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EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/18/24

Mark Hefflinger, Bold Alliance (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/Des Moines Register

By Mark Hefflinger

July 18, 2024

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PIPELINE NEWS

  • Roanoke Times: 1 month into operation, erosion problems continue with Mountain Valley Pipeline

  • The Center Square: The long and winding road of a proposed carbon pipeline

  • South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Coalition challenges Iowa decision permitting Summit pipeline

  • Boston.com: Activists hold ‘tree-sit’ as gas pipeline giant clears trees in Lincoln

  • WFXT: Police surround wooded area in Lincoln amid ongoing protest

  • E&E News: Dems pressure agency to finish pipeline methane rule

  • Dallas Business Journal: Energy Transfer, Sunoco form Permian Basin pipeline JV

  • Offshore Energy: Cheniere’s Texas LNG pipeline goes into operation

  • Reuters: Kinder Morgan reports Q2 miss, remains optimistic on natgas demand

  • Daily Echo: ExxonMobil’s plans for huge pipe to English Channel CO2 dump

  • Bloomberg: Pipeline Company Is Denied South Carolina Property Tax Exemption

WASHINGTON UPDATES

  • Associated Press: U.S. judge suspends Alaska Cook Inlet lease, pending additional environmental review

  • Guardian: Climate Advocates Fear Picking JD Vance For VP Is ‘A Dangerous Step Backward’ 

  • E&E News: Gaming out a Trump energy Cabinet

  • E&E News: Utah, Wyoming Ask Court To Block BLM Public Lands Rule 

  • Offshore Engineer: Oil and corn groups team up against Biden’s tailpipe emissions guidelines

  • E&E News: EPA tightened refinery regs. Why did emissions rise?

STATE UPDATES

EXTRACTION

  • DeSmog: Shell Canada Drops 2050 Climate Goal from Website

  • OilPrice.com: LNG Market Crucial for Energy Security and Decarbonization Plans

  • Reuters: Spain’s Valencia Shuts Three Beaches Hit by Oil Spill

CLIMATE FINANCE

OPINION

PIPELINE NEWS

Roanoke Times: 1 month into operation, erosion problems continue with Mountain Valley Pipeline
Laurence Hammack, 7/18/24

“During Mountain Valley Pipeline’s first month of operation, erosion along its path through Southwest Virginia continued to sweep muddy water and sediment onto adjacent property and into nearby streams,” the Roanoke Times reports. “There have been about 35 cases of sediment leaving the pipeline’s right-of-way on its approximately 100-mile route through the New River and Roanoke valleys, according to a review of weekly environmental compliance reports filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Muddy runoff reached streams and wetlands more than a dozen times since natural gas began to flow through the pipeline June 14. “I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I can’t,” David Sligh, conservation director of Wild Virginia, told the Times of the news that environmental problems persist after the completion of construction. Although the 42-inch diameter pipe is now buried, some portions of its 125-foot-wide swath through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia remain bare and vulnerable to erosion caused by isolated thunderstorms. Mountain Valley is still working on final restoration, which includes additional grading and planting grass and other vegetation on the right-of-way to reduce muddy runoff… “Such problems have occurred consistently though six years of construction, Sligh told the Times, but have not been addressed by FERC, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and other regulatory agencies. “This latest report of MVP’s continued assaults on our streams and on the landowners it has plagued for so long again highlights the deplorable failures of every official who allowed this project to proceed,” Sligh told the Times.”

The Center Square: The long and winding road of a proposed carbon pipeline
7/17/24

“The path to a 2,500-mile carbon dioxide pipeline has had its share of twists and turns. More detours could be coming,” The Center Square reports. “Summit Carbon Solutions announced the pipeline in December 2021… “Not everyone is on board with the project, and it continues to draw ire from residents in its path who don’t want to cede their property for the pipeline. The Iowa Utilities Commission approved Summit’s application this month with one caveat – the company must get approval from South Dakota and North Dakota regulators before construction can begin. Some residents want the IUC to reconsider. “Eminent domain is a threat to democracy when private investors propose a project that is NOT NEEDED, is DESTRUCTIVE, and more importantly is NOT WANTED BY THE PUBLIC,” Yankton’s Rose Mather said in an online filing with the IUC. “Nine hundred eminent domain easements are needed. Summit’s destructive pipeline would dictate and restrict what can be done in Iowa well into future.” “…The IUC will hold a series of community meetings about the expansion in August and September, beginning on Aug. 26 in Corning and ending on Sept. 20 in Lakeside. Iowa is not the only state where residents and regulators have not been on board with the project. The South Dakota Public Service Commission rejected Summit’s application. The company plans to appeal… “North Dakota regulators also rejected Summit’s initial application. The company said in December that more than 80% of the homeowners in the pipeline’s path ceded right-of-way. Summit scored another victory in May when the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that Summit’s entry onto private property was “minimally invasive” and not unconstitutional. The company held hearings in North Dakota earlier this year after reapplying… “The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is currently reviewing the project. “The Commission anticipates the final EIS for the project will be issued on July 31, 2024,” spokesman Charley Bruce told The Center Square. “Public hearings will be held on August 20 – 21, 2024. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will then submit a report to the Commission in early November 2024. A final decision from the Commission will likely occur in early 2025.”

South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Coalition challenges Iowa decision permitting Summit pipeline
Evan Walton, 7/17/24

“A coalition of conservation groups in Iowa is filing for reconsideration of the Iowa Utilities Commission’s approval of Summit Carbon Solution’s pipeline project,” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. “…A coalition including the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, landowners, state legislators and several counties hope the state reconsiders the decision. Summit said they intend to refile in South Dakota after being denied their original permit request with the Public Utilities Commission last year. The company does not currently have an open application with the South Dakota PUC.”

Boston.com: Activists hold ‘tree-sit’ as gas pipeline giant clears trees in Lincoln
Molly Farrar, 7/17/24

“An activist climbed to a spot 80 feet high in a tree in Lincoln on Monday. As of Wednesday night, they are still in the tree as police respond, part of a protest against a gas pipeline company’s plan to remove 17 trees from the Lincoln forest,” Boston.com reports. “Algonquin Gas Transmission operates the gas pipeline going through New England and is currently removing trees to “rebuild its existing meter and regulation station,” according to court records. “Day three in the Lincoln Forest, and the tree-sit is still going strong,” the person in the tree said on X Wednesday. “They did clear some of the trees today so we need as many people to come to the forest as possible, be ground support, take bold autonomous action in defense of the forest and stop this fossil fuel project in its tracks.” “…“Protect the Lincoln Forest,” the group organizing the protest, said two people were arrested Tuesday… “Massachusetts State Police confirmed to Boston.com that one woman locked herself to a tractor trailer by means of a “sleeping dragon,” a manevuer designed to make detainment difficult… “Protect the Lincoln Forest” told Boston.com the tree-sit is in protest of Project Maple, a major expansion project that would increase the capacity of the 1,100-mile-long Algonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline.”

WFXT: Police surround wooded area in Lincoln amid ongoing protest
Daniel Coates and Timothy Nazzaro, 7/17/24

“Police surrounded a wooded area in Middlesex County after several protesters tied themselves to trees and construction equipment,” WFXT reports. “…A group called “Protect the Lincoln Forest” shared photos with Boston 25 News inside the treeline Wednesday afternoon. They say that in the last two days, four protesters have been arrested by police… “The director of “Protect the Lincoln Forest” told WFXT they’re demanding the Northern Tree Service to stop the process of cutting down trees in the area as part of Enbridge’s plan to remove trees for an extended pipeline project. Enbridge is a Canadian fossil fuel company. The group says the trees are a critical habitat for endangered species. “Protect the Lincoln Forest” has been conducting a tree sit-in for three days now, according to the group director.”

E&E News: Dems pressure agency to finish pipeline methane rule
Nico Portuondo, 7/17/24

“Dozens of Senate and House Democrats are urging the Biden administration to finalize a critical pipeline methane rule as soon as possible — perhaps before former President Donald Trump potentially returns to the White House,” E&E News reports. “Led by Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Rep. Scott Peters of California, the letter signed by 40 Democrats asks the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to finalize a draft rule that could aggressively go after methane leaks from the nation’s natural gas pipelines. The lawmakers argue the rule is “already far behind schedule” given Congress gave PHMSA until the end of 2021 to finish it. The issue was part of a PHMSA reauthorization included in massive spending legislation passed by Congress at the end of 2020. “The rule is urgently needed to improve community safety and reduce methane emissions from millions of miles of pipelines across the United States, and we are concerned to see further delays in the projected finalization schedule,” the Democrats wrote.

Dallas Business Journal: Energy Transfer, Sunoco form Permian Basin pipeline JV
Holden Wilen, 7/17/24

“Two Dallas-based oil and gas giants that have been active dealmakers so far in 2024 just agreed to pursue a joint venture in the Permian Basin,” the Dallas Business Journal reports. “Energy Transfer LP and Sunoco LP announced July 16 that they will combine their crude oil and produced water-gathering pipelines and related equipment in the Permian Basin, which spans West Texas and New Mexico. Energy Transfer will serve as the operator of the joint venture and hold a 67.5% interest, while Sunoco will hold a 32.5% interest. Formed July 1, the JV will operate more than 5,000 miles of crude oil and water-gathering pipelines with crude oil storage capacity of more than 11 million barrels.”

Offshore Energy: Cheniere’s Texas LNG pipeline goes into operation
Dragana Nikše, 7/17/24

“A pipeline for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) between Whistler Pipeline’s Agua Dulce Header and Corpus Christi LNG facility in Texas, co-owned by U.S. LNG export project developer Cheniere Energy, has entered commercial service,” Offshore Energy reports. “The ADCC pipeline, owned 70% by Whistler Pipeline, which is a joint venture between WhiteWater (50.6%), MPLX (30.4%), and Enbridge (19.0%), and 30% by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, started commercial operations on July 1, 2024. According to WhiteWater, this is a 40-mile intrastate pipeline designed to transport up to 1.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), expandable to 2.5 Bcf/d of LNG from the terminus of the Whistler pipeline in Agua Dulce to Cheniere’s plant in Corpus Christi… “Last year, Cheniere inked two deals for another LNG terminal, the Sabine Pass liquefaction facility. The first was signed with Korea’s KOSPO for 0.4 million mtpa from 2027 through 2046, and the second with China’s Foran, for 0.9 mtpa of LNG for 20 years.”

Reuters: Kinder Morgan reports Q2 miss, remains optimistic on natgas demand
Vallari Srivastava, 7/17/24

“U.S. pipeline and terminal operator Kinder Morgan said on Wednesday it expects data center driven electricity need to be a significant driver of natural gas demand, after missing Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue,” Reuters reports. “The company, in its post-earnings call, reiterated that AI operations and data centers will boost demand for natural gas, adding that reliability of the fuel will help in increased reliance over other renewable sources… “Adjusted core profit from the company’s natgas pipeline segment rose nearly 2.5% to $1.23 billion, as higher transport and gathering volumes helped offset the impact of asset divestitures and lower commodity prices. Adjusted core profit from the transportation of CO2, however, fell about 6.3% to $164 million in the quarter, hurt by lower crude and natural gas liquids volumes and CO2 sales. The company launched a binding open season on its proposed South System Expansion 4 project, designed to increase Southern Natural Gas (SNG) Pipeline’s South Line capacity by 1.2 bcf/d.”

Daily Echo: ExxonMobil’s plans for huge pipe to English Channel CO2 dump
Chris Yandell, 7/18/24

“A massive construction project will link Fawley refinery to a CO2 storage area deep beneath the English Channel under plans unveiled today,” the Daily Echo reports. “An underground pipeline up to 33km long will run from the petro-chemical complex to a “carbon capture” facility south west of the Solent… “One of the three options under discussion would see the proposed pipeline crossing the south eastern corner of the New Forest before heading under the Solent at a point west of Lymington… “The ExxonMobil scheme, which needs government approval, will take two or three years to implement. An ExxonMobil spokesperson told the Echo: “The company is seeking approval to construct an underground pipeline from the Fawley petrochemical complex to the only identified offshore CO2 storage site in the English Channel. “This initiative aims to safely transport millions of tonnes of CO2 annually, equivalent to removing five million cars from the road each year.” The scheme is likely to spark objections from people worried about the impact on the countryside.”

Bloomberg: Pipeline Company Is Denied South Carolina Property Tax Exemption
Richard Tzul, 7/17/24

“A fuel pipeline company isn’t eligible for a property tax exemption for pollution control equipment because it’s not an industrial plant, a South Carolina appeals court said Wednesday,” Bloomberg reports. “Colonial Pipeline Co. can’t have a property tax exemption meant for industrial plants because pipeline businesses are defined as transportation companies under the state’s constitution and code of regulations, the South Carolina Court of Appeals opinion said. In addition, “industrial plant” is defined under Title 42 of the US Code as a facility that performs production, and Colonial only transports petroleum products, Judge Paula H. Thomas said.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Associated Press: U.S. judge suspends Alaska Cook Inlet lease, pending additional environmental review
Becky Bohrer, 7/17/24

“An environmental review underpinning a 2022 oil and gas lease sale in Alaska failed to properly analyze the potential impacts on endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales, a federal judge has ruled in suspending the lone lease stemming from that sale,” the Associated Press reports. “U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason, in a decision Tuesday, found the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management failed in its analysis of the impact of ship noise on Cook Inlet beluga whales, which are listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act. She also found problematic the agency’s lumping together of the beluga whales and other marine mammals when weighing cumulative impacts, noting that the Cook Inlet belugas “have been impacted differently than other marine mammals in Cook Inlet by past actions” and that the agency should have considered cumulative impacts of leasing activities on them separately. Gleason, who is based in Alaska, declined to vacate the lease sale, as the conservation groups who sued over the sale had requested. Instead, she suspended the lease issued in the sale pending a supplemental environmental review that addresses the issues she identified.”

Guardian: Climate Advocates Fear Picking JD Vance For VP Is ‘A Dangerous Step Backward’ 
Nina Lakhani, 7/16/24

“JD Vance’s close ties to the fossil fuels industry and eagerness to please Donald Trump pose a major threat to Americans and the planet, environmental advocates have warned,” the Guardian reports. “The Republican nominee for vice-president, a wealthy venture capitalist who was elected to the US Senate in 2022, went from voicing concern about the climate crisis before running for political office to voting to roll back environmental protections and to repeal landmark climate legislation boosting renewables and electric vehicles… “Last year, he wrote an unabashedly pro-fossil fuel opinion article calling for an expansion of pipelines and drilling wells that would tie Ohio into oil and gas for decades to come. “I believe that right now is the time to double down on the Ohio energy industry,” Vance wrote in the Marietta Times. “We need less red tape and fewer restrictions from the federal government.” Ohio is the sixth-largest fossil gas producer in the US and among the top 10 states for coal and oil consumption, according to the EIA. “In a time of grinding inflation, increasing energy costs and continuing global instability, we Ohioans are lucky to live on top of the Utica Shale oil and gas basin,” Vance wrote.” 

E&E News: Gaming out a Trump energy Cabinet
Robin Bravender, 7/17/24

“Former President Donald Trump could soon get a second run at naming his picks for the government’s top energy and environmental jobs,” E&E News reports. “The presidential election is still months away, but Trump clinching the official GOP nomination this week and his announcement that Republican Sen. J.D. Vance will be his running mate have fueled speculation about the personnel makeup of a possible second Trump administration. Contenders for Cabinet posts will likely include Trump allies who were passed over for the vice president nod, Western governors with interests in public lands and energy production, Republican lawmakers, and former officials who held top jobs in Trump’s first administration, Republican energy insiders told E&E. Trump wouldn’t be starting from scratch on picking his Cabinet, George David Banks, who served as a White House climate official in the Trump administration, told E&E.”

E&E News: Utah, Wyoming Ask Court To Block BLM Public Lands Rule 
Scott Streater, 7/16/24

“The states of Utah and Wyoming are asking a federal court to issue an order blocking the Bureau of Land Management from implementing its recently finalized public lands rule and causing ‘irreparable injury’ to both states,” E&E News reports. “The request for an injunction was made after the two states filed a joint federal lawsuit last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah that says BLM violated federal law by not conducting a detailed analysis of the rule before finalizing it. The states say in the preliminary injunction petition filed with a magistrate judge late last week that they are likely to win the case on its merits and that ‘the States will suffer irreparable injury if the Final Rule is not enjoined or stayed’ until the case can be more fully heard in court. The states argue that BLM knew it was required under the National Environmental Policy Act to conduct an analysis of the rule. They contend BLM ignored numerous objections during the public comment period last year and chose instead to rely on a so-called categorical exclusion that exempted the bureau from conducting an environmental impact statement or other study.”

Offshore Engineer: Oil and corn groups team up against Biden’s tailpipe emissions guidelines
7/17/24

“The top U.S. oil and corn industry lobby groups said on Tuesday they were suing President Joe Biden’s administration over its strategies to slash planetwarming tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks and trucks, arguing the regulations will cause economic harm,” Offshore Engineer reports. “…The American Petroleum Institute (API), which is the top U.S. oil and gas lobby group and includes Exxon Mobil as a member, said on Tuesday it was suing the EPA over its truck guidelines, just days after having filed a separate federal claim over the company’s light and medium duty automobile rules. The EPA is forcing a switch to innovation that merely does not presently exist for these kinds of cars– and even if it were one day possible, it will probably have repercussions for your average American, staed Ryan Meyers, API’s. senior vice president and general counsel told OE about Tuesday’s Suit. The National Corn Growers Association, the American Farm. Bureau Federation and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers. Association stated they had joined Tuesday’s fit, arguing the administration was deserting biofuels.”

E&E News: EPA tightened refinery regs. Why did emissions rise?
Sean Reilly, 7/16/24

“EPA launched a landmark update to oil refinery regulations almost a decade ago that was supposed to deliver big cuts to the industry’s vast stock of hazardous air pollutants,” E&E News reports. “But the toughened rules haven’t delivered for everyone, POLITICO’s E&E News has found in an investigation that also poses questions about the long-term effectiveness of more recent pollution-cutting forays in regions like the Louisiana corridor often dubbed “Cancer Alley.” Although air emissions have since dropped — sometimes sharply — at the bulk of roughly 130 refineries covered by the 2015 standards, they’ve gone up at dozens of others, the most recent numbers show. At Motiva’s complex in Port Arthur, Texas, for example, releases skyrocketed by more than 150 percent, from about 181,000 pounds in 2015 to 461,000 pounds in 2022, the last year for which data reported to EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory is available. More than half the nearby residents are people of color and more than one-third are low income, according to an accompanying demographic breakdown… “The wildly uneven results underscore the patchwork health protections often afforded by EPA’s hazardous air pollutant rules. While those standards are typically supposed to provide an ample safety margin, they may fall prey to lax implementation by state regulators, unanticipated pollution spikes and a lack of EPA follow-through to see how its initial predictions play out, critics told E&E. Whatever the initially “rosy” forecasts may show, “if you are going to put in a more protective standard, put in place a mechanism where you can account for it,” Shiv Srivastava, policy director for Houston-based Fenceline Watch, told E&E.”

STATE UPDATES

Louisiana Illuminator: Appeals court sends Louisiana LNG terminal project back to regulators
GREG LAROSE, 7/16/24

“Federal regulators will have to reconsider its review of a proposed liquified natural gas terminal in southwest Louisiana based on an appellate court ruling Tuesday, but judges stopped short of pulling its approval,” the Louisiana Illuminator reports. “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. District determined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not adequately assess the cumulative and direct environmental and health impacts from the Commonwealth LNG near Cameron. Environmental groups have sued to block the project, which the commission approved in November 2022… “In Tuesday’s ruling, Judge Brad Garcia wrote that FERC “inadequately explained its failure to determine the environmental significance of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions.” Garcia, an appointee of President Joe Biden, heard arguments in the case in February along with Judge Karen Henderson, who former President George H.W. Bush named to the appellate court. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits, which have been consolidated, include Healthy Gulf, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and the Turtle Island Restoration Network. “This decision is a big win for communities facing the already very real and growing threats caused by expanded gas exports,” Sierra Club senior attorney Nathan Matthews told E&E. “Commonwealth LNG would just be one of eight terminals either proposed or operating in Southwest Louisiana. FERC’s own modeling shows that air pollution in the area will exceed national standards.”

Environmental Health News: Over 30 Advocacy Groups Call For Veto On Pennsylvania Carbon Storage Bill
Kristina Marusic, 7/17/24

“A group of more than 30 environmental and health advocacy groups have asked Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to veto a bill that would pave the way for carbon storage in the state,” Environmental Health News reports. “The bill, SB831, which was passed by the state legislature on Friday, creates a legal framework for climate-warming carbon emissions captured from burning fossil fuels to be injected underground and stored indefinitely to prevent them from escaping into the atmosphere. Some environmental advocacy groups support the bill, while others oppose it… “Inviting this technology into the state is just setting us up for more fossil fuel extraction, which is what it’s actually all about,” Karen Feridun, co-founder of the Better Path Coalition, a Pennsylvania-based environmental advocacy group, told EHN. “Putting resources toward carbon capture and storage instead of renewable energy is wasting time we don’t have.” On July 16, the Better Path Coalition submitted a letter on behalf of more than 30 environmental advocacy groups calling on Governor Shapiro to veto the bill. “The bill strips Pennsylvania landowners of their subsurface property rights, shifts liability to the state, and exposes everyone to a new and very dangerous generation of fossil fuel Infrastructure,” the letter reads. “SB 831 should not be enacted for the sake of the Commonwealth and the people who depend on you to make the courageous choice to protect them.” The letter also references a previous letter the group sent to lawmakers prior to the vote on the bill that outlined scientific concerns about the shortcomings of carbon capture and storage technology. “There are a lot of unanswered questions about how to do carbon storage safely and effectively in general, and even more about doing it in Pennsylvania where we have unique geology and hundreds of thousands of abandoned [oil and gas] wells, many of which are in unknown locations,” Feridun told EHN. “It’s premature at best to pass a bill allowing this and saying it’s in the public interest when this process has never been done successfully.” “…A handful of other environmental advocacy groups, including the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Fund, the Clean Air Task Force, and the Nature Conservancy, worked with lawmakers in the House to amend the bill and ultimately supported its passage… “Feridun told EHN of the amendments, “They’re like putting on cologne when you have really bad body odor… the bill is still fundamentally a bad bill.”

Inside Indiana Business: Wabash Valley Resources inks deal for carbon capture project
Alex Brown, 7/17/24

“Wabash Valley Resources LLC has signed an agreement with Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes to provide support for carbon sequestration efforts related to its anhydrous ammonia fertilizer operation in West Terre Haute,” Inside Indiana Business reports. “The company is in the process of retrofitting a former Duke Energy plant in the Vigo County town to produce the fertilizer. Wabash Valley Resource said in a news release that Baker Hughes will provide compression systems, injection well construction, and testing and monitoring services for the process of storing carbon dioxide from the plant in two underground wells in Vermillion and Vigo counties… “The company is investing $900 million to retrofit the former Duke plant, which is currently being used to product hydrogen syngas… “In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued two permits allowing Wabash Valley Resources LLC to begin construction on the underground wells.”

Inside Climate News: Montana Is a Frontier for Deep Carbon Storage, and the Controversies Surrounding the Potential Climate Solution
Najifa Farhat, 7/18/24

“A new project aims to take carbon dioxide pollution, likely from two natural gas processing plants in Wyoming, and store it thousands of feet underground beneath the wide-open prairies of southeastern Montana.,” Inside Climate News reports. “The project, currently in the final phase of public input, comes as new federal pollution rules prioritize capturing and storing the climate-warming gas emissions from fossil fuel-burning plants to prevent them from entering the atmosphere. The Snowy River Carbon Sequestration Project in Carter County is the first in Montana to use the space under federal public lands as a storage vessel for greenhouse gas emissions… “But the potential climate solution has been criticized by scientists and policy experts who claim the reductions in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases the technology could bring have been significantly overstated. In the meantime, ranchers, conservationists and nearby residents are concerned about the impacts the projects’ pipelines and injection wells will have on the landscape and the potential for accidents and contamination. “This project is going to change our way of life here forever,” Jack Owen, a rancher in Carter County who leases from the Bureau of Land Management on the southern side of the project area and is also a member of Save Native Range, a small group of community members who have come together to oppose the project, told ICN… “Other residents worry about possible disruptions to cattle grazing, impacts on water resources, damage to roads and infrastructure, potential health risks from pipeline explosions for humans and wildlife, threats to sage grouse populations and the possibility that the project might drive down property values… “The BLM concluded its public comment period for the environmental assessment of the project on May 17 and is currently reviewing the submitted comments… “Denbury plans to lease about 100,000 acres of land and porous space from the BLM for 30 years to store CO2 underground, but the carbon would be stored, the project proponents hope, in perpetuity. After Denbury’s lease expires, the Environmental Protection Agency will continue monitoring, as they are the authority to permit the injection wells.” Liz Barbour, who manages a ranch on the eastern side of the project area, pressed the BLM to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement, which the agency declined to do, stating the project would not have a significant impact. In response, Barbour has made multiple trips to Washington, D.C., this year to lobby against the Snowy River project… “Supported by the Northern Plains Resource Council, an organization that brings farmers and ranchers into discussions about environmental and climate issues, Barbour has met with Stone-Manning—the director of the BLM, as well as the director of the BLM in Montana, and nearly all Montana legislators. So far, she hasn’t received a response from any authority that convinces her of the safety of the project.”

Carlsbad Current-Argus: Will oil and gas setbacks protect New Mexicans?
Adrian Hedden, 7/16/24

“Jozee Zuniga told of oil and gas wells surrounding her family home in the Loving area. She feared the development in the booming Permian Basin could be the cause of health problems like asthma or even cancer in her community,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “Zuniga, an advocate with Youth United for Climate Change Action (YUCCA) spoke before the Legislative Finance Committee during a June 11 meeting in Carlsbad, advocating for a statewide setback requirement for oil and gas facilities that could be proposed in the next legislative session starting in January 2025. She described pipelines, flares, tank batteries and oil and gas wells around her family’s property in Loving, just south of Carlsbad, and said stronger state laws were needed to prevent exposure to pollution… “Missi Currier, President of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) said Monday that setbacks were already in place by local governments overseeing cities, towns and counties throughout the state. She said the industry adheres to these rules and works to limit emissions and protect public health. “Overly restrictive setback distances have not been shown to have an impact on public health,” Currier said. “As discussed at the Legislative Finance Committee meeting in Carlsbad, thanks to improving technologies, emissions from oil and gas facilities continued to decline over the past decade and production has increased.” “…Carlsbad Mayor Rick Lopez said in an interview with the Carlsbad Current-Argus that the city was reviewing all ordinances and the municipal oil and gas setback could be altered in the future. Lopez told the Current-Argus increasing the setback to a mile as some Democrats proposed, and making it a statewide requirement, could stymie the oil and gas industry centered around Carlsbad in southeast New Mexico. Lawmakers should be careful about tightening oil and gas regulations, Lopez told the Current-Argus. He argued the industry was a lead economic driver of the state, providing funds to support several initiatives and public services often backed by Democrats.”

The Hill: Permian Basin Drilling Driving Ozone Pollution In New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns: Study 
SHARON UDASIN, 7/16/24

“Excessive ozone pollution at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeast New Mexico may be linked to oil and natural gas development in and around the Permian Basin, a new study has found,” The Hill reports. “Eight-hour ozone concentrations at the park often exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s health standard of 70 parts per billion in the summer, according to the study, published on Tuesday in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres. During the same season, the park also frequently sits downwind from the Permian Basin — massive oil and natural gas production territory, where development has increased fivefold over the past decade. After exploring various potential sources of ozone precursors — compounds that indicate the presence or future formation of ozone — the authors found that oil and gas extraction is a major contributor. “Our measurements confirm that activity such as drilling and natural gas flaring is a major driver of the high ozone levels we see,” first author Andrey Marsavin, a PhD candidate at Colorado State University, told The Hill.”

KUTV: Dominion Energy is now Enbridge Gas in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho
Cristina Flores, 7/17/24

“Utah residents will soon notice a change in their natural gas provider as Dominion Energy is now Enbridge Gas,” KUTV reports. “Enbridge, a Canadian company, acquired Dominion in 2023 and now serves natural gas customers formerly served by Dominion… “In addition to the rebranding, Enbridge has lowered the natural gas rate by nearly 30 percent, a change that is already in effect.”

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: EPA settlement with Hi-Noon Petroleum resolves gasoline spill to creek in Yellowstone NP 
7/16/24

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Hi-Noon Petroleum Inc. (Hi-Noon) resolving alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations involving a gasoline discharge into Grayling Creek in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming. EPA alleges that Hi-Noon violated the CWA with a discharge of 4,800 gallons of gasoline into Grayling Creek on August 19, 2022. The company has agreed to pay $20,000 and complete a $45,000 supplemental environmental project (SEP) to resolve the alleged violations. The SEP requires Hi-Noon to donate $45,000 worth of spill emergency response equipment and training to the Hebgen Basin Fire District in West Yellowstone, Montana, which responded to the spill.  “EPA’s settlement with Hi-Noon underscores our commitment to holding polluters accountable, especially within our national parks,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker.  “This response will help ensure that visitors continue to safely enjoy Yellowstone long into the future.”     The discharge resulted from an accident involving a Hi-Noon gasoline tanker truck on U.S. Highway 191 within the boundaries of the national park. Gasoline flowed off the road and into adjacent wetlands and followed the wetland channel to Grayling Creek, a tributary to the Madison River.” 

EXTRACTION

DeSmog: Shell Canada Drops 2050 Climate Goal from Website
Taylor Noakes, 7/17/24

“Shell Canada has deleted a “net-zero” goal by 2050 from its website. The description of Shell’s Quest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project was edited in recent weeks, and no longer includes the heading “Achieving Net Zero by 2050,” DeSmog reports. “That language appeared on Shell Canada’s website as recently as June 18, according to the Internet Archive. Shell further removed the phrase “Shell’s target is to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, and we know that our business plans need to change to make this happen.” The company also replaced the term “lower-carbon fuels” with “alternative fuels” in a paragraph that formerly read “Our priority is to avoid emissions, for example by adopting solutions that are emissions-free when used. When this is not possible, we work to reduce emissions, for example by making use of lower-carbon fuels and technologies like CCS.” This news comes just weeks after DeSmog reported Exxon’s Imperial Oil deleted its CEO’s claims that carbon capture is critical to meeting Paris Agreement goals. These changes were likely the result of recent amendments to Canada’s Competition Act that will require any organization making claims about the potential environmental benefits of their product, service, or project to provide evidence of those claims. Companies found to be misleading the public could face fines of up to $10 million CAD. DeSmog previously reported that the Pathways Alliance — a consortium of Canadian tarsands producers — had scrubbed their website of all content on June 19, 2024. Pathways’ website previously stated that “the path to net zero begins with carbon capture.”

OilPrice.com: LNG Market Crucial for Energy Security and Decarbonization Plans
Haley Zaremba, 7/17/24

“The IEA is introducing mechanisms to stabilize global LNG prices, promote transparency, and facilitate trade,” OilPrice.com reports. “Global liquefied natural gas markets (LNG) are in a prolonged state of flux… “Just this week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that it will introduce new mechanisms to stabilize prices, promote greater transparency, and facilitate easier trade between countries with excess LNG to places in need. “The IEA will set up a body as early as this year to share and analyze information on purchasing and anticipated demand of natural gas across different countries, and to issue recommendations to the agency’s 31 member countries,” Nikkei Asia reported over the weekend. The volatility of the global LNG market has had a particularly large impact on Japan, which is reliant on imports for natural gas, which is absolutely critical to the country’s energy security, as it represents nearly a third of the national energy mix… “Many Asian markets are counting on increased use of natural gas as a ‘bridge fuel’ to help regional economies move away from dirtier coal and oil toward renewables and other zero-carbon alternatives such as nuclear energy. However, there is a considerable amount of pushback against this strategy, which many climate experts see as an inadequate and even dangerously greenwashed measure. Recent debates have called into question whether natural gas is really any less carbon intensive than other fossil fuels. Nevertheless, LNG remains squarely at the heart of many country’s energy strategies in coming months and years, and the market – not to mention the climate – is set to stay hot.”

Reuters: Spain’s Valencia Shuts Three Beaches Hit by Oil Spill
7/16/24

“The city council of Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday closed three beaches on the Mediterranean coast after oil or fuel from a spill washed up on a 2-km (1.2-mile) line of sand,” Reuters reports. “The cause of the spill was not immediately clear… “Authorities in Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city, have sent a drone and a helicopter to find the origin and nature of the spill and gauge its severity. Special crews were sent to clean up the popular beaches just south of the city on a narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean and a protected wetland called L’Albufera.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

Agence France-Presse: Climate change risk stirs oil market
Mark Felix, 7/16/24

“From forest fires to hurricanes and other natural disasters: climate change risk is increasingly influencing oil prices, just as the world is struggling to shift away from high-polluting fossil fuels,” Agence France-Presse reports. “Hurricane Beryl became the latest weather phenomenon to jangle market nerves, boosting crude prices as it passed through Texas earlier this month. Texas accounts for some 42 percent of total US crude oil production, according to Energy Information Administration data. It also possesses the largest number of crude oil refineries among US states. “Almost half of the total US petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf, with Texas accounting for one-third of total US refining capacity,” Exinity analyst Han Tan told AFP… “Climate change and its effect is a major source of risk in the oil markets, and I expect that that risk will only increase in the coming years as the effects of climate change become more visible and extreme,” Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon told AFP… “At the same time, climate disruption is also having an increasingly visible impact on the operations of oil and gas companies, which are frequently slammed by environmentalists over their role in global warming. “Climate change has been and will be affecting production,” Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates, told AFP.”

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