General
News
Company
Continues Operating Pipeline Through Michigan Despite Governor's Order. According
to The Hill, “A Canadian energy company is continuing to operate a pipeline through Michigan despite Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) order to shut down. Whitmer on Tuesday ordered Enbridge Energy to stand down its oil and gas pipeline, Line 5, by May 12, saying
that the pipeline in the underwater section of Line 5 is too risky to keep operating. ‘These oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac are a ticking timebomb, and their continued presence violates the public trust and poses a grave threat to Michigan’s environment
and economy,’ Whitmer’s office said at the time. But the pipeline still continued operating, according to The Detroit Free Press. Michael Barnes, a spokesperson for Enbridge, told The Hill in a statement that the company is ‘operating lawfully.’ ‘We are operating
the pipeline lawfully and following the guidance of our federal regulator, [the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration], which says Line 5 is fit for service,’ Barnes said. ‘A shut down of Line 5 has serious, broad ramifications and raises
substantial federal and international questions relating to interstate and international commerce. That is why the case is in federal court where the judge has ordered mediation. We are confident that one of these paths will produce a resolution,’ he continued.
Barnes said the company’s responsibility is to ‘the people of Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Enbridge will continue to deliver via Line 5 safe, reliable and affordable energy to fuel to the region’s economies.’ The pipeline moves nearly 23 million gallons
of oil and gas per day through northwestern Wisconsin and Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario, according to The Associated Press. Supporters of the pipeline argue that shutting it down would negatively impact regional and national economies.” [The Hill,
5/12/21
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Pennsylvania
Has The Opportunity To Help Workers Through Decline Of Fracking. According
to the Citizen Tribune, “The natural gas industry in Pennsylvania is worried about its future — and rightfully so. During last week’s virtual global climate summit, President Joe Biden announced a goal of cutting greenhouse gas pollution in half by 2030, from
a 2005 baseline. Biden has already rejoined the Paris Agreement and set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The U.S. will not reach the 2030 goal without Pennsylvania, which produced nearly 10% of all energy in the nation in 2018 — only second to
Texas. Now the state has an opportunity to manage the decline of its polluting energy industry while investing in sustainable, high-paying green union jobs as a replacement. While burning natural gas emits less CO2 than burning coal or oil, natural gas is
abundant in methane — a powerful greenhouse gas that traps more heat than does carbon, though it lingers for less time. The United Nations will soon release a report declaring it urgent to cut methane to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Natural
gas production nationwide was responsible for 47% of methane emissions by industry in 2018. And that doesn’t account for storage and distribution. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has identified 8,500 unplugged abandoned oil and gas
wells and estimates approximately 200,000 older undocumented wells, many of which may be leaking methane. Multiple studies suggest that methane leaks are undercutting natural gas’s ability to dramatically contribute to emissions reduction as a ‘transition
fuel.’ Yet, despite all this evidence, and commitments from Gov. Tom Wolf to reduce emissions, Pennsylvania continues to build infrastructure for the natural gas industry — whether via the leaking Mariner East pipeline, new fracking permits, and subsidized
petrochemical plants.” [Citizen Tribune, 5/12/21
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Want
A Heart Attack? Move Closer To A Natural Gas Fracking Site. According
to Clean Technica, “Among the known health risks caused by living near fracking wells, scientists are adding heart attacks to the list. A new study published in the Journal of Environmental Research, finds middle-aged men living near fracking operations in
Pennsylvania were more than 5% more likely to die of a heart attack than their counterparts where fracking is banned. Researchers looked at Pennsylvania fracking counties and compared them to demographically similar counties in New York, which has banned fracking.
They also found heart attack hospitalization rates were higher in Pennsylvania compared to New York. The study controlled for counties’ coal production — which also increases heart attack risk — and for health insurance access, which is often poor in rural
communities where fracking is concentrated. ‘There’s a large body of literature linking air pollution with poor cardiovascular health and heart attacks, but this is really the first study to look at this from a population level related to fracking,’ Elaine
Hill, a researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center and one of the study’s co-authors, told EHN. The study is consistent with 2019 research that found elevated physical markers associated with heart attack risk in people who live near fracking
as well as a 2020 study that found horses raised in Pennsylvania fracking counties had higher rates of a rare birth defect than horses raised by the same farmer in New York.” [Clean Technica,
5/12/21
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Pipeline
Hack Points To Growing Cybersecurity Risk For Energy System. According
to the New York Times, “The audacious ransomware attack that shut down a major fuel pipeline and sent Americans scrambling for gasoline in the Southeast this week was not the first time hackers have disrupted America’s aging, vulnerable energy infrastructure.
And it’s unlikely to be the last. Across the globe, cyberattackers are increasingly taking aim at the energy systems that underpin modern society. A February report from IBM found that the energy industry was the third most targeted sector for such attacks
in 2020, behind only finance and manufacturing. That was up from ninth place in 2019. ‘This should be a wake-up call,’ said Jonathon Monken, a principal at the energy consulting firm Converge Strategies. ‘When you look at what’s most likely to cause disruptions
to energy companies today, I think you have to put cybersecurity risks at the top.’ Despite years of warnings, America’s vast network of pipelines, electric grids and power plants remains acutely vulnerable to cyberattacks with the potential to disrupt energy
supplies for millions of people. Dealing with those risks, analysts said, will pose a major challenge for the Biden administration as it seeks hundreds of billions of dollars to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure and transition to cleaner sources
of energy to address climate change. Regulators are increasingly poised to step in. On Monday, Richard Glick, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said it was time to establish mandatory cybersecurity standards for the nation’s nearly
3 million miles of oil and gas pipelines, similar to those currently found in the electricity sector. ‘Simply encouraging pipelines to voluntarily adopt best practices is an inadequate response to the ever-increasing number and sophistication of malevolent
cyber actors,’ Mr. Glick said in a statement.” [New York Times, 5/13/21
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Colonial
Pipeline Restarting Operations After Cyberattack. According
to The Hill, “Colonial Pipeline announced Wednesday that it has begun a restart of its operations after a cyberattack forced the company to shut down late last week, leading to gas shortages on the East Coast. It began the restart at about 5 p.m. Wednesday,
but it will take ‘several days’ for product delivery to return to normal, the company said in a statement. ‘Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel as is safely possible and will continue to do so until markets return to normal,’ the company
said. Colonial did not provide specifics on exactly how much of its product would be able to move again. It noted that some of the markets it serves may experience intermittent interruptions during its startup and called the news a ‘first step’ in the restart
process, saying it would keep providing updates on the issue. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also said in a tweet that the pipeline would restart its operations. The pipeline, which provides 45 percent of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, announced
over the weekend that it would shut down following a ransomware attack. Following the shutdown, many states in the Southeast saw gasoline shortages, though analysts largely linked them to panic buying. As of Wednesday afternoon, 68 percent of gas stations
in North Carolina, 49 percent of gas stations in Virginia, and 45 percent of gas stations in South Carolina and Georgia had no fuel, according to gas price website GasBuddy. Other states saw less drastic but still significant outages, with 18 percent of gas
stations in Tennessee, 14 percent of gas stations in Florida, 13 percent of gas stations in Maryland and 12 percent of gas stations in Washington, D.C., reporting outages.” [The Hill,
5/12/21
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3
Things To Watch With Biden's Oil Plans. According
to E&E News, “Perhaps the only thing certain about the changes the Biden administration could make to the federal oil and gas program is that definitive answers are unlikely anytime soon. But even as the Interior Department continues a review ordered by President
Biden in January — and all new leasing is on hold through at least June — debate is swirling about what is to come, with advocates on both sides suggesting they can read the tea leaves from steps taken so far. Interior is set to release an ‘interim report’
this summer that is expected to reveal how officials plan to move forward. A Biden administration official familiar with the oil and gas review told E&E News that the directive from the White House is for a comprehensive assessment, and that’s what is underway.
‘Everything is on the table,’ the official said. The key question: Could this administration aim the federal oil and gas program toward retirement as Biden promised during his presidential campaign, or will the White House opt to hike royalty rates, as well
as ramp up oil patch regulations as Obama did in his second presidential term? Industry allies argue there isn’t necessarily much of a difference. They say heightened regulation and delayed leasing or permitting approvals could be weaponized to steadily constrain
production on federal land without facing the litigation and public scrutiny of making a bold move. ‘The Biden policy may share some [Obama-era] goals, but to what end?’ said Rebecca Watson, an energy lawyer who served as assistant secretary for land and minerals
management during the George W. Bush administration. ‘Is it to modernize the federal oil and gas program, make it pay more and reduce environmental impacts, or is it to move to a goal of ending the program?’” [E&E News,
5/13/21
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Pipeline
Cyberattack Exposes Major Risks To U.S. Fuel Supply. According
to E&E News, “The ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial pipeline at the end of last week underscores broader problems for the pipeline industry: aging computer systems and the rising risks of the digital age. At least three of the biggest U.S. pipeline
companies said they don’t have or can’t afford adequate insurance to cover cyberattacks or other problems that shut down their information technology systems, according to their annual reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Companies also
face risks from digital systems that communicate with customers, third parties and its own workforce, which has been forced to stay home during the pandemic, the SEC filings said. Experts are warning that all of this together has left the nation’s fuel supply
vulnerable. ‘We cannot leave important security and safety measures up to voluntary guidelines,’ said Bill Caram, executive director of the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust. The Colonial pipeline runs from the Houston area to New Jersey and supplies 100 million
gallons of refined fuel to the East Coast, including gasoline, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel. Colonial Pipeline Co. restarted the fuel line last night after taking it offline Friday to protect against a deeper incursion into its systems by hackers. The
shutdown led to fuel shortages in some areas. Hackers apparently gained access to Colonial’s information systems, disabled them with computer code and demanded a ransom. It’s not clear whether the company paid the ransom, but Colonial has said investigators
are looking for any damage that could affect operations across the network of pumps and terminals.” [E&E News,
5/13/21
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Fuel
Crisis Spreads As Hacked Pipeline Restarts. According
to E&E News, “Colonial pipeline restarted its massive underground fuel-moving system last night, putting the end in sight for a supply crunch that resulted from a major cyberattack and drained the fuel tanks of airports and gas stations from Alabama to Virginia.
But it’s not clear how soon the yellow ‘out of service’ bags will be coming off gas pump handles in the South. Nor is it clear what the political repercussions will be for President Biden, whose critics sought to tie gas lines to his clean energy agenda. Biden
issued an executive order last night to fortify federal digital defenses as lawmakers and other called for tougher cybersecurity rules (see related story). It will take days, company officials and others warned, for the fuel system to get back to normal. Gasoline
moves through pipelines at 3 to 5 mph. Even after it reaches terminals, industry officials warned that a shortage of truck drivers could slow deliveries. Still, the news could quell the panic buying that drained stations across the Southeast. It also takes
pressure off Colonial Pipeline Co., a low-profile, high-volume system that fuels the travels of millions of people each day without most of them realizing it. Rarely in the spotlight, the Georgia-based company has communicated with the public mostly by unsigned
statements posted online. But the pressure on political and business leaders to do more to head off the effects of computer attacks will likely only increase now that the abstract concept of cybersecurity has hit people’s gas tanks and wallets. Colonial was
launched into the spotlight after a criminal hacking group called DarkSide took its computer files hostage Friday (Energywire, May 12). The company's closure of its 5,500-mile network suspended daily deliveries of 100 million gallons of jet fuel, gasoline
and other fuels to the Southeast and East Coast.” [E&E News, 5/13/21
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Advocates
Look To Sell Farm-State Republicans On 30x30 Plan. According
to E&E News, “Witnesses at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing yesterday tried to calm worries that the Biden administration’s 30x30 conservation goals could chip away at farming. Under questioning from Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), witnesses at a Subcommittee
on Conservation and Forestry hearing on farmland conservation said they don’t necessarily see the goal of saving 30% of land and water by 2030 as incompatible with production agriculture, as long as farmers have a say in how the policies are carried out. ‘I
don’t believe they conflict. I think they go together,’ said Keith Paustian, a professor at Colorado State University who specializes in soil and crop science. Paustian and other witnesses, including three farmers, suggested the administration’s goal could
go hand in hand with ‘working lands’ depending on yet-to-be-released details about how land would qualify as having been conserved. The 30x30 goal was in the background as the subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), delved into Department
of Agriculture programs that encourage farmers to till the soil less, to plant cover crops that reduce erosion and boost soil health when the harvestable crop hasn’t been planted, and take other measures that can save carbon as well. The voluntary programs
have wide bipartisan support on the Agriculture Committee and may be in line for expansion as climate-focused Democrats set the agenda in Congress and at the White House. They’re part of the five-year farm bill, next up for renewal in 2023, but some conservation
groups have called for changes before then. The 30x30 plan would likely rely on those programs, including some that protect waterways from farm runoff and others — such as the Conservation Reserve Program — that pay farmers to plant grass or trees on some
land rather than crops, generally through multiyear contracts.” [E&E News,
5/13/21
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BLM
Agrees To NEPA Redo For Minn. Exploration Permits. According
to E&E News, “The Interior Department and conservation groups reached an agreement this week to scrutinize the environmental impacts of a Minnesota mine developer’s mineral exploration permits. Interior’s Bureau of Land Management relied on a 2012 environmental
review when it renewed 13 prospecting permits for Twin Metals Minnesota LLC last year. These permits could allow Twin Metals, owned by Chile’s Antofagasta PLC, to expand the underground copper-nickel mine the company has proposed in the Superior National Forest.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness and the Wilderness Society challenged the permit extensions last year in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The conservation groups say mining in that area could
degrade the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. BLM volunteered to take another look at the ecological impacts of the mineral exploration permits late last year (Greenwire, Dec. 1, 2020). Monday’s agreement finalized the terms of the deal. BLM
will now conduct an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act and hold a 30-day public comment period. The bureau will also study the potential effects mineral exploration could have on endangered species and critical habitat. The
area is home to animals such as the Canada lynx, wolves and moose. In the meantime, Twin Metals has agreed not to disturb the surface in the permit area. The permits are not part of Twin Metals’ current mine plan, which BLM and the Forest Service are reviewing
separately. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, whose agency oversees the Forest Service, said the Biden administration has not made any decisions on the copper and nickel mine proposal (E&E News PM, May 6).” [E&E News,
5/12/21
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Chad Ellwood
Senior Research Associate
Climate Action Campaign
614.570.3644
He/Him