Energy & Environment
Weekly News Bulletin

6/28/2008 - 7/04/2008

Top News
Cutting emissions will boost economy, GE chairman says
Regulating greenhouse gas emissions will not kill business and will not be devastating to the economy, as some people argue, the head of the world's third largest company said Tuesday. Rather, it will spur innovation and ring in a new era of growth for America, said Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, a $370 billion multinational conglomerate. Immelt said he and his company believe that 'green' energy, coupled with clean water, will be 'the biggest growth industry of at least the first half of this century.'
The Casper Star-Tribune (WY)

Energy
KY - Ky. seeks new liquid fuel
As fuel costs rise and the quest for alternative energy sources accelerates, Kentucky lawmakers are pinning their hopes on the continued role of coal in generating electricity and a controversial technology that converts coal to a liquid that can fuel cars. During Congress' recent debate on climate change, Sens. Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning stressed that coal provides more than half of the country's electricity and constitutes more than 90 percent of America's fossil-fuel resources. McConnell, Bunning and Rep. Ed Whitfield hope a proposed $7.6 billion coal-to-diesel plant in Paducah will net millions in federal incentives and cement the state's position as a linchpin of increased coal-to-liquid fuel technology.
The Lexington Herald-Leader
TN - TVA wants big power boost from reactors
TVA wants to increase the power output of each of the three nuclear reactors at its Browns Ferry plant by 15 percent, a move that could raise questions about safety. Getting 15 percent more electricity is a big increase compared with most other such undertakings at nuclear plants around the country. Some plants have been damaged by increased vibrations, but no radioactive materials escaped, officials have said.
The Tennessean
TX - Offshore drilling in Texas may not be a quick fix
In the national debate over offshore oil drilling, the Texas coast can be used to illustrate each side of the argument. Opponents of expanding drilling point out that oil companies are producing oil and natural gas from only a fraction of the 1,800 leases they already hold off the Texas coast and say that is evidence there is no reason to lift drilling bans in other areas. Proponents, meanwhile, point out that state officials say drilling for oil off the coast of Texas has inflicted relatively little harm on the environment in recent years.
The Austin American-Statesman
VA - Dominion reactor proposal leads pack
Dominion power hopes to have a third nuclear reactor in operation at North Anna Power Station by 2016. That's what Thomas F. Farrell, the Richmond-based company's chairman, president and chief executive officer said in an interview yesterday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We're trying very hard to build one, and I think we will," Farrell said in a discussion about the nation's future energy needs. That's the clearest indication to date that Dominion is prepared to go ahead with the project on Lake Anna, assuming the necessary permits are approved.
The Free Lance-Star
WV - Second wind energy project quietly goes into service
West Virginia has a second wind-energy project up and running. NedPower Mount Storm LLC's turbines are generating electricity along the Allegheny Front in Grant County. Developers of the 264-megawatt project confirmed the project's status in response to reports from local residents that turbines appeared to be operating. Karl R. Neddenien, a spokesman for Dominion Resources Inc., said that some of the turbines have been producing power since the first of the year.
The Charleston Gazette

Environment
AL - Chevron hit with air pollution fine
The state wants to fine Chevron Corp. $30,000 for releasing too much air pollution in the Hatter's Pond natural gas field near Creola. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management says that three compressor units in the gas field released higher amounts of volatile organic compounds than allowed under pollution permits. The fine ties for the 10th largest issued by the agency in 2008.
The Press-Register
AL/FL/MD/NC - Ala. Gets Clean Energy Grant
Alabama is one of 12 states to receive a grant for clean energy innovation. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) awarded grants of $50,000 today to the states to help them advance clean energy projects. The awards were made as part of the Clean Energy States Grant Program. The grants are awarded to help overcome obstacles to greater energy efficiency, conservation and use of clean energy resources in the states. Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Utah were selected to receive the award.
The Montgomery Advertiser
FL - Water firm OKs Everglades deal
Despite the fears of rural communities of a body blow to their economies, the South Florida Water Management District gave unanimous approval Monday to a plan for acquiring U.S. Sugar and using the company's land to help restore the Everglades. The district's governing board voted 6-0 to begin detailed negotiations with the company and to spend money for appraisals and environmental assessments, with the deal expected to close by November. Gov. Charlie Crist announced last week that the state had made an agreement in principle to acquire the company and its land around Lake Okeechobee, opening up vast new possibilities for restoring South Florida's famous but ailing wilderness.
The Orlando Sentinel
GA - Georgia Judge Cites Carbon Dioxide in Denying Coal Plant Permit
A judge in Georgia has thrown out an air pollution permit for a new coal-fired power plant because the permit did not set limits on carbon dioxide emissions. Both opponents of coal use and the company that wants to build the plant said it was the first time a court decision had linked carbon dioxide to an air pollution permit. The decision’s broader legal impact was not clear, either for the plant, proposed to be built near Blakely, in Early County, Ga., or for others outside Georgia, but it signaled that builders of coal plants would face continued difficulties in the court system as well as with elected officials in many states. In the ruling released late Monday afternoon, a state judge relied on a decision by the Supreme Court last year that carbon dioxide could be regulated as a pollutant.
The New York Times
KY/TN - Group sues over crop subsidies on US forest land
Environmentalists are suing the U.S. Forest Service over what they say is an illegal dole: The agency's long-standing practice of subsidizing corn and soybean farming on a nature preserve in western Kentucky and Tennessee. Two farmers have received at least $200,000 in federal subsidies since 2000 for cultivating more than 2,100 acres in the Land Between the Lakes, which sprawls for 235 square miles.
The Lexington Herald-Leader
LA - Levee budget decision puts state in pinch
The $1.8 billion that Louisiana will have to pay over the next three years as its share of the $14.8 billion in approved levee construction will cripple other coastal projects, the governor's adviser on coastal issues said. The huge payment -- the state's share of the cost to strengthen levees to protect against so-called 100-year storms -- would soak up all the money needed to pay the state's share of 17 major coastal restoration projects authorized by Congress last year.
The Times-Picayune
TN - Radioactive waste could travel through Tenn. on way to N.M.
Special radioactive waste is proposed to be trucked from Oak Ridge across the country by way of interstates 75 and 24 through Chattanooga, and then through Birmingham, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The shipments could begin by the end of this year, if the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permit them. About 60 to 120 truckloads a year of scrap, glass containers and other contaminated materials called "transuranic" waste would be hauled to a final destination near Carlsbad, N.M. The plan is to store the waste in underground salt caverns because of its long-term radioactivity. The waste will be in 55-gallon drums.
The Tennessean

U.S. News
Weather Risks Cloud Promise of Biofuel
The record storms and floods that swept through the Midwest last month struck at the heart of America’s corn region, drowning fields and dashing hopes of a bumper crop. They also brought into sharp relief a new economic hazard. As America grows more reliant on corn for its fuel supply, it is becoming vulnerable to the many hazards that can damage crops, ranging from droughts to plagues to storms. The floods have helped send the price of ethanol up 19 percent in a month. They appear to have had little effect on the price of gasoline at the pump, as ethanol represents only about 6 percent of the nation’s transport fuel today.
The New York Times
Canary in a coal mine
Miners and their canaries are used to thinking of natural gas as a potentially deadly impediment to digging up coal. It is present in many seams, and poses a danger to humans and birds alike. But gas is becoming increasingly scarce, while coal remains abundant, so many firms are reversing the normal pattern and harvesting the gas, but ignoring the coal. This business, known as coal-bed methane or coal-seam gas, first took off in America, but has now spread.
The Economist
Car Sales at 10-Year Low
Sales of new cars and trucks plunged to their lowest level in more than a decade in June, as high gas prices and a weak economy kept American consumers away from dealer showrooms. With the drop last month of more than 18 percent, automakers now expect to sell well below 15 million new vehicles this year, far fewer than the norm this decade of more than 16 million vehicles a year.
The New York Times

Outside the Region
Western governors discuss wildlife, energy concerns
Governors from several Western states met on Sunday to discuss strategies for protecting the iconic wildlife that roams their region while also capitalizing on the states' immense energy resources. The governors voted to form a Western Wildlife Habitat Council on the first day of the annual Western Governors' Association conference, held this year in the valley of Jackson Hole in Wyoming's northwest corner. The council's task will be to identify key wildlife corridors and habitats for wildlife such as pronghorn antelope, sage grouse and bear. The council will also study ways to protect animal habitat in the face of ever-increasing demand for domestic energy development - both in the form of oil and gas drilling and new construction of solar and wind generation plants - the building of new infrastructure for the region's growing population and the effects of climate change.
The Missoulian

More News
Energy
FL - FP&L, Progress Energy to increase rates
GA - Freezing gas tax will save drivers up to $80M
KY - Maker's Mark makes fuel from byproducts
MD - 'Green' issue on council agenda
MS - Power firm to raise rates
SC - Governor OKs $19M for school bus fuel
TX - All that glitters isn't black gold
VA - SCC approves Dominion Virginia Power's 18% rate increase
WV - State takes action as schools spend more for bus fuel
Environment
AL - Alabama Power gets nod for more Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds
FL - Water managers meet this morning to mull sugar deal
FL - Cost of U.S. Sugar deal could reach $3.5 billion over 30 years
FL - Possible Flaws in State Plan to Rescue the Everglades
FL - Study: Don't use Florida coasts as toilets
GA - Perdue encourages employers to expand commuting options
MD - Pentagon, EPA at odds [over] cleanups at Fort Detrick and Fort Meade
NC - Wildfire creates unhealthy air in 9 NC counties
SC - 5 Upstate counties in 'extreme' drought
Energy & Environment Weekly News Bulletin is a free weekly email service for all state officials and staff. It serves as a roundup of the latest information on energy and environment issues across the South and contains links to news articles from around the region. The Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) does not endorse the editorial content of the pages to which it links.

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