Court Victory for Opponents of Fracking in California
On April 8, a federal judge ruled that the Obama Administration violated the law when it issued oil leases in Monterey County, CA without considering the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. The ruling came in response to a suit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club, challenging a September 2011 decision by the federal Bureau of Land Management to auction off about 2,700 acres of land in Monterey and Fresno Counties.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil and natural gas threatens to unlock vast reserves of previously inaccessible fossil-fuel deposits that would contribute to global warming and bring us closer to climate disaster. Fracking has also been tied to water and air pollution in other states. Fracking routinely employs numerous toxic chemicals, including methanol, benzene, and trimenthylbenzene. A recent study from the Colorado School of Public Health found that fracking contributes to serious neurological and respiratory problems in people living near fracked wells, while putting them at higher risk of cancer at the same time.
The court held that the Bureau of Land Management violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it leased roughly 2,500 acres of land in Monterey County by failing to consider the impacts of fracking. The ruling indicates that full consideration of fracking will be required before production occurs on an additional 240 acres leased in Fresno County at issue in this suit, although the court held that the government was not yet required to analyze the environmental impacts regarding these leases. The ruling further supports the challenges the Club and Center for Biological Diversity have brought regarding leasing of nearly 20,000 additional acres in the region.
The court has asked for a joint recommendation on next steps in the case. The Center and the Sierra Club believe the lease sale should be set aside. At a minimum, no drilling or fracking on the leases will be allowed before a thorough analysis of the environmental risks has been completed.
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Kinder Morgan drops plans for coal export terminal at Oregon port
On May 8, Kinder Morgan announced its decision to drop plans to build a coal export terminal at the Port of St. Helens. The announcement is sending shockwaves across the Northwest, where coal export companies have faced unprecedented opposition from local residents, business owners, public health professionals, elected officials, farmers, conservationists, and many others. Kinder Morgan’s announcement came just two days after 100 people attended a hearing to oppose the Port of St. Helens seeking to rezone new industrial land that could be used for a coal terminal.
In January 2012, Kinder Morgan and the Port of St. Helens entered a lease option for the company to build a 15 to 30 million ton per year coal export terminal to serve markets in Asia. Overwhelming opposition across Oregon and the Northwest has followed the proposal since Kinder Morgan announced the deal.
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Sierra Club Seeks Answers for Toxic Tar Sands Spill In Arkansas
On Easter weekend, ExxonMobil’s Pegasus Pipeline ruptured in Mayflower, Arkansas, sending thousands of barrels of toxic tar sands crude oil flowing through the yards and streets of a residential neighborhood. This latest disaster further demonstrates why dirty and dangerous tar sands pipelines are not in our national interest, and casts further doubt on the State Department’s analysis of the risks of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline in its Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). With nearly ten times the carrying capacity as Pegasus, Keystone XL would pose an unacceptable risk to the environment and the public.
As part of ELP’s continuing efforts to push for transparent and effective oversight of crude oil pipelines, especially those carrying tar sands crude oil, we have submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for all documents relating to the potential cause of the Pegasus disaster and PHMSA’s oversight of the Pegasus Pipeline. This information is critical to evaluating the full host of safety risks associated with the Keystone XL Pipeline, as well as other pipelines carrying tar sands crude oil through the U.S. ELP hopes that PHMSA will fulfill its agency obligations under FOIA and release the requested documents before the April 22 deadline for public comments on the Keystone XL SEIS.
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