Young Evangelicals For Climate Action Respond To U.S. Supreme Court Decision On Regulating Power Plant Carbon Pollution

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision on West Virginia V. EPA, a crucial case concerning the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act.

In response, the York County-based Young Evangelicals For Climate Action National Organizer and Spokesperson Tori Goebel released the following statement--

“Today, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to reduce dangerous, climate-warming carbon emissions from the power sector. We are deeply troubled by this decision that undermines the authority of the very agency tasked with the mission ‘to protect human health and the environment.’

“Though this ruling is indeed disappointing, it does not alter reality. Today’s decision does not change how we must respond to climate change: boldly, quickly, and with love for our neighbors. 

“Addressing climate change at the speed and scale required by science is as vital today as it was yesterday. Our leaders must use every tool and avenue at their disposal to take serious action. 

“We are therefore calling on Congress to immediately pass the $555 billion in clean energy and climate investments included in the reconciliation bill. 

“Now, more than ever, our leaders in Congress must fulfill their moral responsibility to boldly address the climate crisis and to stop politicizing our future. Young people are watching, and we will not accept anything less.”

Young Evangelicals for Climate Action is a national group of young evangelical Christians who are coming together and taking action to overcome the climate crisis as an expression of their Christian witness and discipleship.

The group is the youth wing of the York County-based Evangelical Environmental Network.

Related Articles:

-- U.S. Supreme Court Decision Did Not Affect EPA’s Ability To Regulate Carbon Dioxide As A Pollutant, Has No Impact On DEP's RGGI Power Plant Carbon Pollution Reduction Program  [PaEN]

-- Evangelical Environmental Network: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of U.S. Supreme Court Decision On Regulating Carbon Pollution [PaEN]

-- Evangelical Environmental Network Testifies In Congress On Need To Defend Our Children’s Health & Taxpayers By Fixing Oil & Gas Facility Methane Leaks, Require Real Well Plugging Bonding  [PaEN]

[Posted: June 30, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

Lancaster Clean Water Partners Begin Accepting Clean Water Fund Large Grant Applications July 26; Watershed Leadership Academy Open

The Lancaster Clean Water Partners will begin accepting another round of Lancaster Clean Water Fund Grant applications for larger projects on July 26.  The deadline to apply is September 30.

This category grants dollars from the Department of Environmental Protection for significant implementation projects contributing to Lancaster's Countywide Action Plan.

We'll offer an opportunity to submit draft applications by September 2 with comments guaranteed back on or before September 16.

Awards will be announced in early January. 

Small Projects Due July 22

Just a reminder, Lancaster Clean Water Fund Grants for small projects are due July 22.

Visit the Lancaster Clean Water Fund Grant webpage for more information.

July 26 Webinar

An information session will be held Tuesday, July 26 at 1 p.m. via Zoom. Registration will be open in early July.

If you have questions before the information session, contact Megan at mblackmon@lancastercleanwaterpartners.com. 

Watershed Academy

Are you or someone you know an emerging environmental leader or a lifelong student looking for a new challenge?

Applications are now being accepted for the Lancaster Watershed Leadership Academy.

Click Here for all the details.

Lancaster Water Week Photos

Visit the Lancaster Conservancy Facebook page for photos from the Lancaster Water Week Celebration in June

For more information on programs, initiatives, funding, technical support, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Lancaster Clean Water Partners website.  Click Here to sign up for regular email updates.  Follow them on Facebook. 

 

(Reprinted from the latest Lancaster Clean Water Partners newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

Take Action Now!

-- Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers, Hunters, Anglers, Farm, Environmental, Recreation Groups All Working Together, Down To The Wire, To Bring Home A Win On Growing Greener III Funding [PaEN]

Related Articles:

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Office Update: Farm Conservation Tax Credit Applications; York County Better Farms, Clean Water Field Day; Join Mifflin County Riparian Rangers! [PaEN]

-- EPA Approval Of Pequea Creek Watershed Restoration Plan Advances Efforts To Improve Water Quality In Lancaster County  [PaEN]

-- PASA Sustainable Agriculture Hosts July 16 Trees For Your Animals & Land Workshop In Perry County  [PaEN]

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition Mine Drainage Restoration Along North Country Trail; Celebrate The Blazing Star Prairie Bloom At Jennings July 30  [PaEN]

-- PA Environmental Council Video: An Unlikely Team Works To Restore Native Woodlands On Reclaimed Mining Site In Cambria County

-- 30 Years and Counting - Stroud Water Research Center’s Education Department Makes Cutting-Edge Freshwater Science Fun  [PaEN]

[Posted: June 30, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

Frances Rodgers Partners With French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust To Preserve 7.5 Acres In Chester County

On June 30, the French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, in partnership with Charlestown Township, announced they have partnered with Frances Rodgers to protect another 7.5 acres in northern Chester County. 

The conservation easement of the Green Lane Road property, owned by Frances Rodgers, was funded through the township’s Open Space Initiative dedicated tax dollars and expanded the total protected lands along Green Lane to 175 acres.

Frances Rodgers and her late husband, Mike, raised 9 children on their Green Lane Road property in Charlestown Township. Mike was a five-term township supervisor and a great supporter of the open space initiative. 

When Fran decided to move to one of her daughter’s homes, she contracted with her neighbors, Rick and Holly Bernhard, to purchase the property, but wanted to place it under easement first. 

Charlestown Township Supervisor Kevin Kuhn brought in French & Pickering and the easement was completed on June 14, 2022.

“The Rodgers’ property is surrounded by three other French & Pickering easements, including the Bernhards’,” noted Pam Brown, French & Pickering Conservation Director. “A yield plan indicated that two additional houses could be constructed, but all were eliminated through the easement agreement. The Bernhards would like to extend their pasture to raise cattle, so this was the perfect solution for both parties.”.

The Rodgers’ property is located within the Pickering Creek watershed which is designated as having High Quality water by the Department of Environmental Protection. 

There are 1.25 acres of mixed-aged woodlands that provide habitat to numerous plant and animal species, as well as 4.5 acres of grassy fields.

French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust is grateful for Frances Rodgers’ generosity and for the opportunity to protect this beautiful property with the support of Charlestown Township.

The Trust

For more information on land conservation, visit the French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust website.

Since its establishment in 1967, French & Pickering has protected more than 13,350 acres in northern Chester County through purchases, conservation easements and public/private partnerships. 

The nonprofit organization works with landowners, townships, foundations and the state and county to purchase and monitor conservation easements, create parkland and preserve environmentally sensitive land.

Now more than ever, outside recreational opportunities are important to our mental and physical health. These French & Pickering properties are open to the public and contain miles of marked hiking trails and scenic views--

The Templin Woods Preserve (formally known as the Great Marsh Preserve) in East Nantmeal Township is over 550 acres of woodland wildlife habitat. This valuable natural space houses many species of birds and mammals and is an important source of clean water for the Great Marsh ecosystem. 

The Thomas P. Bentley Nature Preserve in East Nantmeal and Warwick townships is a 108-acre site that includes the ruins of the Warwick Iron Furnace and the Exceptional Value south branch of the French Creek.

(Photo: Frances & Elsa Rodgers.)

[Posted: June 30, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Did Not Affect EPA’s Ability To Regulate Carbon Dioxide As A Pollutant, Has No Impact On DEP's RGGI Power Plant Carbon Pollution Reduction Program

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision invalidating the Clean Power Plan the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency repealed in June 2019 and that had never gone into effect.

The goal of the Plan was to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants under the federal Clean Air Act.  In fact, market forces favoring natural gas have reduced the number of coal-fired power plants significantly.

In Pennsylvania, there are only three that have not announced closure plans.

EPA does have authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act and the Court’s ruling did not address that existing authority.

DEP Statement

Acting Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection Ramez Ziadeh issued this statement in response to the Supreme Court ruling--

“Governor Tom Wolf and DEP have been at the forefront of protecting the air we breathe and ensuring that communities are not bearing unfair burdens from regulations protecting air quality. 

“Cost-effective actions like reducing methane leaks from gas wells and participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will continue to improve Pennsylvania’s air for years to come. 

“Today’s ruling undercuts good-faith efforts to fight climate change and protect clean air but that does not mean we will stop fighting. Pennsylvanians strongly favor strong protections for the air we all breathe, the water we drink, and the land we live, work, and play on. This administration will continue to uphold our constitutional responsibility to conserve and maintain clean air and pure water for all people, including generations yet to come.”

Other Reaction

In a statement reacting to the ruling, PennFuture President and CEO Jacquelyn Bonomo said--

“PennFuture is extremely dismayed by the Supreme Court’s decision today in the case of West Virginia vs. Environmental Protection Agency.

“This misguided decision will have far-reaching consequences and is exactly the opposite of what is needed in this moment as the climate crisis continues to accelerate unabated. 

‘The stripping of the [federal] executive branch’s power to enforce regulations that cut greenhouse gas pollution and fight climate change that impacts every region of our country, and leaving it in the hands of a Congress that has shown almost no appetite to do so, will have disastrous consequences.”

No Impact On PA RGGI Rule

“We have seen this same scenario play out in Pennsylvania, where legislators have tried time and again to strip Gov. Wolf’s existing authority under Pennsylvania law to enter the Commonwealth into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative," according to PennFuture. 

“Similar to Pennsylvania’s General Assembly, lawmakers in Congress aren’t actually interested in having the authority to fight climate change. Instead, they only seek to take power away from other branches of government that have spurned Congress’ inaction on climate issues and have dared to act in the best interests of our residents and our planet.

“Pennsylvania’s Constitution clearly grants guaranteed rights to clean air for every resident, and Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act gives our Department of Environmental Protection the authority to regulate pollution. 

“The decision handed down by the Supreme Court does not change these rights and it does not change Pennsylvania's authority to regulate greenhouse gases."

Pennsylvania’s final regulations implementing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative became effective on April 23, 2022.  Read more here.

Visit DEP’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative webpage for more information.

Reaction By Other Groups:

-- Clean Air Council

-- Environmental Defense Fund

-- Natural Resources Defense Council

-- Vote Solar

-- Sierra Club

NewsClips:

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Supreme Court Ruling A Set-Back For Climate Regulations, But PA Retains Power To Set Carbon Pollution Limits, Lawyers Say

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: ‘Major Step Backward’: PA Groups React To Supreme Court Decision On Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

-- TribLive: What Supreme Court’s EPA Ruling Means For Carbon Emissions In Pittsburgh, PA

-- AP: U.S. Supreme Court Limits EPA’s Authority To Curb Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Power Plants 

-- Bloomberg Green: EPA Isn’t ‘Knocked Out,’ But Doing Its Job Just Got Much Harder

-- Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court Just Gave Federal Agencies A Big Reason To Worry

-- Utility Dive: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects EPA Ability To Set Fleet-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards For Power Plants

-- WSJ: U.S. Supreme Court Limits Power Of EPA Over Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Other Regulatory Agencies

-- WPost: U.S. Supreme Court Limits EPA’s Power To Reduce Carbon Emissions From Power Plants

-- Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court Limits Federal Power To Curb Carbon Emissions

-- Bloomberg: U.S. Supreme Court Curbs EPA’s Climate Authority In Blow To Biden

-- Financial Times: U.S. Supreme Court Curbs EPA’s Power To Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Related Articles This Week:

-- Young Evangelicals For Climate Action Respond To U.S. Supreme Court Decision On Regulating Power Plant Carbon Pollution  [PaEN]

-- Evangelical Environmental Network Testifies In Congress On Need To Defend Our Children’s Health & Taxpayers By Fixing Oil & Gas Facility Methane Leaks, Require Real Well Plugging Bonding  [PaEN]

[Posted: June 30, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

Republicans On Senate Committee Report Out Bill Exempting Conventional Oil & Gas Wells From Plugging Bonds Sticking Taxpayers With $5.1 Billion In Cleanup Liability

On June 30, Republicans on the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to report out House Bill 2644 (Causer-R-Cameron) blocking any increase in conventional oil and gas well plugging bonds, exempting pre-1985 wells (which is most of them) from any bonding leaving taxpayers liable for $5.1 billion in cleanup costs.

The vote was seven to four with all Republicans supporting, all Democrats opposed.

At the meeting, Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) confirmed there are conversations going on with the Wolf Administration over putting some language from this bill into legislation that must move as part of the final budget settlement, but he was not more specific.

Background

House Bill 2644 was introduced to head off a proposal accepted for study by the Environmental Quality Board in November to increase the well plugging bonding amounts for both conventional oil and gas and unconventional shale gas drillers to what it now costs taxpayers to plug a well when operators walk away from their obligations.  Read more here. 

The public description of the bill provided by the prime sponsor tries to camouflage the real operational language and purpose of the bill.  Just read the bill, you’ll see.

The legislation would lock in law the bonding amounts for conventional wells at $2,500 per well, when the average cost to taxpayers of plugging conventional wells is $33,000.

The bill also allows operators to file a blanket bond of a total of $25,000 for all the operator’s wells in the state, of which individual operators have hundreds.

The bill again puts in law again a provision exempting oil and gas wells drilled prior to April, 1985 from being required to have any plugging bond.  An overwhelming majority of the over 110,000 active oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania were drilled before April 1985.

DEP records show conventional oil and gas companies were issued over 4,270 notices of violation for attempting to abandon oil and gas wells without plugging them between 2016 and 2021.  Abandoning wells is pervasive in the industry.  Read more here.

During the first quarter of 2022 DEP issued 77 notices of violation to conventional operators for attempting to abandon their wells without plugging them, and those were the ones DEP caught.  Read more here.

Taxpayers are now liable for paying over $5.1 billion to plug conventional oil and gas wells operators have already abandoned or are inadequately bonded to pay plugging costs.  Read more here.

The new well plugging program established in the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act requires states to review their regulations to prevent new wells from becoming abandoned wells.  Making sure well plugging amounts are adequate to cover the taxpayer cost of plugging them is a big part of that prevention effort.  Read more here.

By preventing any increase in the woefully inadequate bonding amounts DEP has now, this legislation gets in the way of that requirement and further burdens taxpayers.

The bill would also set aside 20 percent of the federal money Pennsylvania is receiving from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act for conventional oil and gas well plugging to be used as grants to companies interested in plugging wells with few qualifications and no check on whether they have outstanding environmental or other contracting violations.  Read more here.

The bill also sets limits on how deep a well must be plugged in terms of feet not in terms of the effectiveness of the plug in cutting off possible routes to contaminate ground or surface water and preventing methane emissions.

The bill also provides well plugging companies with civil immunity from any damage it causes and for any violations of environmental laws and regulations.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-3280 or sending email to: gyaw@pasen.gov.   Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-5709 or sending email to: senatorcomitta@pasenate.com.

(Photos: Be prepared for many more abandoned conventional wells like these if this legislation is passed or included in the budget settlement.)

Related Articles:

-- Most UNwanted List: Lookout For Bad Environmental, Energy Provisions During Final Budget Week  [PaEN]

Related Articles:

-- Bay Journal: Penn State Study: Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Spread On Pennsylvania Roads Bad For Health, Land - By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal  [PaEN]

-- New Abandoned Wells: DEP Records Show Abandoning Oil & Gas Wells Without Plugging Them Is Pervasive In Conventional Drilling Industry; Who Is Protecting Taxpayers? 

-- Quarterly Report: DEP Issued 77 Notices Of Violations To Conventional Drillers, 8 To Shale Gas Drillers For Attempting To Abandon Wells Without Plugging Them  

-- DEP To Prohibit Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers With Unresolved Environmental Violations From Getting Conventional Well Plugging Contracts; 133 Companies Interested In Doing Well Plugging Work 

-- Financial Assurance, Plugging Regulations To Be Reviewed To Prevent New Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells Under Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Plugging Program 

[Posted: June 30, 2022]  PA Environment Digest