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A VERY BAD 24 HOURS FOR PIPELINE DEVELOPERS: By trying to aid oil and gas pipeline developers, the Trump administration has made their lives more difficult, opening the door wider for environmental activists to take down projects in the courts.
Activists have had some major wins in the last 24 hours. Earlier today, a federal district court judge ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to shut down and empty of oil by Aug. 5. The Trump administration’s environmental review for a key permit was too deficient for the pipeline to continue operating while the Army Corps strengthens its analysis, despite the economic harm shuttering the pipeline will cause, the judge said.
On Sunday, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy announced they would cancel construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, amid ballooning costs and years-long delays as the project has been caught up in the courts. That decision came even after the Supreme Court handed developers a win last month, lifting a legal barrier and upholding a permit allowing the pipeline to run underneath the Appalachian Trail.
Cutting corners on environmental reviews has largely backfired: It’s made it easier for environmental activists to convince courts to block projects where the Trump administration hasn’t considered all environmental effects or where reviews don’t meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act or other bedrock environmental laws.
And in some instances, judges have gone even further than environmental activists have sought. Earlier this year, a district court judge in Montana vacated a fast-track permit pipeline (known as nationwide permit 12) that developers use to bypass lengthy environmental reviews for smaller projects, essentially blocking all new oil and gas pipelines in the meantime.
That court order factored heavily into Dominion and Duke’s decision to abandon the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the companies’ press release said. Its implications are undoubtedly being weighed by other developers, too, which could be forced to get individual permits for stream crossings if the order stands.
Elections have consequences: If Joe Biden wins the White House in November, other pipelines could follow the fate of the Atlantic Coast project, including Dakota Access. Analysts from Rapidan Energy and ClearView say it’s likely a Biden administration would decide not to reissue authorizations for the pipeline or conduct a new environmental review, shutting down the pipeline permanently.
Biden has already said he would kill the Keystone XL pipeline, and he’s signaled his administration would make it much harder for pipelines to obtain the federal permits they need to be built in the first place.
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FERC FIGURES HOW TO HANDLE COURT RULING ON EMINENT DOMAIN USE FOR PIPELINES: FERC on Monday morning asked the D.C. Circuit court to stay its decision ending so-called “tolling orders” for 90 days, so it can decide how to implement the ruling or appeal to the Supreme Court.
The D.C. Circuit ruled last week that pipeline developers whose projects have been approved by FERC cannot begin construction and seize private property via eminent domain before opponents have a chance to challenge an approval in court.
The federal appeals court said FERC has been violating the law by issuing so-called “tolling orders” that prevents landowners and other pipeline opponents from seeking judicial review while FERC addresses requests for “rehearing,” or appeals of decisions, by stakeholders.
Ball in Congress’ court: FERC on Thursday signaled it wants Congress to codify how it should handle tolling orders.
FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee joined with Democrat commissioner Richard Glick in issuing a statement calling on Congress to propose legislation prohibiting pipelines from being able to use eminent domain until after opponents have a chance to challenge the approval in court, essentially affirming the court ruling.
DOE’S BROUILLETTE TO MAKE LNG ANNOUNCEMENT AFTER PIPELINE SETBACKS: Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette plans Monday afternoon to host a virtual signing ceremony to “authorize the export of LNG from a new, historic energy infrastructure facility.”
Brouillette is touting LNG exports after getting a double-dose of bad news on pipelines over the last 24 hours.
But while LNG exports have grown in the Trump administration, the pandemic has caused a slowdown recently. U.S. LNG exports have declined by more than half in 2020, the Energy Information Administration said last month.
The pandemic, which hit the world after a mild winter reduced the use of home heating, led to declining global natural gas demand and a glut of gas storage in Europe and Asia, reducing the need for LNG imports.
Trade press have reported that more than 70 U.S. cargoes were canceled for June and July deliveries, and more than 40 cargoes were canceled for August deliveries.
IEA CHIEF PREVIEWS CLEAN ENERGY SUMMIT: The International Energy Agency is hosting energy and environment ministers from the world’s largest economies and emitters Thursday (nations that represent 80% of the world’s energy use and emissions) to discuss how to accelerate adoption of clean energy through economic recovery plans.
IEA chief Fatih Birol told reporters Monday he’s hoping to foster a “common understanding” among the ministers to speed up the clean energy transition and put those policies “at the heart” of coronavirus recovery plans. There won’t be a joint communique from the summit, but there could be a policy document outlining the “common denominators” for a clean energy recovery if ministers are able to agree that’s a priority, Birol added.
The virtual meeting will be the largest climate summit this year, since United Nations climate talks were postponed due to the coronavirus. Brouillette is attending for the U.S.
BIDEN MAKES MORE MOVES TO WIN ‘CLIMATE VOTERS’: Biden took another step to woo progressive climate activists on Friday, announcing he is forming a “Climate Engagement Advisory Council.”
Members of the council include Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate activist and former presidential candidate, former EPA administrator Carol Browner, Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, and former South Carolina State Rep. Harold Mitchell, and more.
Policy pressure for climate 2.0 plan: Biden, meanwhile, has also faced pressure from progressives to add more detail to his $1.7 trillion plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. A climate task force Biden created with former rival Bernie Sanders and his supporters has convened meetings during the pandemic, according to a story Monday by the New York Times. The task force has recommended Biden commit to 100% renewable electricity by 2035, the Times reported.
Thought bubble: It seems like a long shot for Biden to adopt a target like that, which would cut out nuclear and carbon capture, a step beyond even what House Democrats proposed in their new climate report last week.
HOW MINERS STAY ON TRACK WITH GLOBAL CLIMATE TARGETS: Metals producers will need to cut their emissions in half over the next two decades to be in line with the Paris climate agreement targets, and they should be spending big on research and development for low-carbon options, Wood Mackenzie says in new analysis Monday.
To do so, miners should electrify their operations and transition to powering them with renewable energy and look increasingly to recycling and using scrap materials in production, which cuts energy use and emissions, Wood Mackenzie says. Metals like aluminum and steel, where carbon is used in the production process, will require additional solutions, such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen, the analysis adds.
What about Scope 3 emissions? For some miners, such as coal and iron ore, tackling the emissions created by use of their products brings up “existential questions,” said James Whiteside, Wood Mackenzie’s global head of multi-commodity research.
The Rundown
Wall Street Journal China is unlikely to meet its purchase targets for US energy
New York Times Progressives doubted Joe Biden on climate change. Can he win them over?
Politico Western fire season could raise stakes in battle against Covid-19
New York Times The next energy battle: renewables vs. natural gas
Washington Post Rapid Arctic meltdown in Siberia alarms scientists
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JULY 8
11 a.m. The House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a remote hearing on “the growing health, environmental and accessibility needs of tribal communities across the country.”
