Efforts to increase bonding requirements and hold operators accountable continue to struggle across the country
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** How oil companies block well clean-up reforms
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, BLM New Mexico ([link removed])
An investigation ([link removed]) by ProPublica and Capital & Main details how the oil and gas industry exercises its influence to block policy reforms. In New Mexico, more than 70,000 unplugged wells are leaking toxic chemicals across the state, and there is a multi-billion dollar shortfall between the cost to plug them and the money oil and gas companies have set aside for plugging and clean-up in the form of bonds. Nationwide, there are more than two million unplugged wells, and a gap of tens of billions of dollars between estimated clean-up costs and money held in clean-up bonds, according to the investigation. But efforts to increase bonding requirements and hold operators accountable continue to struggle across the country.
New Mexico's state legislature introduced several oil and gas reform bills in the 2024 session ([link removed]) , including HB 133 Oil and Gas Act Changes ([link removed]) . The bill would have made a number of important changes including increasing bonding requirements and granting the Oil Conservation Division the authority to regulate and block the transfer of wells from larger to smaller operators if the risk of abandonment was found to be high, an important measure intended to reduce the number of abandoned wells in the future. Despite participating in negotiations and helping to shape the bill for months, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association advocated against the bill during the session and the bill ultimately died, along with several other oil and gas reform bills ([link removed]) .
"Industry killing the bills was the dynamic I saw," said Adam Peltz ([link removed]) , an Environmental Defense Fund senior attorney who worked on the New Mexico bill and similar proposals in other states. The investigation by ProPublica and Capital & Main found that this pattern is common across the country. According to U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley ([link removed]) of Oregon, "The challenge in anything that involves fossil fuels, and particularly that addresses a profit strategy of fossil fuel companies, is you’re taking on the most powerful lobby in the United States of America."
** Quick hits
------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado judge advances climate lawsuit against oil companies
CPR News ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Advocates push New Mexico for increased oil and gas bonding rates
New Mexico Political Report ([link removed])
Supreme Court may overturn major environmental precedent this week
E&E News ([link removed])
Geothermal deal boosts California's clean energy goals
Canary Media ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])
In green energy boom, one federal agency made the Yakama Nation an offer they had to refuse
High Country News ([link removed])
'When the berm breaks': Potential for catastrophe on the Clark Fork River
Montana Free Press ([link removed])
The West is warming and drying so fast that a crucial drought-monitoring tool can’t keep up, study says
Denver Post ([link removed])
How the Kalispell Tribe is saving a forest
The Nation ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
------------------------------------------------------------
” Climate change affects every single person in the community. What lawsuits can do is help to shift the cost burden because low-income, poorer families shouldn't have to bear the cost of this crisis we're facing alone.”
—Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann, CPR News ([link removed])
** Picture This
------------------------------------------------------------
@glaciernps ([link removed])
What is the most dangerous thing in Glacier National Park?
You might guess grizzly bears and wildlife, but accidents near the park’s numerous water features—rivers, lakes, streams, and waterfalls—cause the most fatalities. Wet surfaces like rocks and trees can be incredibly slippery, and mountain waters are cold and swift. Please use an abundance of caution around all water features and maintain a safe distance from fast-moving creeks and streams.
============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
Copyright © 2024 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
