News Articles
Biden/McCarthy compromise would approve Mountain Valley Pipeline and limit national environmental reviews
To avoid the possibility of the U.S. defaulting on its debts, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday endorsed compromise legislation that requires the federal government to issue all permits needed to “expedite” completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The 303-mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia has been stalled by court challenges but is championed by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) The bill would also limit environmental reviews of major projects like pipelines, dams, and electric transmission lines across the U.S.
Three Texas oil & gas industry sites that caught fire had long violation records
The three large refinery and petrochemical facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast that caught fire this month had long track records of environmental compliance problems, including a combined 5,469 violations over a decade but few penalties, according to state records. On May 5, a Shell chemical plant near Houston caught fire and burned for days. Ten days later, flames erupted at a Marathon oil refinery south of Houston, burning to death a plant worker. And on May 17, a blaze broke out at a Valero refinery in Corpus Christi. Repeat violations often indicate a pattern of companies not investing in modern equipment and safety measures.
Biden’s bioplastics move could be a shell game, swapping one polluting plastic for another
President Biden recently issued an executive order with the goal of replacing 90 percent of petroleum-based plastics manufacturing with plastic produced using ingredients like corn or wood. These "bioplastics" do not cause the same environmental harm as fossil fuel plastics, but they do not break down quickly and can persist in the environment. Biden’s order also endorses chemical plastic recycling, which generates huge quantities of toxic waste and hazardous air pollutants.
Shell chemical plant that burned near Houston had a record of nearly 2,000 violations
Shell Deer Park Chemical, which caught fire over the weekend, has a long track record of environmental violations, including 37 enforcement orders and $1.6 million in penalties. One of these violations was for the release of more than 30,000 pounds of a dangerous carcinogen (1,3-butadiene) from vents and a relief valve over nearly 24 hours in January 2013.
Ammonia fuel sets sail into an ocean of petroleum-based energy
As the demand for low-carbon energy sources grows, "clean" ammonia – referred to by advocates as either green or blue ammonia, depending on how it is produced – is expected to dramatically increase in production. Developers in the U.S. are proposing 15 new ammonia plants, mostly in Texas and Louisiana, to produce ammonia for fuel. Ammonia could be used as a fuel for ships, or to help produce clean-burning hydrogen for industry. But about two thirds of these "clean" ammonia projects are dependent on untested carbon capture technology.
Ten long-delayed LNG export terminals could lose approvals under new policy
In a policy statement published April 21, the Department of Energy said that it will no longer consider applications for extensions to the current deadline of seven years between when a company receives government permits to export LNG and when exports must actually begin, or risk losing their permit approvals.
Ten years after West Texas explosion, booming fertilizer industry poses risks to environment and public safety
At a time when the nitrogen fertilizer industry is growing rapidly across the U.S., federal records show little has been done over the last decade to prevent disasters like the 2013 explosion at a fertilizer storage facility in West, Texas, that killed 15 people. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and others have urged the EPA to add ammonium nitrate to the list of highly hazardous chemicals that would require better disaster planning, but EPA has refused. In the 10 years since the Texas explosion, ammonium nitrate has been involved in at least 106 spills or accidental releases across the U.S., seven fires, five evacuations, and two deaths.
Texas lawmakers aim to exempt oil & gas projects from school property taxes, but not clean energy
Texas legislators are considering a bill that would give fossil fuel companies – but not clean energy – huge breaks on the property taxes they pay to local school districts, narrowing a previous tax incentive program for energy projects that expired last year. Under the old program, called Chapter 313, almost three quarters of the $12.3 billion in tax benefits went to manufacturing projects, including for the oil and gas and petrochemical industry, while 26 percent went to clean energy projects.
Permitting reform could still rise from the ashes of 'dead on arrival' House GOP energy package
With Democrats in control of the Senate and White House, most of the provisions in the energy package passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House won’t make it into law anytime soon. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have signaled that they could be open to a narrower discussion on “permitting reform” to streamline the process of approving major energy projects such as pipelines, fuel export terminals, and electrical transmission lines.
American households could be left in the cold as gas exports skyrocket
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry is growing faster than ever. Three new projects to build or expand liquefaction capacity were announced during the first three months of 2023 alone, along with major financial milestones reached in March on another two projects. That’s on top of the 27 new or expanding LNG terminals already in the pipeline. If all these projects materialize, they would triple the sector’s liquefaction capacity to more than four times the amount that Americans used in 2022 to run gas stoves, heat and cool their homes, warm their water, and run other gas-fueled appliances.
West Texas home to most repeat violators detailed in illegal pollution report
An Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) report issued March 23 reveals that 17 out of the 20 worst repeat offenders in the state for air pollution released during industrial accidents or “upsets” are in the Permian Basin of West Texas, the world’s most prolific oil-producing region. Of the 17 Permian Basin sites with the worst chronic emissions, only seven of them faced fines over the six-year period studied in the EIP report.
Opening of new plastics plant brings glowing orange clouds and repeated pollution violations
Residents of a western Pennsylvania county learned that Shell's new plastics plant had begun operating from the orange glowing clouds in the night sky, illuminated by blazing flares. Community concerns about the strange lights and sounds from the new plant, which transforms natural gas into tiny pellets used to make soda bottles and other single-use plastic goods, turned out to be based on more than just appearances. State records show 34 malfunctions at the new Shell Monaca plant, and 14 violations, including for exceeding permitted levels of smog-forming air pollutants.
After East Palestine, the slow-moving train wreck of petrochemical pollution deserves more attention nationally
Following the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical fire in East Palestine, Ohio, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz blasted President Biden for not visiting the scene of the accident. Cruz claimed that “Democrats don’t give a damn about East Palestine." He failed to mention a similar chemical catastrophe outside his own city, Houston. On Nov. 27, 2019, a series of explosions ripped through the Texas Petrochemicals Port Neches plant, spewing carcinogens into the air and requiring the evacuation of thousands of people. Cruz never demanded that then-President Trump make an appearance in Texas to show his concern for petrochemical pollution, which is a serious national issue.
Wave of new oil export terminals looms over Gulf Coast
The approval off the Sea Port Oil Terminal 35 miles off the coast of Texas marks the beginning of what could be a wave of five massive new deepwater oil export terminals along the Gulf Coast that service oil tankers over 1,000 feet in length. In the eight years since Congress lifted a long-time ban on crude oil exports, the U.S. has gone from barely exporting any fossil fuels to offloading millions of barrels of oil per day.
Proposed LNG export terminals threaten 21,000 acres of wetlands, many in Louisiana
According to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission data, 27 LNG export terminal construction or expansion projects that are proposed or already underway threaten 21,205 acres of wetlands – or 34 square miles, which is roughly half the size of Washington, D.C. Southwest Louisiana is a hotspot for LNG construction, with 10 LNG terminals built or proposed so far.
