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Archive for December 20th, 2013
Company Will Not Face Fines for Unpermitted Gas Pipeline in North Dakota
Posted by Forum: Mike Nowatzki on December 20th, 2013
Forum: An Oklahoma-based company won’t face fines for installing and operating a natural gas pipeline in North Dakota without the proper state permits, but a state regulator said Wednesday that she may pursue a change in state law to make it easier to impose penalties in such cases. Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said that while Hiland Operating LLC testified that it didn’t know it needed PSC approval to site a 6.5-mile-long pipeline installed in 2009 in Burke and Divide counties, “not being...
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Enbridge Suspends Dredging Operations at River Oaks Park in Michigan until Spring
Posted by MLive: Alex Mitchell on December 20th, 2013
MLive: Enbridge, Inc. has suspended its dredging operations at Morrow Lake until spring, a company spokesman said Thursday.
An excavator digs into the bottom of Morrow Lake during cleanup following the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spillMLive file photo
Jason Manshum, senior advisor of community relations for Enbridge, said Enbridge ceased all of its dredging operations along the Kalamazoo River on Dec. 10. due to concerns over worker safety after the water started freezing.
"It all comes down to worker...
Canadian regulator OKs oil pipeline to Pacific
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 20th, 2013
Associated Press: Canada`s regulator recommended Thursday that the government approve a proposed pipeline to the Pacific coast that will allow Canada`s oil to be shipped to Asia despite environmental concerns.
A three-person review panel said opening Pacific markets to Canadian oil is important to the economy and thus supported Enbridge`s controversial pipeline. There are 209 conditions, but no major potential stumbling blocks such as a route change.
Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said the government will...
Fracking May Make Texas Power Supply Drought Resistant
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on December 20th, 2013
Climate Central: A new University of Texas-Austin study shows that producing electricity from natural gas saves much more water than producing power from coal, even accounting for water lost in fracking for shale gas.
In other words, fracking for natural gas used to produce electricity may make Texas more drought-resistant as the state shifts from coal power generation to natural gas power generation.
The study, funded by the state of Texas, looks at how Texas' devastating 2011 drought affected electricity...
Natural sponges: forests help moderate floods, droughts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 20th, 2013
Mongabay: A new study adds further evidence for the "sponge effect" of forests.
Research published in the journal Water Resources Research by scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and other institutions finds that forests in Panama help moderate extreme weather events by reducing peak runoff during storms and releasing stored water during droughts. The findings are based on measurements taken during nearly 450 tropical storms in forests and pastures.
“We measured large differences...