Offshore Oil & Gas

 

Editorial: End Drilling In California Waters To Protect The Coast And Climate. According to Los Angeles Times, “When an undersea pipeline off the Orange County coast spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil last fall and fouled beaches and wetlands, it was only the latest illustration of the serious and ongoing danger of aging oil infrastructure along California’s shoreline. State lawmakers should begin reducing the risks to the coastal environment and the climate by ending drilling in California waters. They have the opportunity to do so by supporting legislation by state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), drafted in response to the October oil spill off Huntington Beach. The bill would end oil production in state-controlled waters by requiring the State Lands Commission to terminate its coastal oil and gas leases by the end of next year. The legislation would affect 11 leases actively producing oil and gas in state waters and only three platforms operating off the coast of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, operated by two leaseholders, California Resources Corporation and DCOR.” [Los Angeles Times, 3/2/22 (+)]

 

Marine Renewable Energy

 

Study: Offshore Wind Can Disrupt Radar On Fishing Boats. According to Politico, "Massive offshore wind turbines going up along the Atlantic seaboard to generate clean power can interfere with radar used by fishing vessels, says a new report commissioned by the Interior Department. The findings from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, released last week, give credence to what fishing groups opposed to the rapid build-out of an offshore wind sector in the U.S. have argued for some time: that radar disruption from turbines could make it harder for mariners to navigate safely near those wind farms. ‘Wind turbines are big, very large structures, and they are getting bigger,’ said Bill Melvin, deputy director for research at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and chair of the NASEM committee that led the study. ‘So the fundamental question is how does this affect radar?’ The U.S. is anticipating a boom in offshore wind deployment in the northeastern Atlantic over the next few years. The fledgling renewable sector is getting a boost from the Biden administration’s climate policy ambitions, which include a goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Today, just seven turbines spin in pilot projects off the U.S. coast. But Interior anticipates roughly 2,000 could stand in the water within a decade. That sudden proliferation of offshore wind farms could create a confusing rush of information for radar systems used in small vessels to see what’s on the water at night or when bad weather reduces visibility, Melvin said in a briefing on the study’s findings." [Politico, 3/3/22 (=)]

 

Coast Guard Bill Amendment Worries Offshore Wind Boosters. According to Politico, “The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved an amendment meant to level the playing field for American energy workers, spurring a contentious discussion over the use of foreign mariners in offshore wind. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) introduced the ‘American Offshore Worker Fairness Act,’ H.R. 6728, as an amendment to the ‘Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022’ during a markup on the legislation yesterday. According to Graves, a statutory loophole allows vessels owned by foreign companies to employ mariners from other nations like Russia and the Philippines and pay them much less than U.S. companies do. ‘My friends that support renewable energy have talked about how this is going to create economic opportunity and job creation for our constituents,’ said Graves. ‘But I don’t have any desire to go hire Russians to come work in our waters.’ Graves said his legislation would create regulations to end that unfair market advantage for foreign companies. The amendment would require crews be made of U.S. citizens or people who share the vessel’s nationality. The legislation would create an annual certification process to make sure ships are complying. It would also boost regulations on visas and background checks for foreign workers.” [Politico, 3/3/22 (=)]

 

Fisheries & Marine Life

 

AP | New Calf Born To Endangered Southern Resident Orcas. According to Politico, “A new calf was born to the J pod of the southern resident orcas, an endangered population of killer whales. The Seattle Times reported that Center for Whale Research director Ken Balcomb confirmed the birth yesterday. But the birth to orca mother J37 was mixed with news of the loss of two other pregnancies in southern resident families. The endangered whales’ population is now 74. Scientists John Durban and Holly Fearnbach, of the marine mammal research and rescue nonprofit SR3, reported that routine, noninvasive monitoring of the orcas by drone photography determined that two of the three expecting orcas had lost their calves. ‘A calving rate of 1/3 of the documented pregnancies will, unfortunately, be consistent with the high rate of reproductive loss that has been documented in recent years by our drone studies and by hormone research conducted by the University of Washington,’ the scientists said.” [Politico, 3/2/22 (=)]

 

AP | Baby Lobster Numbers Low Off New England As Waters Warm. New data shows the population of baby lobsters off New England is below average, raising concerns about the size of future commercial hauls of the valuable crustaceans as waters warm. The baby lobsters settle at the bottom of the ocean, take shelter and grow. Members of the fishing industry closely watch trends about lobster settlement because they provide an insight into what the population of adult lobsters, which are trapped by fishermen, could look like in future years. University of Maine scientist Rick Wahle, who has documented baby lobster density for decades, said a trend of below-average settlement numbers in the Gulf of Maine continued in 2021. The gulf stretches from Canada to Cape Cod, Mass., and is critical to the lobstering business. Meanwhile, there was a moderate uptick in baby lobsters in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, where some Canadian fishermen harvest lobsters, Wahle said. The trends illustrate the northeastward shift of the lobster population as waters warm, he said. Lobster catch has cratered off of southern New England locations such as Buzzards Bay, Mass., and is growing off of places like Newfoundland, Wahle said. ‘For the Gulf of Maine, numbers are pretty much on par with last year, meaning they are still rather low,’ he said.” [Politico, 3/2/22 (=)]

 

Sea-Level Rise

 

Powell: Expect Banks To Shift Climate Risk To Taxpayers. According to Politico, “U.S. taxpayers can expect to foot a big part of the bill that comes from sea-level rise in coastal communities, acting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said yesterday. The reason? Banks in the future likely will steer clear of climate-threatened properties — leaving these mortgages increasingly in the hands of the federal government. Powell’s grim assessment came yesterday during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. It followed a question from Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), who asked Powell about the Fed’s work to address the financial threats of climate change. During the exchange, Casten referenced a 2020 report from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The report said the more vulnerable a region is to coastal flooding, the more likely commercial banks will respond by offloading risky mortgages onto Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are backed by taxpayers. Casten wanted to know how the United States could better shield taxpayers from that outcome. ‘If the sophisticated players are seeing this risk and we at a federal level are backstopping’ it, Casten asked, ‘how are we isolating our federal balance sheet from that risk exposure?’” [Politico, 3/3/22 (=)]

 

Report Highlights Climate Threat To Chemical Facilities. According to Politico, “Thousands of hazardous chemicals facilities nationwide are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and require more assistance from EPA, according to new government findings. In a report released this week, the Government Accountability Office found that almost a third of U.S. facilities that make, use or store hazardous chemicals face climate change threats. Those EPA-regulated facilities are at risk from flooding, storm surges, wildfires and sea-level rise. Under EPA’s Risk Management Plan rule, facilities that manage hazardous chemicals have to implement programs designed to address possible releases, including preventing, detecting and minimizing them. GAO’s report cited federal data indicating 31 percent of relevant facilities are located in areas of concern but may not be equipped to address the threat. ‘We found that EPA doesn’t consistently assess how these facilities are managing risks from natural hazards and climate change,’ the office said. Analyzing that federal data, GAO found that 3,200 of 10,420 facilities were in areas threatened by climate impacts. Those RMP sites face multiple challenges, the watchdog said, ‘including insufficient information and direction.’ GAO ultimately made a number of recommendations, emphasizing the need for EPA to work on communication and compliance, along with developing inspection methods.” [Politico, 3/2/22 (=)]

 

Climate Change Threatens Nearly One Third Of U.S. Hazardous Chemical Facilities. According to NPR, “Nearly one third of the hazardous chemical facilities in the United States are at risk from climate-driven floods, storms and wildfires, according to a new analysis by the Government Accountability Office. The federal watchdog analyzed more than 10,000 factories, refineries, water treatment plants and other facilities that manufacture, store or use dangerous chemicals. They found that more than 3,200 of them are located in places where they face damage from sea level rise, hurricane storm surge, wildfires or flooding from heavy rain. ‘Recent natural disasters have demonstrated the potential for natural hazards to trigger fires, explosions, and releases of toxic chemicals at facilities,’ the report’s authors note. The report calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to require facilities to prepare for floods, power outages and other effects of climate change. Climate-driven storms have damaged numerous chemical plants, refineries and water treatment plants in recent years. The most stark examples have unfolded during hurricanes. In 2021, Hurricane Ida caused leaks and power outages at facilities from Louisiana to New Jersey. In 2020, Hurricane Laura forced tens of thousands of people near Lake Charles, La., to shelter in place after a local chemical plant was damaged and began leaking dangerous chlorine gas. And, in 2017, flooding from Hurricane Harvey caused massive sewage leaks from water treatment plants, and caused at least one chemical plant to catch fire and burn for days.” [NPR, 3/3/22 (=)]

 

Ocean Health & Management

 

NOAA Hires New Leader For Ocean Exploration. According to Politico, “NOAA will have a new director of ocean exploration on its leadership team later this month. Jeremy Weirich will assume the position on March 14, NOAA announced. He replaces Genene Fisher, who has served as the acting director of NOAA Ocean Exploration since May of last year. Weirich previously worked as the vice president for corporate strategy at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. Earlier, he worked for the Senate Appropriations Committee as majority clerk for the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee. His job on Capitol Hill included managing NASA and National Science Foundation science accounts and overseeing much of the Commerce Department’s spending legislation, including funding for NOAA’s research vessel acquisitions, fisheries management, cooperative research and exploration. He also served in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps aboard oceangoing research and hydrographic vessels and coordinated underwater expeditions. Fisher will return to her previous job as the office’s deputy director.” [Politico, 3/2/22 (=)]

 

Florida House Approves Creating Climate Change Resiliency Office. According to Tampa Bay Times, “The Florida House almost unanimously passed a proposal Wednesday to bolster efforts against sea-level rise. The bill (HB 7053), sponsored by Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, R-Coral Gables, would establish a new resiliency office directly under Gov. Ron DeSantis.” [Tampa Bay Times, 3/2/22 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: IPCC's Words Matter — And So Does The Ocean. According to an op-ed by Peter De Menocal and Margaret Leinen in The Hill, “Words matter. That’s why the words that appear in reports released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are so carefully discussed and debated. As a result, the IPCC’s reports often land on the side of sounding nuanced or overly cautious. Which is why a small section in the current summary of the IPCC report on adaptation and mitigation stands out for its stark, plain-spoken warning: ‘The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health,’ the report states. ‘Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.’ Before this window closes, we need to understand the 70 percent of the planet covered by the ocean if we are going to blunt the worst effects of climate change. This will require something Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the U.S. government’s National Science Foundation (NSF), describes as movement ‘at speed and scale.’ The momentum to make the ocean more transparent requires a coordinated commitment by academia, industry, government and the nonprofit sector to develop new, more comprehensive and less expensive observing systems. This is not easy, nor is it something we can put off to the future. The ocean has already absorbed roughly 90 percent of the excess heat produced by human activity since the dawn of the Industrial Age, and we can already see the effects of that excess heat on our planet’s life-support system. It is reshuffling ecosystems in ways that threaten the ocean’s food web — including parts that feed humans, as important fisheries decline or move poleward.” [The Hill, 3/2/22 (+)]

 

 

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