Keystone XL and Dakota Access may be the biggest pipeline stories so far, but they're far from the last, as dozens of other pipeline proposals come into play. Track this developing beat with our latest Issue Backgrounder, which provides a walkthrough of legal and regulatory challenges, and a case-by-case rundown.
"The Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago became the city’s African American intellectual, artistic and economic mecca as segregationist policies kept black people out of other areas. Local leaders hope to build on that legacy with the microgrid that ComEd is proposing for the neighborhood."
"In what appeared to be a belated adoption of an Obama-era directive, the U.S. energy agency responsible for approving multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline projects has directed companies to start disclosing potential climate change impacts."
"ExxonMobil announced Wednesday that it had wiped off its books all 3.5 billion barrels of tar sands oil reserves at one of its projects in Canada. Because of recent low oil prices, the company said none of those reserves can be considered economical according to the accounting rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission."
"Armed occupation brought an anticlimactic and forlorn end to the camp, which had been home to thousands of activists opposing the Dakota Access pipeline".
In the face of rising protests from anti-fracking and anti-pipeline activists, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has adopted a format for some meetings that prevents the press from covering public comment in real time. The Society of Environmental Journalists has expressed concern to FERC about this practice, which also prevents the public from engaging in dialogue. The text of SEJ's Feb. 23, 2017 letter is here.
"A new study looks at fracking sites in four states, finding 6,648 spills between 2005 and 2014. Their research, the study's authors say, highlights a need for better data collection – and may help prevent future incidents."
"President Trump has vowed to roll back regulations on business, and automakers are wasting no time in pushing his administration to make good on the promise."
"CANNON BALL, N.D. -- All but a few dozen of the last holdouts from a months-long mass protest against a proposed oil pipeline in North Dakota peacefully vacated their riverside camp as an eviction deadline passed on Wednesday."
FERC’s calendar listed it as a “public comment meeting.” Later, FERC said it wasn’t a public meeting, but a “listening session” to which the public was invited. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates things like interstate pipelines and powerlines, and has been no stranger to controversy in recent years. In Wilson, N.C., the night of February 14, 2017, FERC officials would not allow the news media to work inside the auditorium where a “public” listening session was being held. The Society of Environmental Journalists today wrote FERC expressing concern about the procedure.
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