General
News
Upcoming
Rule Could Expand Oil, Gas Drilling In National Forests. According
to Bloomberg Law, “A proposed U.S. Forest Service rule stands to weaken a check on oil and gas development in national forests and possibly give the Interior Department more sway over land leasing decisions, legal analysts and conservationists say. The rulemaking,
announced in 2018, aims to align the Forest Service’s leasing practices with those of the Bureau of Land Management to speed up fossil fuel development in national forests and grasslands nationwide, including oil and gas-rich forests in Ohio, Mississippi,
and Colorado. The White House is reviewing a draft of the proposed rule, which will be published in June or July, Tracy Parker, Forest Service acting director of minerals and geology management, said in an interview. The BLM, part of the Interior Department,
is in charge of oil and gas leasing on all federal lands, including those managed by the Forest Service—which is part of the Agriculture Department. Federal law prohibits BLM from leasing in national forests without Forest Service consent, Parker said. The
Forest Service is remaking its oil and gas regulations at a time when it is weakening environmental checks and balances under the National Environmental Policy Act and joining with the BLM in prioritizing logging and fossil fuels development on federal public
lands, said Hana Vizcarra, staff attorney at the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program.” [Bloomberg Law,
5/29/20
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New
Research Suggests Renewable Natural Gas Can’t Deliver The Carbon Neutral Future We Need.
According
to Forbes, “In the fight to supplant fossil fuels and build a climate friendly global economy, Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) has been proposed as a prudent and cost-effective method of decarbonizing fossil-based natural gas. As a carbon negative fuel source
that works interchangeably in the hydrocarbon infrastructure we already have, RNG promises a rapid offsetting of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil gas without the need to reconfigure large portions of our energy delivery system.
Mix some carbon-negative RNG in with fossil natural gas and voilà: the overall mix is carbon neutral. New research out of Georgia Tech, however, paints a different picture: at any meaningful scale RNG is likely to be more carbon-intensive than simply flaring.
The promise of RNG is rooted in the comparatively high global warming impact of methane, the primary ingredient in natural gas. Although CO2 gets all the attention, methane is a significantly more potent greenhouse gas, having a global warming potential approximately
30 times greater than CO2. Methane is generated as a natural byproduct of many modern processes, from landfills to waste-water treatment to diary farming. In these systems, organic materials are broken down by bacteria, generating methane, which generally
has escaped to the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. If that waste methane is instead captured and utilized in an engine, water heater, cooking stove, or other device normally fueled by natural gas, the global warming impact of the methane emissions
is avoided. As a result, RNG under this scenario is carbon negative.” [Forbes,
5/28/20
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Lawsuit:
FERC Didn't Consider Climate Risks Of Export Project. According
to E&E News, “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission failed to adequately consider climate and wildfire risks before greenlighting Oregon’s Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export terminal and Pacific Connector pipeline, conservation groups charged in a
new lawsuit this week. The Oregon-based groups joined a landowner challenge to the federal approval of the liquefied natural gas project in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a consolidated case (Energywire, May 27). ‘We don’t
think a pipeline and terminal can be safely operated and built,’ said Susan Brown, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, which is representing the groups along with the Sierra Club. She noted that developing both the terminal and pipeline
would involve initial construction in areas without similar infrastructure already in place. If completed, the project would be the highest greenhouse gas emitter in Oregon’s history. Pipeline construction would also take place in a part of southern Oregon
susceptible to wildfire, Brown said. ‘Building a linear project on a right of way basically creates an escalator effect,’ she said. ‘[Wildfire] can burn very quickly through a brushy area and will travel the length of the pipeline. It will carry fire in a
way that is highly unusual.’ The groups say FERC failed to adequately assess how the project would exacerbate wildfire risk, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. They are also arguing that the agency has failed to meet its obligation to consider
climate effects.” [E&E News, 5/29/20
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Meet
The Judge At The Heart Of The West's Top Energy Battles. According
to E&E News, “Brian Morris has had a very busy few weeks. The chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, one of three active jurists on the bench, has stalled a national permitting program, upheld federal rules on pipeline inspections
and tossed out hundreds of oil and gas leases — all in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Critics warn that Morris’ rulings threaten to cause more economic harm to the oil and gas industry, which has already been battered by the public health crisis. Environmental
groups say the judge’s decisions are instead a reflection of the Trump administration’s poorly executed push for energy dominance. ‘My read of him is that he’s a stickler for the agencies following proper procedures in environmental cases,’ said Larry Liebesman,
a senior adviser at the consulting firm Dawson & Associates. Soon after graduating from Stanford University with bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees, Morris clerked for former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a conservative. Morris, a Treasure
State native, later returned to his home state to work in private practice and — eventually — serve as state solicitor and a Montana Supreme Court justice. Former President Obama appointed Morris, 56, to the Montana district court in 2013, and he became chief
judge in March.” [E&E News, 5/29/20
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Rough
Economy, Trump Rollbacks Could Hike Methane Emissions. According
to E&E News, “Tough times for the oil and gas industry, combined with a rollback of environmental regulations, could hinder U.S. efforts to reduce methane emissions and fight climate change, experts warn. Here’s why. The U.S. oil and gas industry’s post-pandemic
economic woes may discourage companies from investing money in methane monitoring and control technologies — opening the door to more accidental methane leaks. That scenario is made potentially worse by the Trump administration’s plans to weaken mandates for
the powerful greenhouse gas. While methane doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, it’s much more potent in the short term. In the coming weeks, Trump’s EPA is expected to send a regulatory package to the White House that would lessen requirements
for oil and gas producers to monitor for leaks. It also would swap direct methane regulations for controls on an ozone precursor. Environmentalists say the long-delayed package would dismantle the Obama EPA’s attempt to regulate the sector responsible for
one-third of U.S. methane emissions. That’s especially true, they say, as it has been designed to make it harder for EPA to eventually regulate the existing oil and gas infrastructure responsible for the bulk of the leakage. The oil and gas industry has been
divided in its support for the rollback, with oil majors and some independent producers favoring a nationwide methane rule they say would create a level playing field for producers.” [E&E News,
5/29/20
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9th
Circuit Denies Stay Of NWP Ruling Barring New Pipeline Construction. According
to Inside EPA, “In a major setback for the energy sector and Trump administration, an appellate court has denied an emergency request from the Justice Department (DOJ) and industry to stay a landmark district court ruling that vacated the federal Clean Water
Act (CWA) general permit for constructing new oil and gas pipelines. DOJ and the industry parties ‘have not demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits and probability of irreparable harm to warrant a stay pending appeal,’ the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 9th Circuit says in a brief May 28 order. The case, Northern Plains Resource Council, et al. v. Army Corps of Engineers, has drawn national attention due to the broad impacts of the lower court’s vacatur of CWA nationwide permit 12 (NWP
12) and the potential for Supreme Court review of whether district courts can issue national injunctions. The permit’s vacatur means pipeline developers will no longer have the option of using the streamlined general permit and will instead have to seek CWA
coverage under more-cumbersome individual permits. DOJ, a coalition of natural gas associations, and TC Energy, the company building the Keystone XL pipeline, all sought a stay of rulings from the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana that found
the Army Corps of Engineers violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it promulgated NWP 12.” [Inside EPA,
5/28/20
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Southern Company Joins The Net-Zero Club. According to the Washington Examiner, “The Atlanta-based
utility unveiled a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 target during its annual shareholders meeting Wednesday, joining the ranks of major utilities like Xcel Energy, Duke Energy, and DTE Energy. The utility says it has already cut its emissions 44%
(below 2007 levels) and anticipates it can reach its 50% reduction target, originally set for 2030, potentially as early as 2025. To reach net-zero by 2050, Southern Company will rely on energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as ‘negative carbon solutions’
such as the nascent direct air capture and afforestation, according to a news release. Environmentalists praised the move, but have questions about natural gas: The Natural Resources Defense Council’s Sheryl Carter and Luis Martinez called the utility’s commitment
‘historic,’ saying that Southern Company ‘for decades was one of America’s largest emitters of carbon pollution and a frequent foe of environmental protections.’ Nonetheless, Lila Holzman, energy program manager of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow,
said Southern Company needs to offer more details about how it will deal with its natural gas resources, a tough question facing a lot of utilities setting their sights on net-zero. ‘Investors need answers about the future viability of Southern’s natural gas
assets as renewable clean technologies undercut them on cost, their climate footprints loom large, and carbon capture technology remains uneconomic,’ Holzman said.” [Washington Examiner,
5/28/20 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Senior Research Associate
Climate Action Campaign
202.448.2877 ext. 119