EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/29/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• Inforum: Concerned for safety and land rights, carbon pipeline opponents rally outside North Dakota Capitol

• KDLS: Summit Carbon Solutions Schedules Informational Meeting for Second Undergound Pipeline Project in Greene County in August

• Inside Climate News: Should Companies Get Paid When Governments Phase Out Fossil Fuels? They Already Are

• Bloomberg: Canada Is Poised to Delay Oil Pipeline Sale Until After 2025 Election

• North Dakota Monitor: Greenpeace attorneys seek dismissal of lawsuit over Dakota Access Pipeline protest

• Michigan Advance: International coalition pushes for action on Line 5 during Kalamazoo River spill anniversary

• LehighValleyNews.com: Environmental groups gain win against Transco, DEP over permit challenges

• Bend Bulletin: Bend nonprofit takes on energy company planning pipeline expansion in Central Oregon

• Bismarck Tribune: North Dakota agency eyes shipper status on gas pipeline in push for buildout from the Bakken

• Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Judge’s OK sought for deal on 2013 Mayflower oil spill; ExxonMobil would settle claims for $1.75M

• Law360: DC Circ. Vacates FERC Oil Pipeline Index Revision

• Common Dreams: NYC Protesters Target AIG Over East African Crude Oil Pipeline

• Mongabay: Conservationists look for new ways to fight oil pipelines in southern Mexico

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Harris flips the script on fracking

• E&E News: Will Kamala Harris play hardball with the oil industry?

• E&E News: Biden balanced unions and climate. Harris could too — in her own way.

• Reuters: A Trump presidency to pose mostly bearish risks for oil, Citi says

• E&E News: Senators line up to support permitting package

• Politico: FERC Chair Calls Manchin, Barrasso Permitting Plan ‘Promising’ 

• E&E News: Climate law’s CCS windfall is almost 2 years old. Is it working?

• Law360: Alaska Sues To Block Federal Land Conservation Rule 

• Politico: How Kamala Harris And Michael Regan Bonded Over Environmental Justice 

STATE UPDATES

• Louisiana Illuminator: Oil spill closes section of Bayou Lafourche; officials say water is safe but urge conservation

• WWL: ‘Unprecedented’ oil spill in Bayou Lafourche stuns residents

• Cheyenne Post: BLM Seeks Initial Input for March 2025 Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Wyoming

EXTRACTION

• Associated Press: The Philippines says a cargo of oil has started to leak from a tanker that sank in Manila Bay

• The Lever: Taking The Climate Killers To Court

• Colorado Sun: Can viruses help clean wastewater from fracking? It’s a “yes, but” from researchers.

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• The Village Reporter: Edgerton Fire Department Awarded Grant To Improve Radio Communications System

OPINION

• Bleeding Heartland: Landowners should not be intimidated by Summit Carbon’s letter

• Cedar Rapids Gazette: Utilities board approval of Summit pipeline a failure of common sense

• Roanoke Times: Pipeline is hastening our demise

• Wisconsin Examiner: Enbridge poses an existential threat to the Great Lakes

• The Crucial Years: Manchin’s Last Gasp

• Wall Street Journal: The best quick fix for climate change? curbing methane 
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Inforum: Concerned for safety and land rights, carbon pipeline opponents rally outside North Dakota Capitol
Peyton Haug, 7/27/24

“More than 30 people gathered outside the North Dakota Capitol on Saturday, July 27, to raise awareness of their opposition to a carbon pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions that would traverse North Dakota and four other states,” Inforum reports. “Organized by the Dakota Resource Council, participants held signs reading phrases like “No CO2, no eminent domain” and “Safety first” while listening to speakers share personal experiences with the ongoing permitting and land-acquisition process. “I have heard again and again from landowners that signed with Summit that they regret signing their easements, but they feel bullied and threatened into being able to speak out, so I will be speaking out for them today,” Zach Cassidy of the Dakota Resource Council told those assembled. Cassidy went on to describe how safety, environmental health and property rights are issues central to the pipeline’s opposition. He then introduced speakers CarolLee Carruth, a farmer adjacent to the route, Dustin Gawrylow of the Dakota Watchdog Network and Turtle Mountain member Tracey Wilkie, who is endorsed by the state’s Democratic-NPL Party to run for a seat on the Public Service Commission, which has authority over pipelines. Before stepping to the podium, Carruth told Forum News Service that she has safety and property rights concerns. She believes her family wouldn’t survive if the pipeline ruptured, referencing the disaster tied to a different carbon pipeline in Mississippi. “If our government of North Dakota is going to start letting private companies take whatever land of ours because they want to start a company or build a pipeline, we have lost property rights. Any company can say, ‘This is for the good of the people.’ This is anti-American,” Carruth told Inforum. She received applause and intermittent shouts of ‘Amen’ from the crowd as she described rejecting easement offers and being “threatened” with eminent domain by the company… “At the end of Saturday’s rally, participants had the opportunity to speak before the crowd. That’s when Susan Doppler grabbed the microphone. “What are the risks for our land? What are the risks for our water? …There are so many long-term consequences that no one wants to think about,” Doppler said. “Our governor is in full support of this, actually one of the initiators of this, so I guess we need to plague his office with our distaste for destroying the beauty of North Dakota,” she said.

KDLS: Summit Carbon Solutions Schedules Informational Meeting for Second Undergound Pipeline Project in Greene County in August
Coltrane Carlson, 7/28/24

“With the recent permit approval for Summit Carbon Solutions to construct an underground pipeline, the company is beginning the process for an additional route,” KDLS reports. “…CEO Lee Blank told KDLS the ethanol industry consumes about 50 percent of the US corn crop, making it the largest consumptive market for the US farmer… “The project is designed to help the ethanol industry lower their carbon intensity so they can go reach these markets. These markets are paying premiums for the products that they are delivering to them. And those premiums will then filter back into the US farm gate, through the ethanol industry, and help strengthen the balance sheet of the US farmer.” “…According to the IUC, the initial informational meeting dates that Summit had submitted for this past April and May were rejected. Blank explains what the main concern the commission had as to the reason for the initial denial. “Frankly, they don’t want to do that because they want the Iowa farmer to be done planting and quite frankly that’s the right decision, because so do we. We want them to be able to come to the meetings and participate in this public meeting.”   

Inside Climate News: Should Companies Get Paid When Governments Phase Out Fossil Fuels? They Already Are
Katie Surma, Nicholas Kusnetz, 7/28/24

“Before the sun set on his inauguration day, Joe Biden reversed a raft of his predecessor’s deregulation policies with the stroke of a pen. Among them was an order revoking the permit for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline,” Inside Climate News reports. “Canceling the project was a campaign pledge to address the climate crisis. But looming over that decision was the risk that an obscure but powerful international legal system could force the United States to pay billions of dollars to Keystone XL’s Canadian developer, TC Energy. That system—embedded in thousands of trade and investment treaties—allows corporations to drag governments before panels of arbitrators, usually behind closed doors. Governments have been ordered to pay billions of dollars in damages to oil and mining companies for violating those treaties. While the system was intended to protect foreign investors from unfair treatment or asset seizure, many environmental advocates, lawyers and politicians say it is now being used to win awards from governments that enact new environmental regulations or raise taxes on polluting industries. Increasingly, these critics warn the system threatens climate action by punishing governments that phase out fossil fuels. The $15 billion claim TC Energy brought against the United States was one of the largest-ever in response to a climate policy. The company lost earlier this month, but the case was dismissed on a technicality and its outcome says nothing about other pending cases around the world… “TC Energy argued in its claim that its pipeline should have been treated like others, but Keystone XL was different. From the start, it faced opposition from local environmental groups and farmers over its route through Nebraska’s Sandhills, a prairie ecosystem with fragile soils overlying the Ogallala aquifer, the nation’s largest underground water source. Some Native American tribes opposed the pipeline, too, because it would have crossed their territories and threatened their land and water… “Casey Camp-Horinek, member of the Ponca of Oklahoma, fought the Keystone XL pipeline project, which would have run across her tribe’s traditional lands in Nebraska. The Ponca Nation, including Camp-Horinek’s grandfather, then 6 years old, was forcibly removed from that territory 140 years ago and marched at gunpoint 700 miles to Oklahoma… “What if instead of paying investors, Camp-Horinek wondered, money could be set aside to clean up that pollution, or pay people who lost jobs because of the pipeline’s cancellation? “If they can imagine this nonsense,” she told ICN of ISDS, “we can reimagine it.”

Bloomberg: Canada Is Poised to Delay Oil Pipeline Sale Until After 2025 Election
Brian Platt, 7/26/24

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is likely to stall the sale of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline until after Canada’s national election in 2025, according to officials familiar with internal discussions,” Bloomberg reports. “The pipeline, which transports crude from Alberta to the west coast for export to global markets, was bought by the government in 2018 to rescue a project to nearly triple its capacity… “Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland haven’t made any final decision on the timing of an auction, cautioned the officials, speaking on condition they not be identified. The government has promised to grant equity to dozens of indigenous groups in Western Canada, and that process is moving slowly. There’s also a regulatory battle over how much Trans Mountain charges oil companies to ship crude on the line… “Oral hearings on pipeline tolls are scheduled to begin next May, a spokesperson for the Canada Energy Regulator told Reuters. Until final tolls are decided, potential buyers won’t have certainty on the pipeline’s long-term revenue. Analysts have disagreed about the potential valuation of Trans Mountain, with estimates ranging as low as C$15 billion and as high as around C$30 billion.”

North Dakota Monitor: Greenpeace attorneys seek dismissal of lawsuit over Dakota Access Pipeline protest
MARY STEURER, 7/26/24

“Attorneys for Greenpeace have asked a North Dakota judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline over the environmental activist group’s organized opposition to the pipeline,” the North Dakota Monitor reports. “…Greenpeace was among the activist groups that backed the demonstrations.Energy Transfer Partners’ lawsuit, filed in Morton County District Court in 2019, accuses Greenpeace of criminal behavior — including trespassing, vandalism, arson as well as the harassment and assault of construction workers — to stop the pipeline, often referred to as DAPL. The pipeline company also alleges that the environmental group solicited money to support unlawful activity against the pipeline and incited riotous behavior by protesters. On top of this, the plaintiffs claim Greenpeace orchestrated an misinformation campaign that ultimately convinced the federal government to halt construction of DAPL for roughly five months. They also say these actions led multiple banks to divest from the pipeline company… “In a Thursday afternoon hearing, attorneys for the defense argued that the case should be dismissed because Energy Transfer Partners has not offered any concrete evidence linking Greenpeace to the harms the company claims it suffered as a result of the DAPL demonstrations… “At the hearing, attorneys for Greenpeace also asked the judge to toss Energy Transfer’s request for damages.”

Michigan Advance: International coalition pushes for action on Line 5 during Kalamazoo River spill anniversary
KYLE DAVIDSON, 7/26/24

“Fourteen years after Enbridge’s Line 6B pipeline ruptured, spilling up to a million gallons of tar-sands crude oil into a Kalamazoo River tributary, environmental advocates continue to speak out against Enbridge’s pipelines, calling for a shutdown of the company’s controversial Line 5,” the Michigan Advance reports. “At six gatherings on Thursday in Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada, members of the Oil & Water Don’t Mix Coalition, Sierra Club and Sierra Club Canada, Le Vivant se Défend, Water Watchers, Cross Border Organizing Working Group and Stop Line 9 Toronto launched North American Oil Spill Day to draw attention to ongoing concerns of environmental contamination in the Great Lakes. Activists have long pointed to Enbridge’s Line 5 as a threat to environmental health and Indigenous sovereignty… “Keway Biber and Oil and Water Don’t Mix Coordinating Director Ross Fisher told individuals attending the gathering they could submit comments on a proposed reroute of Line 5 around the Bad River Reservation demanding a full environmental review of the proposal from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)… “The USACE opened public comment on its environmental assessment of the reroute in May, later extending the deadline to submit public comments on the effort to Aug. 4.” 

LehighValleyNews.com: Environmental groups gain win against Transco, DEP over permit challenges
Molly Bilinski, 7/28/24

“When residents see pipelines criss-crossing the region, they have a tendency to respond with, “It’s part of the landscape,” or “It just is what it is,” Jessica O’Neill said. “But this pipeline cuts across northern Pennsylvania counties, Monroe and Luzerne, where we have a lot of special protection waters,” said O’Neill, PennFuture’s managing attorney for litigation,” LehighValleyNews.com reports. “…PennFuture and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network this month realized a win in their case against the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, or Transco, and the state Department of Environmental Protection. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sided with the environmental groups, solidifying their ability to challenge permits issued for Transco’s Regional Energy Access Expansion Project to the state’s Environmental Hearing Board. DEP and Transco unsuccessfully argued that only a federal court could hear challenges to the natural gas pipeline expansion project, citing the The Natural Gas Act… “I think [the ruling] is useful, as we will see other natural gas, other fracked gas and pipeline infrastructure attempt to be built, seek permits, and it’s good for everyone to know where a challenge to this permit is going to occur,” O’Neill told LVN… “Soon after the DEP issued permits for the expansion project, PennFuture and the Riverkeepers challenged them, bringing the issue before the state Environmental Hearing Board… “Maya van Rossum, leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, told LVN, “It was quite disturbing that the [state] DEP sought to strip its own state Environmental Hearing Board of legal authority over permit decisions.” “…In short, this victory validates and secures the rights of impacted communities to challenge state issued approvals to natural gas pipelines through their own state’s administrative appeals process.”

Bend Bulletin: Bend nonprofit takes on energy company planning pipeline expansion in Central Oregon
MICHAEL KOHN, 7/27/24

“TC Energy, a natural gas supplier, says it needs to upgrade a pipeline that runs through Central Oregon to supply gas to energy-hungry communities along the West Coast,” the Bend Bulletin reports. “350Deschutes, an environmental nonprofit based in Bend, says local communities shouldn’t pay for the upgrades and argues that the project is a threat to the environment and public safety. For nearly two years, the nonprofit has tried to rally the public against the pipeline upgrade, declaring it a hazard to communities on Bend’s east side. It now says Cascade Natural Gas customers could face rate increases as a means to finance the project. Nora Harren, campaign and education coordinator for 350Deschutes, is urging Cascade Natural Gas to stop contract negotiations with TC Energy over its development of the GTN Xpress pipeline expansion… “More than 300 people have signed a petition on the 350Deschutes website calling for Cascade Natural Gas to end its contract with TC Energy to purchase natural gas from the project’s expansion… “Audrey Leonard, staff attorney at Columbia River Keeper, an environmental nonprofit, told the Bulletin Cascade Natural Gas is one of several gas buyers that can use leverage to block the upgrade to lower costs and improve safety. “TC Energy has a bad safety record,” Leonard told the Bulletin. “The GTN pipeline should not be handling more gas.” Infrastructure breakdowns connected to TC Energy include a ruptured pipeline in April that sparked a wildfire in Alberta, Canada. In 2023, an explosion occurred on a TC Energy pipeline in Virginia. Leaks and spills have also occurred on TC Energy’s Keystone Pipeline System.”

Bismarck Tribune: North Dakota agency eyes shipper status on gas pipeline in push for buildout from the Bakken
JOEY HARRIS, 7/26/24

“North Dakota officials for years have advocated for a new pipeline to deal with the rising level of gas coming from the state’s oilfields, but plans have never come to fruition. Now a state agency is exploring options to give developers a multimillion-dollar financial commitment to get the idea past the finish line,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “In 2023, the state Legislature provided the North Dakota Pipeline Authority with a line of credit that allows it to borrow up to $30 million annually from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to help secure pipeline projects. Justin Kringstad, executive director for the Pipeline Authority, on Monday told the state Oil and Gas Research Program — a group of state and industry officials that gives recommendations to the state Industrial Commission — that the agency is looking to use that cash guarantee to make the state government an “anchor shipper” on a potential new pipeline. No projects have been announced yet, but Kringstad told the Tribune he is in talks with companies about the development of a new pipeline. He declined to say which companies were involved… “Kringstad told the Tribune there is interest from companies both for building natural gas pipelines and for using the fuel for new industrial projects in North Dakota, but not enough companies are willing to commit to being a shipper for a 10-year period… “Kringstad told the Tribune funding the pipeline through a shipping commitment from the state is more attractive to companies than the use of a one-time grant.”

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Judge’s OK sought for deal on 2013 Mayflower oil spill; ExxonMobil would settle claims for $1.75M
Ainsley Platt, 7/28/24

“Federal and state government plaintiffs have asked a federal judge to approve a proposed consent decree with settling claims against ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. over the 2013 Pegasus pipeline oil spill in Mayflower,” the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports.

Law360: DC Circ. Vacates FERC Oil Pipeline Index Revision
Ali Sullivan, 7/26/24

“The D.C. Circuit on Friday vacated a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order that lowered the five-year index level governing oil pipeline transportation rates, ruling that the agency ran afoul of federal law when it failed to gather public input on the revision,” Law360 reports. 

Common Dreams: NYC Protesters Target AIG Over East African Crude Oil Pipeline
JESSICA CORBETT, 7/26/24

“The “Summer of Heat” continues—both in terms of record-breaking temperatures driven by fossil fuels and a series of nonviolent direct actions targeting Wall Street for its contributions to the climate emergency,” according to Common Dreams. “After protests last month calling out Citibank for “financing the arsonists,” climate campaigners on Friday set their sights on finance and insurance giant AIG for “stubbornly” refusing to join over two dozen other insurers that won’t cover the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). EACOP is set to run nearly 900 miles from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. Rights groups have sounded the alarm about how the project has devastated the lives and livelihoods of people in its path as well as violence endured by African activists, who have been “kidnapped, arbitrarily arrested, detained, or subjected to different forms of harassment.” “…Friday’s demonstration targeting AIG’s office in New York City was organized by activists from the Ugandan diaspora and groups including 350.org, the Black Hive, and Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM). “I am here to ask AIG to refuse to insure EACOP, and to insure our future instead,” said Joseph Senyonjo, a Ugandan diaspora activist. “AIG is one of the biggest insurance companies in the world, and they still haven’t ruled out insuring EACOP. So we are here to say: We don’t want carbon bombs, we don’t want fossil fuels. We want renewable energy. Insure our futures instead.” “…Molly Ornati of 350 Brooklyn emphasized that “the EACOP pipeline is a doubly destructive disaster—for the people of Uganda and Tanzania, and the planet. The construction of the 900-mile pipeline will disrupt and destroy the homes, land, and livelihood of 100,000 people along the route, as well as the surrounding water and ecosystems.”

Mongabay: Conservationists look for new ways to fight oil pipelines in southern Mexico
MAXWELL RADWIN, 7/26/24

“Pipelines currently under construction in southern Mexico have become controversial because of threats of chemical spills, their contribution to climate change and the alleged lack of consultation with local communities,” Mongabay reports. “The projects include the Southeast Gateway Gas pipeline and Tuxpan-Tula pipeline, both constructed by the Federal Electricity Commission and the Canadian company TC Energy. A 2018 injunction against the Southeast Gateway Gas Pipeline was struck down after a court ruled the project was a matter of national security. Now, local communities and conservation groups are working to develop alliances with international groups to come up with a different legal strategy… “We’re dealing with the issue of climate change, and that’s an issue that’s already very, very evident,” Ramón García Sánchez, an attorney with the Mexican Alliance against Fracking, told Mongabay. “It’s increasingly necessary, and logical, that this type of infrastructure and development in these industries needs to stop.” “…Now, local communities and conservation groups are working to develop alliances with international groups to come up with a different legal strategy for fighting the pipelines. While they’re still in the initial stages of that effort, they hope it will include a new injunction and a campaign to raise awareness in the rest of the country.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Harris flips the script on fracking
Timothy Cama, 7/29/24

“Vice President Kamala Harris no longer supports a nationwide ban on fracking,” E&E News reports. “For Harris, the main Democratic candidate for president following President Joe Biden’s exit from the race last week, the position is a flip from her 2019 run for the White House. The vice president’s campaign pushed back against former President Donald Trump’s statements that she would ban fracking for oil or natural gas. “Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class,” a Harris spokesperson told E&E.”

E&E News: Will Kamala Harris play hardball with the oil industry?
Zack Colman, Ben Lefebvre, 7/29/24

“Vice President Kamala Harris has made antagonizing the fossil fuel industry a central part of her political career, suing to block fracking off the coast of California, scoring tens of millions of dollars in settlements with oil majors and halting oil sands shipments to a refinery,” E&E News reports. “Now, as the Democrats’ likely presidential candidate, she’ll need to decide how hard to hit the industry that’s blamed for driving climate change — and which has turned the U.S. into the world’s leading oil and gas producer. Greens are urging Harris to lean into her criticism of the sector for fighting efforts to reduce the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. But energy experts and people in the oil and gas sector told E&E pillorying them could pose a significant political risk that may force her into a more moderate stance. Democrats have turned up the pressure on the industry, seeking to counter Republican attacks that contend President Joe Biden’s policies have boosted prices at the pump. It’s the oil sector, they say, that is reaping billions in profits from the higher fuel costs, while the planet swelters under record temperatures.”

E&E News: Biden balanced unions and climate. Harris could too — in her own way.
Adam Aton, 7/29/24

“A key constituency for President Joe Biden’s climate agenda is mobilizing behind Vice President Kamala Harris. With a twist. Labor unions, hoping to maintain the influence they’ve had with the Biden administration, have loudly backed Harris on her way to becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee. They hope Harris continues Biden’s policies of muscular labor advocacy coupled with progressive economic policy,” E&E News reports. “But even as Harris leans on a labor legacy built by Biden, the Californian also brings her own history with unions that is distinctively West Coast, where labor skews more female, less white and lower-income. Whereas Biden boasted deep ties with industrial and building trade unions that worry climate action could cost them fossil fuel jobs, the service and public sector unions close to Harris see climate primarily as an issue that impacts their workers’ health and safety. And they say she has been a major ally on that front. “She has made important calls to important people behind the scenes on our issues,” United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero told E&E… “I like to say show, don’t tell,” Romero told E&E. “And Kamala Harris has shown us that she supports farm workers, and she understands the struggles.” Which unions have Harris’ ear is a question with far-reaching implications for her climate policy… “Harris has mostly unified labor behind her campaign, picking up quick support from the AFL-CIO as well as steel workers, teachers and service workers — some of the largest unions in the country. But other building trades and industrial unions have been slow to endorse Harris. Some, like the United Association, which represents pipefitters and sees oil projects as a major source of jobs, issued short endorsements after Harris had already corralled enough support to become the nominee. Others, like the Laborers International Union of North America, emphasized Biden’s legacy when pledging their support to Harris… “Both of those unions, which have been among the most critical of aggressive climate proposals such as the Green New Deal — which Harris once co-sponsored — declined to comment on Harris’ candidacy beyond their endorsement statements.”

Reuters: A Trump presidency to pose mostly bearish risks for oil, Citi says
7/25/24

“A Donald Trump presidency could be net bearish for oil prices due to a combination of factors including tariffs and oil-friendly policies, and pushing the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) to release more oil into the market, Citi said in a research note on Thursday,” Reuters reports. “Trump could roll back environmental policies, though broadly overturning the (Inflation Reduction Act) looks unlikely due to its positive impacts in red states,” analysts noted, referring to states that are Republican leaning. The main bullish risk for oil markets under a Trump presidency would be would be pressure on Iran, they added, though this could have a limited impact… “A Harris administration may be similar to, or slightly left of Biden,” Citi analysts said.

E&E News: Senators line up to support permitting package
Kelsey Brugger, Nico Portuondo, 7/29/24

“Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin and ranking member John Barrasso are poised to clear a major hurdle in their quest to revamp the nation’s energy permitting system and bolster the electric grid. The committee will vote this week on legislation the two senators have worked on for years, and both have expressed confidence the bill will have a successful markup,” E&E News reports. “Compromise on permitting and the grid has been elusive, but advocates and many lawmakers told E&E the momentum from the Manchin-Barrasso bill is real despite election-year political headwinds… “And important to Manchin and Republicans, the bill includes mandates on oil and gas leases, and liquefied natural gas export permits. That’s already angering many lawmakers on the left. Still, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who may become the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources next year once Manchin retires, sees the bill’s grid language as complementing the 2022 climate law. He thinks most of the committee’s Democrats will support the package this week… “The odds are against passage of contentious legislation in a divided Congress during an election year, and Barrasso has been focusing on moving up the Senate GOP leadership ladder… “Even if the bill clears committee this week, it remains problematic to many member of both parties, which could hurt efforts to attach the package to another must-pass vehicle.”

Politico: FERC Chair Calls Manchin, Barrasso Permitting Plan ‘Promising’ 
Catherine Morehouse, 7/25/24

“FERC Chair Willie Phillips expressed cautious optimism on Thursday about Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W. Va.) and John Barrasso’s (R-Wyo.) latest attempt to reform the nation’s convoluted process for building and permitting new power lines,” Politico reports. “While FERC does not endorse legislation, Phillips told reporters after the agency’s open meeting that he is hopeful the transmission policies within the new permitting package unveiled earlier this week will be ‘a step in the right direction.’ “I believe that it appears to be balanced — and quite frankly, promising — to speed up what we know are needed infrastructure projects around this country,” he told Politico.”

E&E News: Climate law’s CCS windfall is almost 2 years old. Is it working?
Carlos Anchondo, 7/29/24

“Nearly two years ago, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law — breathing new life into a crucial U.S. incentive for carbon capture and storage. Known as 45Q for its place in the tax code, the credit is considered the chief tool to advance a major climate priority of President Biden by providing funds for stored carbon dioxide. But despite the IRA’s boost of the incentive, the U.S. carbon capture industry remains limited by permitting headwinds and rising costs,” E&E News reports. “There is only one operating carbon capture project on a U.S. power plant today: the Petra Nova facility in Texas — the same plant that began operations in 2017 before later idling for three years. Announcements of planned carbon capture projects and permit applications for carbon dioxide storage wells have jumped since the IRA was signed into law in August 2022, though the number of operating facilities in the U.S. hasn’t climbed at the same pace. There are now 16 commercial-scale CCS projects operating in the United States, up from 13 in October 2022… “Critics of carbon capture have rung alarm bells on 45Q, calling on the Treasury Department to increase oversight of the credit, saying it is promoted by the oil and gas sector as a way to further dependence on the industry… “For a lot of project developers, the 45Q credit “literally makes or breaks the economics of their project,” Geoff Tuff, a principal at Deloitte, told E&E. Without it, he told E&E, projects are “not going to move forward,” but with it, they will… “But CCS critics have expressed concerns that the credit opens the door to fraud and abuse. In May, more than two dozen environmental and taxpayer groups, as well as some academics, pushed the IRS to increase oversight of the credit to “ensure our tax dollars aren’t wasted through abuse of the 45Q tax credit.” “…Additional policy mechanisms will be needed to help drive greater deployment of CCS, ] Jessie Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition, which includes more than 100 companies, unions and environmental policy organizations that support deployment of carbon management technologies, told E&E… “At some point, Congress will need to extend the commence construction deadline and increase the value of 45Q, McConnell told E&E… “There’s also a push for the CCU Parity Act, which was introduced in Congress last year and would boost levels for carbon reuse in low- and zero-carbon products and making those equal to levels for geologic storage, Stolark told E&E.”

Law360: Alaska Sues To Block Federal Land Conservation Rule 
Isaac Monterose, 7/25/24

“The state of Alaska is challenging a Bureau of Land Management rule that aims to conserve and protect public lands, saying the ‘vast majority’ of the rule isn’t allowed under state and federal law because of how it prioritizes ‘ecosystem resilience’ over longtime policies,” Law360 reports. “In its suit filed Wednesday in Alaska federal court, the state targeted the U.S. Department of the Interior and the BLM over the federal agency’s conservation and landscape health rule, which became a final rule in May. The state, which has more than 70 million acres of public land, urged the court to find that the BLM rule is unlawful and to block it. The BLM rule is also being challenged in Wyoming federal court with a suit filed on July 12. Alaska said the rule’s requirements — such as mandating ‘ecosystem resilience’ and ‘landscape intactness’ in public land management — clash with the part of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act that requires the federal agency to ‘strike a balance’ when it comes to using public land in multiple ways.”

Politico: How Kamala Harris And Michael Regan Bonded Over Environmental Justice 
ALEX GUILLÉN, ZACK COLMAN, 7/25/24

“Harris and Regan share a vision of environmental justice as a fundamental civil rights issue, according to a Biden administration official familiar with their relationship who was granted anonymity to describe private interactions. The two speak several times per month, the official said. The like-minded pair’s relationship has been on display during public appearances that highlighted key environmental justice issues. As vice president, Harris worked to persuade lawmakers to provide billions of dollars for EPA initiatives on lead pipe replacement and clean school buses. ‘A lot of the things that she did with Regan really were in line with the things she talked a lot about and cared a lot about in the Senate,’ said a former administration official granted anonymity to discuss their partnership. … Harris has frequently been Regan’s guest for EPA funding announcements, where she’s drawn attention to challenges facing disadvantaged communities. Events they’ve done together include clean school bus announcements in Virginia and Seattle, climate grant releases in North Carolina and Maryland and a trip to Pittsburgh earlier this year to witness lead line replacement. … On Tuesday, Regan credited President Joe Biden for his administration’s environmental justice victories during an appearance at a gathering of the Climate Action Campaign. But he said that Harris as attorney general ‘really exuded that ‘polluter pay’ mentality’ and hailed her work on clean school buses and lead pipes.”

STATE UPDATES

Louisiana Illuminator: Oil spill closes section of Bayou Lafourche; officials say water is safe but urge conservation
GREG LAROSE, 7/27/24

“A crude oil spill into Bayou Lafourche near Raceland forced officials to close a portion of the waterway to boat traffic Saturday morning so the spill can be contained,” the Louisiana Illuminator reports. “Drinking water for communities down the bayou is still safe, Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson told the Illuminator… “The source of the spill is the Crescent Midstream Crude Oil Facility, which Chaisson told the Illuminator contacted the parish and is following its approved incident response plan. The source has been secured, the crude oil is now contained, and federal, state and local agencies have been notified, according to the parish president… “Michael Smith, a spokesman for Crescent Midstream, told the Illuminator the crude oil release into a nearby stormwater canal was “exacerbated” by recent heavy rains. What exactly caused the spill from the facility and how much oil was released is under investigation, he told the Illuminator.” 

WWL: ‘Unprecedented’ oil spill in Bayou Lafourche stuns residents
Rachel Handley, 7/28/24

“Residents and business owners in the area around Bayou Lafourche say Saturday’s oil spill is nothing like they have ever seen before,” WWL reports. “Lionel Harris, owner of Nick’s Seafood on LA-1 in Raceland, arrived at work to find two deputies outside his shop. They told him not to light anything. “There was lots of oil all over, the bayou smell like diesel,” he said he noticed immediately, “I came to walk in the back and it was smelling real bad.” “…The oil poured into a stormwater canal near the Mill Street bridge and then into the bayou. By Saturday afternoon, the oil slick stretched the entire length of Raceland. “No spill is acceptable to our company,” Michael Smith, Crescent Midstream’s Public Information Officer, told WWL… “Residents, however, are being asked to limit water use in case the Parish does need to shut off water at some point… “Smith said reports of oiled wildlife had already come in. The Bayou is also closed to marine traffic while crews handle the spill… “WWL Louisiana asked Chaisson whether Crescent Midstream could face any legal consequences for the spill. He told WWL federal and state agencies are investigating and once they come out with a report, “the fines and penalties would come after that.” In the meantime, residents see the thick, black oil and expect impacts to last for a long time. “I’m sure this massive oil spill is gonna hurt for a while,” Harris told WWL. “We never saw this before.”

Cheyenne Post: BLM Seeks Initial Input for March 2025 Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Wyoming
7/25/24

“The Bureau of Land Management Wyoming State Office today opened a 30-day public scoping period to receive public input on four oil and gas parcels totaling 2,443.11 acres that may be included in a March 2025 lease sale in Wyoming,” the Cheyenne Post reports. “The comment period ends August 19, 2024.”

EXTRACTION

Associated Press: The Philippines says a cargo of oil has started to leak from a tanker that sank in Manila Bay
JIM GOMEZ, 7/27/24

“The cargo of industrial fuel oil on a tanker that sank in stormy weather in Manila Bay has started to leak in small amounts, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday,” the Associated Press reports. “Authorities were scrambling to start a delicate undersea operation to siphon off the highly toxic shipment from the sunken vessel, which has remained intact, to avert a major environmental crisis. The 65-meter (213-foot) tanker Terra Nova sank was carrying about 1.4 million liters (370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil stored in watertight tanks when it got lashed by huge waves, apparently developed engine trouble then took on water after leaving Bataan province west of Manila for a domestic trip… “An oil slick near the rough seawaters where the tanker sank off Bataan province’s Limay town has now lengthened to 12-14 kilometers (7-9 miles), Balilo told AP, citing an aerial inspection… “The oil spill was being carried by sea currents toward towns in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite, south of Manila, which were advised to prepare to contain any oil that may reach their shores. A town in Bataan province has indefinitely banned fishing in waters which could have been contaminated by the leak, the coast guard said.”

The Lever: Taking The Climate Killers To Court
Lois Parshley, 7/28/24

“…It would take another ten days for her mother’s body to be found. Even then, her remains were only discovered because a neighbor noticed wolves behind his house. “I guess they were smelling the body decomposing,” Elisa says. Her mother was only 67 years old,” The Lever reports. “…Watching the familiar made strange in all those videos, Elisa immediately wondered about the climate’s role… “This spring, she and her brother became two of eight plaintiffs in a criminal lawsuit targeting TotalEnergies, a French oil company that’s one of the world’s six largest carbon emitters. It’s the first-ever attempt to claim polluters are guilty of homicide.  The involuntary manslaughter case claims that TotalEnergies’ board of directors and its main shareholders, like global asset company BlackRock, have deliberately endangered the lives of others. Each offense in the lawsuit is punishable with at least a year in prison, as well as a fine… “While dozens of civil cases have already been filed against fossil fuel companies, some believe that to capture the true scale of climate crimes — and their growing death toll — companies should also be tried for homicide. Advocates in the United States and abroad hope these cases can help spur urgent changes… “Regunberg believes that the threat of matters escalating to criminal charges led the corporations to come to the table — leading to a major $206 billion settlement agreement that substantially shaped public opinion about the dangers of tobacco products. Cho believes a similar process may now play out for oil companies.”

Colorado Sun: Can viruses help clean wastewater from fracking? It’s a “yes, but” from researchers.
Shannon Mullane, 7/25/24

“After four years of experimentation, a group of researchers in Texas have successfully used a type of virus — used to combat bacterial infections in medicine — to kill bacteria in wastewater from fracking,” the Colorado Sun reports. “This wastewater, which can come with radioactive, cancer-causing materials, and yes, bacteria, often gets shoved back underground for storage. But increasingly, Colorado and other states are looking at ways to clean the wastewater enough that it can be used in other mining operations instead of fresh water… “Some of the bacteria can corrode pipes while others sour the gas, which makes it stinkier and requires more processing… “Historically, companies have treated these bacteria with disinfectants, like chlorine and hydrogen peroxide. But over time, the bacteria can become more resistant… “Some companies end up using twice as many chemicals to kill the same amount of bacteria, which is more costly and less environmentally sustainable, he told the Sun… “There are so many microorganisms in the water that it would be difficult to affordably find enough bacteriophages to completely disinfect it… “It’s a questionable solution to a problem that just doesn’t seem at the top of the list of importance if you’re trying to do something with produced water,” Ryan told the Sun.

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

The Village Reporter: Edgerton Fire Department Awarded Grant To Improve Radio Communications System
7/26/24

“The Edgerton Fire Department is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant from TC Energy to enhance its radio communication systems,” according to The Village Reporter. “…We are extremely grateful to TC Energy for their generous grant,” said Chief Scott Blue of the Edgerton Fire Department… “The grant from TC Energy is part of the company’s commitment to supporting local communities and enhancing emergency response capabilities. By investing in the Edgerton Fire Department’s communication systems, TC Energy is helping to ensure the safety and well-being of the community.”

OPINION

Bleeding Heartland: Landowners should not be intimidated by Summit Carbon’s letter
Bonnie Ewoldt is a writer with two parcels of land targeted for eminent domain by Summit Carbon Solutions on its original pipeline route in Crawford County, Iowa, 7/27/24

“…This past week, Summit Carbon informed Iowa landowners on the lateral lines that their property is on the route of a proposed CO2 pipeline. The third paragraph of the letter (enclosed in full below) uses the term “eminent domain” six times and the word “condemnation” twice, which could suggest these actions are imminent. They are not,” Bonnie Ewoldt writes for Bleeding Heartland. “That language, which some landowners found frightening, is disingenuous on Summit’s part. It could intimidate landowners and rush them into signing voluntary easements to avoid going to court. But Summit Carbon Solutions currently has no authority to use eminent domain for the lateral lines. The company merely started the process by filing sixteen new applications with the Iowa Utilities Commission. That state body has held no hearings, approved no new permits, and given no authority to use eminent domain on the lateral lines. As a matter of fact, Summit’s application for the original CO2 pipeline in Iowa has not yet been fully approved. It is conditional until several regulatory requirements have been met, such as road and river crossing permits and the approval to use five-billion gallons of water annually in the Carbon Capture and Sequestration process… “Iowa landowners on Summit Carbon’s lateral lines should not feel rushed or forced into signing easements. Summit has several regulatory hoops to jump through just to finalize its original CO2 pipeline permit. It will take even longer to add permits for the sixteen lateral lines. (Construction of trunk or lateral lines to ethanol plants in Minnesota or Nebraska can’t begin until those states’ regulators approve the pipeline applications.) Impacted landowners do not need to sign easements, they do not need to negotiate with Summit Carbon’s land agents, and they do not need to feel intimidated by the company’s recent letter.”

Cedar Rapids Gazette: Utilities board approval of Summit pipeline a failure of common sense
Dale Braun is President of the Iowa Division of the Izaak Walton League of America. The Iowa Division has nearly 7,000 members, 7/28/24

“Despite numerous and compelling testimonies to the contrary, the Iowa Utilities Board issued its approval for privately owned Summit Carbon Solution to use eminent domain to lay its liquid carbon dioxide pipeline across Iowa,” Dale Braun writes for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “It was argued by many that the eminent domain process should only be available to a government body for accommodating public utilities and road work, not for private companies. This approval shows how the dollar overcomes common sense and the desire of 859 landowners who did not accept Summit Carbon Solutions’ right of way offers. Those 859 landowners (approximately 25% of the total landowners approached by Summit) have their own reasons to be anti-pipeline… “All of these combined should have outweighed the so-called benefit of Summit Carbon Solutions need to get “tax credits.” “…How is the pipeline convenient to the landowners? It isn’t. It is only convenient to Summit with tax credits and to the ethanol plant owners with the same, neither of whom are in the “public” domain… “The league is also on record of being opposed to pipelines that are used to move liquid carbon dioxide for storage. As such, we find IUB’s approval a complete failure of “common sense.”

Roanoke Times: Pipeline is hastening our demise
David Seriff, Blacksburg, 7/28/24

“By all appearances, Mountain Valley Pipeline won the battle to build and operate its 300-plus mile fracked methane gas pipeline across Virginia and West Virginia. But dear MVP spokeswoman Natalie Cox, despite nearly 10 years of propaganda, this is no win for anyone,” David Seriff writes for the Roanoke Times. “So where are all those local jobs MVP promised? Almost all workers appear to have out-of-state tags on their trucks. So where are the new businesses lined up and ready to open due to gas flowing? Where are the financial savings to current gas customers that never materialized? Where is the justification for your bought-and-sold politician Joe Manchin to basically blackmail America into finishing this dangerous and unneeded monstrosity of environmental destruction? Oh, I know, EQT/MVP is pulling in billions of dollars for stealing private property via eminent domain and raping both private and public land with the blessings of our government. After millions in fines your operation continues to damage what were pristine waterways in our area. But although your pockets will be stuffed full of dirty money, consider for a moment the legacy of destruction you’ll leave your children, your grandchildren… “MVP’s operation is like selling cigarettes to a lung cancer patient. Your efforts will only hasten our demise. I’m sure that MVP employees are proud of their “achievement.” But at what cost to us all?”

Wisconsin Examiner: Enbridge poses an existential threat to the Great Lakes
Abby Novinska-Lois, MPH, is the inaugural Executive Director of Healthy Climate Wisconsin, a network of healthcare and public health professionals dedicated to safeguarding environmental health and community well-being, 7/29/24

Think about someone in your life who has needed major surgery. Then imagine you found out that the surgeon about to treat your loved one had a terrible record,” Abby Novinska-Lois writes for the Wisconsin Examiner. “…So why are federal leaders considering putting  the Great Lakes, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Wisconsinites in a similar situation? Letting Enbridge, a corporation with a long history of illegal operations and oil spills, extend the 70-year-old Line 5 pipeline through the company’s proposed re-route is not a solution. It’s reckless, greedy behavior. Those surgical casualty numbers I mentioned? They are parallel to the real track record for Enbridge. Line 5 has spilled 35 times, releasing over 1.3 million gallons of toxic oil.  Enbridge is responsible for the two largest inland oil spills in U.S. history. After Kalamazoo, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported that the spill increased neurological and respiratory symptoms, impaired immune system function, and caused reproductive problems… “But Enbridge wants to do away with all of that by making you believe stopping Line 5 will risk the heat in your home and make energy prices soar… “I’ve also heard radio advertisements for high-paying Enbridge jobs. But in early 2024, Enbridge laid off hundreds of workers, despite record profits… “Enbridge has a record of butchering communities and the places we love. It would be absurd of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to allow Enbridge to continue its assault with a pipeline expansion. Wisconsin’s communities are standing strong to protect our water, our climate, the health of our neighbors, and future generations. You can weigh in by emailing your public comment by Aug. 4 to CEMVP-WiL5R-CDD-Comments@usace.army.mil” 

The Crucial Years: Manchin’s Last Gasp
Bill McKibben, 7/26/24

“A story. In December of 2015, everyone who worked on climate issues was in Paris for the white-knuckled final negotiations of the historic accords. While that was going on, Big Oil’s friends in Congress passed—almost without debate—an end to the longstanding ban on oil exports from the U.S.,” Bill McKibben writes for The Crucial Years. “I cobbled together—with the help of the Sierra Club’s Mike Brune—what may have been the only oped opposing the measure, in a Paris cafe fueled by pain au chocolat. But the Democratic Senators I reached out to back home laughed—it wasn’t a big deal, they said, and anyway they were getting a production tax credit for wind energy in return. They were wrong: America in a decade has gone from not exporting oil and gas to becoming the world’s biggest producer. Bigger than Russia and the Saudis. The moral of the story is: Big Oil is sneaky, and they will use moments when attention is diverted (say, by the advent of a truly powerful new presidential candidate) to advance their agenda. And the point of the story is: they’re trying it again.”

Wall Street Journal: The best quick fix for climate change? curbing methane 
Rob Jackson is a professor of earth sciences at Stanford University and chair of the Global Carbon Project,  7/25/24

“…If we could eliminate all methane emissions from human activities, including agriculture, waste, and fossil fuels—a big if—the level of methane in Earth’s atmosphere would fall to preindustrial levels in only a decade or two, reducing global warming by 0.5 of a degree Celsius. This drop would help tremendously as we attempt to keep increased global warming from all gases below 1.5 or 2 degrees,” Rob Jackson writes for the Wall Street Journal. “…Much of this recent additional methane appears to be coming from China and southeast Asia, followed by equatorial Africa and the U.S… “The good news is that new technologies are making it easier to reduce methane emissions and clear the air. New satellites such as MethaneSAT, launched in March 2024 by the Environmental Defense Fund, and Carbon Mapper, due to be launched later this year by a public-private partnership, can detect “super-emitters” from space… “But to be effective, surveillance and monitoring need rules and enforcement. Methane emissions in the U.S. are governed by a patchwork of state and federal rules. The EPA’s new Source Performance Standards for oil-and-gas operations should reduce emissions not just of methane but of smog-forming volatile organic compounds and air toxics such as benzene, too… “The Global Methane Assessment estimates that approximately one tenth of anthropogenic methane emissions can be mitigated at “negative cost,” meaning mitigation would pay for itself if companies acted. Oil-and-gas companies and landfill operators, for instance, can sell or use any methane they collect. Still, stemming methane emissions won’t be free. We will eventually need a price on methane emissions to maintain a safe climate, in the same way that Europe prices CO2 pollution… “With the right policies and focus, we can all live to see the benefits of cleaning methane from our atmosphere, providing us and our children with a less chaotic, more sustainable planet.”