New Mexico claims Energy Department failed to meet EPA standards The New Mexico Environment Department issued several actions this week to hold the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) accountable for failing to prioritize the cleanup of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s “legacy waste” for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The continued presence …
Category: EPA
White House pact might ease data center concerns in Oklahoma
Just as some Oklahoma leaders have expressed extensive concern over the impact that data centers will have on residential electric bills, the issue is of concern at the White House. POLITICO reported this week the Trump administration wants what some Oklahoma legislators want—to have the data center developers pay for the tremendous amount of …
Legislator wants 5 more years of studying biosolids application
Despite an interim legislative study critical of the use of biosolids on farmland in Oklahoma, members of a state House subcommittee felt there is a need for another 5 years of study. Two members of the House Appropriations and Budget Natural Resources subcommittee voted against five more years of determining the safety of spreading …
News briefs
** In the coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to revoke a determination that has underpinned the federal government’s ability to fight global warming since 2009.That scientific conclusion, known as the endangerment finding, determined that carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are supercharging storms, wildfires, drought, heat waves and sea level rise, and …
Kiowa Tribe to release plans for environmental cleanup of Indian City
As part of a $500,000 grant made two years ago by the EPA to the Kiowa Tribe in Anadarko, the tribe was to prepare a plan for use of the funding aimed at cleaning up so-called Brownfields, abandoned properties where redevelopment is slowed by possible environmental contamination. Soon, the Kiowa Tribe will be releasing its …
Energy briefs
** Michigan launches a first-of-a-kind lawsuit that accuses four oil-and-gas giants and a major U.S. oil lobbying firm of behaving like a “cartel” to impede both the energy transition and public knowledge of the perils of climate change. ** As data centers look to bypass long wait times to connect to the grid by building …
Bill to allow abandoned wells for geothermal purposes passes committee vote
In the first recent meeting of the Oklahoma House Energy Committee, members gave unanimous support to a bill called the Well Repurposing Act. Rep. Nick Archer (R-Elk City) filed HB3173 to help address the state’s abandoned and orphaned well challenges. During the hearing, he cited a recent interim study by the committee. “We all …
News briefs
** House lawmakers on Tuesday grilled members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about electric affordability, grid reliability and the agency’s reviews of natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas projects. ** Xcel Energy says Permian Basin electricity demand driven by the oil and gas industry, new data centers, and nuclear manufacturing facilities threatens to outpace generation …
Energy Briefs: Jobs, Data Centers, Power and Oil Markets
Houston Oil and Gas Job Losses Forecast A Houston-area employment forecast finds that lower oil prices, corporate consolidation, and efficiency gains will lead to thousands of job losses in the oil and gas sector this year. Senate Bill Targets Data Center Power Costs Data centers have grown in recent years to support the rise of …
States Sue Over Trump Energy Emergency Order
New Mexico, Colorado Join Lawsuit Challenging Trump Energy Emergency Order Attorneys General for New Mexico and Colorado are among those who joined a multistate lawsuit challenging President Trump’s “Energy Emergency” executive order, which he signed on his inauguration day invoking the National Emergencies Act. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez and Colorado Attorney General Phil …