Newsom plays both sides in forest management fight as wildfires rage: “California Gov. Gavin
Newsom has pointed out that the state’s wildfires are located primarily on federal land — and he’s right — but now he and other Democratic governors are trying to block the Trump administration’s effort to speed up the clearing of overgrown, tinder-dry forests.
Twenty-three states, including California, Oregon and Washington, sued last month to stop the National Environmental Policy Act modernization, which would thin the regulatory thicket and red tape blamed for slowing down federal projects, including forest management
on the government’s extensive Western lands. The NEPA lawsuit came as no surprise, given that California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sued the Trump administration 100 times, but critics accused California Democrats of putting their loyalty to the environmental
movement and focus on climate change ahead of proven strategies for forest health. “It’s not just saying, on one hand you want to manage your forest, and then suing the government to stop the management of forests by changing the NEPA requirements, which is
what Newsom has done,” H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow on environmental policy at the Heartland Institute, said on a press call. “He goes publicly and says, ‘We want to manage the forest. Let’s cut a deal.’ And then when they take steps to help [manage]
the forests, he sues to block it.” Nobody denies that the dry, overgrown Western federal forests are in bad shape, fueling the wildfires that have now consumed 3.3 million acres in California and nearly 1 million acres in Oregon, with at least another month
left in the fire season.”
[Washington Times, 9/21/20]
https://bit.ly/2FHJNyA
House Dems set hearing on Western wildfires: “A House Agriculture subcommittee this week
will examine the response to Western wildfires, less than three months after its chairwoman predicted the COVID-19 pandemic would make this fire season like no other. "Even before the added challenge of COVID-19, this year was poised to become a test of our
nation's capacities to respond to wildfires, as weather and fuel conditions have contributed to above-normal fire risk this summer," said the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), in July. With record
wildfires in California and Oregon, Spanberger and the subcommittee will return to the subject and likely to a long-running debate about how best to manage the nation's forests as climate change continues to boost the chances of fires that get out of control.
On the Republican side, ranking member Doug LaMalfa of California has been an outspoken voice on forest policy, urging more intensive management to clear forests of potential wildfire fuel. The fires, covering 2.1 million acres in California as of yesterday,
have put to the test the Forest Service's efforts to protect firefighters from the pandemic while managing the annual wildfire season. Spanberger said after a July 1 briefing with administration officials that she was impressed by the agency's advance planning
for that challenge. Still, the fires that erupted in recent weeks have proven unprecedented, taking at least 35 lives while destroying homes. Hundreds of thousands of acres of national forests have burned. President Trump has blamed poor forest management
by California state officials, and LaMalfa reinforced that message last week, citing reports of forest-thinning projects delayed by state environmental regulations in areas affected by the fires.”
[E&E News, 9/22/20]
https://bit.ly/35ZiaeL
In recordings, Pebble executives discuss influence with Gov. Mike Dunleavy and one day expanding the mine:
“An environmental group released videos on Monday of Pebble mine executives privately discussing their pull with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and other Alaska political leaders and the huge potential for expansion at the controversial Southwest Alaska copper
and gold prospect. The recordings, made by a Washington, D.C. group, the Environmental Investigation Agency, underscore longstanding criticisms by mine opponents about Pebble Limited’s political influence in Alaska and the White House. The group hired people
to pose as potential investors interested in the mine’s long-term prospects during video calls with the Pebble officials in August and September 2020, according to a written statement from the group. The videos capture Pebble Limited CEO Tom Collier and Ron
Thiessen, president of Pebble parent company Northern Dynasty Minerals, discussing various political and contentious topics: The executives describe their access to Dunleavy’s office and their strategies for reaching White House officials through the governor.
They suggest Alaska’s U.S. senators are merely making political points when they express reservations about the project. Pebble hadn’t had a chance to review the videos, according to a statement from Mike Heatwole, a spokesman for Pebble, on Monday. But Heatwole
said the discussions about the project’s life are consistent with Pebble’s position that it has no plans for development beyond the 20-year plan.”
[Anchorage Daily News, 9/22/20]
https://bit.ly/32PIS7L
Louisiana lawmaker paid to push proposed pipeline through Black, Indigenous communities:
“First proposed in April 2019, the 280-mile Delta Express pipeline would be built through 14 parishes, connecting an existing natural gas pipeline in northern Louisiana to a liquid
natural gas facility in Plaquemines Parish — Louisiana’s southernmost parish, where coastal erosion and sea level rise are expected to swallow up 55% of land without coastal restoration projects. The company, Venture Global, has not held a meeting to seek
public comments in Lafourche Parish, which includes Ingram’s neighborhood. The pipeline is still in an early stage of permitting: Venture Global hasn’t submitted its formal application to FERC or acquired state permits. But emails show that the company has
tried to influence state and federal permitting agencies by employing a Louisiana lawmaker, Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, R-Abbeville, who is also vice chair of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee. Emails obtained through a public records request
by the Energy and Policy Institute reveal that Bourriaque negotiated with the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, or CPRA, about a separate Venture Global pipeline crossing a Mississippi River levee CPRA is planning to elevate. Bourriaque
also sent a template letter for other Louisiana lawmakers to send to FERC in support of the Delta Express pipeline. “Regular citizens are having a harder time voicing their opposition to projects that impact them directly,” said Energy and Policy Institute
researcher Itai Vardi. “At the same time, you see that there’s an acceleration with industry insiders using their cozy relationship with elected officials to influence decisions.” According to financial disclosure forms, Bourriaque started working as vice
president of development for Venture Global shortly after he was elected in 2019. He reviewed CPRA provisions for allowing a liquid natural gas export project to be built along a Mississippi River levee before they were sent to the Plaquemines Parish permit
coordinator.”
[Southerly Magazine, 9/22/20]
https://bit.ly/33OsBiS
OPINION: Oil and gas is a partner — not an adversary — in meeting our economic and environmental goals:
“While the majority of the news this week is focused on the Supreme Court, there are number of energy and environmental actions being undertaken in the legislative branch, including: consideration of the House energy package, the Senate Committee on Environment
& Public Works legislative hearing on Chairman John Barrasso’s (R-Wyo.) “The Endangered Species Act Amendments of 2020”, and Rep. Garrett Graves (R-La.) introduction of a bill to codify much of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ’s) National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) rulemaking. These legislative actions are crucial because they recognize that that our nation needs affordable, reliable energy and modern infrastructure to rebuild our economy, grow our workforce, and lead the world’s transition to a lower
carbon future. There is an inextricable link between a healthy and robust economy and a reliable and affordable energy source. Real, lasting climate solutions are driven by innovation and technological breakthroughs that enhance our way of life and reduce
emissions. That’s the message that we plan to deliver this week, as men and women of the oil and gas industry will virtually meet with congressional offices from both parties — because energy is not a partisan issue. Economically, the U.S. Shale industry is
credited with driving 10 percent of U.S. GDP growth from 2010-2015 — a time that was vital to our ability to emerge from the housing crisis and last recession. We also provide good-paying American jobs – about 1 million direct upstream onshore jobs. Each onshore
rig supports 22+ direct jobs, each job at an average pay of $60,000. For each direct job, we estimate another three indirect jobs. And, oil and natural gas industry sector-projects are higher paying, provide better health and retirement benefits, have more
long-term job growth opportunities, and are more stable careers than jobs in renewable energy, according to a national survey of union and nonunion workers by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU).”
[The Hill, 9/22/20]
https://bit.ly/33IT2WU
Enviros go to court to stop Alaska LNG project: “The Center for Biological Diversity and
the Sierra Club are suing the Trump administration for greenlighting a liquefied natural gas export project on Alaska's North Slope. The conservation groups say the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it
approved Alaska Gasline Development Corp.'s bid to build the LNG project earlier this year. They contend that FERC didn't evaluate the climate and environmental impacts of the project, or how it would affect endangered species like polar bears, Cook Inlet
beluga whales and North Pacific right whales. The groups called the scale of the project "unprecedented" in their request for rehearing to FERC, which the commission denied in June. "Particularly egregious were FERC's failure to consider in its public interest
analysis how the Alaska LNG Project will exacerbate the climate crisis and its decision to authorize the project before completing consultation to determine the project's impacts on imperiled species," the groups told FERC. Earthjustice filed a complaint against
FERC on their behalf in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit yesterday. "The project's estimated damage to Alaska wetlands alone is among the most extensive I've seen — over 8,000 acres permanently destroyed, which is in the same
ballpark as a full buildout of the Pebble Mine," Erin Whalen, an Earthjustice attorney, said in a statement. "And all that destruction would buy is further commitment to a climate our grandchildren may not survive. The law requires the commission to take a
hard look at these impacts," she said. The project includes liquefaction facilities that could produce 20 million metric tons of LNG for export each year, as well as a 807-mile, 42-inch-diameter pipeline that could transport 3.9 billion cubic feet of gas per
day. A gas treatment plant is also planned for Prudhoe Bay, along with two more natural gas pipelines connecting production units to the plant, according to FERC.”
[E&E News, 9/22/20]
https://bit.ly/3hWr6nA
OPINION: Federal regulations have made western wildfires worse: “The fires are running rampant,
despite firefighters’ best efforts, across California, Oregon, and Washington state. The human cost is huge: 35 people have already died, and more than 4,000 homes have burned. Yet these fires could have been stopped before they got this big, were it not for
over-restrictive regulations that have made necessary forest management techniques impossible. Take controlled burns: fires that are lit on purpose, intentionally burning tinder to keep potentially larger, unintentional wildfires from finding fuel. Especially
since the 1960s, efforts to extinguish all fires—even natural, low-impact forest fires that serve as nature’s equivalent of a controlled burn—have made forests more susceptible to larger fires and have made controlled burns more and more necessary. But the
regulatory requirements one must meet before starting a controlled burn are complex and lengthy. According to Jonathan Wood, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation and an adjunct fellow with the Property and Environment Research Center, the National
Environmental Policy Act requires “a couple-thousand-page document analyzing every single conceivable impact to the environment that the plan might have.” This is a public process, Wood adds, that “often results in litigation.” There’s even more paperwork
when the controlled burn might overlap with areas designated as critical habitat for an endangered species. “What you’ll often find,” Wood says, “is that there are projects which have been extremely well-vetted, which have been years in the work, there will
be a 5,000-page document, which no one could conceivably ever read because it’s so long and complicated, but then the project will still get put on hold for an indefinite period of time, because some special interest group filed a lawsuit.” So much time is
spent considering the ramifications of an action; little is spent considering the impact of doing nothing.”
[Maine Wire, 9/17/20]
https://bit.ly/3iVk1oz
Draft environmental report details B-21 personnel influx, economic impact for western South Dakota:
“The B-21 Raider takes another step toward Ellsworth Air Force Base with the completion of the draft environmental impact statement. Published last month, the report gives a more detailed picture into what Western South Dakota can expect when the bomber touches
down in the mid-2020s. The stealth bomber will first arrive at Ellsworth AFB where operational and training units will be housed before Dyess AFB and Whiteman AFB receiver bombers as they become available. That was the plan announced in the spring of 2019
pending the environmental impact statement and compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The draft report lays out scenarios with and without the B-21. With the Raider, increased personnel, added facilities, and multiple secondary effects are
laid out. Mapped out are multiple facilities, mainly east of the runway, that would replace existing facilities. Two weapons generation facilities are also planned, one on the northwest side of the base and the other on the southwest side. Based on the report,
the Air Force expects a 30% influx in personnel. Under current operations, active duty, civilian, contractors and family members total 10,596. After a transitional period that would include B-21 personnel plus 10% of B-1 personnel, roughly 13,700 people would
be connected to the base. Then these numbers in turn effect schools, jobs, and the economy.”
[NBC NewCenter1 , 9/21/20]
https://bit.ly/2FQ25xv
Huge Houston Highway Project Would Cut Congestion, But at What Cost?: “The early stages
of the pandemic brought some welcome relief from traffic congestion in major cities throughout the nation. But as the economy awakens and additional health-order restrictions are relaxed, the logjams and bottlenecks of vehicles along highways and freeways
have resumed. This return to traffic woes includes Texas. The state contains some of the largest metro regions in the country. In Houston, the voluminous amount of vehicles on the road has given rise to environmental and safety concerns. A plan to alleviate
traffic problems in the city has been in development for some time. The ambitious North Houston Highway Improvement Project is a three-segment Texas Department of Transportation plan that seeks to untangle the traffic congestion as the population expands in
America’s fourth-largest city. TXDOT, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration, commenced a National Environmental Policy Act process for the Interstate 45 expansion in the north Houston area. I-45 basically runs north to south and traverses
right through downtown. An environmental impact statement process was initiated and comprised of input from the public, elected officials, governmental agencies and other stakeholders, according to TxDOT. The release of a final environmental impact statement
is imminent, the public will have the opportunity to review it for 30 days, and groundbreaking could occur within a few years. “The community has pushed back on this project as unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money,” said Stephanie Thomas, an area organizer
and researcher at Public Citizen Texas, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group serving the public’s interest, in an email. “While there are certain areas of the freeway that could use improvements, the project as a whole does not support the needs of the community.’”
[Reform Austin New, 9/18/20]
https://bit.ly/32TNolL
Environmentalists seek grazing injunction in national forest: “An environmentalist lawsuit
alleges that grazing should stop in Washington’s Colville National Forest until the U.S. Forest Service re-analyzes its environmental impacts. The Lands Council, Western Watersheds Project and Kettle Range Conservation Group allege the agency’s 2019 management
plan for the 1 million-acre forest violates federal environmental laws. If the environmental plaintiffs are successful in obtaining an injunction against grazing, the effect would be highly detrimental to ranchers in the region who depend on public lands for
seasonal pasture, said Ted Wishon, a rancher and board member of the Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association. “You take that many cattle off summer grazing in Northeast Washington, there’s nowhere else to put them,” Wishon said. The lack of available forage
would “break” some cattle producers while creating a “war” of competition for private grazing ground among remaining ranchers, which would then degrade the quality of that pasture, he said. According to the environmental plaintiffs, livestock grazing in Colville
National Forest has significantly harmed fish habitat, water quality and riparian areas. “It has widened stream channels, reduced stream shade, destroyed overhanging banks, elevated erosion and consequently increased sedimentation, compacted soils, and exacerbated
seasonal water temperature extremes in streams,” the complaint said. Despite these impacts, the Forest Service’s most recent forest plan doesn’t make any changes to grazing policy and permits the same number of livestock to graze the same allotments at the
same intensity, according to the plaintiffs.”
[Capital Press, 9/18/20]
https://bit.ly/33KMOGa
Justin McCarthy
He/Him/His
Director, NEPA Campaign
The Partnership Project
C: 540-312-3797
E: jmccarthy@partnershipproject.org
The Partnership Project, a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit, is a collaborative effort of over 20 of the country’s most influential advocacy organizations, including Sierra Club, Earthjustice, League of Conservation Voters, and Natural
Resources Defense Council.