Ellen M. Gilmer • June 29, 2020, 9:45 AM | Updated: June 29, 2020, 11:46 AM PennEast, New Jersey disagree over state land seizure Industry alleges broad disruptions from lower court ruling The U.S. Supreme Court wants the Trump administration’s views on a major energy case that could decide the fate of the proposed PennEast pipeline.
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Supreme Court asks US solicitor to weigh in on PennEast pipeline case, Oil & Gas Journal
The Supreme Court, unready to decide whether it will review the legal fight between PennEast Pipeline and New Jersey, asked US Solicitor General Noel Francisco to file a brief offering the Justice Department’s views on the pipeline right-of-way case. Alan Kovski • Jun 29th, 2020 The Supreme Court, unready to decide whether it will review
MORE »Coal company says its freshly bulldozed road in roadless area near Paonia is legal, Colorado Sun
Colorado mining regulators this week ordered Mountain Coal to stop building roads after a federal court ruling blocked the West Elk Mine from expanding into the Sunset Roadless Area. Jason Blevins • 4:20 AM MDT on Jun 20, 2020 Mountain Coal Co. says the road it blazed into the Sunset Roadless Area below Kebler Pass is legal
MORE »The Supreme Court should remind New Jersey why the U.S. discarded the Articles of Confederation, Washington Post ($)
Opinion by George F. Will • June 19, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EDT The Supreme Court justices might be bemused, or depressed, by this question they implicitly will consider in Thursday’s conference: Should they review — the answer is yes — a decision by a lower court that evidently skipped history class the day the teacher explained that a huge defect
MORE »What you need to know about Trans Mountain expansion, Globe and Mail ($)
Darryl Dyck • The Canadian Press The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been cast as the saviour of Alberta’s energy sector – the single project that can lift the province’s economy out of a persistent slump and send oil prices rebounding. For Ottawa, it is a key test of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s long-standing promise
MORE »NJ tells high court not to bite on ‘overstated’ impacts in pitch from PennEast, S&P Global Platts ($)
Author Maya Weber • 03 Jun 2020 | 19:06 UTC • Washington Washington — The State of New Jersey has told the US Supreme Court that PennEast Pipeline exaggerated the industrywide harms likely to result from a federal appeals court decision blocking condemnation of property in which the state holds an interest. The June 2 brief from
MORE »NJ, NY reject Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement project, Oil & Gas Journal
OGJ editors The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) have rejected Williams’ 400-MMcfd Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) have rejected Williams’ 400-MMcfd Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project. The
MORE »Biden says he’d cancel Keystone XL pipeline permit if elected, CBC
Alexander Panetta, Katie Simpson • CBC News • May 18, 2020 2:17 PM ET | Last Updated: May 18 Joe Biden will cancel the Keystone XL pipeline if he’s elected president of the United States, his campaign said Monday in a potential death blow for the delay-plagued Canada-U.S. oil project. His staff said he would withdraw the permit
MORE »Governor Cuomo Rejects The Williams Pipeline — #CleanEnergyWillWin, CleanTechnica
The Williams Pipeline was just rejected by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. It would have carried natural gas that had been fracked from Pennsylvania to parts of New York City. This pipeline would have also trapped New York into several decades of dependence on fracked gas. We need to ease off fossil fuels, in my opinion —
MORE »Cuomo administration cites new climate law in denying controversial New York, New Jersey pipeline, Politico
By Marie J. French • 05/15/2020 07:51 PM EDT Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration denied a permit for a pipeline to supply natural gas to Long Island and New York City in a landmark decision citing the state’s sweeping climate law. The Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, which also would need some permits in New Jersey,
MORE »E.P.A. Weakens Controls on Mercury, New York Times ($)
The agency is changing the way it calculates the benefits of mercury controls, a move that would effectively loosen the rules on other toxic pollutants. By Lisa Friedman and Coral Davenport • Published April 16, 2020 | Updated Dec. 7, 2020 WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday weakened regulations on the release of mercury and other toxic metals from
MORE »New California Well Stimulation Permits Approved Following Reviews, Natural Gas Intelligence ($)
California on Monday issued its first permits for well stimulation following a third-party review mandated as part of an oil and gas permitting audit process. By Rich Nemec The California Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division has approved 24 permits including for Aera Energy LLC in Kern County near Bakersfield. “These are the first permits issued
MORE »Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Wins a Victory in Dakota Access Pipeline Case, New York Times ($)
By Lisa Friedman WASHINGTON — In a significant victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, a federal judge on Wednesday ordered a sweeping new environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline, which runs from North Dakota to Illinois, has been carrying oil for nearly three years and has been contested by environmental groups and Native
MORE »To stop Trump fracking plans, California is going to court, LA Times ($)
By Phil Willon • Jan. 17 2020SACRAMENTO California took legal action Friday to block the Trump administration’s plans to open federal lands in California to oil and gas drilling, including the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing. The federal lawsuit announced by state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra comes after President Trump’s administration announced details of its
MORE »Washington state deals setback to massive methanol plant, Seattle Times ($)
By Gene Johnson • The Associated Press • Nov. 22, 2019 at 10:28 am | Updated Nov. 24, 2019 at 2:20 pm SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state dealt a setback Friday to efforts to build one of the world’s biggest methanol plants on the Columbia River, saying that five years in, its backers had failed to
MORE »Newsom Freezes New Fracking Permits in California, Courthouse News Service
Citing the need for enhanced studies on the environmental impacts caused by two popular oil and gas drilling techniques, California officials announced Tuesday the state is suspending new permits for fracking and high-pressure steam operations. Nick Cahill • November 19, 2019 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) – Citing the need for enhanced studies on the environmental impacts
MORE »California Governor Cracks Down On Fracking, Requires Audits And Scientific Review, NPR
November 19, 20199:08 PM ET RICHARD GONZALES California Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed new regulations Tuesday on hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, and curbed steam-injected oil drilling in his state, extractive methods long opposed by environmentalists. Under the new initiatives: New permits for fracking will be subject to independent scientific review by experts at the Lawrence
MORE »Millions of Gallons Of Oily Water Have Surfaced In A Kern County Oil Field, And More Keeps Coming, Valley Public Radio, NPR for Central California
By Kerry Klein • Nov 15, 2019 Juan Flores remembers sitting in a meeting in July when his phone started blowing up. He’s a community organizer with the non-profit advocacy group Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment. “A fellow colleague in environmental justice work, he literally called me three times,” he says. Not wanting
MORE »Conservationists Sue to Block Federal Oil and Gas Leases in California, Courthouse News Service
Nick Cahill • October 30, 2019 (CN) – California environmental groups sued the Trump administration Wednesday to thwart plans to auction over 700,000 acres to the fossil fuel industry, calling the potential of new fracking operations a threat to the San Francisco Bay Area’s wildlife and aquifers. Filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and
MORE »California fines Chevron over Kern County oil leaks, LA Times ($)
By Associated PressBAKERSFIELD California regulators have fined Chevron $2.7 million for violations at a facility in Kern County where there have been multiple oil leaks. The Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources said Wednesday that Chevron illegally allowed uncontrolled oil releases at Cymric oil field. The seep out of the ground
MORE »Federal appeals court strikes blow to PennEast pipeline project, StateImpact Pennsylvania (NPR)
The Third Circuit decision blocks PennEast from condemning state-owned land in New Jersey Susan Phillips • September 10, 2019 | 5:41 PM A federal appeals court has blocked PennEast pipeline company from condemning state-owned land for its proposed 116-mile long line that would ship Marcellus Shale gas from northeast Pennsylvania to New Jersey. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel
MORE »Federal government announces new Canada Energy Regulator appointments, JWN Energy
By JWN staff Cassie Doyle, a former deputy minister of Natural Resources Canada and a former Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) board member, will chair the board of directors of the new Canada Energy Regulator (CER). The vice-chair is George Vegh, head of McCarthy Tétrault’s national energy regulatory practice and leader of its Toronto energy regulation practice.
MORE »Canadian Energy Regulator officially replaces NEB, iPolitics
By Marco Vigliotti • Published on Aug 28, 2019 6:00am After some 60 years, the National Energy Board is officially no more. At 12:01 a.m. (Eastern time) today, the regulatory body that oversaw interprovincial and international energy infrastructure like oil and gas pipelines and power lines was officially replaced by the new Canadian Energy Regulator (CER),
MORE »A Runaway Train Explosion Killed 47, but Deadly Cargo Still Rides the Rails, New York Times ($)
When things go wrong, those in power often promise to make it right. But do they? In this series, The Times is going back to the scene of major news events to see if those promises were kept. By Ian Austen The runaway train hurtled into the center of town shortly after midnight, with no one aboard
MORE »Chevron spills 800,000 gallons of oil and water in Kern County canyon, LA Times ($)
By Associated Press California authorities said Friday that crews are beginning to clean up a massive oil spill that dumped nearly 800,000 gallons of oil and water into a Kern County canyon, making it larger — if less devastating — than the state’s last two major oil spills. The seep, which has been flowing off
MORE »E.P.A. Finalizes Its Plan to Replace Obama-Era Climate Rules, New York Times ($)
By Lisa Friedman • June 19, 2019 WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday replaced former President Barack Obama’s effort to reduce planet-warming pollution from coal plants with a new rule that would keep plants open longer and undercut progress on reducing carbon emissions. The rule represents the Trump administration’s most direct effort to protect the
MORE »Inslee pulls support from two Western Washington natural gas projects, Seattle Times ($)
By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter • May 9, 2019 at 12:00 am Gov. Jay Inslee — citing the “accelerating threat of climate change” — withdrew support Wednesday for two Western Washington natural-gas projects: one in Kalama that would turn this fossil fuel into methanol, and another in Tacoma that would produce a transportation fuel for
MORE »Controversial Kalama Methanol Plant May Be Misleading Public, Regulators, OPB
By Molly Solomon (OPB) • April 19, 2019 9:30 p.m.VANCOUVER, WASH. Nearly four years ago, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee touted a new company that was coming to Kalama to revolutionize the methanol market. On that sunny August day on the banks of the Columbia River, Inslee spoke alongside city and county leaders, business people and executives from NW
MORE »Guess where Quebec gets its oil, National Observer ($)
By Carl Meyer • November 13th 2018 The supply of oil going to Quebec refineries has undergone a dramatic transformation in less than six years. While the province got most of its oil from overseas in 2012, the situation had flipped by 2017, with most of the supply now coming from North American producers. On top of
MORE »Le pétrole du Québec vient désormais d’Amérique du Nord, Radio-Canada
Le pétrole du Québec vient désormais d’Amérique du Nord Gérald Fillion • Publié le 2 novembre 2018 ANALYSE – Pendant des années, il était de bon ton de dire qu’il fallait produire du pétrole au Québec et construire un pipeline pancanadien pour réduire notre dépendance au pétrole étranger et pour faire baisser les prix. Or, l’idée
MORE »Liberals to buy Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5B to ensure expansion is built, CBC News
Canadian public could also incur millions to construct expansion project with estimated price tag of $7.4B Kathleen Harris • CBC News The Liberal government will buy the Trans Mountain pipeline and related infrastructure for $4.5 billion, and could spend billions more to build the controversial expansion. Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced details of the agreement reached with Kinder Morgan
MORE »Kinder Morgan issues ultimatum, suspends ‘non-essential’ spending on Trans Mountain pipeline, Globe and Mail ($)
KELLY CRYDERMAN AND IAN BAILEY | CALGARY | PUBLISHED APRIL 8, 2018 Kinder Morgan has suspended all “non-essential” spending on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion due to opposition from the British Columbia government, issuing an ultimatum that it won’t commit any more dollars to the $7.4-billion project unless it can get agreement from the province to stand aside
MORE »Vancouver Energy ends bid to build nation’s biggest oil-train terminal along Columbia River, Seattle Times ($)
This was one of a series of high-profile fossil-fuel projects proposed in Washington state in recent years, all of which have faced strong opposition from environmentalists. By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter | Originally published February 27, 2018 at 2:09 pm | Updated February 28, 2018 at 10:04 am Vancouver Energy is ending a four-year quest to
MORE »Washington governor rejects permit for oil-by-rail terminal, Seattle Times ($)
Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement Monday that he agreed with the recommendation of a state energy panel, which voted in November to deny the application of the Vancouver Energy project. By Phuong Le, The Associated Press • Originally published January 29, 2018 at 9:41 am | Updated January 29, 2018 at 4:29 pm SEATTLE
MORE »PennEast gas pipeline gets FERC approval, Oil & Gas Journal
PennEast Pipeline has received US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission construction approval 3 years after filing with agency. The roughly 120-mile natural gas pipeline begins in the Marcellus Shale near Dallas, Pa., and connects with Williams Co.’s Transco Pipeline near Pennington, NJ. OGJ editors • Jan 22nd, 2018 PennEast Pipeline has received US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
MORE »The Trump Admin’s Misleading Justifications for Repealing This Oil Train Safety Rule, DeSmog
By Justin Mikulka • Dec 10, 2017 @ 05:02 PST On December 4, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced it would repeal a critical safety regulation for modern braking systems on the same oil trains which have derailed, spilled oil, caught fire, exploded, and even killed dozens in multiple high profile accidents in recent years. The regulation, released by
MORE »EFSEC unanimous in vote against Port of Vancouver oil terminal, The Columbian
By Dameon Pesanti, Columbian staff writer OLYMPIA — The plan to build the largest rail-to-marine oil terminal in the United States suffered a major blow Tuesday at the hands of the state body tasked with its evaluation. Barely five minutes into a special meeting at the state Capitol, the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council
MORE »Vancouver oil terminal report details unavoidable impacts, Portland Business Journal
By Pete Danko – Staff Reporter, Portland Business Journal The developer and opponents offered diametrically differing views of a final environmental review of the proposed Vancouver Energy oil terminal, released Tuesday, a week ahead of a long-awaited recommendation on the controversial project from Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. In a presentation in Olympia, EFSEC staff said a Final Environmental Impact
MORE »Judge allows Dakota Access pipeline to keep running, MPR News
The Associated Press • Bismarck, N.D. October 11, 2017 6:53 p.m. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Dakota Access oil pipeline can continue operating while a study is completed to assess its environmental impact on an American Indian tribe. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s decision will come as a blow to the Standing Rock
MORE »Basic economics – not regulation – ended the Energy East pipeline, Globe and Mail ($)
Benjamin Dachis • Published October 5, 2017 Benjamin Dachis is associate director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute. TransCanada Corp. announced on Thursday that it would not proceed with its Energy East proposal to ship Western Canadian oil to Eastern Canada. Widely thought to have been felled by overzealous regulators, in truth the king
MORE »Permits invalidated for big Washington state methanol plant, Financial Post ($)
The Associated Press • Sep 19, 2017 SEATTLE — U.S. environmental groups opposed to the Pacific Northwest becoming an international fossil fuels gateway scored a major victory when a Washington state board invalidated two permits for a $2 billion project to manufacture methanol from natural gas and export it to China. Last week’s decision by
MORE »Board hits brakes on $1.8 billion methanol plant planned for Kalama, Seattle Times ($)
The state Shoreline Hearings Board found fault with permits for the planned $1.8 billion methanol plant and called for more analysis of greenhouse-gas emissions. By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter • Originally published September 19, 2017 at 6:00 am | Updated September 19, 2017 at 7:03 am A state hearings board has found flaws in an
MORE »The Standing Rock Sioux Claim ‘Victory and Vindication’ in Court. The Atlantic ($)
A federal judge rules that the Dakota Access pipeline did not receive an adequate environmental vetting. Robinson Meyer A federal judge ruled in favor of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Wednesday, handing the tribe its first legal victory in its year-long battle against the Dakota Access pipeline. James Boasberg, who sits on D.C. district
MORE »Donald Trump and the Order of the Pipelines, The Atlantic ($)
Legal experts aren’t sure the president can succeed in his attempt to revive Dakota Access and Keystone XL. Robinson Meyer WASHINGTON, D.C.—Environmental advocates suspected it was coming, but few thought it would happen this quickly. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump ordered the re-authorization and rapid completion of the Dakota Access and the Keystone XL pipelines,
MORE »Trump Revives Keystone Pipeline Rejected by Obama, New York Times ($)
By Peter Baker and Coral Davenport • Jan. 24, 2017 WASHINGTON — President Trump sharply changed the federal government’s approach to the environment on Tuesday as he cleared the way for two major oil pipelines that had been blocked, and set in motion a plan to curb regulations that slow other building projects. In his latest moves to dismantle the
MORE »Protesters Gain Victory in Fight Over Dakota Access Oil Pipeline, New York Times ($)
By Jack Healy and Nicholas Fandos CANNON BALL, N.D. — The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe won a major victory on Sunday in its battle to block an oil pipeline being built near its reservation when the Department of the Army announced that it would not allow the pipeline to be drilled under a dammed section of the Missouri
MORE »How Benicia Valero Crude By Rail was Defeated, Benicia Independent
Three (or 10 or 12, or maybe 40?) factors… What happened in Benicia was amazing. It’s well worth our time as community activists and organizers to reflect a bit on how David went up against Goliath and won. I was there from the beginning in this Benicia episode, so I have a story to tell.
MORE »Council denies Valero Crude-By Rail Project, Benicia Herald
By Donna Beth Weilenman • Martinez News Gazette Benicia City Council has unanimously denied a use permit for the controversial Valero Crude-By-Rail project, citing a federal board decision as well as a June 3 derailment that spilled 42,000 gallons of crude oil and caused a fire that burned 14 hours.But the matter didn’t end Tuesday
MORE »Benicia: Valero crude oil-by-rail facility rejected by City Council, Mercury News
BENICIA — Environmentalists hoping to defeat Benicia’s crude-by-rail project scored a huge victory Tuesday night, handing Valero Refining Company a significant defeat in the process. In a unanimous decision from Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and the City Council, Valero’s application for a conditional use permit for a crude oil off-loading facility was denied. Vicki Dennis, who moved to
MORE »Benicia nixes Valero plan to run crude oil trains through Sacramento, Davis, Roseville, The Sacramento Bee ($)
By Tony Bizjak | UPDATED SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 3:28 PM The Benicia City Council on Tuesday unanimously rejected a controversial plan by the Valero Refining Co. to ship crude oil aboard trains through Sacramento and other Northern California cities to its bayside refinery. The 5-0 vote, taken after four years of bitter debate, represents a
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