24 May 2021 | 19:02 UTC The future of the 570,000 b/d Dakota Access Pipeline is still at risk, but the primary crude artery out of the Bakken Shale is in a much stronger position after a federal court ruling kept the oil flowing and the Biden administration opted against intervening on an existing pipeline
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Dakota Access Still Faces Existential Threats Despite Court Win, Bloomberg Law ($)
Ellen M. Gilmer • May 24, 2021, 5:31 AM It’s familiar territory for the embattled Energy Transfer LP project that seems perpetually unable to shake off legal and political hazards. A federal district court last week refused to halt the oil pipeline—an important win for Dakota Access—but an appeal or agency action could change its fate. “I
MORE »US federal appeals court denies DAPL rehearing request, S&P Global ($)
23 Apr 2021 | 15:39 UTC Houston — A federal appeals court quickly denied a rehearing request for the vacating of necessary permitting for the Dakota Access Pipeline, still leaving the fate of a potential shutdown of the Bakken Shale crude oil artery up to the federal judge who previously ordered the pipeline shuttered. MORE
MORE »Biden Cancels Keystone XL Pipeline and Rejoins Paris Climate Agreement, New York Times ($)
In a burst of climate orders, the president also ordered federal agencies to begin the process of reinstating environmental regulations reversed under the Trump administration. By Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman • Published Jan. 20, 2021 Updated Feb. 19, 2021 WASHINGTON — President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday recommitted the United States to the Paris climate agreement, the international accord
MORE »Biden to Cancel Keystone XL Pipeline in Inauguration Day Executive Order, New York Times ($)
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit on his first day in office, quickly reversing his predecessor’s approval of a project to move oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico long opposed by environmentalists, according to a person familiar with Mr. Biden’s plans. Opponents of the nearly
MORE »Ottawa defers $844M in Muskrat Falls payments, almost all due by end of year, CBC
Federal government again said it will help make hydroelectric project stable, but offered few details Stephanie Tobin · CBC News · Posted: Dec 17, 2020 11:32 AM NT | Last Updated: December 17, 2020 The federal government is again saying it will take steps to make Newfoundland and Labrador’s Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project financially stable — including waiving immediate payments
MORE »Researcher raises Muskrat methylmercury alarm, but Nalcor contractor says levels safe, CBC
1 year after Muskrat reservoir filled to capacity, biologist says no surprises being found Terry Roberts · CBC News · Posted: Nov 24, 2020 7:00 AM NT | Last Updated: November 24, 2020 There’s mixed messaging emerging from the debate over methylmercury contamination in Labrador, with a U.S. researcher again raising the alarm about the toxic organic compound, while a contractor monitoring the
MORE »Canada Energy Regulator projects there may be no need for Trans Mountain expansion or Keystone XL, Financial Post ($)
Report says if more climate policies put in place, oil output will grow until 2039, but only enough to need Line 3 Mia Rabson • The Canadian Press • Nov 24, 2020 • 3 minute read OTTAWA — A new report from the Canada Energy Regulator projects that if Canada strengthens its climate policies to cut more
MORE »The Trump Administration Is Reversing More Than 100 Environmental Rules. Here’s the Full List, New York Times ($)
By Nadja Popovich, Livia Albeck-ripka and Kendra Pierre-louis • Updated Jan. 20, 2021 Over four years, the Trump administration dismantled major climate policies and rolled back many more rules governing clean air, water, wildlife and toxic chemicals. In all, a New York Times analysis, based on research from Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School and other sources, counts
MORE »Energy Transfer pushing ahead on Dakota Access expansion, bullish on litigation, S&P Global ($)
Author: Jordan Blum • 04 Nov 2020 | 23:47 UTC Houston Houston — Energy Transfer executives said Nov. 4 they still plan to expand the controversial Dakota Access crude pipeline in 2021 — the same day that plaintiffs argued in a federal appeals court for shuttering the 570,000 b/d pipeline entirely. The Dallas pipeline operator is
MORE »Federal Judge Denies Bid to Halt Work on Keystone XL, Pipeline & Gas Journal
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request by Native American tribes to halt construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada over worries about potential spills and damage to cultural sites. Work started this spring on the long-stalled pipeline that would carry oil sands crude from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska.
MORE »FEATURE: Dakota Access Pipeline fight will heat up again in two federal courts, S&P Global ($)
Author: Jordan Blum • 20 Aug 2020 | 18:07 UTC Houston Houston — The Dakota Access Pipeline will continue to flow crude oil for now, but the legal battle heats back up again soon as the fight to shutter the pipeline continues in two separate federal courts. A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals
MORE »Is This the End of New Pipelines? New York Times ($)
Defeats at three projects reflect increasingly sophisticated legal challenges, shifting economics and growing demands by states to fight climate change. By Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer • Published July 8, 2020 | Updated Jan. 18, 2021 They are among the nation’s most significant infrastructure projects: More than 9,000 miles of oil and gas pipelines in the United States are currently
MORE »Supreme Court Won’t Block Ruling to Halt Work on Keystone XL Pipeline, New York Times ($)
But the justices stayed the rest of a federal trial judge’s ruling striking down a permit program, allowing construction of other pipelines around the nation. By Adam Liptak • July 6, 2020 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request from the Trump administration to allow construction of parts of the Keystone XL oil pipeline that
MORE »Dakota Access Pipeline to Shut Down Pending Review, Federal Judge Rules, New York Times ($)
The ruling, a victory for the Native American and environmentalist groups who oppose the pipeline, said that it must be emptied of oil by Aug. 5. By Jacey Fortin and Lisa Friedman The Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil route from North Dakota to Illinois that has inspired intense protests and legal battles, must shut down pending an environmental
MORE »Supreme Court Won’t Block Ruling to Halt Work on Keystone XL Pipeline, New York Times ($)
But the justices stayed the rest of a federal trial judge’s ruling striking down a permit program, allowing construction of other pipelines around the nation. By Adam Liptak • Published July 6, 2020 | Updated Jan. 18, 2021 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request from the Trump administration to allow construction of parts of the Keystone XL
MORE »Supreme Court Reinstates Permit 12 but Excludes Keystone XL, Pipeline & Gas Journal
By Jeff Awalt, Executive Editor HOUSTON (P&GJ) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the Army Corps of Engineers’ use of Nationwide Permit 12 but refused to let TC Energy resume construction of its Keystone XL pipeline under the fast-track permit. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of Montana ruled in April that the Corps violated federal law
MORE »Meet the judge at the heart of the West’s top energy battles, E&E News
Meet the judge at the heart of the West’s top energy battles Niina H. Farah, E&E News reporter • Published: Friday, May 29, 2020 Brian Morris has had a very busy few weeks. The chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, one of three active jurists on the bench, has
MORE »Alberta gears up for another legal battle over Keystone XL after Biden vows to pull permissions, Financial Post ($)
Next U.S. president has the power to force TC Energy to dig up the pipeline, says one legal scholar By Geoffrey Morgan Published May 19, 2020 CALGARY — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he is prepared to go to court anf file a free-trade lawsuit alongside TC Energy Corp. if Joe Biden becomes president and
MORE »Joe Biden vows to cancel Keystone XL if he wins presidency, National Post ($)
Alberta’s Jason Kenney has already committed to $1.1 billion on the project The Canadian Press WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s campaign says the former vice-president will rip up President Donald Trump’s approvals for the Keystone XL pipeline if he takes over the White House next year. Campaign officials made Biden’s first policy pronouncements on the controversial
MORE »Biden says he’d cancel Keystone XL pipeline permit if elected, CBC
Alexander Panetta, Katie Simpson • CBC News • May 18, 2020 2:17 PM ET | Last Updated: May 18 Joe Biden will cancel the Keystone XL pipeline if he’s elected president of the United States, his campaign said Monday in a potential death blow for the delay-plagued Canada-U.S. oil project. His staff said he would withdraw the permit
MORE »Montana judge blocks Keystone XL permit for river crossings, Bloomberg Green ($)
By Tom Korosec and Kevin Orland • April 15, 2020, 6:02 PM EDT | Updated on April 16, 2020, 2:20 PM EDT Montana judge invalidates Army Corps river crossing permit TC Energy missed 2019 construction season due to legal issues TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone XL oil-sands pipeline was a dealt a setback with a judge’s ruling that the U.S. Army
MORE »Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Wins a Victory in Dakota Access Pipeline Case, New York Times ($)
By Lisa Friedman WASHINGTON — In a significant victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, a federal judge on Wednesday ordered a sweeping new environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline, which runs from North Dakota to Illinois, has been carrying oil for nearly three years and has been contested by environmental groups and Native
MORE »Final report from Muskrat Falls inquiry released to the public, Globe and Mail ($)
Holly Mckenzie-Sutter · The Canadian Press · Published: March 10, 2020 | Last Updated: March 11, 2020ST. JOHN’S, N.L. The commissioner leading an inquiry into the troubled Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project says past provincial governments failed to protect the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. In a scathing report made public Tuesday, provincial Supreme Court Justice Richard LeBlanc concluded the government
MORE »Ottawa to renegotiate terms of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Muskrat Falls deal, Globe and Mail ($)
Bill Curry & David Parkinson · Published February 10, 2020OTTAWA AND TORONTO The federal government will restructure the terms of its support for Newfoundland and Labrador’s controversial Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project, as the province scrambles to protect ratepayers from a crippling spike in electricity rates stemming from the project’s cost overruns. Ottawa and the province announced Monday
MORE »Liberals won’t scrap environmental assessment bill, but seek ‘constructive suggestions’ on implementation, CBC
Frustrated opponents of C-69 want federal government to amend law overhauling approvals process. Kathleen Harris • CBC News • Posted: Nov 21, 2019 11:15 AM ET | Last Updated: November 21, 2019 The Liberal government is open to “constructive suggestions” on implementing a contentious new law overhauling the environmental assessment process for major resource projects — but it has
MORE »Trudeau offers to consult with detractors on implementation of new environmental-assessment law, Globe and Mail ($)
Marieke Walsh • Ottawa The federal government says it won’t make changes to its environmental-assessment legislation for major infrastructure projects, but it is open to suggestions on how to implement the new review process. Some of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most vocal critics have repeated calls for the government to repeal Bill C-69, which the
MORE »Liberals get passing grade on restoring environment protections, National Observer ($)
By Fatima Syed • August 7th 2019 Environmental groups have given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government a passing grade on its efforts to restore protections to Canada’s natural habitats, which the Liberals say are in jeopardy if the Conservatives return to power following this fall’s federal election. Nature Canada has created a report card — in
MORE »As megaproject nears completion, methylmercury concerns at Muskrat Falls linger, Global News
By Holly McKenzie-Sutter · The Canadian Press · Posted July 30, 2019 12:57 pm The $12.7-billion Muskrat Falls hydroelectric dam in Labrador is finally nearing completion, billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. But as the public is offered a final say at inquiry hearings Tuesday night in St. John’s and Aug. 8 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the
MORE »Weighing the methylmercury risk: What researchers say about country food, CBC
Bailey White · CBC News · Posted: Jul 26, 2019 7:00 AM NT | Last Updated: July 26, 2019 When the Muskrat Falls reservoir is flooded next month, people who harvest food from Lake Melville will have to make a decision. Should they keep the same eating habits they’ve always had, and risk consuming higher levels of methylmercury? Or,
MORE »Nalcor’s $10M deal with NunatuKavut hammered out in a page and a half, CBC
Bailey White · CBC News · Posted: Jul 24, 2019 2:56 PM NT | Last Updated: July 24, 2019 It took fewer than 300 words to cement a deal that will see Crown corporation Nalcor transfer $10 million to the NunatuKavut Community Council, an Indigenous group in Labrador. The page-and-a-half long agreement stipulates the council use the money to fund
MORE »Premier Dwight Ball defends decision to carry on with Muskrat Falls megaproject despite ballooning costs, Globe and Mail ($)
Holly Mckenzie-Sutter • The Canadian Press • Published: July 4, 2019ST. JOHN’S, N.L. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Premier says the joy of his 2015 election victory was short-lived as he began to realize the dire financial situation brought on by the Muskrat Falls hydro megaproject’s runaway costs. Liberal Premier Dwight Ball took the stand Thursday at the public inquiry
MORE »Controversial environmental-review bill becomes law, Globe and Mail ($)
Shawn Mccarthy • Global Energy Reporter • Ottawa The Liberal government received royal assent on Friday for its contentious Bill C-69, the culmination of its effort to revamp how Ottawa reviews major resource projects that began soon after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power in 2015. As part of an environmental platform, Mr. Trudeau campaigned
MORE »United Nations calls for methyl mercury mitigation at Muskrat Falls, The Telegram
UN special envoy on human rights calls on federal government to review methylmercury mitigation efforts David Maher · Published: Jun 07, 2019 at 9:15 p.m.ST. JOHN’S, N.L. The United Nations has called on the federal government to “prevent the release of methylmercury” at Muskrat Falls. Baskut Tunach, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and hazardous
MORE »Contested Muskrat Falls methylmercury recommendation could cost $742M, CBC
Environment minister says government reviewing report from committee established after hunger strikes Daniel MacEachern · CBC News · Posted: Apr 11, 2018 1:15 PM NT | Last Updated: April 11, 2018 One of several new Muskrat Falls recommendations has given the Newfoundland and Labrador government a tough choice. The government can remove soil from the project’s reservoir to help keep methylmercury levels
MORE »Advisory committee recommendations about Muskrat Falls deserve action: chair, The Telegram
Important to spread message Lake Melville area fish, seal safe to eat Ashley Fitzpatrick · Published: Apr 08, 2019 at 9:52 p.m.ST. JOHN’S, N.L. Premier Dwight Ball is preparing for a meeting with Indigenous leaders to discuss methylmercury and the recommendations of the Independent Expert Advisory Committee (IEAC) for the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project. The Telegram was
MORE »Trump signs permit for construction of controversial Keystone XL pipeline, Washington Post ($)
By Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin March 29, 2019 at 5:55 p.m. EDT President Trump signed a new order Friday granting permission for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, marking the White House’s latest effort to jump-start one of the most controversial infrastructure proposals in recent U.S. history. Trump’s presidential permit gives TransCanada, the Calgary-based firm behind
MORE »In A Setback For Trump, Judge Blocks Keystone XL Pipeline Construction, NPR
Emily Sullivan • November 9, 2018 3:54 AM ET A U.S. district judge has issued an order blocking construction of the controversial transnational Keystone XL Pipeline until the State Department conducts further study of its impact on the environment. Judge Brian Morris’ 54-page order, issued late Thursday, overturns the Trump administrations’s approval last year of
MORE »Canada’s new environmental review plan gets lukewarm reception, Science
By Lesley Evans Ogden • Feb. 9, 2018, 5:25 PM Scientists, industry officials, and environmentalists are giving mixed reception to a new plan to revamp how the Canadian government assesses the environmental impacts of development projects. The plan, released yesterday after 14 months of deliberation, delivers on an election promise made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party
MORE »Trudeau government poised to overhaul environmental assessment process on energy projects like pipelines, CBC
Legislation this week expected to mean changes to National Energy Board Elizabeth Thompson • CBC News • Posted: Feb 05, 2018 4:00 AM ET The Trudeau government is poised to introduce legislation this week to overhaul the way the federal government does environmental assessments on major energy projects like pipelines. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is to table a bill
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 »Trudeau Liberals propose sweeping reforms to Harper-era environmental laws, National Observer ($)
By Mike De Souza | News, Energy, Politics | June 29th 2017 The Trudeau government has proposed sweeping amendments to Canada’s environmental laws to reverse a series of “very controversial” changes implemented by the former Harper administration in 2012. The proposals — packaged in a colourful 24-page document sprinkled with photographs of nature, graphics and other images — moves the federal government one step
MORE »Ottawa proposes new rules for resource companies, Globe and Mail ($)
Shawn McCarthy, Global Energy Reporter • Ottawa • Published June 29, 2017 The Liberal government is proposing new rules that would require resource companies to consult with Ottawa and Indigenous communities on major projects well before the firms finalize their plans and apply for regulatory approval. The companies would also be expected to provide greater
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 »Even as Trudeau Reaches Out to First Nations, Mercury Rises, New York Times ($)
OpinionOP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Stephen Marche · New York Times · Nov. 27, 2016 Billy Gauthier, an Inuk artist who lives in Labrador on Canada’s remote northeastern coast, began his hunger strike on Oct. 13 after a plate of salmon. The meal was highly symbolic. The Nunatsiavut government in Labrador had released a study from a Harvard mercury researcher on the effects
MORE »Canada’s Big Dams Produce Clean Energy, and High Levels of Mercury, New York Times ($)
By Ian Austen • Nov. 10, 2016 OTTAWA — Protests. Hunger strikes. Sit-ins that disrupt construction. At the immense Muskrat Falls hydroelectric dam project in a remote and rugged part of Labrador, the indigenous people who live nearby have been raising louder and louder alarms. But it is not about the dam itself. The controversy is
MORE »How Dams Risk Poisoning Indigenous Diets, The Atlantic ($)
A new hydroelectric facility in Canada could push dangerous amounts of methylmercury into communities that rely on seafood. Joshua Sokol · November 9, 2016 On October 13, Billy Gauthier, an Inuk sculptor in Labrador, Canada, uploaded a picture of what he called his “last meal” to Facebook. It showed the split head and tail of a smoked
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