Category Archives: energy policy

energy policy, fossil fuels, fracking

Tampa Bay Times: Oil drilling company ordered to shut down second Florida well pending tests

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/oil-drilling-company-ordered-to-shut-down-second-florida-well-pending-tests/2178106

Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer
Friday, May 2, 2014 6:40pm

State Department of Environmental Protection officials announced Friday they have ordered the Dan A. Hughes Co. to cease operations at a second South Florida well until experts can analyze whether the violation at the first well spread pollution in the aquifer.

DEP officials did not give details about why they were taking this step more than a week after shutting down operations at the well where the violation occurred. DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said the agency “has been in dialogue with the Dan A. Hughes Co. regarding their plans and permits … and this is part of that ongoing process.”

However, the announcement followed a call Thursday by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to open an investigation into what happened.

Hughes spokesman David Blackmon issued a terse statement that said the shutdown was something the company had agreed to after negotiations with DEP.

“Protection of human life and the environment are our company’s highest priorities,” he said in the statement. “We commend the DEP for its diligent efforts to … reach an approach to this matter that satisfies the needs of all stakeholders.”

Hughes’ drilling operations have sparked controversy among Collier County residents, who went so far as to stage a protest march on Gov. Rick Scott’s Naples home. The controversy began when a Hughes contractor contacted Golden Gate Estates residents about their plans for an evacuation should something go wrong with the well being drilled less than 1,000 feet from their homes. That was the first they’d heard of it.

That permit was approved by DEP but challenged in court. Meanwhile a new controversy has swirled around one of the company’s other wells in that region.

A 12-page consent order, dated April 8, says DEP officials became concerned about an operation that the Texas company launched without DEP permission in late December 2013. They told the company to shut it down, but it kept going for another day.

The company was injecting acid deep underground to fracture the limestone, then injecting a mix of sand and chemical gel under pressure, to prop open the new fractures and let the oil flow out. That’s called using a “proppant.”

Although the process is similar to fracking, Blackmon called it an “acid stimulation treatment,” which he said is common in Florida. However, Miller of the DEP said no one has ever used a proppant in Florida before. The DEP order requires Hughes to install monitoring wells to check on whether any pollution is spreading through the aquifer, although Blackmon said the chemicals were injected thousands of feet below the drinking water supply.

Until the well results are analyzed by independent experts, Hughes has to shut down all other “new operations,” DEP said Friday. Hughes has six other locations, but the only one fitting the DEP’s description is a well near Immokalee, Miller said.

Craig Pittman can be reached at craig@tampabay.com or follow him on Twitter via @craigtimes.

Oil drilling company ordered to shut down second Florida well pending tests 05/02/14 [Last modified: Friday, May 2, 2014 8:16pm]
© 2014 Tampa Bay Times

Special thanks to Richard Charter

energy policy, fossil fuels, Methane Hydrates

The Guardian: Methane hydrate reserves under deep ocean bed are ‘enormous’ but challenging to mine, says British Geological Survey

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http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/28/uk-ireland-fire-ice-gas-reserves

Press Association
Monday 28 April 2014
theguardian.com

A fuel buried under the deep ocean bed off Britain and Ireland could provide a plentiful supply of energy but will be difficult to exploit, an expert said. The gas – known as fire ice – is locked away in the form of ice crystals under the Atlantic where the floor changes from shallow waters to deep sea. But poor weather, the great distance from shore and technical challenges could make it hard to mine methane hydrate profitably.

Dr Chris Rochelle, a geo-chemist at the British Geological Survey, said: “It is exploitable, it is just going to be some way off-shore.”
Existing reserves of oil, coal and gas have become tougher to access. Test wells have been drilled for shale gas in north west England. In Northern Ireland environmental campaigners have railed against fracking exploration for the gas in Co Fermanagh.

Methane hydrate takes the form of crystals with natural methane gas locked inside. They are produced through a combination of low temperatures and high pressure and are found largely on the edge of continental shelves where the seabed drops sharply away into the deep ocean floor.

Rochelle said the deposits were enormous. “Estimates suggest that there is about the same amount of carbon in methane hydrates as there is in every other organic carbon store on the planet.” That means there is more energy in methane hydrates than in all the world’s oil, coal and gas put together.

By lowering the pressure or raising the temperature, the hydrate breaks down into water and methane. One cubic metre of the compound releases about 160 cubic metres of gas, making it an energy-intensive fuel.

However with potentially easier access to shale gas, at this stage no serious plans are in place to retrieve methane hydrates from relatively near the UK, unlike research carried out in the US and Canada. Last year Japan became the first country to successfully extract natural gas from methane hydrates.

Rochelle added: “We have to bring it back a long way, for other producers it is closer to shore. It is relatively deep water, it would be more challenging from the UK respect. That does not mean to say that companies from this part of the world could not take advantage of it by exploiting it in different parts of the world.”

Special thanks to Richard Charter

energy policy, fracking, natural resource management, tar sands

Public Citizen: On the Obama-Abe Summit, Regarding TPP

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2014
9:31 AM

CONTACT: Public Citizen

Lori Wallach
(202) 454-5107 lwallach@citizen.org

WASHINGTON – April 24 – “Ironically, if missing this do-or-die moment for the TPP seals its demise, then what will be characterized as a failure now may in fact save President Obama’s legacy, given that the TPP would cause more American job offshoring, greater income inequality and higher medicine prices.

After years of missed deadlines, unbending opposition by other nations to many U.S. proposals and scores of deadlocked TPP issues, Congress’ refusal to grant President Obama trade authority, growing opposition in many nations, and now Obama and Abe not announcing a breakthrough, TPP should be ready for burial. Instead, like some movie monster that will not die, TPP is being animated by a broad coalition of powerful corporate interests and we are told talks will continue.

Even if the continuing bilateral negotiations resolve U.S.-Japan auto and agricultural trade issues, there are scores of other deep deadlocks in TPP negotiations. This includes deep disputes on medicine patent and government drug reimbursement rate policies that would affect healthcare costs; limits on financial regulation, food safety and Internet freedom; disciplines on state owned enterprises; the expansion of investor protections that subject domestic laws to attack by corporations in foreign tribunals; and environmental and labor standards. As well, 60 U.S. Senators and 230 U.S. Representatives have insisted that TPP include enforceable disciplines on currency manipulation, but other TPP countries oppose this and to date the issue had not been addressed.”
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Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1971 to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts.

energy policy, fossil fuels, offshore oil

E&E: NAS oil spill report emboldens drilling foes

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Margaret Kriz Hobson, E&E reporter
Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014

A new scientific study that concludes the United States lacks the resources and scientific data necessary to adequately respond to an Arctic oil spill is energizing the environmental community’s campaign to ban oil drilling in the ice-laden waters.

The comprehensive National Academy of Sciences report released yesterday found that the federal government needs additional response tools, personnel and infrastructure to address oil spills in America’s Arctic (Greenwire, April 23).

The panel called for expanded, on-the-ground research to improve oil cleanup technologies for use in the Arctic’s extreme weather and environmental conditions.
Researchers also suggested that oil spill responders need “improved port and air access, stronger supply chains, and increased capacity to handle equipment, supplies, and personnel.”

However, the study concludes that oil spill response improvements have been set back by a lack of federal funding to address those deficiencies.

Several environmental groups responded to the scientific report by demanding an end to oil development in the American Arctic, at least until the government finds more effective ways to handle oil spills in the frigid North.

Margaret Williams, managing director of Arctic programs for the World Wildlife Fund, said the Obama administration “should not approve further Arctic oil and gas leasing or specific activities unless and until spill prevention and response technologies are proven effective in this harsh environment.”

Lois Epstein, Arctic program director for the Wilderness Society, said the report “documents the reasons why we cannot clean up — and are unlikely to ever effectively recover — a significant percentage of oil from any major spill into the Arctic Ocean.”

“We need to decide as a country if it makes sense to risk the near-pristine Arctic Ocean environment now that we know there is little that can be done to clean up major oil spills,” Epstein said.

Sierra Club Alaska Program Director Dan Ritzman said the NAS report reinforces the environmental community’s concerns that “we shouldn’t be drilling in the Arctic Ocean.”

But Charles Ebinger, director of the Brookings Institution’s Energy Security Initiative, disagreed, arguing that the report is just the most recent evidence that the federal government should fund more Arctic research and resources.

“Certainly we need to spend a lot more on resources, beef up the Coast Guard’s capabilities, make sure that we have onshore supporting infrastructure in place in the event of an accident of any kind,” he said.

“All of that has to be done. But that’s a question of allocation of resources. That’s not saying the Arctic shouldn’t be drilled in.”

“You’ve got companies moving into Greenland,” Ebinger added. “The Arctic is being developed. It’s a question of whether we’re going to adopt so many restrictions that our Arctic either doesn’t get developed or lags behind.”

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich (D) echoed those concerns. “Arctic development will happen whether we are prepared or not — we’ve already seen significant increases in marine traffic and natural resource exploration by domestic and international interests,” he said.

More studies ahead
The report comes more than a year after Royal Dutch Shell PLC tried — but failed — to become the first company in decades to explore for oil in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The company’s 2012 season was marked by equipment problems, unpredictable ice floes and an oil rig grounding.

More recently, Shell’s Arctic drilling efforts have been delayed by a January appeals court decision invalidating the environmental assessment that the Interior Department used to support the federal government’s 2008 lease sale (EnergyWire, April 21).

But once those legal issues are sorted out, oil industry representatives assert, federal regulators should allow Arctic oil exploration to move forward as they improve available oil spill response technologies.

American Petroleum Institute senior policy adviser Richard Ranger said the National Academy study should not be a roadblock to future oil exploration in Alaska’s northern waters.

“Shell demonstrated to the satisfaction of the agency that they possess the capability to respond to a foreseeable spill incident at this exploration stage” in the Arctic, Ranger argued.

“If exploration succeeds in identifying resources for development, then there are a lot of tasks ahead before those resources could be brought online,” he noted. “There would be additional studies needed, additional preparedness and project design to go forward into the next phase of project development.”

energy policy

Marin Independent Journal: NOAA proposes major expansion of marine sanctuaries off Marin coast

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http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_25595415/noaa-proposes-major-expansion-marine-sanctuaries-off-marin

By Mark Prado
Marin Independent Journal
POSTED: 04/18/2014 03:47:46 PM PDT

Federal officials are once again floating a plan to protect additional waters off Marin and Sonoma counties with a large-scale expansion of marine sanctuary boundaries.

This week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries released a proposal to expand the boundaries of Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries, with the agency accepting comments on the proposal through June 30.

“These are some of the areas that are most strategically and biologically sensitive,” said Mary Jane Schramm, spokeswoman for Gulf of the Farallones.

The proposal would expand Gulf of the Farallones from 1,279 square miles to 3,293 square miles. Cordell Bank would increase from 529 square miles to 1,286 square miles. The plan extends the boundaries of those sanctuaries north up to Sonoma and Mendocino counties and westward off Marin’s coast.

The United States has 14 national marine sanctuaries in a system designated by Congress and run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to protect and preserve “biodiversity, ecological integrity and cultural legacy.”

The sanctuaries are destination feeding areas for endangered blue whales and humpback whales, sharks, salmon, and seabirds like albatrosses that travel tens of thousands of miles. Food in the area supports the largest assemblage of breeding seabirds in the contiguous United States on the Farallon Islands, according to NOAA.

“The waters off the Northern California coast are nutrient-rich and drive a thriving marine ecosystem,” said Daniel Basta, director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “These two sanctuaries provide great recreational and educational opportunities for thousands of visitors each year. Public comments are an important part of the process as we look at this proposal to expand the boundaries.”

Zeke Grader, executive director at Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, voiced some concern over the expansion, saying it gave NOAA officials too much discretion to allow for non-native aquaculture, dumping and the possibility of energy development in the waters.

“We want to see these fishing grounds protected and are not opposed to the expansion in general,” Grader said. “But I think there are going to have to be some changes made in the proposal.”

Under the plan there is no explicit proposed prohibition of offshore alternative, renewable energy development including wind, wave, solar or tidal. But a permit would be required.

NOAA officials say oil and gas exploration and development – already prohibited in the existing sanctuaries – would also be outlawed under expanded sanctuary boundaries under the proposal.

The proposed expansion does not include any fishing regulations under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, according to NOAA. A final plan could be adopted in the fall and go into place next year.

Gulf of the Farallones is made up of tidal flats, rocky intertidal areas, wetlands, subtidal reefs and coastal beaches. The sanctuary is home to thousands of seals and sea lions, and hosts of great white sharks and the largest concentration of breeding seabirds in the continental U.S.

The Cordell Bank Sanctuary sits beyond the Gulf of the Farallones, 52 miles northwest of Marin’s coast, at the edge of the continental shelf. Endangered humpback whales, porpoises, albatross and marine species flourish in the marine environment.

Since 2004 there have been attempts to get Congress to expand the sanctuaries’ boundaries, pushed primarily by former congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, but with no success.

But in December 2012 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said they would look at the issue. Moving the process to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration effectively bypasses Congress and greatly boosts the chance for expansion.

Contact reporter Mark Prado via email at mprado@marinij.com.

IF YOU GO

The first hearing on the expansion will be at 6 p.m. May 22 at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito.

Special thanks to Richard Charter