Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Giant methane plume discovered by NASA in New Mexico
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Friday, November 4, 2022
This image shows a methane plume two miles long that NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation mission detected southeast of Carlsbad, New Mexico; NASA/JPL-Caltech ([link removed])
A new NASA discovery ([link removed]) sheds light on methane pollution in New Mexico as the state works to cut emissions ([link removed]) . Using a satellite designed to study how dust affects the climate, NASA has found ([link removed]) a plume of methane approximately two miles long in the Permian Basin near Carlsbad. Scientists estimate that more than 40,000 pounds of methane ([link removed]) are emitted per hour at the Permian Basin site.
“Some of the plumes [we've] detected are among the largest ever seen—unlike anything that has ever been observed from space,” said Andrew Thorpe ([link removed]) , a NASA research technologist leading the methane detection effort.
Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry is fighting new rules ([link removed]) to regulate methane pollution in New Mexico. The rules target venting, flaring, and methane leaks from oil and gas production and require companies to increase monitoring to detect leaks within 1,000 feet of homes, schools, and businesses. The Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico is challenging the new rules, specifically objecting to the new leak detection provisions.
Environmental organizations are stepping in ([link removed]) to stop the industry's appeal, claiming it would harm communities of color across the state. “These facilities leak like a sieve," said Tannis Fox ([link removed]) , Senior Attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, adding that the pollutants directly affect approximately 35,000 New Mexicans living near wells, and 19,000 of them are people of color.
** Manchin planning to tack permitting onto Defense bill
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Senator Joe Manchin will try to attach his permitting reform language to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, according to comments ([link removed]) the West Virginia senator made Wednesday. Lawmakers consider the NDAA and upcoming end-of-year omnibus spending legislation as the two most realistic options for getting the permitting reform legislation done this Congress, according to E&E News ([link removed]) .
Democratic leaders as well as President Joe Biden are motivated to address permitting concerns ([link removed]) this year, before a possible Republican takeover of Congress. But Republicans could decide to block the effort if they gain more seats in the upcoming election, in hopes of passing their own version of permitting reform next year.
Quick hits
** U.S. House Republicans will press need for critical minerals at COP 27 climate talks
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Reuters ([link removed])
** Montana had a calm fire year in 2022. But don't expect a repeat in years to come
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Yellowstone Public Radio ([link removed])
** EOG rakes in massive profits amid high oil and gas prices, boosts investor returns
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Reuters ([link removed])
** Utah governor closes Great Salt Lake basin to new water rights
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Interior announces $122.5 million for abandoned mine land and economic revitalization grants
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Interior Department ([link removed])
** Fossil fuel projects were stalled a year ago. Now they’re making a comeback
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Can recreationists turn Utah into a red state that prioritizes outdoor conservation?
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** NPS advances plans for Alabama civil rights monument
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E&E News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” The plan was not to build any new infrastructure, because everything new you build has to run for 20 or 30 years to pencil out, long past the point we want to be off fossil fuels... But now all these projects are on the table again.”
—Niklas Hohne ([link removed]) , founder of the NewClimate Institute think tank and an emissions scholar at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, on the current upswing in fossil fuel development
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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The contrasting colors of the yellow cottonwoods and the red sandstone canyons at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona during the fall are incredible. Photo by R. Henry / NPS
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