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.
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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 »Trump signs executive orders to stop states from delaying energy projects, Globe and Mail ($)
Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner • Reuters • Published April 10, 2019 | Updated April 11, 2019 U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders in the heart of the Texas energy hub on Wednesday seeking to speed natural gas, coal and oil projects delayed by coastal states as he looks to build support ahead
MORE »Trump signs permit for construction of controversial Keystone XL pipeline, Washington Post ($)
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 »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 »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 »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 »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 »There Are Two Unsung Heroes in the Keystone Pipeline Fight, Esquire ($)
One of them is a very good interview. The other is not. By Charles P. Pierce, Aug. 9, 2017 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA—There are two unsung major players in the eight-year saga of our old friend, the Keystone XL pipeline, the continent-spanning death funnel and current conservative fetish object. One of them is orange and black and
MORE »The Standing Rock Sioux Claim ‘Victory and Vindication’ in Court. The Atlantic ($)
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
MORE »Gambling with House Money, Earthjustice Blog
Go inside the trial of Tesoro-Savage, a crude oil shipping terminal proposed for the banks of the Columbia River. By Kristen Boyles & Janette Brimmer | Northwest Office When is a proposed project too risky, too much of a roll of the dice? Put another way, how much risk should communities and the environment be expected to bear
MORE »Pacific Northwest Weighs Response to Risks Posed by Oil Trains, New York Times ($)
By Kirk Johnson | July 31, 2016 MOSIER, Ore. — The Chinook salmon that Randy Settler and other Yakama tribal fishermen are pulling from the Columbia River are large and plentiful this summer, part of one of the biggest spawning runs since the 1960s. It is a sign, they say, of the river’s revitalization, through pollution
MORE »EFSEC hearings: Oil terminal opponents have their turn, The Columbian
Merits, risks continue to be weighed at adjudication hearings for Vancouver Energy proposal. By Brooks Johnson, Columbian Business Reporter | Published: July 16, 2016, 5:22pm The bells rang on the first round of oil terminal hearings this week as opponents started calling witnesses in the trial-like process guiding the fate of the Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. proposal.
MORE »Quebec’s Jean Charest had private meeting with pipeline watchdog after TransCanada hired him, National Observer ($)
By Mike De Souza | News, Energy | July 7th 2016 Jean Charest gave political advice to members of a federal panel reviewing a major TransCanada Corp. pipeline project in a private meeting while he was under contract with the Alberta-based company, says Grégory Larroque, the spokesman and counsel for the former Quebec premier. The meeting, held at the downtown Montreal
MORE »California Attorney General Kamala Harris challenges Benicia oil plan, The Sacramento Bee ($)
By Tony Bizjak, April 14, 2016 4:29 PM • Updated April 15, 2016 7:21 AM California Attorney General Kamala Harris weighed in on Benicia’s ongoing oil train debate on Thursday, arguing that the city has a legal right to reject a local refinery’s oil train plan and the obligation to review environmental risks. The debate involves
MORE »California planners reject Valero oil-by-rail project, Reuters
By Kristen Hays HOUSTON (Reuters) – Valero Energy Corp’s proposed oil-by-rail project at its northern California refinery was quashed by local planners this week, the first such facility on the U.S. West Coast to end a years-long wait for permits with a rejection. The Benicia Planning Commission late Thursday unanimously renounced Valero’s request to build the
MORE »South Dakota: Keystone XL Pipeline Permit Renewed, New York Times ($)
By The Associated Press • Jan. 5, 2016 State regulators on Tuesday again approved the section of the Keystone XL oil pipeline that would go through South Dakota, despite the project’s stalled status at the federal level. The Public Utilities Commission’s decision also hinges on a requirement that TransCanada Corporation receive a presidential permit for the
MORE »Reversal of Enbridge’s Line 9B to begin this month, CBC
Pipeline set to bring Western oil to Montreal refineries finally after string of delays CBC News • Posted: Nov 30, 2015 7:41 PM ET | Last Updated: December 1, 2015 Starting this month, the flow of the pipeline will be reversed to bring 300,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oil sands to Montreal’s refineries.
MORE »Citing Climate Change, Obama Rejects Construction of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline, New York Times ($)
By Coral Davenport • Nov. 6, 2015 WASHINGTON — President Obama announced on Friday that he had rejected the request from a Canadian company to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ending a seven-year review that had become a symbol of the debate over his climate policies. Mr. Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which
MORE »Keystone Battle in Washington Belied Pipeline’s Real Impact, Bloomberg News ($)
Elizabeth Wasserman, November 6, 2015 WASHINGTON – The fight over the Keystone XL pipeline had all the elements of a classic Washington scrap: protests, political ads and lobbyists on retainer. What was sometimes missing in the seven-year struggle, energy analysts say, was an accurate accounting of the project’s impact on the environment or the economy, the
MORE »Barack Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline citing ‘national interest’, CBC
U.S. president says Canadian PM Justin Trudeau expressed ‘disappointment’ pipeline won’t proceed The Associated Press • Posted: Nov 06, 2015 11:14 AM ET | Last Updated: November 6, 2015 The Obama administration has rejected TransCanada’s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline, capping a seven-year saga that became an environmental flashpoint in both Canada and the U.S.
MORE »Approval of Enbridge’s Line 9 applauded by Quebec refineries, Globe and Mail ($)
Kelly Cryderman • Calgary • Published October 1, 2015 The owners of the two Quebec refineries readying for shipments of Western Canadian crude say the National Energy Board’s decision to approve Enbridge Inc.’s Line 9 project will provide a long-awaited boost to their bottom lines. “It’s a project that we’ve been waiting for,” said Julie
MORE »New Oil Train Rules Are Hit From All Sides, New York Times ($)
By Jad Mouawad Ending months of uncertainty and delays, federal regulators on Friday unveiled new rules for transporting crude oil by trains, saying the measures would improve rail safety and reduce the risks of a catastrophic event. But the rules quickly came under criticism from many sides. Lawmakers and safety advocates said the regulations did not
MORE »Benicia plans more study of crude-oil train impacts, The Sacramento Bee ($)
A controversial proposal by the Valero Refining Company in Benicia to run two 50-car crude-oil trains a day through Sacramento and other Northern California cities to its bayside refinery has hit another slowdown. Benicia officials on Tuesday said they have decided to redo some sections of an environmental impact analysis of the project. The city
MORE »Race to Build on River Could Block Pacific Oil Route, New York Times ($)
By Kirk Johnson VANCOUVER, Wash. — Environmental passions, which run hot in the Northwest over everything from salmon to recycling, generally get couched in the negative: Don’t fish too much, don’t put those chemicals up the smokestack, don’t build in that sensitive area. But here in southern Washington, some environmental groups are quietly pushing a builder
MORE »Native Americans, Landowners Protest Keystone XL Pipeline In South Dakota, NPR, Heard on All Things Considered
The U.S. Senate failed to approve the Keystone XL pipeline but the issue appears headed for a green light in the GOP-controlled Congress next year. Heard on All Things Considered • November 21, 2014 4:22 PM ET Transcript ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: While the lame-duck Senate failed to approve the Keystone XL pipeline this week, Republicans vow
MORE »Kinder Morgan pipeline benefits for B.C. ‘substantially overstated’: report, BIV
Kinder Morgan has “substantially overstated” the benefits to be gained from the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, according to a report released Monday (November 10) calling into question figures used by the oil company to promote the project. By Tyler Orton • November 10, 2014, 11:20am Kinder Morgan has “substantially overstated” the benefits to be gained
MORE »Trans Mountain expansion would be of far less benefit to B.C. than Kinder Morgan says: report, Financial Post ($)
A new report says Kinder Morgan is overplaying the economic benefits, and downplaying the costs of its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion The Canadian Press • Published Nov 10, 2014 CALGARY — A new report says Kinder Morgan is overplaying the economic benefits, and downplaying the costs of its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Simon
MORE »Study questions benefits of Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion, CTV News
Lauren Krugel • The Canadian Press • Published Monday, November 10, 2014 11:36AM PST | Last Updated Monday, November 10, 2014 12:10PM PST CALGARY — A new report says Kinder Morgan is overplaying the economic benefits, and downplaying the costs of its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Public Policy Research
MORE »Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline benefits questioned, CBC News
Simon Fraser University study claims company overstates employment, downplays costs The Canadian Press • Posted: Nov 10, 2014 10:27 AM MT | Last Updated: November 10, 2014 A new report says Kinder Morgan is overplaying the economic benefits, and downplaying the costs of its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Public Policy Research teamed with
MORE »Kinder Morgan overplaying economic benefits: SFU, NEWS 1130
By News Staff • Posted Nov 10, 2014, 8:23 am PST VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Kinder Morgan is being accused of overplaying the economic benefits, and downplaying the costs of its proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion. Including the expense to clean up an oil spill after the proposed tripling of the pipeline’s capacity, Kinder Morgan pegs the
MORE »Energy East, Line 9 Pipelines Will Have “Insignificant” Economic Impact on Quebec, Says Report, The Narwhal
Derek Leahy • Jun 19, 2014 Quebec will gain “minimal economic benefits” from west-to-east oil pipeline projects such as TransCanada’s Energy East and Enbridge’s Line 9 according to a new report released this month. Both projects would transport western Canadian oil and oilsands (also called tar sands) bitumen to refineries and ports in Quebec, but would only make a combined
MORE »Des retombées « négligeables » pour le Québec, Le Devoir ($)
Alexandre Shields • 3 juin 2014 • Environnement Les projets de transport de pétrole des sables bitumineux vers le Québec produiront des retombées économiques «négligeables» pour la province, conclut un nouveau rapport produit par un cabinet d’experts en énergie à la demande de groupes environnementaux. Le rapport évalue que le secteur du pétrole brut contribue actuellement à
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