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| | | News Summary
Week of ----------, ----
WHAT'S HOT
Court denies review of uranium mining permit in New Mexico
Business Week
A 10th U.S. Court of Appeals panel has upheld a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision that allows a company to leach uranium near an aquifer supplying drinking water to Navajos in northwestern New Mexico. Read More...
Cap-and-trade is back with new White House and Senate "gang"
Politico
President Obama insisted on keeping cap and trade restrictions in a climate bill this year, bringing a bipartisan group of 14 key Senators and top cabinet officials for a White House meeting. Read More...
CA climate change law may cause short-term job loss and energy cost increase
CAIVN
The independent and nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office in Sacramento says there will be some economic disruption and higher energy costs if the 2006 climate change law is implemented. Read More...
Interior secretary dismisses 'land grab' memo as early 'brainstorming'
Great Falls Tribune
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar downplayed an internal memo Tuesday suggesting the federal government take over millions of acres in Montana and other Western states, saying his agency is not pursuing any such steps and would seek public input before it did. Read More...
U.S. appeals court rejects wilderness groups
LocalNews8,.com
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Sierra Club, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and The Wilderness Society cannot intervene in a lawsuit filed by Utah's Kane County seeking ownership of 2 dirt roads crossing federal lands. Read More...
Peabody to fund carbon-capture start-up?
The Street
Coal company Peabody Energy is expected to announce its decision to invest in carbon-capture start-up company Calera this week. Read More...
Sage grouse will require 'closer scrutiny' of energy leases -- BLM
E&E News PM
The Bureau of Land Management will examine oil and gas drilling permits with "closer scrutiny" to determine if they might affect the imperiled greater sage grouse in light of the new protected status for the iconic Western bird, BLM Director Bob Abbey said today. Read More...
Interior: Grouse listing warranted but precluded
Associated Press
The Interior Department announced Friday that it won't list sage grouse as endangered or threatened but will classify the bird among species that are candidates for federal protection. Read More...
Senate trio hopes to hit pay dirt with carbon 'fee' on fuels
New York Times/ClimateWire
Key senators are weighing a request from Big Oil to levy a carbon fee on the industry rather than wrap it into a sweeping cap-and-trade system that covers most of the U.S. economy. Read More...
In Utah, a move to seize federal land
Los Angeles Times
The state House passes a bill allowing the use of eminent domain to take protected land from the federal government. Utah wants to develop a stretch outside Arches National Park and other areas.
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Business leaders applaud effort to require disclosure of taxpayer subsidies to lawyers who sue government
Western Business Roundtable
Wealthy activist groups that sue the government and then force taxpayers to pick up the tab for their attorneys' fees would now have those taxpayer subsidies disclosed to the public under legislation jointly introduced by Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House this week. Read More...
Campaign rises against 'subsidies' for environmental lawsuits
Arizona Daily Star
A campaign is growing against the many lawsuits filed by groups such as Tucson's own Center for Biological Diversity. The complaint: A federal law is allowing the center and others to unfairly collect millions in attorneys' fees, which then go to subsidize more lawsuits. Read More...
White House land grab plan exposed
Washington Times
A secret administration memo has surfaced revealing plans for the federal government to seize more than 10 million acres of Western lands from Montana to New Mexico, halting job-creating activities like ranching, forestry, mining and energy development. State governments are outraged that this land grab would dry up their essential tax revenues for funding schools, firehouses and community centers.
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States push EPA, Congress to curb business confidentiality claims
Greenwire
Federal law forces companies to provide detailed information to U.S. EPA about the toxicity of the chemicals they use. Read More...
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| | | ENERGY SECURITY
Shareholders approve Denbury, Encore merger
Dallas Business Journal
Shareholders of oil and gas companies Denbury Resources Inc. and Encore Acquisition Co. both approved Denbury's planned acquisition of Encore on Tuesday. Read More...
Denali: Pipeline companies to proceed without Alaska support
Business Week
BP and ConocoPhillips are working together on the $30 billion Denali natural gas pipeline without state support, saying it avoids strings attached to competing plan of TransCanada Corp. and ExxonMobil Corp., which accepts state funds. Read More...
Environmental groups' lawsuit against Shell offshore plan could cause more delays
Alaska Journal of Commerce
The Department of the Interior has delayed submitting a revised environmental assessment of Shell Oil's $300 million Chukchi Sea exploration plan to a Washington, D.C., court. Read More...
Once a solar boom town, Spanish city goes bust
Mother Nature Network
Spain's former coal mining town of Puertollano hosted a brief, 21st-century solar gold rush; and set an example for what not to do. Read More...
U.S. funds new nuclear power technology
UPI
Energy Secretary Chu has announced a $40 million grant to Westinghouse Electric Co. and General Atomics for design and workflow planning for the next generation of U.S. nuclear power plants. Read More...
FCC: "Smart Grid" depends on National Broadband Plan
TechNewsDaily
A federal plan to wire the entire United States with high-speed Internet access will be key to creating a nationwide "smart" power grid for reducing wasted electricity, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Read More...
National Monument issue heats up in Congress
New York Times
Efforts to strip the Obama administration's authority to create new national monuments are gaining momentum in Congress as lawmakers continue to roll out bills aimed at protecting their states from what they view as a White House agenda to tie up large tracts of land. Read More...
The $62 million T. Boone Pickens project
Greentech Media
T. Boone Pickens, the Chairman of BP Capital Management, told attendees at a recent seminar that the Natural Gas Act - HR 1835 in the House and Senate bill 1408 - will pass by Memorial Day. Read More...
Grid battle threatens wind development
Forbes.com (blog)
That nationwide transmission backbone people like to dream about, the one that is meant to improve reliability while connecting the country's vast renewable energy resources with its power-hungry population? A group of utilities has gotten together to try to break that backbone before it even gets planned, never mind built. Read More...
Senate proposal could hurt U.S. wind industry
RenewableEnergyWorld
This week, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation that, if passed, would restrict any renewable energy project that uses less than 100% U.S. made components from receiving tax payer subsidies and grants. Read More...
U.S. oil, gas taxes face ‘fierce’ opposition, lawmaker says
Bloomberg/BusinessWeek
The Obama administration should abandon plans to raise $45 billion by eliminating tax breaks for fossil-fuel producers such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu said. Read More...
Two plans in preparation for coastal oil and gas drilling
Houston Chronicle
The Obama administration will announce its plans for coastal oil and gas drilling leases by the end of March, says Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Read More...
EPA asked to study gas-drilling technique
Reuters
Dozens of environmental groups have asked urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the hydraulic fracturing technique of extracting natural gas, amid concern that it contaminates drinking water with toxic chemicals. Read More...
Coalition for Fair Transmission Policy launched
The Earth Times
A diverse group of electric utilities launched the Coalition for Fair Transmission Policy. The group will support legislative and regulatory policies within comprehensive energy legislation that will lead to the most efficient development of the nation's electric transmission systems and clean generation resources. Read More...
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| | | ACTION ALERTS
Transparency blacked out -- time to get the truth
Salt Lake Tribune (U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis)
Our nation's governing document grants every American the right to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Over the course of our history, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that every person has the same access to that right regardless of race, creed or class. In fact, the law dictates that citizens should be reimbursed for their legal expenses should they sue the federal government and win. No American should have to risk their livelihood or savings in order to seek justice. That is why, in 1980, Congress passed the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).
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Blinded by science
Real Clear Politics
Science, many scientists say, has been restored to her rightful throne because progressives have regained power. Progressives, say progressives, emulate the cool detachment of scientific discourse. So hear now the calm, collected voice of a scientist lavishly honored by progressives, Rajendra Pachauri. Read More...
Sage grouse numbers don't justify listing
Salt Lake Tribune
Wyoming officials are waiting anxiously for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether the sage grouse will be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Read More...
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| | | NEW STUDIES AND RESEARCH
SRI wins $4.5M carbon capture study contract
San Francisco Business Times
SRI wins $4.5 million grant to study carbon dioxide capture using an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bicarbonate, or AC-ABC, method. It’s meant to be used at gasification plants, which use new technology to convert coal to gasses before burning. Read More...
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| | | KUDO OF THE WEEK
Lummis, Herseth Sandlin, Bishop lead bipartisan effort to shine light on lawsuit payments
U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis
A bipartisan trio of western members of Congress, U.S. Representatives Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., and Rob Bishop, R-Utah, have teamed up to introduce the “Open EAJA Act of 2010.” The bill seeks to reinstate critical oversight and transparency measures for payments made to organizations through the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).
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