News Articles
Despite history of pollution violations, fertilizer plant receives taxpayer subsidies to expand
In late August, the U.S Department of Agriculture awarded AdvanSix Resins and Chemicals, a massive fertilizer and chemical manufacturing plant in Hopewell, Virginia, a nearly $12 million grant to increase its production of the fertilizer ingredient ammonium sulfate. The plant has a long history of environmental violations. Its expansion is part of a national boom in U.S. fertilizer production over the last decade and a half, fueled in part by hydraulic fracturing’s downward pressure on the price of natural gas, which is a primary ingredient in nitrogen fertilizer.
A debate over $100 billion in taxpayer subsidies could set the fate of the U.S. hydrogen industry
When hydrogen is burned, it releases only water vapor and no greenhouse gases, making it a potentially climate-friendly fuel for uses like steel production and cement manufacturing depending on how the hydrogen is made. But hydrogen is expensive to produce, which is why the Biden Administration and Congress provided up to $100 billion in taxpayer subsidies for hydrogen production in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Those proposed rules have ignited a debate over how strict those rules should be, with some energy companies lobbying for subsidies for hydrogen made from natural gas.
Latest version of energy permitting fast-tracking bill has environmental movement balking
In late July, senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso, who represent two of the U.S.'s biggest fossil-fuel producing states (West Virginia and Wyoming) announced the latest iteration of their long-sought bill that would accelerate the permitting process for energy projects—including LNG plants, electricity transmission lines, clean energy and fossil fuel power plants. Called the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the senators said the legislation would, “strengthen American energy security by accelerating the permitting process for critical energy and mineral projects of all types.” But environmental groups criticize the bill for giving away too much to polluting industries and fast-tracking a review process meant to protect public health and the environment.
The outlook for the oil and gas industry under President Harris vs. President Trump
Under a Democratic administration led by Vice President Kamala Harris, federal climate policy would likely continue down the Biden Administration’s path – which has meant both billions of dollars invested in clean energy while also allowing for record-breaking oil and gas production. By contrast, former President Donald Trump and his allies have vowed to repeal Biden’s clean energy policies, abandon the country’s climate goals, slash regulations, and speed up oil and gas permitting and leasing. In short, “drill, baby, drill!” as Trump frequently proclaims on the campaign trail.
EPA’s failure to regulate laughing gas is deadly serious for the climate
Nitrous oxide is an incredibly potent greenhouse gas. When released into the air, it is 273 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere. On July 23, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new voluntary actions by industry to reduce emissions of climate-warming “super-pollutants,” including nitrous oxide. But the announcement included no regulations for nitrous oxide and no requirements for industry to control this super-pollutant. This isn’t the first time that EPA has passed on the opportunity to curb nitrous oxide emissions from industry.
New research revealing high levels of mercury in Texas bay raises alarms about dredging for oil tankers
Lavaca Bay is contaminated by decades of mercury pollution by Alcoa, which owns a former aluminum refinery on the bay’s northeastern side. In response, EPA mandated cleanup work in the bay under the agency’s Superfund program in the 2000s, but even after the cleanup efforts, the heavy metal remains in the sediment. Local fishermen and environmental advocates are worried that a dredging project planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local port authority will stir up mercury and allow it to be released into the bay, threatening wildlife and humans who eat fish and shellfish from the bay. The dredging project would allow larger and more heavily laden oil tankers to access the Seahawk oil terminal, whose owner is planning a major expansion.
Texas program that subsidizes fossil-fuel electricity turbo-charges 72 power plant applications
The state’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) received the applications for loans under the Texas Energy Fund Program, the agency announced in late July. Following widespread power outages during a winter storm in 2021, Texas voters in November 2023 approved the low-interest loan program proposed by the Texas Legislature in an effort to increase generation capacity and avoid blackouts. However, many environmentalists question whether new gas generators are the right answer because they contribute to climate change, and some consumer advocates and energy analysts say it will not address the need to modernize the Texas grid to prevent more outages.
Oil refinery waste is a major source of air and water pollution
Two hours north of Oklahoma City outside a small town named Kremlin, billionaire William “Bill” Koch owns a plant that processes oil refinery waste. The 60-year-old Oxbow petroleum coke plant occupies enough land to cover 250 football fields. But it has an even larger environmental footprint. The plant’s sulfur dioxide emissions create haze and reduce visibility in several downwind states. A national report reveals that the “petcoke” industry releases large amounts of pollution at sites like this across the country, but that EPA has neglected to require it to install modern air and water pollution control systems, as are required for many other industries.
Environmental Integrity Project launches updated Oil & Gas Watch database and news site
The Oil & Gas Watch database and news site are being re-launched today (Aug. 1) with new features to make it easier for users to track oil and gas developments in local areas and gather national data on the growing industry. The database features a new “alerts” function to highlight new projects, updates, and public hearings. It also has new search tools; the projected greenhouse gas and related health impacts of projects; new maps; and sharable summary pages for industries. We also redesigned the Oil & Gas Watch News site and email newsletter. We are hosting a free virtual webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 21 to explain how to use the new database.
Cancer-causing benzene emissions are rising at the Dow Chemical Orange plant in East Texas. Why?
Dow Chemical's facility in Orange County, Texas, has the highest levels of carcinogenic benzene air pollution measured at its perimeter among U.S. petrochemical facilities reporting to the EPA, according to the most recent available data. Benzene is a colorless, flammable gas with a sweet odor that is among the most potent cancer-causing byproducts of oil and gas operations. The EPA requires monitoring for benzene along the fencelines of all U.S. oil refineries and a smaller subset of chemical plants. While concentrations at many refineries have gone down, benzene levels at the Dow Orange plant remain stubbornly high and even reached concentrations more than three times higher than short-term safety thresholds and 33 times higher than a standard for chronic exposure.
Data shows Denbury’s carbon pipelines leak more than any other CO₂ pipeline company’s
Denbury is one of the largest companies producing oil though enhanced oil recovery, which uses CO₂ to dislodge oil remnants from nearly depleted stores. The company owns an extensive network of CO₂ pipelines to supply its oil fields. However, data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) shows Denbury is responsible for more CO₂ leakage than any other CO₂ pipeline company. Since 2010, there have been 76 incidents involving CO₂ pipelines reported to PHMSA, collectively releasing nearly 67,000 barrels of CO₂ into the air...
Most hydrogen plants proposed near disadvantaged communities
At a time when the federal government is offering billions in subsidies to encourage hydrogen as an alternative fuel, U.S. companies have proposed at least 24 projects to build new plants to manufacture hydrogen out of natural gas. Public records show that about 90 percent of these projects are in or near low-income neighborhoods. The construction of these hydrogen plants in disadvantaged communities poses an environmental justice problem because they release not only greenhouse gases, but also air pollutants like particulate matter that threaten the health of local people.
Dominion LNG storage site sparks fierce opposition in rural North Carolina
Dominion Energy, a Virginia-based company that owns a natural gas utility in North Carolina, has been clearing away trees, leveling land, and blasting rock as it prepares to build a facility that will store liquified natural gas (LNG) in two massive tanks. The proposed Moriah Energy Center is one of several new natural gas storage projects planned across the U.S. Nationwide, the number of LNG storage facilities has increased about 42 percent since 2010, from 122 to 173, according to federal data. North Carolina regulators recently scheduled a public hearing on the facility's draft air permit for Aug. 1.
Corpus Christi, Texas, is ground zero for CO₂ storage buildout in oil & gas region
In January 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $16.4 million to the Port of Corpus Christi to explore carbon capture, use, and storage within the region and facilitate connections between CO₂ emitters and companies that use or store CO₂. The Port’s project is one of 33 across the U.S. that will get funding under the federal Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise Initiative, or CarbonSAFE. The 2023 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also includes a combined $3.5 billion to accelerate the deployment of several regional direct air capture hubs that can suck CO₂ directly out of the atmosphere.
Report: Jet biofuel is weighed down by pollution and loopholes
The biofuel industry markets itself as an environmentally-friendly alternative to petroleum-based fuels. But a recent examination of the emissions reports of 226 biofuel plants across the U.S. found that plant-based fuel manufacturers release almost as much hazardous air pollution as oil refineries – and significantly more of some dangerous pollutants, including formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.The industry is growing rapidly, with 32 new or expanded biofuels plants under construction or proposed, about two-thirds of which could make jet fuel from wood or plants.
