General
News
New Mexico Joins Court Filing To Call For Stricter Federal Methane Regulations.
According to the Carlsbad Current-Argus, “New Mexico joined a legal filing calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt stricter regulations on methane pollution
from oil and gas, accusing the industry of being the biggest source of methane pollution which accounts for a quarter of climate change impacts. Signed by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, the July 3 filing also included oil and gas-producing states
California and Pennsylvania. The states of New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington were also included. The City of Chicago and Washington, D.C. signed on along with the Environmental Defense
Fund (EDF). The filing called on the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to find that the EPA ‘unreasonably delayed’ establishing methane standards and timeline for such an action. It also called on the court to demand the EPA speed up efforts
to tighten methane regulations on oil and gas operators. The filing cited several impacts of ‘delayed’ methane emission standards, pointing to 3 million metric tons of methane pollution released by oil and gas each year, impacting local communities near extraction
operations. About 9.3 million people in the U.S. live within half a mile of existing oil and gas wells, making them more susceptible to the impacts of pollution, read the filing. This included 600,000 children younger than five, 1.4 million older than 65 along
with 1.4 million people living below the poverty line and another 2.8 million people of color.” [Carlsbad Current-Argus,
7/7/20 (=)]
The World Can’t Take Much More Shale Gas.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Natural-gas prices have bounced back from the 25-year low reached late last month, but analysts and traders don’t expect them to go much higher—at
least until it is time to turn on the heat. As other assets recover from the coronavirus meltdown and even exceed prepandemic highs, natural gas has lagged behind. There is simply too much of it. Stockpiles of the power-generation and heating fuel are bloated
world-wide. The international trade in liquefied natural gas, or LNG, has collapsed, squeezing an important outlet for U.S. shale gas. And with crude prices back up to around $40 a barrel, oil producers are reopening the spigots and, as a byproduct, putting
a lot of cheap gas into the market. Natural-gas futures for August delivery ended Tuesday at $1.876 per million British thermal units. That is up 27% since June 25, when futures for July delivery closed at $1.482—their lowest level since August 1995. Yet it
is still 23% below the price this time last year and 34% less than the price two years ago. Investors have trimmed their bearish bets in recent weeks, reducing their net short position, or wagers that prices will fall, according to Commodity Futures Trading
Commission data. But analysts caution against getting too bullish. They don’t expect prices to exceed $2 for any sustained period until Americans are turning on the heat in their homes. The heights of summer and winter are when gas prices are typically at
their highest, given the demand to power air conditioners and fuel furnaces. But the global gas glut and diminished demand due to the pandemic shutdowns have produced not only the lowest June prices ever in the U.S. but also the lowest price on record for
any month in Europe.” [Wall Street Journal,
7/7/20 (=)]
Op-Ed: Pa. Grand Jury ‘Indicts’ Fracking. Now What?
According to an op-ed by Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “A long overdue grand jury exposes the truth about fracking, but will anything come of it? Many of those living in
close proximity to a well pad began to become chronically, and inexplicably, sick. Pets died; farm animals that lived outside started miscarrying, or giving birth to deformed offspring. But the worst was the children, who were most susceptible to the effects.
Families went to their doctors for answers, but the doctors didn’t know what to do. The unconventional oil and gas companies would not even identify the chemicals they were using, so that they could be studied; the companies said the compounds were ‘trade
secrets’ and ‘proprietary information.’ — Pennsylvania grand jury report on fracking, June 2020. It got lost in the shuffle of coronavirus and food lines and protesters on the Vine Street Expressway and whatnot, but in late June a state grand jury, steered
by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, issued a damning 235-page report that in a world with any logic would have ended unconventional natural-gas drilling, or fracking, as we know it in Pennsylvania. These citizen grand jurors did something that state leaders
have almost never done since the hypesters and hucksters of Big Oil and Gas were welcomed into Pennsylvania with open arms amid the 2000s’ desperate desire for economic development at any cost. They listened to the people. For some 287 hours, the panel heard
from folks directly affected by more than 12,500 fracking wells drilled in Pennsylvania during the 21st century.” [Philadelphia Inquirer,
7/7/20 (=)]
Editorial: Grand Jury Report On Fracking Indicts The State.
According to the Tribune-Review Editorial Board, “Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s latest grand jury report might seem like a diatribe on the evils of fracking. That is
definitely what draws attention. The problem is that is only half the story. The other half is the failings of government. As attorney general, Shapiro has made a point of being tough on fracking, and the grand jury report delivered last month certainly does
that. Its 243 pages cite violations, allege medical fallout and recommend criminal charges against the companies involved. As a matter of law, any industry found to harm lives and degrade the community will face consequences. But that is where the failings
of government play a role. ‘Our investigation … convinced us that (the Department of Environmental Protection) did not take sufficient action in response to the fracking boom, and even now, more than a decade after it began, must do more to fully address the
special challenges posed by the industry,’ the report stated. Shapiro’s report alleges that rather than acting as a regulatory agency, following up on the way fracking companies were treating the land, air and water, ‘some DEP employees saw the job more as
serving the industry.’ The job of all state employees is to serve the people. Industry does not need to be viewed as the enemy, whether the agency is DEP or PennDOT or the Department of Health. The mission statement is to protect the people, to ensure their
safety, to make their lives better. That is the difference between the government and a company that serves an owner or stockholders or a board of directors. A company doesn’t have to be evil to have a different goal — and that goal is to produce a product
and make money.” [Tribune-Review,
7/7/20 (=)]
Anti-Fracking Campaign Files Lawsuit To Get On Ballot.
According to Michigan Public Radio, “A campaign to outlaw a controversial method of extracting oil and natural gas from the earth is asking a judge to strike down a Michigan election
law. The Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan is challenging the 180-day limit on signature-gathering. The group also wants a judge to set a deadline of July 26 for the state to act. LuAnne Kozma is with the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan. ‘We are
seeking a declaratory judgment, and a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction so we can get on the ballot in 2020 so we can ban fracking and frack waste,’ she said. The lawsuit challenges a state elections board determination that the campaign
failed to collect enough signatures. The is the fifth time the campaign has filed a lawsuit in an effort to get its question on the statewide ballot.” [Michigan Public Radio,
7/7/20 (=)]
With Atlantic Coast Dead, Is This Pipeline Next?
According to E&E News, “The death of the long-embattled Atlantic Coast pipeline has energized environmental and public health groups looking to bring down other major oil and gas
projects. For many in the Appalachian region, that means the 300-mile Mountain Valley pipeline, which is being built to move natural gas from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia and has faced similar backlash from local community groups. But the
project’s developer, EQM Midstream Partners LP, insists the pipeline is on track to come online next year, and some analysts say the demise of the Atlantic Coast line could actually boost Mountain Valley’s prospects. Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp.
axed the Atlantic Coast natural gas transmission pipeline Sunday, citing ongoing delays and concerns over the $8 billion project’s economic viability (Energywire, July 5). ‘It is a somewhat positive development for Mountain Valley because the Appalachian region
is still a prolific gas-producing basin,’ said Sreedhar Kona, a senior oil and gas analyst with Moody’s Analytics. ‘There is gas that needs to get out, and now there is one less pipeline that can carry it.’ Joe Dawley, a partner at Earth & Water Law who helped
lead the push on the Mountain Valley pipeline project as a top attorney for natural gas producer EQT Corp., echoed this sentiment. He said that without the Atlantic Coast pipeline, Mountain Valley will have access to dedicated federal resources.” [E&E News,
7/8/20 (=)]
Colorado May Have Missed A Deadline To Plan For Reducing Greenhouse Gasses. Now The State Faces A Lawsuit.
According to the Colorado Sun, “The clock is ticking. Each day climate-altering, man-made gases are building up in the atmosphere and Colorado’s effort to help stem the tide is running
late. The Air Quality Control Commission missed a July 1 deadline to issue draft rules to meet Colorado’s greenhouse gas reduction targets – or perhaps it didn’t. It all depends upon whom you ask. What many – commissioners, officials, environmentalists – agree
upon is that the efforts to establish a plan to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases are moving at a molasses pace. ‘There is this awesome slowness of public policy,’ said Auden Schendler, an AQCC commissioner and Aspen Ski
Co.’s vice president of sustainability. ‘The challenge is: How do you make the bureaucratic machinery work as quickly as possible and get things done?’ Some critics say what is lacking is a lead from Gov. Jared Polis, who issued an executive order on zero-emission
vehicles in 2018, a roadmap to 100% renewable energy in 2019 and signed the climate legislation, but hasn’t been highly visible on the issue since. ‘The unwillingness of the governor to throw his full weight to meet these targets, a lack of full-throated support
on the policies he has signed off on, is concerning,’ said Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director for Wild Earth Guardians. The environmental group plans to sue the AQCC for its failure to meet the July 1 deadline. Some political guidance is needed
on whether to make specific rules for different types of polluters, or enact statewide, economy-wide initiatives such as congestion pricing to discourage people from driving or a carbon tax, Schendler said.” [Colorado Sun,
7/7/20 (=)]
States Ask Court To Force EPA To Regulate Methane From Existing Wells. According to the
Washington Examiner, “A coalition of 16 states and cities, along with the Environmental Defense Fund, argue a federal district court must order the EPA to ‘expeditiously’ set methane limits for existing oil and gas wells after four years of delay. ‘The undisputed
facts here show that EPA has offered no legitimate reasons for its delay,’ the coalition said in a recent legal filing. The states, cities and EDF sued the EPA in 2018 over its failure to regulate existing sources of methane. EDF analysis accompanying the
recent legal filing says the EPA’s delay has allowed more than 3 million metric tons of methane emissions that would have otherwise been avoided if standard were in place. A quick reminder: The coalition’s filing comes as the EPA is nearing release of plans
that would eliminate requirements to directly regulate methane from the oil and gas sector. The final version of that action is currently undergoing interagency review.” [Washington
Examiner,
7/7/20 (=)]
Energy Department Turns To LNG After Pipeline Setbacks. According to the Washington Examiner,
“Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette announced Monday that he signed a secretarial order authorizing LNG exports from the $10 billion Jordan Cove facility in Oregon, the first LNG project on the West Coast. FERC approved the project in March despite opposition
from environmental groups who claimed the commission failed to demonstrate an economic need for the project without adequate buyers for the LNG. LNG trade has collapsed because of the glut worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. ‘Despite the recent regulatory
challenges, this administration remains committed to promoting energy infrastructure projects throughout the country that are critical to America’s energy future,’ Brouillette said in a virtual signing ceremony broadcast on Twitter. Brouillette said Jordan
Cove would enable the U.S. to expand its exports of LNG to markets in Asia such as India, South Korea, and Japan that rely on imports from the Middle East and Russia. ‘LNG exports are going to be one of the building blocks toward the United States’ economic
recovery,’ said Steven Winberg, DOE’s assistant secretary for fossil energy.” [Washington Examiner,
7/7/20 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Senior Research Associate
Climate Action Campaign
202.448.2877 ext. 119