democrats, Willie Phillips, to reverse his vote in support of that new policy… “The Biden team apparently thinks that staying quiet about Manchin’s outrageous abuse of power—or worse, giving support to it–for the next year and a half is going to help him and the Democrats win on November 5, 2024. Is this approach going to lead to the needed, massive voter turnout of young people, those seriously concerned about the climate emergency, those in low-wealth and people of color communities most directly impacted negatively by our fossil fuel economy? No, it is not. It will do the opposite… “Fortunately, the climate justice movement is mobilizing to keep the heat on Biden, Manchin, Republicans and the fossil fuel industry. Two weeks from now, on the morning of May 18 in Washington, DC, there will be a Stop Manchin’s FERC action organized by a number of groups.”