EPA’s proposed limits on power plant emissions would accelerate shift from coal to natural gas

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Coal-fired power plants currently produce about 46 percent of the country’s electricity. Photo via Wikipedia and the Creative Commons.

Study compares economic sensitivity of gas and coal-fired power plants

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Proposed new limits on power plant emissions could spur a big shift away from coal and toward natural gas. The new rules on sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide and mercury may make nearly two-thirds of the nation’s coal-fired power plants as expensive to run as plants powered by natural gas, according to a new Duke University study.

“Because of the cost of upgrading plants to meet the EPA‘s pending emissions regulations and its stricter enforcement of current regulations, natural gas plants would become cost-competitive with a majority of coal plants — even if natural gas becomes more than four times as expensive as coal,” said Lincoln F. Pratson, a professor of earth and ocean sciences at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. (more…)

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Audit shows gaps in USFS oil and gas leasing programs

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Draft oil and gas leasing map on the White River National Forest.

Report questions agency’s readiness for potential spills

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — The U.S. Forest Service needs to tighten up its oil and gas leasing program, including procedures for reporting spills and monitoring cleanups, according to a new report from the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General.

Along with illustrating weaknesses in the Forest Service’s oversight of oil and gas drilling on national forest lands, the report also noted that the agency needs to work more closely with the Bureau of Land Management to streamline the permitting process on national forest lands. (more…)

Filed under: BLM, energy, Environment, gas drilling, oil drilling, public lands, US Forest Service | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Colorado: Debate shows some common ground, many differences on fracking regulation

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Oil and gas drilling near schools and homes in Firestone, Colorado. Photo courtesy Shane Davis, Sierra Club, Rocky Mountain Chapter.

Oil and gas drilling near schools and homes in Firestone, Colorado. Photo courtesy Shane Davis, Sierra Club, Rocky Mountain Chapter.

Gov. Hickenlooper, Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones tackle tough questions in lively Denver session

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — Despite a couple of interruptions by hecklers, Monday’s debate between Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones showed there may be some common ground for addressing the contentious issue of oil and gas drilling regulations.

Hickenlooper seemed to agree that the state could do more to address citizen concerns about health and quality of life impacts, and said that the venting methane from oil and gas drilling operations is an unacceptable waste.

But the lunchtime debate at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law also highlighted some of the conflicting views about the appropriate roles of local and state regulation, as well as larger questions about energy policies. Jones emphasized that Colorado residents want a clean, renewable energy future, while Hickenlooper touted natural gas as the fastest way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. (more…)

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Energy: Congress wants to boost hydropower production

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Turbine shafts at the Hoover Dam. Photo courtesy U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Bipartisan measure has backing of river conservation group

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — With huge potential for increased hydropower generation, a bipartisan U.S. Senate bill and a companion measure in the house could help reduce some the red tape currently required to bring new hydropower sources online.

The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), would remove licensing barriers for smaller hydropower development and would require a study on a streamlined permitting process at existing dams and pumped storage products.

“In Colorado and the rest of the West, water is an extremely important resource for our families and the industries that drive our economy.” Bennet said. “This bill will accelerate development of hydropower resources as a part of a clean and diverse energy portfolio.” (more…)

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Colorado: Groups protest North Park oil and gas lease sales

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Wildlife advocates want more up-front planning

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Conservation groups are contesting planned North Park oil lease sales.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — There’s more wrangling over oil and gas drilling leases in Colorado, as wildlife advocacy groups are protesting the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed lease of three North Park parcels totaling about 2,200 acres.

According to National Wildlife Federation attorney Michael Saul, some of the parcels could impact important sage-grouse and mule deer habitat.

“Hunters, anglers and many others have asked the Colorado BLM to approve master leasing plans in North Park and South Park because of the vital resources that must be  balanced in both areas,’’ said Suzanne O’Neill, executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation. (more…)

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Colorado lawmakers aim to tighten oil and gas regs

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
A spreading network of oil and gas drilling rigs has heightened public concern over potential impacts to public health and the environment.

A spreading network of oil and gas drilling rigs has heightened public concern over potential impacts to public health and the environment.

Proposed bills would up fines, reduce perceived conflicts of interest

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — With many Colorado residents feeling that Gov. Hickenlooper has tilted the playing field in favor of fossil fuel development, the Colorado General Assembly will begin to explore new laws that could help balance fossil fuel extraction with public health and safety and concerns about impacts to the environment.

House Bill 13-1267 would increase the maximum daily fine for serious accidents from $1,000 to $15,000 per day and set a minimum fine of $5,000 per violation per day for violations that have a significant adverse impact on public health, safety, or welfare, including the environment. It would also repeal the cap on the maximum total fine.

House Bill 12-1269 would make it clear that the primary mission of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is to make sure that public health and safety and natural resources are adequately protected during the course of fossil fuel development. It also addresses the inherent conflict of interest that currently exists on the commission by prohibiting future commissioners from being employees, officers, or directors of oil and gas companies. (more…)

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Colorado: State, industry and federal officials tracing underground pollution plume near Parachute

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Parachute Colorado

Officials say a “hydrocarbon” plume of underground pollution hasn’t yet threatened Parachute Creek, four miles north of Parachute, in western Colorado.

Possible oil spill may be getting close to groundwater in the area

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — State, local and federal officials are tracking a mysterious underground plume of what they are calling “hydrocarbon” pollution near Parachute, Colorado.

The pollution was first reported March 6 during construction activities in the area and confirmed March 16 by the West Slope Colorado Oil & Gas Association, which said in a prepared release that Parachute Creek has not been impacted and that there are no known threats to health and safety.

The construction activities involved locating underground pipelines – a standard safety practice prior to construction. (more…)

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U.S. Rep. Jared Polis co-sponsors bills to regulate fracking

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO).

BREATHE and FRESHER acts would close significant clean air and water loopholes

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Saying that the rapid expansion of fracking in Colorado has outpaced the ability of state regulators to monitor health and environmental impacts, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO.) is calling for federal legislation to protect the safety and the health of the communities where the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process is already taking place.

“New technologies have led to the rapid development of hydraulic fracturing in Colorado and Pennsylvania before community members could fully understand the potential health, safety, and quality of life implications of drilling in their neighborhood,” Polis said, explaining that two new related laws would make sure that fracking is not exempt from the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act simply because fracking was not prevalent when these laws were initially written. (more…)

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Op-ed: GOP misleads Americans on energy and public lands

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Paul Ryan makes blatantly false claims about energy development

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The proposed GOP budget includes plans to sell off public lands in the West. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — After licking his wounds for a few months, former Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is picking up right where he left off, by misleading Americans about the Obama administration’s energy and public lands policies.

Most blatantly, Ryan this week wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the Obama administration is “buying up land to prevent further development” of energy resources. “Our budget opens these lands to development, so families will have affordable energy,” he added, playing to the lowest common denominator of his conservative base as if he were still campaigning for office.

Ryan’s simplistic and false statement about the connection between public lands and energy costs is flat-out wrong. Domestic energy production has grown under Obama; the administration has been leasing land for onshore production and selling offshore leases at a vigorous rate. (more…)

Filed under: energy, Environment, gas drilling, oil drilling, oil shale, public lands, renewable energy | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

Will sequestration hamper energy development?

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Budget cuts could slow review and approval process, Salazar warns

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Wind turbines off the coast of Denmark.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Looming budget cuts could hamper the government’s ability to review and permit both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said this week, addressing offshore wind stakeholders at a conference in Boston.

Last spring, the federal government announced a $20 million grant program to spur offshore wind energy development and help address key challenges associated with installing utility-scale offshore wind turbines, connecting offshore turbines to the power grid, and navigating new permitting and approval processes.

By some estimates, offshore wind along the East and West coasts, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes could potentially produce more than 4,000 gigawatts of power, not far from the country’s major coastal cities, where much of the nation’s population and electricity demand lies. (more…)

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