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
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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 $10 million to the NunatuKavut Community Council, an Indigenous group in Labrador. The page-and-a-half long agreement stipulates the council use the money to fund
MORE »A Runaway Train Explosion Killed 47, but Deadly Cargo Still Rides the Rails, New York Times ($)
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 ($)
By Associated Press California authorities said Friday that crews are beginning to clean up a massive oil spill that dumped nearly 800,000 gallons of oil and water into a Kern County canyon, making it larger — if less devastating — than the state’s last two major oil spills. The seep, which has been flowing off
MORE »Premier Dwight Ball defends decision to carry on with Muskrat Falls megaproject despite ballooning costs, Globe and Mail ($)
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 ($)
Shawn Mccarthy • Global Energy Reporter • Ottawa The Liberal government received royal assent on Friday for its contentious Bill C-69, the culmination of its effort to revamp how Ottawa reviews major resource projects that began soon after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power in 2015. As part of an environmental platform, Mr. Trudeau campaigned
MORE »E.P.A. Finalizes Its Plan to Replace Obama-Era Climate Rules, New York Times ($)
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 »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 »How PG&E Ignored Fire Risks in Favor of Profits, New York Times ($)
By Ivan Penn, Peter Eavis and James Glanz | Graphics by Keith Collins and Jugal K. Patel • March 18, 2019 Tower 27/222 looms almost 100 feet tall in the Sierra Nevada foothills, a hunk of steel that has endured through 18 United States presidents. The transmission lines that it supports keep electricity flowing to
MORE »Guess where Quebec gets its oil, National Observer ($)
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 »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 »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 $1.8 billion methanol plant and called for more analysis of greenhouse-gas emissions. By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter • Originally published September 19, 2017 at 6:00 am | Updated September 19, 2017 at 7:03 am A state hearings board has found flaws in an
MORE »There Are Two Unsung Heroes in the Keystone Pipeline Fight, Esquire ($)
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 »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 ($)
OpinionOP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Stephen Marche · New York Times · Nov. 27, 2016 Billy Gauthier, an Inuk artist who lives in Labrador on Canada’s remote northeastern coast, began his hunger strike on Oct. 13 after a plate of salmon. The meal was highly symbolic. The Nunatsiavut government in Labrador had released a study from a Harvard mercury researcher on the effects
MORE »How Benicia Valero Crude By Rail was Defeated, Benicia Independent
Three (or 10 or 12, or maybe 40?) factors… What happened in Benicia was amazing. It’s well worth our time as community activists and organizers to reflect a bit on how David went up against Goliath and won. I was there from the beginning in this Benicia episode, so I have a story to tell.
MORE »Canada’s Big Dams Produce Clean Energy, and High Levels of Mercury, New York Times ($)
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 ($)
A new hydroelectric facility in Canada could push dangerous amounts of methylmercury into communities that rely on seafood. Joshua Sokol · November 9, 2016 On October 13, Billy Gauthier, an Inuk sculptor in Labrador, Canada, uploaded a picture of what he called his “last meal” to Facebook. It showed the split head and tail of a smoked
MORE »Indigenous leaders tell Muskrat Falls protesters to ‘go home’, Globe and Mail ($)
The Canadian Press • Published: October 26, 2016ST. JOHN’S, N.L. Indigenous leaders and the Newfoundland and Labrador government are telling protesters at the site of the Muskrat Falls hydro project they can “go home.” The leaders emerged from a marathon meeting with Premier Dwight Ball early Wednesday touting significant progress made to address environmental concerns with the
MORE »Scientists back Inuit in efforts to limit mercury poisoning risk from Muskrat Falls hydro project, CBC
Agreement between N.L. and Inuit leaders a victory for ‘evidence-based decision-making,’ geographer says Sheena Goodyear · CBC News · Posted: Oct 26, 2016 4:56 PM ET | Last Updated: October 26, 2016 An almost two-week occupation at the site of a multibillon-dollar hydroelectric project in Labrador is winding down after Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball vowed to make all future
MORE »Methylmercury levels expected to rise at Muskrat Falls reservoir: Nalcor, Globe and Mail ($)
The Canadian Press · Published: October 19, 2016ST. JOHN’S, N.L. Methylmercury levels are expected to rise in the reservoir created by construction of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in Labrador, officials with Nalcor Energy confirmed Wednesday, saying local residents can eventually expect an advisory warning them to limit their consumption of fish. The prediction came
MORE »Inuk artist on hunger strike to push for clearing of Muskrat Falls reservoir, CBC
‘Without Lake Melville, my family couldn’t have survived in this area,’ says Billy Gauthier CBC News · Posted: Oct 14, 2016 12:47 PM NT | Last Updated: October 14, 2016 An Inuk artist from Labrador says he’s going on a hunger strike until Nalcor commits to fully clearing the Muskrat Falls reservoir. Billy Gauthier ate what he
MORE »N.L. promises to re-examine Muskrat Falls reservoir clearing as Indigenous groups push for change, CBC
Muskrat Falls will ‘lose everything’ if initial flooding doesn’t proceed as planned: Environment Minister Bailey White · CBC News · Posted: Oct 04, 2016 8:28 AM NT | Last Updated: October 4, 2016 After months of protest from Inuit and other Indigenous groups over Muskrat Falls flooding — including a demonstration this past Monday at the construction site — the province’s minister of environment
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