General Coverage

 

White House Sped Review Of Methane Rule Delay. According to E&E News, “In a rapid-fire review, the White House took just three days to evaluate EPA’s proposal to give states more time to cut methane emissions from landfills. The rule change, which affects emissions from municipal solid waste landfills, was published this week in the Federal Register. If it’s finalized, states will have until August 2019 to submit their plans for cutting methane from those facilities. The proposed changes would also give EPA more time to draft a federal plan if necessary. In an email to EPA officials a day after the rule change was sent over for interagency review, a staffer in the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs followed up to ask for additional information about the changes ahead of a meeting that appears to have been scheduled for that afternoon. ‘I realize that this is very rushed, but if you have a power point already prepared I would be happy to circulate,’ wrote Chad Whiteman, an OIRA desk agent, on Oct. 16. ‘If not, you can just walk through the background, what the rule does and why it is needed, anticipated effect (any costs/benefits either quantified or qualitative), litigation, and timing.’ Over the next couple of days, OIRA and EPA corresponded about a number of minor clarifying questions to the draft text. When EPA stated that costs and benefits of harmonizing the timing requirements ‘cannot be quantified,’ OIRA noted the agency should ask for comment about that assertion. John Walke, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s clean air, climate and clean energy program, suggested two possible explanations for why OIRA might complete a review quickly, although the speed in this case is unusual. Walke noted he was not closely tracking the administration’s actions on this specific rule.” [E&E News, 11/1/18 (=)]

 

Fracking Falls From Dems' Sights As They Eye Majority. According to E&E News, “The last time Democrats controlled the House, ‘fracking’ was better known as a cuss word on the science fiction show ‘Battlestar Galactica’ than an oil drilling process. Since then, the term has grown to be the poorly defined buzzword for the nation’s oil and gas production boom, and an epithet for the environmental left. It’s technically a nickname for hydraulic fracturing, a part of building and completing an oil or gas well, yet it’s come to signify much more to many people. But it’s not a focus in this election year, and it does not appear to be on the agenda of a prospective Democratic House majority. ‘The wind has gone out of the sails of anti-fracking as Democrats get closer to governing,’ said Paul Bledsoe, an energy fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and former adviser in the Clinton White House. What appears more likely is efforts to reinstate Obama-era methane restrictions on new oil and gas wells, and oversight of EPA’s jurisdiction over drilling. ‘We need to have hearings on all of the attempts of the Trump administration to repeal the environmental rules of the Obama years,’ said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the top Democrat on its Oversight Subcommittee.” [E&E News, 11/2/18 (=)]

 

Colo. Drilling Clash Sees 'Elway Bump' Ahead Of Vote. According to E&E News, “A ballot measure that could curb oil and gas development in Colorado has attracted attention from some heavyweight names, including former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Proposition 112 would require new drilling sites, processing plants and gathering lines to be located at least 2,500 feet away from homes, schools and other ‘vulnerable’ areas. That could lead to about 54 percent of state land becoming inaccessible to producers for new oil and gas development, according to the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. ‘Polling continues to move in the industry’s direction, with generally ‘yes’ in the low 40s and ‘no’ in the high 40s. Some recent polls seem to be even better, presumably due to the ‘Elway bump,’ according to SunTrust analyst Welles Fitzpatrick, as the Denver Broncos’ two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback and current president of football operations/general manager John Elway appeared in ads recommending people vote no. Colorado House Majority Leader KC Becker, a Democrat representing a north-central district that includes part of Boulder County, recently said proponents simply don’t have the funding necessary to go up against the oil and gas industry, which has pumped more than $30 million into a campaign to defeat the measure. Proponents, meanwhile, have raised $700,000. Backers of Prop 112 raised about $351,000 for the period of Oct. 11-24, based on an amended filing as of Oct. 30, of which only $177,000 was in cash, according to TRACER data.” [E&E News, 11/2/18 (=)]

 

Minnesota Supreme Court To Review Appeals Ruling That Upheld Winona County Frac Sand Ban. According to Winona Daily News, “The legality of Winona County’s ban on frac sand remains in question. The Minnesota Supreme Court announced last week that it will review an appeals ruling that upheld the county’s ban on mining frac sand, the first of its kind in Minnesota. Minnesota Sands has argued the county’s ban is unconstitutional because it singles out sand used for industrial purposes, while allowing mining for local construction uses. The sand is used to fracture shale rock in order to extract oil and natural gas. The Winona County Board passed the ban in November 2016. The board has allowed mining to continue for construction sand, a cheaper, less pure material used on roadways and for other commercial purposes. A Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Sands and a group of landowners in July. The ordinance does not violate the federal Commerce Clause ‘because it does not favor in-state interests over out-of-state interests,’ the appeals panel wrote. ‘On the contrary, it even-handedly bans all industrial mineral mining, which includes silica-sand mining, within the county.’ The court further ruled that the ordinance does not constitute a ‘taking’ because Minnesota Sands did not apply for conditional use permits in the years leading up to its adoption.” [Winona Daily News, 11/1/18 (=)]

 

Discarding Halloween Pumpkins Adds To Greenhouse Effect, So Take Advantage Of Drop-Off Site Or A Pumpkin Smash. According to Chicago Tribune, "Discarding Halloween pumpkins adds to greenhouse effect, so take advantage of drop-off site or a Pumpkin Smash. According to E&E News, ‘If that Halloween hangover has left you bleary and bloated, one gesture might lift your spirits: properly disposing of your pumpkins. Many communities … have begun offering post-Halloween pumpkin collections — even in some cases pumpkin catapulting — as a whimsical way to encourage people to address a serious concern: methane gas in landfills, considered one of the top causes of climate change. Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, and it’s produced by the decaying of food scraps in landfills. So drop-off events ensure that pumpkins and gourds get composted instead of ending up in the trash heap." [Chicago Tribune, 11/1/18 (+)]

 

Colorado Fracking Ballot Measure Splits Democrats. According to Washington Examiner, “Democrats are split over a Colorado ballot measure that would curb drilling in most of one of America’s largest oil and gas producing states. Facing growing pressure to transition away from fossil fuels to combat climate change, the party is divided on how to manage the spoils, and consequences, of America’s decade-long natural gas boom. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a centrist Democrat with presidential ambitions, opposes the measure, as does U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, the state’s Democratic nominee for governor. But nationally-minded progressives, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Al Gore, the former vice president and environmentalist, have backed the measure, viewing the potential impact of its success in bigger terms. The Democratic Party of Colorado also endorsed it. ‘As oil & gas spends millions to fight this, your citizen-led campaign can protect Coloradans and make climate justice history!’ Gore said in a Twitter post on Monday. Sanders projected a similar message a day earlier: ‘Given the crisis we face with climate change, in my view we should move toward a total ban on fracking,’ he said in tweet.” [Washington Examiner, 11/1/18 (=)]

 

A New Crop Of Candidates, Refusing Industry Money, Vow To Halt Fracking In Pennsylvania. According to In These Times, “In Pennsylvania, a rush is on to extract gas and other fossil fuels from the Marcellus and Utica Shales. Both Democratic and Republican state officials have been quick to give the green light to the oil and gas industry to drill, frack and build pipelines. But local backlash against pollution, explosions and seizure of property is firing up a new crop of state legislative challengers who vow to stay clean of industry money and put a halt to the gas rush. Grassroots environmentalist campaign Proud Pennsylvania has collaborated with Food and Water Action PAC to endorse 15 candidates for Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives on the November 6 ballot who support a ban on fracking and a moratorium on all new fossil fuel infrastructure. All have pledged not to accept industry money. Twelve of the 15 are women, reflecting the wave of women running for office in 2018. These races could serve as a test of whether residents of Pennsylvania, like many in the Appalachian region, are tired of seeing their state embrace resource extraction with a high environmental toll.” [In These Times, 11/1/18 (+)]

 

Opinion Pieces

 

Op-Ed: Fracking Not Worth Destroying Land We Love. According to an op-ed by Paul Dougan in Boulder Daily Camera, “Is fracking an economic must for Colorado? The Boulder Weekly opines, ‘The oil and gas industry accounts for less than 1 percent of the state’s economy,’ adding that the fracking industry ‘virtually ceased operations a few years ago,’ and that slowdown didn’t ‘even create a blip on our state’s economic radar.’ Fracking slowdowns also show how financially fragile the industry is; thus, a CNBC 2016 headline reads, ‘Half of U.S. shale drillers may go bankrupt: Oppenheimer’s Gheit.’ Colorado fracking is already governed by ‘tough regulations’ — nonsense. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has never denied a fracking permit; further, the entire industry owes its existence to the 2005 Halliburton Loophole, which exempts fracking from the federal Clean Water Act. Tell the two who died in a 2017 fracking-caused house explosion in Firestone how closely regulated that industry is. Fracking creates devastating, long-term environmental problems. Fracking wells leak methane and toxic fracking chemicals into air, land and water. Often, fracking pipes (metal encased in cement) burst or leak. In his documentary ‘Gasland,’ Josh Fox quotes a Society of Petroleum Engineers estimate that 35 percent of wells have leaking casings. Fox quotes an industry journal: Over the next 30 years, 50 percent of all fracking wells will leak.” [Boulder Daily Camera, 10/31/18 (+)]

 

Op-Ed: Does Governor Northam Care About Environmental Justice? According to Richmond Times-Dispatch, “A year ago this week, then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe took an important step in creating the state’s first Advisory Council on Environmental Justice. Heeding the principle that ‘protection of our natural resources applies equally to all individuals,’ the council’s charge is to provide the administration with recommendations for action. It’s fitting that the council’s first priority was to examine the largest industrial projects proposed in Virginia in a generation — the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines, and in particular the 53,000-horsepower compressor station slated for a majority African-American community in Buckingham County. Since taking office, Gov. Ralph Northam and others in his administration have said a lot of the right things regarding environmental justice. His 2018 Energy Plan, for example, declares that the commonwealth ‘is dedicated to ensuring that there are not disproportionate impacts on economically disadvantaged or minority communities during the siting of energy resources.’ Northam and Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew Strickler have also made a lot of promises regarding the pipelines, saying they would not go forward unless they meet the strictest standards and that Virginia officials are doing everything possible to ensure those standards are met. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax went even further on the campaign trail last year, announcing his opposition to the pipelines.” [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 11/1/18 (+)]

 

 

 

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