Archive for March 12th, 2010

NY water plan could cost power generators billions

Reuters: New York environmental regulators this week released a plan to protect aquatic life in the state's rivers that could cost power generators billions to upgrade their facilities. The plan, which still needs final approval, would affect most of the state's six nuclear power plants and several facilities powered by fossil fuels that use water for cooling. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) wants the facilities to recycle and reuse the water in a closed-cycle cooling ...

Some see Clean Water Act settlement opening new path to GHG curbs

Greenwire: U.S. EPA settled a lawsuit yesterday by agreeing to use the Clean Water Act to address ocean acidification, a move that some see as opening a side door to federal curbs on greenhouse gases that scientists link to problems in the marine environment. The settlement with the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity directly addresses EPA's failure to require Washington state to list its marine waters as impaired by rising acidity. The deal requires EPA to begin a rulemaking aimed at ...

Exxon chief doubts natural gas in cars is viable move

Dallas Morning News: Exxon Mobil Corp. chief executive Rex Tillerson, it seems, has not joined the T. Boone Pickens army. Pickens has been stumping for the past two years for Americans to shift to natural gas as a vehicle fuel, particularly for heavy duty trucks. He says the move would help wean the U.S. off of foreign oil, support domestic natural gas, cut energy costs and reduce pollution. Tillerson said he doubts natural gas would accomplish all of that. And he isn't just promoting his own ...

: Board Extends Deadline for Everglades Land Deal

New York Times: Facing legal challenges and growing deficits, South Florida water officials on Thursday gave themselves six more months to finance a controversial $536 million purchase of land from United States Sugar for the Everglades. The unanimous vote by the nine-member board of the South Florida Water Management District will keep the deal alive, but officials said they continued to struggle with whether the agency could afford it. "From an economic point of view, these are unpleasant ...