Complete list of press releases

(Washington, D.C. – May 16, 2016) Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an order providing that legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan will be heard en banc by the active judges on the Court, and rescheduling oral argument in the case for September 27^th, 2016.

Oral argument in the case was originally scheduled to take place on June 2^nd before a three-judge panel. Chief Judge Merrick Garland and Judge Cornelia Pillard did not participate in the issuance of today’s order.

“We welcome the D.C. Circuit’s order providing for immediate en banc review of the Clean Power Plan, and look forward to presenting the strong legal and factual basis for the Clean Power Plan to a full complement of active judges on the court,” said Tomás Carbonell, Director of Regulatory Policy and Lead Attorney at EDF, which is a party to the case. “Today’s order will enable the full D.C. Circuit to resolve the legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan immediately and without delay – an especially important development given the urgent threat of climate change to the health and security of communities and families across our nation.”

The Clean Power Plan is the single biggest step America has ever taken to address the threat of climate change. It established the first-ever national limits on carbon pollution from fossil-fuel fired power plants – the largest source of such pollution in the U.S.

EPA estimates that by 2030, the Clean Power Plan will:

• Reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants 32 percent below 2005 levels

• Save 3,600 lives annually

• Prevent 90,000 childhood asthma attacks annually

• Save American families almost $85 on their annual energy bill

A large and diverse group of Clean Power Plan supporters have filed briefs as parties to the case, including: a coalition of 18 States and seven cities and counties; a large group of power companies; three advanced energy trade associations representing more than 3,000 companies and organizations in the advanced energy sector; and a coalition of public health and environmental groups, including EDF. 

Rigorous amicus briefs in support of the Clean Power Plan were filed by hundreds of leaders across America with deep and diverse expertise including: Amazon; Apple; Google; Microsoft; Ikea; Mars Inc.; Adobe; Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts; 193 current Members of Congress; 54 cities, counties and mayors (including dozens in states litigating to obstruct these protections); former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; former Republican EPA Administrators William D. Ruckelshaus and William K. Reilly; the Consumers Union; a broad cross-section of religious organizations; leading health and medical associations; and many of the nation’s leading experts on the electric grid, the Clean Air Act, and climate science.

You can find more information about the Clean Power Plan, including all legal briefs in the case, on EDF’s website. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama and the leaders of five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) today agreed to work together on a series of initiatives designed to meet the global challenge of climate change. Among the actions announced at the U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit were important commitments to quickly implement the Paris climate agreement; reduce greenhouse gas emissions by targeting both long- and short-lived climate pollutants across key industry sectors; and accelerate the transition to clean energy.

“Today’s summit is a welcome sign of leadership—the kind that is absolutely crucial to securing a safe and stable climate. With this U.S.-Nordic countries pact, the six nations are building the  momentum we need after Paris to ensure that the low-carbon growth strategies called for in that historic climate agreement are developed and applied quickly. 

“EDF lauds the joint commitment to drive down oil and gas methane emissions through regulations, targets, and voluntary actions, as well as the agreement to develop a global oil and gas methane reduction goal. Cost-effective solutions are already available to help reduce these powerful emissions. Now we just need to implement them more broadly to achieve a 45 percent global oil and gas methane reduction—a step that would have the same 20-year climate impact as closing about one thousand coal-fired power plants. It’s the quickest, cheapest way to slow the rate of anthropogenic warming—the best bargain in the climate business.

“The leaders’ affirmation to work collaboratively in two key international fora—the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Montreal Protocol—is important to ensure reductions from these critical sectors. Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon dioxide emissions globally, and the six leaders pledged to show leadership to ensure that ICAO meets its deadline of finalizing, this year, a global market-based measure to help achieve carbon neutral growth from 2020, and further emissions cuts in line with the Paris Agreement’s goals. By agreeing to adopt an amendment of the Montreal Protocol, the six leaders are also helping to cut 90 gigatons of dangerous HFCs as quickly as possible. I commend and thank them for their important work.”

-Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 12, 2016) One year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced 10 “building blocks” for climate-smart agriculture and forestry, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 120 million metric tons by 2025.

Today, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new report outlining progress made in each of the building block areas, in addition to an additional $72.3 million in funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help farmers improve soil health and advance nutrient stewardship.

The following is a statement by Suzy Friedman, senior director of agricultural sustainability at EDF:

“USDA’s new commitment to advancing climate-smart agriculture techniques and programs is a huge boost for the environment and for growers’ bottom lines. Collaboration between farmers, ranchers and the private sector is the best way to bring agricultural sustainability to scale.

Conservation and economic prosperity can go hand-in-hand, and USDA’s new building blocks report reveals huge progress in making agriculture more resilient to the effects of climate change. The big increase in funding through EQUIP will accelerate stewardship efforts across the Corn Belt and help to improve farmers’ yields.

The opportunity for private sector collaboration is also unprecedented, with agricultural retailers such as United Suppliers leading the way through on-the-ground sustainability programs such as SUSTAIN.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today finalized clean air standards limiting emissions of methane from new and heavily modified sources in the oil and gas industry. According to the agency’s national emissions inventory, oil and gas companies currently release at least 9.8 million metric tons of methane into the air each year (34 percent more than previous estimates).

Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas, with 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame. Today’s announcement is the latest in an ongoing series of important steps by the Obama administration aimed at reducing oil and gas methane emissions by 40-45 percent by 2025.

The new EPA standards build from policies and practices in the states and private sector including clean air solutions being deployed in Colorado, Wyoming and Ohio. Importantly, the new emission standards provide for national solutions to address emissions leaking from newly constructed or rebuilt oil and gas industrial activity. However, the standards do not provide for limits on the leaks and emissions from existing oil and gas infrastructure, the single largest source of methane in our air.

Statement by EDF President Fred Krupp:

“The U.S. oil and gas industry pumps out almost 10 million metric tons of methane pollution a year from thousands of sites in communities all across the nation. It’s a tremendous threat to our climate, and a needless waste of valuable resources. Cutting this pollution is the fastest, cheapest path to slow the warming we will otherwise see in the next 20 years.

“A vast body of science has revealed the scale of the problem, and proven we can keep that escaping gas in the pipes at minimal cost. Some companies are already setting a great example of what can be achieved using common sense solutions to find and fix leaks.

We need common sense standards to make ‘best practice’ the standard practice. And we need to build on today’s announcement by extending these same level-headed standards to thousands of existing facilities that are still exempt despite generating millions of tons of methane pollution a year.”

(WASHINGTON, DC – May 10, 2016) Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project (ICP) is launching its new Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ certification today at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Summit and Energy Efficiency Global Forum. This new label for commercial and multifamily residential buildings in the United States and Europe certifies retrofit projects that meet ICP’s standards, and provides investors looking for opportunities in the burgeoning energy efficiency market with more confidence in financial and environmental results. ICP’s investor-ready certification has already been piloted in several U.S. states and European countries.

“The world’s buildings account for about 40 percent of all energy use, and, in major cities like New York and London, that figure as much as doubles. What’s more, up to half of this energy is wasted,” said Matt Golden, consultant to EDF and project director for ICP. “We’ve long known energy efficiency is the one of the cheapest, fastest ways to cut pollution and save customers money. ICP’s investor-ready certification will help unleash this untapped investment opportunity by connecting developers and managers with the capital necessary to bring these projects to fruition. This is a win-win for investors, building owners, and the tens of thousands of project developers who are working to bring energy efficiency to market.”

The Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ label signals to investors that a building retrofit project meets industry standards at each step of the building retrofit process, from project inception to measurement and verification. ICP’s investor-ready certification standardizes the way such projects are developed and brought to market, through standard documentation – making these projects more attractive to investors and owners alike. The certification leverages industry standards and best practices that reduce transaction costs and help ensure projects achieve the desired savings.

“The Investor Confidence Project is at the forefront of standardizing energy efficiency projects to increase trust in environmental and financial outcomes,” said Andy Darrell, Chief of Strategy, Global Energy and Finance at Environmental Defense Fund. “We provide a way to aggregate building upgrade projects into an asset class, and look forward to working with partners in government, real estate, and finance to help energy efficiency achieve its global potential.”

As it expands, ICP’s Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ certification could point the way toward mass-scale financing of energy efficiency in the building sector – which, at an estimated $1 trillionin energy expenditures per year in the U.S., is a massive investment opportunity. By providing at-a-glance branding for building retrofit projects, this new certification has the potential to help unlock tens of billions of dollars in energy efficiency investments. By working collaboratively with other innovative government, utility and private sector programs, like property-assessed clean energy financing and “pay-for-performance,” ICP will help ensure that energy efficiency delivers on its promise.

So far, ICP is designed for application across the United States and the European Union. Our Ally Network of about 200 market leaders includes the Building Owners’ & Managers Association, Siemens, ARUP, E.On, NYCEEC, and the Building Performance Institute Europe. Our Investor Network has brought together investors with nearly $2 billion in assets under management looking for energy efficiency opportunities. ICP recently received the prestigious Finance for Resilience (FiRe) award presented by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

For more information on the Investor Confidence Project, visit www.EEperformance.org.

(SAN FRANCISCO – May 9, 2016) California Governor Jerry Brown today issued an executive order aimed at bolstering the state’s water conservation plans as drought persists. The order establishes new actions – from eliminating water waste to improving agricultural water use efficiency – that will help achieve the priorities in the Governor’s Water Action Plan.

Last week, Environmental Defense Fund released a set of policy recommendations for reforming California’s water market.

The following is a statement by David Festa, EDF senior vice president of the Ecosystems Program:

“The Governor’s Executive Order is a good use of the brief respite we’re getting from the drought in some parts of the state.

“The state as a whole needs to move from temporary and ad hoc measures to a longer-term strategy that can ensure that California’s people and environment will continue to thrive in the face of a changing climate. We need better data, modern management plans and an emphasis on bottom-up approaches to eliminating waste in order to achieve a sustainable water future for California.”

Today Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced an agreement that appears to help to clear a path to enacting chemical safety legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). They are the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Senate committee of jurisdiction. The agreement relates to “key sticking points” in The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act).  

“We welcome the announcement that Senators Inhofe and Boxer have found common ground on chemical safety reform legislation,” said Dr. Richard Denison, EDF lead senior scientist. “We look forward to seeing the details and are more hopeful than ever that Congress will be able to move quickly to pass comprehensive, health-protective reform legislation and send it to the president’s desk.”    

The House passed a streamlined TSCA reform bill in June of 2015 by a vote of 398-1, while the Senate passed broader legislation by unanimous voice vote in December 2015. Negotiators from the two chambers have been meeting since then to reconcile the bills. 

(Washington, D.C. – May 6, 2015) A coalition of 15 states, five local governments, and leading medical and environmental groups including EDF is asking the Supreme Court to reject the latest in a long line of attacks on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards – a historic clean air measure that is already working to save American lives and protect children’s health.

The coalition filed a brief in opposition to certiorari with the Supreme Court today, outlining the vital public health benefits at stake: 

“The [Mercury and] Air Toxics Rule … addresses emissions of hazardous air pollutants from power plants, which are by far the largest sources of mercury and many other toxic contaminants that Congress listed as warranting the Clean Air Act’s most urgent and stringent control because of the dangers they pose to human health and welfare.” (Brief, page 1)

The brief was filed by the states of Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the District of Columbia, the cities of Baltimore, Chicago, and New York, and Erie County in New York, together with an extensive list of health, medical and environmental experts including EDF (the full list is below). 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a coalition of power companies including Calpine, Exelon, National Grid Generation, and Public Service Enterprise Group are also expected to file briefs opposing certiorari today.

This is the third time that opponents of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards have gone to the Supreme Court to try to overturn the life-saving clean air protections. They are also currently suing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to block the safeguards. 

The lawsuits continue in spite of the fact that almost every power plant in America is already in compliance with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.  And since 2011, major power companies have dramatically reduced their estimates of the costs to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, while the body of scientific evidence supporting them has been strongly affirmed.

“A compelling body of evidence shows that the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a cost-effective step to address the enormous public health hazards of mercury, arsenic, acid gases and other toxic air pollution,” said Graham McCahan, Senior Attorney for Environmental Defense Fund. “The unending legal attacks against these necessary and cost-effective protections put American families and communities at risk of toxic pollution. We look forward to continuing our vigorous support of these vitally important protections.” 

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards set the first-ever national limits on hazardous air pollutants — including mercury, arsenic, chromium, and hydrochloric acid gas — from power plants, the largest source of those pollutants. The pollutants covered by the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are dangerous to human health even in small doses — mercury causes brain damage in infants and children, metal toxics like chromium and nickel cause cancer, and acid gases cause respiratory problems. When fully implemented, the Mercury Standards will prevent up to 11,000 deaths and tens of thousands of other serious health problems each year.

When EPA wrote the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in 2011, it found that the public health benefits of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were up to $90 billion annually, and far exceeded compliance costs. However, in June 2015, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 that EPA should have also considered the costs in its initial, or threshold, decision to address these hazardous pollutants. EPA had considered costs later in the process when it established the resulting emissions safeguards. (EDF was a party to the case.) 

The Supreme Court remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Opponents then asked both the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court to block the continued implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Both requests were denied.

Last month, EPA fulfilled the Supreme Court’s directives with a final finding confirming that the cost of compliance for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is eminently reasonable when considered in light of the serious public health and environmental hazards of toxic emissions from power plants. Opponents sued over the final finding just hours after it was issued. That case is currently pending in the D.C. Circuit. 

Opponents are now asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards on the grounds that the D.C. Circuit’s practice of leaving safeguards in place on remand while an agency works to address a flaw is illegal – a suggestion that is legally unfounded and would require the Supreme Court to substantially interfere with the long-accepted duties and responsibilities of lower courts in a wide range of cases.

The full list of signers on today’s coalition brief is: the states of Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont; the District of Columbia, the cities of Baltimore, Chicago, and New York, and Erie County in New York; the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Lung Association, American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, and Physicians for Social Responsibility; Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Clean Air Task Force, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council,  Southern Environmental Law Center, Pennsylvania’s Future, Conservation Law Foundation, Environment America, Izaak Walton League of America, Natural Resources Council of Maine, the Ohio Environmental Council, Counsel for Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Clean Air Council, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Sierra Club, and Waterkeeper Alliance. 

You can find more about the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, including all legal briefs, on EDF’s website.

EDF, Google Join Forces to Map and Measure Dozens of Underground Leaks from Jacksonville Natural Gas System

Project Highlights Hidden Climate Risk, Reveals Untapped Opportunity;
Online Maps Will Help Utilities, Regulators Prioritize System Upgrades

(JACKSONVILLE – May 3, 2016) Environmental Defense Fund and Google Earth Outreach have teamed up to create interactive online maps using Google Street View mapping cars specially equipped with sensors and software allowing researchers not only to locate but also measure dozens of natural gas leaks beneath the streets in select parts of the city of Jacksonville. Those areas are all served by TECO Peoples Gas, which has cooperated with researchers on the project.

Utilities are required to address leaks that pose safety threats promptly. However, smaller or more remote leaks can go undetected or unrepaired for long periods. Leaks like these usually don’t pose an immediate risk, but leaking natural gas – which is mostly methane – has a powerful effect on the climate, packing 84 times the warming effect of carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe.

“Methane leaks are a serious environmental challenge for utilities everywhere, and a big waste of valuable resources. Fixing these leaks is a quick way to dramatically reduce greenhouse emissions,” said Jonathan Peress, EDF Air Policy Director for Natural Gas. “Replacing old, leak-prone pipes is a necessary but expensive job, and it’s important to be both efficient and cos-effective. The technology we’re demonstrating in Jacksonville can help find problem spots and prioritize those efforts.”

The Jacksonville maps are available at www.edf.org/climate/methanemaps. Neighborhoods including Springfield, San Marco, and Riverside/Avondale were chosen as a representative sample of the system.

A video describing the project more fully is available on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/MethaneMaps.

About 20 percent of the mains operated by Peoples Gas are at least 50 years old, according to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Rising sea levels put Jacksonville and other Florida communities on the front line of the world’s climate challenge. The mapping project is designed to showcase new sensing technologies to help utilities and regulators prioritize investments in system upgrades in order to maximize environmental and economic benefits.  

The mapping project was developed in collaboration with scientists at Colorado State University. The researchers collected 1.5 million data points driving 820 miles of roadway, and found nearly 90 leaks. That’s fewer leaks per mile than most other gas systems measured by the team. Some, but not all, were already known to the utility.

Florida Making Progress Tackling Leaks

Florida’s regulatory framework for oversight of utilities’ leak management efforts and replacement of local distribution pipes goes beyond those of many other states. Thanks to an accelerated pipeline replacement program approved in 2012 by the Florida Public Service Commission, Peoples Gas has already significantly reduced the levels of leak-prone materials on its system. EDF believes there are more opportunities to reduce methane leaks in Florida.

“Florida has a very strong regulatory framework for leak repair and management. But Florida should also be requiring state-of-the art technologies to find and measure leaks more often, and using that data to prioritize repair and pipeline replacement efforts,” Peress said. “Leaks that are a safety threat should always be fixed immediately, but after that, utilities should be tackling those with the greatest emissions, which pose the most serious threat to the environment.”

Early detection of natural gas leaks benefits both customers and the environment, and has the potential to reduce the need for costly and disruptive emergency repairs. EDF also recommends sharing leak data with the public. Utilities in New York and California are already publishing dynamic maps of their natural gas leaks. EDF believes Florida utilities should be, too.

New Technology Means Better Opportunity

EDF has been working with utilities in cities around the U.S., including Boston, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to validate technology to detect leaks and assess leak sizes quickly and more efficiently. Methane emissions data from the project is also being used by New Jersey’s largest utility, Public Service Electric and Gas, as part of a three-year, $905 million program to expedite the replacement of up to 510 miles of gas mains and 38,000 service lines.

The technology in this pilot project is newer and more sensitive than devices typically used by utilities to detect leaks on their systems. It is designed to find and measure leaks that wouldn’t necessarily turn up or warrant repair based on safety concerns alone, but which do add up to a major environmental issue. EDF and researchers at Colorado State University have spent four years testing and fine-tuning the technology, which is built specifically to filter out other kinds of methane emissions, including natural sources, waste dumps, and natural gas vehicles.

(SAN FRANCISCO – May 3, 2016) Environmental Defense Fund today released a set of policy recommendations for reforming California’s water market to help alleviate the drought’s impact on the environment and make the state’s cities and rural communities more resilient to climate change.

“We envision a future where California’s water management system provides incentives for meeting human needs while benefitting nature instead of harming it,” said David Festa, EDF senior vice president of the Ecosystems Program. “When designed well and harnessed by the right rules, the market can drive positive results on several fronts: better access to water, a healthier environment and prosperous communities.”

Although California has a water market, it is burdened by patchwork regulations that discourage transfers and routinely benefit only well-capitalized water users. As a result, water users with fewer resources – such as small farmers, the environment and disadvantaged communities in the Central Valley – have suffered disproportionately.

EDF’s report analyzes California’s current water market and proposes several, specific reforms that can benefit all water users without altering the existing water rights system. The reforms are designed to drive five key outcomes. 

• Improve market transparency by, among other things, standardizing and publicly disclosing supporting data for all transfers. 
• Decrease transaction costs and eliminate barriers to participation by, among other things, establishing a new entity to coordinate the approval process and develop a centralized exchange platform. 
• Ensure benefits to disadvantaged communities and the environment by incorporating incentive mechanisms into the market. 
• Free up more water for sharing by expediting transfers that achieve water savings. 
• Reduce pressure on overstressed aquifers by integrating markets into implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

“Water sharing doesn’t create a new supply of water – rather it encourages conservation and allows more of the finite resource to move to higher value uses,” said Festa. “By getting water markets right, the state can allocate water more quickly and cost-effectively than alternative sources like water recycling or seawater desalination – and that’s good for the natural systems that sustain us all.”

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The following is a statement from Matt Tinning, senior director, U.S. Oceans Program, Environmental Defense Fund:

“The New England groundfish fishery is in crisis, with 13 of 20 stocks overfished, rebuilding targets failing, and a recent criminal bust of the industry’s biggest operator providing more evidence of a comprehensive failure of monitoring in the fishery. Today’s decision by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to approve Framework 55 – which includes sharp reductions in observer coverage – is an abdication of their legal duty under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to end overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks. For an administration that has made stunning progress to return our nation’s fisheries to health, the approval of Framework 55 is a stain on their legacy.

“A comprehensive and effective monitoring program is essential to maintain accountability, aid in fish stock recovery and produce vital information about what fish are being caught and discarded, and where. The current program achieves none of these goals.  No one wants to burden fishermen with additional costs, and the solution lies in making the transition to cost-effective electronic monitoring. Funding is available now for this technology, which is critical to end the widespread distrust of NOAA’s scientific assessments and to let scientists, fishermen and regulators know what is happening in this era of climate change. The current shell of a program simply wastes money and does nothing to end the downward economic spiral the fishery and industry are stuck in. This is a disservice not just to the environment, but also to the industry, both of which need real monitoring if they are to succeed, not the deeply failed system that goes into effect on the water this Sunday.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A new study by the Conservation Economics Institute has found that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed methane waste rule will have a net positive impact on oil and gas production and revenue in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin.  

An analysis of more than 8,700 low-producing natural gas wells in two counties in the San Juan Basin, San Juan and Rio Arriba, determined that BLM’s rule will have little to no negative impact on these marginal wells. The results of the study indicate that the new rule—which aims to reduce waste from venting, flaring and leaks from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands—will actually increase overall production and royalties paid to support vital services in the state of New Mexico.

“This study finds that by applying the BLM leak detection and repair provisions in the San Juan Basin alone, the state can expect an increase in royalty revenue of between $1 million to $6 million per year, depending on future price scenarios,” said the lead author of the report Pete Morton, Ph.D., Senior Economist at the Conservation Economics Institute.

“Under all of the price scenarios examined, we estimate that detecting and repairing leaks at natural gas well pads will have a positive effect on production and royalties in the San Juan Basin,” continued Morton. “Our analysis indicates that capturing the methane currently wasted provides a win-win scenario for the environment and for industry’s bottom line.”

The study also found that, under the BLM’s methane waste rule, the vast majority of the marginal wells in the San Juan Basin will see a reduction in emissions and an increase in efficiency and revenue. Costs of implementing BLM’s leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements will exceed revenue for only the very smallest wells (those producing less than 15 thousand cubic feet per day of natural gas) in the basin, which are responsible for less than 1 percent of the production.

Even then, these costs are projected to be very small—less than 3 percent of annual costs for the average marginal well. And after the new revenue from capturing the leaked methane is factored in, LDAR compliance costs will drop close to 1 percent of annual costs for the most marginal wells.

“This report fits with what New Mexicans know intuitively to be the case—that less waste of New Mexico’s natural gas resources means more funding for schools, roads and local communities,” said Jon Goldstein, Senior Energy Policy Manager with Environmental Defense Fund. “Despite protestations from some in industry, study after study has shown that capturing methane is very cost effective, not to mention has huge air quality and climate co-benefits.”

CEI’s study examines the economic factors currently impacting the San Juan Basin’s oil and gas industry, determining that the current economic downturn in the basin is due to external factors, such as low commodity prices, competition from shale gas and market saturation—not regulatory burdens. It finds that the cost of the BLM methane rule will not be a primary economic factor for the determination of continued production versus well shut-in, and may very well improve most well financials.

“Reducing natural gas waste is simply common sense,” said Josh Mantell, Carbon Management Campaign Manager for The Wilderness Society. “This independent economic analysis confirms what the BLM has said over and over again: Capturing natural gas is good for consumers, taxpayers and the environment.”

The San Juan Basin is one of the most concentrated areas for oil and gas development on public lands in the U.S. and the site of a large methane hot spot—the most concentrated plume of this pollutant in the country.

The San Juan Basin also has a very high rate of wasted gas relative to the amount of gas it produces. The area is responsible for only 4 percent of U.S. gas production, but is responsible for 17 percent of overall methane loss according to a recent analysis.

These new findings support previous national studies that have found that implementation of methane-capture requirements are very cost effective. In fact, according to a 2014 study, capturing most lost methane costs little more than one penny per thousand cubic feet of gas produced. In addition, a recent study from the Center for Methane Emissions Solutions found that 70 percent of oil and gas producers interviewed in Colorado found compliance with that state’s methane-capture requirements to be very cost effective.

BLM’s new natural gas waste rule is expected to be finalized sometime this year.

(WASHINGTON, DC – April 27, 2016) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today overturned the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s decision to grant subsidy requests from Ohio-based utility giants AEP and FirstEnergy. Their bailout proposals would have forced Ohio customers to bail out old, inefficient power plants for the next eight years at an estimated cost of $6 billion.

“Today, federal regulators stood up for customers and defended fair markets and competition, sending a clear signal to any utility trying to bail out their uneconomic power plants through political prowess. FERC’s decision to block these bailouts will save Ohioans $6 billion while spurring energy innovation and reducing harmful pollution.”

• John Finnigan, Lead Counsel, Climate and Energy, Environmental Defense Fund

(Washington, D.C. – April 25, 2015) Today, mere hours after supplemental findings for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were officially published, the first lawsuit was filed to block them.

Murray Energy Corporation today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the final action taken by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on the life-saving clean air protections. 

“Polluters are wasting no time trying to obstruct the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which protect American families from some of the most deadly types of air pollution,” said Graham McCahan, Senior Attorney for Environmental Defense Fund. “EPA’s final finding confirms that the standards are a cost-effective step to address the enormous public health hazards of mercury, arsenic, acid gases and other toxic air pollution. We look forward to continuing our vigorous support of these vitally important protections.”

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards set the first-ever national limits on hazardous air pollutants — including mercury, arsenic, chromium, and hydrochloric acid gas — from power plants, the largest source of those pollutants. 

The pollutants covered by the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are dangerous to human health even in small doses—mercury causes brain damage in infants and children, metal toxics like chromium and nickel cause cancer, and acid gases cause respiratory problems. When fully implemented, the Mercury Standards will prevent up to 11,000 deaths and tens of thousands of other serious health problems each year.

When EPA wrote the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in 2011, it found that the public health benefits of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were up to $90 billion annually, and far exceeded compliance costs. However, in June 2015, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 that EPA should have also considered the costs in its initial, or threshold, decision to regulate these hazardous pollutants. EPA had considered costs in establishing the resulting emissions standards. (EDF was a party to the case.) 

Earlier this month, EPA fulfilled the Supreme Court’s directives with a final finding confirming that the cost of compliance for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is eminently reasonable when considered in light of the serious public health and environmental hazards of toxic emissions from power plants.

The standards are already in place, protecting Americans from dangerous pollutants. And since 2011, major power companies have dramatically reduced their estimates of the costs to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, while the body of scientific evidence supporting them has grown. 

You can find more about the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, including all legal briefs, on EDF’s website.

(LONDON – April 25, 2016) Investor Confidence Project Europe (ICP Europe) is launching its Investor Network today to help connect real estate developers in need of private capital with investors in search of quality energy efficiency projects that deliver environmental and financial results.

ICP Europe is a sister project of the Investor Confidence Project launched five years ago in the United States by Environmental Defense Fund to standardise energy efficiency upgrades using rigorous measurement and verification metrics in a way that makes them more attractive to investors and building owners alike. ICP’s Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ (IREE) certified projects are accredited against industry standards and best practices, which reduces transaction costs and increases confidence in savings to help engage private capital and scale up energy efficiency investments globally.

“The potential market for building retrofits in europe is worth upwards of €100 billion per year, presenting a massive, untapped investment opportunity,” said Panama Bartholomy, Director of ICP Europe. “Offering investors a common language to compare risks and savings makes projects simpler, decisions easier, and project performance more reliable. We invite cities, building owners, and local governments that develop these types of projects to meet with our Investor Network to help finance them.”

ICP Europe’s Investor Network was developed to help address the needs of investors looking for standardised projects that reduce the time, risk, and costs involved in funding energy efficiency building retrofits. Charter members include: the European Energy Efficiency Fund administered by Deutsche Bank, SUSI Partners, CleanTech Leasing, The Carbon and Energy Fund, Menhaden Capital, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Sources Fund, Joule Assets, Suma Capital, PIB Insurance, Triodos Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco BPI, Amber Infrastructure, and CutPower.

ICP Europe’s Investor Network brings together investors with over €1 billion available for energy efficiency retrofit projects, and comprises a wide range of energy efficiency financiers who recognize the value of standardised, investor-ready projects to increase deal flow and drive demand in the marketplace. As a result, some of the members offer developers incentives such as accelerated underwriting, reduced transaction fees, and preferable terms for certified projects.

“The key obstacle that stands in the way of investors allocating capital to energy efficiency projects is the lack of any kind of standardisation. The ICP Europe Investor Network is a key step towards turning such projects into an investible asset class,” said Ben Goldsmith, CEO of Menhaden Capital Management LLP.

“As an alternative, innovative financing instrument for energy efficiency projects in the public sector, we in Europe, believe standardised energy upgrade approaches can accelerate project progress and facilitate a more structured project development approach to get access to financing,” said Lada Strelnikova, Director Deutsche Asset Management and Investment Manager for the European Energy Efficiency Fund.

In addition to its Investor Network, ICP Europe has forged strategic alliances with the financial, real estate, and efficiency sectors in the form of an Ally Network and Steering Group to continue developing and maintaining its energy performance protocols, and make energy efficiency projects more market-ready and investor-friendly.

Interested parties can find more information on ICP Europe’s Investor Network here. To get in touch with any of the Investor Network members about funding for energy efficiency projects, email panama.bartholomy@eeperformance.org.