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 »News » Environmental Impact Analysis
High Court Wants White House View on PennEast Pipeline Case, Bloomberg Law ($)
Ellen M. Gilmer • June 29, 2020, 9:45 AM | Updated: June 29, 2020, 11:46 AM PennEast, New Jersey disagree over state land seizure Industry alleges broad disruptions from lower court ruling The U.S. Supreme Court wants the Trump administration’s views on a major energy case that could decide the fate of the proposed PennEast pipeline.
MORE »Supreme Court asks US solicitor to weigh in on PennEast pipeline case, Oil & Gas Journal
The Supreme Court, unready to decide whether it will review the legal fight between PennEast Pipeline and New Jersey, asked US Solicitor General Noel Francisco to file a brief offering the Justice Department’s views on the pipeline right-of-way case. Alan Kovski • Jun 29th, 2020 The Supreme Court, unready to decide whether it will review
MORE »Coal company says its freshly bulldozed road in roadless area near Paonia is legal, Colorado Sun
Colorado mining regulators this week ordered Mountain Coal to stop building roads after a federal court ruling blocked the West Elk Mine from expanding into the Sunset Roadless Area. Jason Blevins • 4:20 AM MDT on Jun 20, 2020 Mountain Coal Co. says the road it blazed into the Sunset Roadless Area below Kebler Pass is legal
MORE »The Supreme Court should remind New Jersey why the U.S. discarded the Articles of Confederation, Washington Post ($)
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 »Trump Weakens Major Conservation Law to Speed Construction Permits, New York Times ($)
By Lisa Friedman • Published July 15, 2020 | Updated Aug. 4, 2020 WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday unilaterally weakened one of the nation’s bedrock conservation laws, the National Environmental Policy Act, limiting public review of federal infrastructure projects to speed up the permitting of freeways, power plants and pipelines. In doing so, the Trump administration claimed it would save
MORE »What you need to know about Trans Mountain expansion, Globe and Mail ($)
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 ($)
Author Maya Weber • 03 Jun 2020 | 19:06 UTC • Washington Washington — The State of New Jersey has told the US Supreme Court that PennEast Pipeline exaggerated the industrywide harms likely to result from a federal appeals court decision blocking condemnation of property in which the state holds an interest. The June 2 brief from
MORE »Meet the judge at the heart of the West’s top energy battles, E&E News
Meet the judge at the heart of the West’s top energy battles Niina H. Farah, E&E News reporter • Published: Friday, May 29, 2020 Brian Morris has had a very busy few weeks. The chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, one of three active jurists on the bench, has
MORE »Alberta gears up for another legal battle over Keystone XL after Biden vows to pull permissions, Financial Post ($)
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 »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 »Joe Biden vows to cancel Keystone XL if he wins presidency, National Post ($)
Alberta’s Jason Kenney has already committed to $1.1 billion on the project The Canadian Press WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s campaign says the former vice-president will rip up President Donald Trump’s approvals for the Keystone XL pipeline if he takes over the White House next year. Campaign officials made Biden’s first policy pronouncements on the controversial
MORE »Biden says he’d cancel Keystone XL pipeline permit if elected, CBC
Alexander Panetta, Katie Simpson • CBC News • May 18, 2020 2:17 PM ET | Last Updated: May 18 Joe Biden will cancel the Keystone XL pipeline if he’s elected president of the United States, his campaign said Monday in a potential death blow for the delay-plagued Canada-U.S. oil project. His staff said he would withdraw the permit
MORE »Governor Cuomo Rejects The Williams Pipeline — #CleanEnergyWillWin, CleanTechnica
The Williams Pipeline was just rejected by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. It would have carried natural gas that had been fracked from Pennsylvania to parts of New York City. This pipeline would have also trapped New York into several decades of dependence on fracked gas. We need to ease off fossil fuels, in my opinion —
MORE »Cuomo administration cites new climate law in denying controversial New York, New Jersey pipeline, Politico
By Marie J. French • 05/15/2020 07:51 PM EDT Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration denied a permit for a pipeline to supply natural gas to Long Island and New York City in a landmark decision citing the state’s sweeping climate law. The Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, which also would need some permits in New Jersey,
MORE »Montana judge blocks Keystone XL permit for river crossings, Bloomberg Green ($)
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 »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 »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 »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 »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 »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 »Trudeau offers to consult with detractors on implementation of new environmental-assessment law, Globe and Mail ($)
Marieke Walsh • Ottawa The federal government says it won’t make changes to its environmental-assessment legislation for major infrastructure projects, but it is open to suggestions on how to implement the new review process. Some of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most vocal critics have repeated calls for the government to repeal Bill C-69, which the
MORE »Conservationists Sue to Block Federal Oil and Gas Leases in California, Courthouse News Service
Nick Cahill • October 30, 2019 (CN) – California environmental groups sued the Trump administration Wednesday to thwart plans to auction over 700,000 acres to the fossil fuel industry, calling the potential of new fracking operations a threat to the San Francisco Bay Area’s wildlife and aquifers. Filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and
MORE »California fines Chevron over Kern County oil leaks, LA Times ($)
By Associated PressBAKERSFIELD California regulators have fined Chevron $2.7 million for violations at a facility in Kern County where there have been multiple oil leaks. The Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources said Wednesday that Chevron illegally allowed uncontrolled oil releases at Cymric oil field. The seep out of the ground
MORE »Federal appeals court strikes blow to PennEast pipeline project, StateImpact Pennsylvania (NPR)
The Third Circuit decision blocks PennEast from condemning state-owned land in New Jersey Susan Phillips • September 10, 2019 | 5:41 PM A federal appeals court has blocked PennEast pipeline company from condemning state-owned land for its proposed 116-mile long line that would ship Marcellus Shale gas from northeast Pennsylvania to New Jersey. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel
MORE »Federal government announces new Canada Energy Regulator appointments, JWN Energy
By JWN staff Cassie Doyle, a former deputy minister of Natural Resources Canada and a former Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) board member, will chair the board of directors of the new Canada Energy Regulator (CER). The vice-chair is George Vegh, head of McCarthy Tétrault’s national energy regulatory practice and leader of its Toronto energy regulation practice.
MORE »Canadian Energy Regulator officially replaces NEB, iPolitics
By Marco Vigliotti • Published on Aug 28, 2019 6:00am After some 60 years, the National Energy Board is officially no more. At 12:01 a.m. (Eastern time) today, the regulatory body that oversaw interprovincial and international energy infrastructure like oil and gas pipelines and power lines was officially replaced by the new Canadian Energy Regulator (CER),
MORE »Liberals get passing grade on restoring environment protections, National Observer ($)
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 $10 million to the NunatuKavut Community Council, an Indigenous group in Labrador. The page-and-a-half long agreement stipulates the council use the money to fund
MORE »Chevron spills 800,000 gallons of oil and water in Kern County canyon, LA Times ($)
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 »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 »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 »Contested Muskrat Falls methylmercury recommendation could cost $742M, CBC
Environment minister says government reviewing report from committee established after hunger strikes Daniel MacEachern · CBC News · Posted: Apr 11, 2018 1:15 PM NT | Last Updated: April 11, 2018 One of several new Muskrat Falls recommendations has given the Newfoundland and Labrador government a tough choice. The government can remove soil from the project’s reservoir to help keep methylmercury levels
MORE »Trump’s order would make it harder to block pipelines, and projects such as Longview coal-export terminal, Seattle Times ($)
By Hal Bernton • Seattle Times staff reporter • April 10, 2019 at 7:49 pm | Updated April 11, 2019 at 9:32 am President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that could make it harder for state governments to block energy-development projects such as a proposed coal-export terminal in southwest Washington that has failed to get a permit
MORE »Trump signs executive orders to stop states from delaying energy projects, Globe and Mail ($)
Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner • Reuters • Published April 10, 2019 | Updated April 11, 2019 U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders in the heart of the Texas energy hub on Wednesday seeking to speed natural gas, coal and oil projects delayed by coastal states as he looks to build support ahead
MORE »Advisory committee recommendations about Muskrat Falls deserve action: chair, The Telegram
Important to spread message Lake Melville area fish, seal safe to eat Ashley Fitzpatrick · Published: Apr 08, 2019 at 9:52 p.m.ST. JOHN’S, N.L. Premier Dwight Ball is preparing for a meeting with Indigenous leaders to discuss methylmercury and the recommendations of the Independent Expert Advisory Committee (IEAC) for the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project. The Telegram was
MORE »Trump signs permit for construction of controversial Keystone XL pipeline, Washington Post ($)
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 »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 »