G2. Local Greens

Water Threatened by New Bill in Legislature – Contact Legislators NOW! The Legislature is in session, and anything can happen.  Last year, they voted to look into bringing nuclear power plants to the state.  This year, we have House Bill 1071, which was just introduced by Rep. Mike Weisgram of Fort Pierre.  Your immediate, strong … Continue reading Will SD Become a Nuclear Hotspot?

For Immediate Release: 1/10/24

Contact:
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org

Restore the Delta on Governor Newsom’s Budget Announcement

SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom presented his proposed budget for the State of California.

Facing an expected $37.8 billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced drawing $10 billion from the state’s budget reserves, while continuing to push forward the Delta Conveyance Project, incorrectly calling it a climate project.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta responds:

“As California enters a year of fiscal cutbacks, we proposed canceling all spending on Newsom’s Delta Tunnel. This proposal (rejected by Californians since 1982) faces an uncertain permitting process. It will waste at least $16 billion dollars that could be spent on actual climate resilience projects like rural groundwater recharging and urban floodwater capture. Every struggling California family knows that money not spent on frivolous things can be used on essential items that help us get through the tough times. 
 
“According to Newsom’s Department of Water Resources, the Delta Conveyance Project will produce about 240,000 acre-feet of additional water in wet years only. At a bond payback rate of $1 billion per year, that means when water is available it will cost about $4200 per acre-foot, and in numerous years, there will be no additional water, but the bond payment will need to be made. This is not serious climate water planning.”

By Laura Lundquist, Missoula Current Photo by Laura Lundquist, Missoula Current The state of Montana is continuing to probe Montana’s environmental law by creating a working group. But like many citizens who attended fall listening sessions, the group members aren’t really sure what they’ll be reviewing. On Monday, the Department of Environmental Quality announced that …

The post DEQ work group to assess state environmental law appeared first on Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC.

Image: Body: 

MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT TO SAVE THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED ATLANTIC STURGEON OF THE DELAWARE RIVER AND OTHER OXYGEN SENSITIVE SPECIES (i.e. Shortnose Sturgeon, American Shad, Atlantic Rock Crab, Channel Catfish, Striped Bass, Largemouth Bass, White Perch, and Yellow Perch).

On December 14th, 2023, the US EPA Region 3, announced proposed new water quality standards to ensure essential protection for aquatic life in the Delaware Estuary. The proposal includes a recognition that estuary reaches of the river are used for fish propagation and must be protected as such. Significantly, the proposal includes new dissolved oxygen criteria to ensure enough oxygen in the water to support the aquatic life of the River, including the most oxygen sensitive species, of which Atlantic Sturgeon is the MOST sensitive. 

Delaware Riverkeeper Network has been advocating for action of this magnitude for over a decade because of the perilous state of the genetically unique population of Atlantic Sturgeon who can only be found in our Delaware River. The Atlantic Sturgeon are on the brink of extinction with less than 250 spawning adults left. Stronger water quality standards and dissolved oxygen levels are essential if we are to restore these majestic creatures to full population health.

The Public Comment period is currently open and closes on February 20th, 2024. There are two ways to engage:

1. Public comments should be submitted through a special EPA portal, which can be found at this link: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0222-0001 
2. There will also be 2 public hearings which you can register for here:

• February 6th from 9 - 11 am
• February 7th from 4 - 6 pm 

We are calling on you, the people of our River Valley, to submit written comment between now and the February 20th deadline. Any and all comments are important in this decision making process. Without our voices, the fish of our River may be left unheard and not fully protected.  Industry and wastewater dischargers are strongly opposed to this proposed EPA action.  Therefore, we need to be sure that EPA hears from the people to whom this River belongs, not just the industries that view our river as a waste receptacle and to be sacrificed if it means more profit.

Below is suggested language you can use in your public comment.  You can copy and paste the below text as is, or edit it so it better suits your vision and voice. 

Your comment must be submitted through a special EPA portal, which can be found at this link: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0222-0001

Whatever you choose to submit, be sure you note that your comment is in response to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0222

 

Proposed text for use or guidance:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Docket Center
Office of Water
Docket, Mail Code 2822IT
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20460

Re: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0222

Dear U.S. EPA,

I submit this comment for Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0222.

Comment Period Extension Must Be REJECTED!

Industry and wastewater dischargers are urging the US EPA to extend, by an additional 30 days, the current comment period regarding EPA’s Proposed Water Quality Standards to Protect Aquatic Life. I urge the EPA to reject this request and maintain the current February 20, 2024 deadline for comments. For well over a decade industry, wastewater treatment facilities, and other regulatory agencies in our region, have known about the ongoing efforts to secure increased dissolved oxygen standards in order to protect the aquatic life of the Delaware Estuary. In addition, the technologies and practices necessary to achieve the proposed standard are not new; they in fact have been around for decades and are in use nationwide and around our region. Industry, wastewater operators, and government agencies are fully aware of these technologies and practices necessary to address the ammonia nitrogen, and to accomplish the nitrification, necessary to restore healthier oxygen levels to the Delaware River. The request for this comment extension is unfounded, unjustified, and merely seeks to prolong the suffering of the Atlantic Sturgeon of the Delaware River which are already perilously close to extinction and should not be subjected to more delays before they begin to secure the legal protections they need to both survive and to thrive.

EPA’s Proposal to Upgrade Designated Uses & Water Quality Standards is Legally & Scientifically Mandated.

I applaud the EPA proposal to upgrade the designated uses of Delaware River Zones 3, 4, and 5 to include “propagation”.

I applaud the EPA’s determination that existing water quality standards with regards to dissolved oxygen are insufficient to ensure the protection of all life stages of Delaware Estuary aquatic life species, particularly our genetically unique population of Atlantic Sturgeon. Recognizing that the other regulatory agencies of our region (DRBC and the states) have failed to ensure protective standards, I support the administration’s decision to take the leadership role in issuing needed protective standards and to use a science-based approach to ensure high dissolved oxygen levels critical for supporting all life stages of our Delaware River Atlantic Sturgeon and other aquatic life in the River.

The Proposed Water Quality Standards Fall Short of The Full Protections Science & Sturgeon Dictate are Needed – Three Fixes Are Required.

But I am concerned that EPA failed to fully fulfill its commitment to rely only on the science, and not succumb to pressure from industry, or other agency representatives, who would seek lower standards below what the science clearly demonstrates our Atlantic Sturgeon require.

In order to ensure dissolved oxygen levels that are fully protective of all life stages of Delaware River Atlantic Sturgeon and aquatic life, the proposed water quality standards must be adjusted in 3 critical ways:

1. It is essential that the standards include a minimum level of dissolved oxygen that can never be violated. Simply relying on medians, averages, and percentiles fails to ensure the sturgeon and other aquatic life, at all times, have a level of oxygen that can sustain them. While a median oxygen level over a period of months may look fine on paper, in reality it can allow for serious dips in oxygen for prolonged periods of time with deadly consequences – fish, like people, may not be able to hold their breath or sustain their life systems long enough to survive a period of oxygen below the minimum level they need to survive for that prolonged period. I urge EPA to add to their regulatory proposal a minimum dissolved oxygen level that can never be violated for any period of time.
2. The length of time over which assessments are conducted, and exceedances are allowed, must be reduced from being seasonal to monthly. As currently written, the proposed standard could allow dissolved oxygen levels that are dangerously low for up to 61 days during the most dangerous summer months of the year for the sturgeon of our River.  A four month window where violations can last from 10% to 50% of the time is dangerous and could be deadly on a serious, population-threatening scale.
3. The science is clear that Atlantic Sturgeon require 6.5 mg/l of dissolved oxygen –  which translates to an 80% saturation value at August median temperatures – to fully support all life stages. The current proposal of 66% to 74% saturation seriously fails to meet this science-based mandate. I urge the EPA to increase the oxygen criteria to saturation levels that ensure full protection of our Atlantic Sturgeon. 

These modifications are essential to ensure full protection of all life stages of the Delaware River Atlantic Sturgeon and other aquatic life.  Given how perilously close the Delaware River Atlantic Sturgeon are to extinction – less than 250 spawning adults returning each year – and the increasing pressures climate change, industry and wastewater operations place on the sturgeon, it is essential that this basic need for high levels of oxygen year round is provided for.

I hope the US EPA will take these comments into consideration to not only improve the proposed rules but to fully protect the Atlantic Sturgeon.

 

Companies that want to produce or manufacture toxic PFAS chemicals that are no longer in use are now required to notify the EPA.

The post EPA finalizes new rules for companies producing toxic PFAS chemicals appeared first on The Allegheny Front.

For the last five years, Ontario has been treading water on renewable energy – not contracting for one kilowatt since the election of 2018 – while the rest of the world has surged forward. Now the province says it wants to get back in the game with a target of contracting for 5,000 megawatts (MW)

The post Ontario takes baby steps on renewable energy instead of a big leap appeared first on Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

Pennsylvania now has 1 gigawatt of solar energy capacity–enough to power all the homes in a city as big as Pittsburgh.

The post Pennsylvania hits solar energy milestone. Advocates say there’s much more to do appeared first on The Allegheny Front.

A major backer of the West Newton oil and gas project in East Yorkshire has fought off another challenge by a group of shareholders.

The West Newton-B site in East Yorkshire, October 2020. Photo: Used with the owner’s consent

A requisitioned general meeting for Reabold Resources failed to pass 11 resolutions to remove existing directors and replace them with Kamran Sattar, Andrea Cattaneo, Francesca Yardle and Dr Jose Ramon Lopez-Portillo Romano.

All the resolutions were rejected by more than 78% of the vote.

Between 3.3 million and 4.3 million votes were withheld and not counted on resolutions to remove Sachin Oza, Stephen Williams, Jeremy Edelman, Michael Craig, Mozetic and Anthony Samaha.

This morning’s meeting was the second time that Reabold shareholders have voted to maintain the company’s board.

In November 2022, voting on 11 resolutions was just over 75% against.

In that vote, shareholders were asked to appoint Mr Sattar, Ms Yardle, Cathal Friel and John McGoldrick.

Since then, the group behind the challenge, known as the requisitioning shareholders, have increased their stake in Reabold from 6.93% to 7.91%.

Between 13 December 2023 and 9 January 2024, Reabold has used a buy back scheme to purchase more than 160 million shares, representing 1.57% of the shares in the company.

West Newton

The requisitioning shareholders had criticised operations and planning at the West Newton operation, in which Reabold has a 65% interest.

They recommended continuing drilling at the field but then farm out operations if wells were successful.

Drilling at one of the pads, West Newton-B, has been delayed at least three times, according to recent company announcements.

One well was spudded (start of drilling) in October 2020 but another as never drilled. This second well was later scheduled for the second half of 2021, then autumn 2023 and is now expected this year (2024).

The West Newton operator, Rathlin Energy, is required by the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, to drill and test a new appraisal well into the Kirkham Abbey formation by June 2024. Rathlin has also committed to the same deadline to recomplete or drill a sidetrack to one of the existing three wells and carry out testing.

But Rathlin has revealed that it needs more money to drill at West Newton. Company accounts, published in September 2023, reported that Rathlin’s share of the work was likely to cost about £9m. The company reported at the time that it had £3.8m in cash.

Reabold reaction

Reabold’s non-executive chairman, Jeremy Edelman, said:

“Today’s requisitioned General Meeting result represents the resounding support for the existing Board of Directors by its shareholders.

“The results represent an even greater margin of votes against the Requisitioning Shareholders’ resolutions than was the case at the last requisitioned general meeting in November 2022.

“The Requisitioning Shareholders, who own approximately 7.91% of the Company’s currently issued share capital, received average support for the proposed resolutions from shareholders representing approximately a further 5.77% of the Company’s issued share capital.”

He said:

“This process has, once again, been a serious and costly distraction for Reabold, significantly delaying the management team’s ability to execute the Company’s strategy. The Board believes the Company is well positioned with its portfolio of strategic gas assets and strong cash position. The Company’s efforts can now be entirely directed towards unlocking this value for all shareholders.”

Shares in Reabold Resources rose on the news but later fell back. At the time of writing, they were up 3.13% at 0.0825p.

File:  20240110 DRN Comment re EPA DO WQS Proposal.pdfOngoing Issues: Dissolved Oxygen Criteria

Join actions all over the country targeting banks that fund the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We have one of the top funders right here in the Bay Area: Wells Fargo, headquartered in San Francisco, has poured $86.7 million into this destructive project.

For starters, the pipeline is planned to carry fracked gas across Appalachia, from extraction … Read more

Divesting pension funds from fossil fuels benefits California communities. Join five frontline leaders of the fight to get California retirement funds to divest from fossil fuels in a conversation with  Third Act leader Bill McKibben to hear about why.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Luis Angel Martinez, Fatima Iqbal Zubair, and Ra’mauri Cash come from the frontlines … Read more

Pa. Outdoor Corps is now hiring young adults – ages 18 to 25 – across the state for construction projects, trail maintenance and other outdoor jobs on public land.

The post Pa. Outdoor Corps seeking young adults crew members appeared first on The Allegheny Front.

File:  20231130 Individual and Group Sign on to DRBC re RPP.pdfOngoing Issues: Shale Gas Extraction -- Drilling/Fracking

File:  20231130 DRN Comment to DRBC re RPP.pdfOngoing Issues: Shale Gas Extraction -- Drilling/Fracking

File:  20231030_DRN Letter to DRBC- Request for Extension for Comment re NJAA.pdfOngoing Issues: Shale Gas Extraction -- Drilling/Fracking

A new map from a State College-based company features state parks, forests, rail trails and whitewater destinations across Pennsylvania.

The post New Purple Lizard map highlights outdoor trails and recreation across Pa. appeared first on The Allegheny Front.

Opponents of gas exploration near the Surrey village of Dunsfold have been refused permission for a further appeal.

View of the proposed drilling site. Photo: High Billingshurst Farm

Campaigners and the local council were seeking to overturn ministerial planning permission for drilling by UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) on the edge of their village at the proposed Loxley wellsite.

The local campaign group, Protect Dunsfold, and Waverley Borough Council failed at the High Court to reverse the decision and had applied for a further hearing at the Court of Appeal.

Today, an appeal court judge refused permission to take the case further. Lord Justice Stuart-Smith said an appeal had no prospect of success.

UKOG chief executive, Stephen Sanderson, said this afternoon:

“We are pleased that Lord Justice Stuart-Smith has once again dismissed the legal challenge to our Loxley project and has confirmed that its planning consent is entirely lawful, as the Company and its counsel has maintained.

“We believe that a successful project will be beneficial to local and national level energy and economic interests and is fully in keeping with the government’s Hydrogen, Energy Security and Net Zero strategies.”

He said the Court of Appeal’s decision was final and could not be reviewed or appealed. The planning permission would now “remain in full force and effect for its full term”, he said.

Cllr Paul Follows, leader of Waverley Borough Council, outside the High Court in June 2023.
Photo: DrillOrDrop

Cllr Paul Follows, leader of Waverley Borough Council (WBC), said:

“I am deeply distressed and angry to have to report to residents that the Court of Appeal has dismissed the final avenues of appeal in regard to the proposed local extraction of fossil fuels by UKOG.”

He said the council would write to Jeremy Hunt, the local MP and chancellor, asking for an explanation for the decision.

Mr Follows said:

“He [Jeremy Hunt] and his government have allowed this travesty

“We will of course also continue to pursue every legal avenue to resist this decision.”

Jeremy Hunt at a protest against the Dunsfold proposals on 8 January 2022. Photo: DrillOrDrop

Mr Hunt said on X (formerly Twitter):

“I am bitterly disappointed to learn that the Court of Appeal has today refused permission for any further appeal against the UKOG planning consent for the Loxley gas well outside Dunsfold.

“I stand ready to provide my assistance and support to local communities in any way possible going forwards.”

Sarah Godwin, director of Protect Dunsfold, said:

“It seems incredible that within the current context of extreme weather conditions throughout the Northern Hemisphere, planning policy still supports such speculative and unnecessary onshore oil and gas exploration.

“The Court’s decision shows that the government needs to radically overhaul national planning policy to redress the balance so that the planning authorities always have to take the full climate and environmental impact of such proposals fully into account. 

“We will continue to work to change government policies, and fight for recognition of the very real and imminent threat to our environment, businesses and everyday life related to the continued search for fossil fuels.”

Extinction Rebellion activist and local resident Kirsty Clough said:

“As widely reported this week, 2023 was the hottest year on record globally and the Met Office has said that there is a good chance that this year could be even hotter.

“We are of course extremely disappointed. This is not justice. Climate change is happening now and burning fossil fuels is by far the biggest contributor.

“When will our government and judicial system wake up to the fact that we are already in a climate emergency where every tonne of carbon put into the atmosphere counts.”

“Despite the government repeatedly saying the opposite it is widely acknowledged that more UK oil and gas won’t help energy security or bring down bills.

“Even Alok Sharma, former Conservative Business and Energy Security Secretary, said on Monday that the government doesn’t have any control over where fossil fuels extracted here go to because they are owned by private companies.” 

The housing minister, Stuart Andrew, granted planning permission for the Dunsfold in June 2022, after a public inquiry. Surrey County Council had twice refused consent for the proposal.

This article will be updated with more reaction as we get it.

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