EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 8/24/26

PIPELINE NEWS

• KETV: Trump floats reviving Keystone XL pipeline, drawing mixed reactions from Nebraskans

• Wall Street Journal: Trump Wants to Revive Keystone XL. The Industry Has a Different Plan.

• Reuters: Why is Trump talking about the Keystone XL oil pipeline?

• Bloomberg: U.S. oil refiners face import squeeze from biggest foreign seller

• Reuters: Sable Offshore fined $1.45 million, allowed to continue pipeline operations

• Bloomberg: California to Appeal Ruling on Sable Pipeline Emergency Order

• Bloomberg: New York Defeats Challenge to Williams Pipeline Water Permit

• Dickinson County News: Another pipeline parts company accuses Summit of backing out of contract

• North Platte Telegraph: County Board will hear preview of possible 2nd CO2 pipeline

• The Center Square: Exxon wins a round in Louisiana carbon pipeline dispute

• CleanTechnica: Enbridge’s Line 5 Has Another Frac Out As Reroute Challenge And Intimidation Concerns Escalate

• Bridge Michigan: Where things stand in Michigan’s Line 5 saga

• KCLU: For an Indigenous leader, protecting the Santa Barbara Channel is about more than oil

• Edmonton Journal: Indigenous groups “kept in dark” while plans for “deeply concerning” west coast oil pipeline move ahead

• MBC Radio: ACFN chief joins B.C. First Nations to oppose new pipeline

• Flamborough Today: Meeting slated for Aug. 25 in Millgrove to discuss pipeline project

• Press release: Tallgrass Announces Open Season for the Pony Express Pipeline

• Press release: Tallgrass Announces Open Season for the Seahorse Pipeline

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• High Country News: The BLM may stop notifying landowners about drilling under private land. Ranchers are alarmed

• Bloomberg: US Allows Early Sales of Winter Gasoline to Help Curb Prices

• Axios: GOP issues stark warning to AI companies

• Bloomberg: Trump’s Environmental Rollbacks Are Being Struck Down by Courts

• E&E News: Democrats escalate fight over LNG tanker tax break

• Guardian: Trump plan to allow drilling near US world heritage site sparks alarm

• Mother Jones: Native American Leaders Denounce Record Glyphosate Spraying on National Forests

STATE UPDATES

• E&E News: Republican Mike Rogers backs Michigan data center moratorium

EXTRACTION

• New York Times: Spike in ‘Dark’ Oil Tankers in Gulf Raises Risk of Catastrophic Spills

CLIMATE FINANCE

• The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA): World Bank group funds 65% of petrochemicals projects studied by new IEEFA and IAP tracker

OPINION

• Grand Forks Herald: Carbon-capture storage does not work to a significant degree

• Northern Express: Don’t Create the Source of Disaster

• Port Huron Times Herald: Enbridge is playing legal rope-a-dope

• New York Post: If Kathy Hochul really cares about affordability, she’ll do this

• Calgary Herald: Alberta suffered a $1.3 billion hit on KXL – should it factor into Trump’s call to bring back the pipeline?

• The Narwhal: Most Canadians want a pipeline. Nobody wants to pay for it

• The Advocate: Big Oil’s grip on government the real emergency
  

PIPELINE NEWS

KETV: Trump floats reviving Keystone XL pipeline, drawing mixed reactions from Nebraskans
John Grinvalds, 8/22/26

“The Keystone XL pipeline could be back on the agenda, more than a decade after the controversial project put Nebraska at the center of a national debate over energy, property rights and environmental protection,” KETV reports. “...For some Nebraskans who supported Keystone XL, Trump’s comments bring back memories of a fight that once dominated state politics… “Jim Smith, a former Nebraska state senator and early supporter of the pipeline. described the Keystone XL debate as a “decade of kind of political warfare” but told KETV it was and still is a smart plan with few downsides… “We might be talking about something here that’s not even realistic from a business standpoint, given what we’ve seen happen with these permits,” Rep. Mike Flood told KETV… “Jane Kleeb, current chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of the Bold Alliance, which organized opposition to the pipeline, said the project would face resistance again… “Randy Thompson, a retired rancher and farmer, also opposes a potential revival. Thompson told KETV he was concerned about what the pipeline could mean for his family’s farm and other Nebraska landowners… “They have no regard for the property rights of farmers and ranchers. We’re going to give a foreign company the use of eminent domain against Nebraska landowners.”

Wall Street Journal: Trump Wants to Revive Keystone XL. The Industry Has a Different Plan.
Ryan Dezember, 8/20/26

“President Trump suggested a revival of the long-contested Keystone XL oil pipeline could be in the cards when he said the U.S. is close to reaching a trade deal with Canada to avert new tariffs,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Pipeline developers are already piecing together an alternative to the scuttled Keystone expansion. Trump has signed his support for the alternative supply line. He issued a permit in April to allow it to cross the border in Montana. That project is part of a trio of proposed pipelines that aim to deliver heavy oil from western Canada to Gulf Coast refineries able to process the sludgy crude. Three proposed pipelines would serve the same function—delivering heavy oil from western Canada to Gulf Coast refineries—without the hot-button name…”

Reuters: Why is Trump talking about the Keystone XL oil pipeline?
Amanda Stephenson, 8/21/26

“A social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump declaring that the Keystone XL oil pipeline “may be awoken from the grave” attracted attention this week in the midst of U.S.-Canada trade talks. Below is a look at the history of that project running through parts of Canada and the U.S., as well as details on the new oil pipeline proposal that follows a slightly different route,” Reuters reports. “...The project, which was opposed by many environmental and Indigenous groups, was rejected by U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration and revived by Trump during his first term. Though construction work had started, the pipeline was never completed after U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the U.S. stretch of the project in 2021. The company behind Keystone XL, Canada’s TC Energy, lost billions when the pipeline was canceled… “But Trump has been vocal about wanting to see the Keystone expansion built. Canada, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, sends more ​than 90% of its crude oil production to the U.S., and many U.S. refineries are dependent on Canadian heavy oil… “Reuters reported Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney raised a potential revival of the project during trade talks with Trump last October, presenting it as a possible area of cooperation between the two countries. Trade talks then stalled for months. Trump posted a meme about Keystone shortly after announcing late on Tuesday night he had given Canada a three-day reprieve on more tariffs. He posted the meme again ahead of a new midnight deadline to reach a deal.”

Bloomberg: U.S. oil refiners face import squeeze from biggest foreign seller
Robert Tuttle, 8/21/26

“United States refiners are facing a looming supply drop from their biggest foreign crude supplier at a time when they need the oil the most,” Bloomberg reports. “Canada supplies the U.S. with more than four million barrels a day of crude, most produced in the oil-rich heartland of northern Alberta and then sent south to refineries in the U.S… “But their main international supply source is set to be constrained in the coming months. Planned maintenance in the Canadian oil sands is set to take about 300,000 barrels a day of production offline next month, according to Rystad Energy… “The Canadian shortfall is already being reflected in two major export pipeline systems saying they aren’t limiting space for producers as they had been, indicating a lower volume being shipped. Enbridge Inc. isn’t going to ration space in September on its Mainline, Canada’s largest oil export pipeline system, because of maintenance at both production facilities and at U.S. refineries, the company said on Wednesday… “The Trans Mountain Corp. pipeline from Alberta to the Vancouver area also stopped rationing space on its system in August for the first time in two months.”

Reuters: Sable Offshore fined $1.45 million, allowed to continue pipeline operations
Varun Sahay, 8/24/26

“Sable Offshore said on Monday a U.S. judge fined the oil and gas producer $1.45 ​million for violating a pipeline consent decree, but ‌declined California’s request to halt operations of its Santa Ynez Pipeline System,” Reuters reports. “The rulings allow Sable to continue working ​to restart and expand its Santa Ynez ​project, which it has been trying to ⁠revive since a 2015 pipeline spill. The court found Sable violated the 2020 consent ​decree by restarting pipeline operations without authorization from California’s state fire marshal. The judge ruled the company was no longer ​in violation after the Pipeline and Hazardous ​Materials Safety Administration approved its restart plan.”

Bloomberg: California to Appeal Ruling on Sable Pipeline Emergency Order
Taylor Mills, 8/21/26

“California is challenging a court order upholding the Trump administration’s use of an emergency authority to restart Sable Offshore Corp.’s pipeline in Santa Barbara,” Bloomberg reports. “The state is seeking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s review of a lower court’s denial of the state’s bid to block the Energy Department’s Defense Production Act order allowing the pipeline to restart, according to a notice filed Thursday. Judge Stephen V. Wilson of the US District Court for the Central District of California said Aug. 19 the DPA order preempted state environmental regulations…”

Bloomberg: New York Defeats Challenge to Williams Pipeline Water Permit
Allison Prang, 8/21/26

“New York state regulators don’t have to further justify approving a permit for a highly contested natural gas pipeline after previously rejecting it, an appeals court ruled Friday,” Bloomberg reports. “The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected several environmental groups’ request for review of a water quality permit the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation granted last year for the proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement project, or NESE, by a subsidiary of Williams Cos. The court said that the agency didn’t act arbitrarily and capriciously in granting its approval for Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC’s project…”

Dickinson County News: Another pipeline parts company accuses Summit of backing out of contract
8/24/26

“The company planning to build a carbon sequestration pipeline through Iowa is being sued by a second pipeline parts company, this time for $6.6 million,” the Dickinson County News reports. “SCS Carbon Transport LLC, an affiliate of Summit Carbon Solutions, is being sued by Patton Myhre Sourcing, a Texas-based company that Summit allegedly contracted with to purchase custom valves. Patton Myhre Sourcing alleges Summit is in breach of its purchase contract and now owes more than $6.6 million for the valves it agreed to purchase in 2022 for the pipeline that, at the time of the contract, would have transported sequestered carbon dioxide from biorefineries in Iowa and surrounding states to underground storage in North Dakota. Summit’s project has faced a number of delays since, including a ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon sequestration pipelines in South Dakota, and attempts to pass a similar law in Iowa… “According to the lawsuit, Summit requested a series of payment delays and accommodations as the carbon sequestration pipeline project “stalled.” In 2025, the petition alleges, Summit said it “was electing not to pursue the project and no longer wanted the valves.” “...This is the second pipeline parts company that has sued Summit for failing to uphold a purchase agreement. In 2024, the Arkansas pipe manufacturer Welspun Tubular sued Summit for $15 million after the company canceled its agreement with the pipe maker.”

North Platte Telegraph: County Board will hear preview of possible 2nd CO2 pipeline
Todd von Kampen, 8/21/26

“Information on what would be a second carbon dioxide pipeline in Lincoln County is scheduled to be presented to county commissioners Monday,” the North Platte Telegraph reports. “Matt Bright, a representative of TurnKey Logistics of Houston, is scheduled to make the presentation at 9:35 a.m. The County Board’s weekly meeting will start at 9 a.m. in the commissioners’ room in the North Platte courthouse, 301 N. Jeffers St., and will be shown on the county’s YouTube channel… “Bright’s company represents Summit Carbon Solutions of Ames, Iowa, according to a June 24 McCook News Now Facebook post when the Red Willow County Board heard a CO2 pipeline presentation by representatives of the latter firm. Carbon dioxide already is being shipped through southern Lincoln County through the 1982 Trailblazer Pipeline… “Summit representatives told Red Willow County commissioners they were still in early planning stages.”

The Center Square: Exxon wins a round in Louisiana carbon pipeline dispute
Alton Wallace, 8/22/26

“A Texas Business Court judge threw out charges of anti-competitive behavior against ExxonMobil’s carbon pipeline subsidiary Denbury in a ruling last week while allowing a broader lawsuit over unfair business practices to move forward,” The Center Square reports, “...Clean Hydrogen Works, which plans to build a $7.5 billion clean fuels plant in Ascension Parish, contends control of Denbury’s 620-mile-long CO₂ pipeline network in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi effectively makes Exxon a gatekeeper for blue hydrogen and ammonia projects at industrial hubs in an area stretching from Lake Charles to the Mississippi River corridor… “Exxon is essentially thinking like a regulated utility, operating on the stance that they bought the network, paid a heavy premium for it, and have an internal use for it,” Dr. Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, told TCS. “Their message to independent developers is that while they cannot outright refuse access, the entry price is going to be steep… “Smith told TCS building high-pressure CO2 pipelines with 12-to-20-inch diameters is “extraordinarily expensive,” noting Clean Hydrogen Works’ estimate of $1 billion to build an alternative connection to a Denbury competitor showed the financial barrier faced by independent clean fuel producers. Clean Hydrogen Works executives maintain the project remains active, unlike the nearby $4.5 billion Air Products blue hydrogen plant proposed in the same parish that was abandoned by developers in June after intense local opposition to carbon pipelines and storage beneath Lake Maurepas in South Louisiana.”

CleanTechnica: Enbridge’s Line 5 Has Another Frac Out As Reroute Challenge And Intimidation Concerns Escalate
8/21/26

“Another frac-out on Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute construction has been reported at Trout Brook in Marengo, Wisconsin,” according to CleanTechnica. “It is only the latest frac out — or drilling fluid spill — Enbridge has caused during reroute construction, following a 1,900 gallon spill earlier this summer. As reroute construction continues, the entirety of the Bad River Reservation, treasured places like Copper Falls State Park, and hundreds of bodies of water remain at risk to more frac outs, which could leach into drinking water and recreational areas. “This frac-out occurred on the same week that Enbridge sat in court and told the Judge that our concerns about the reroute construction and permit weren’t warranted because the record was really long and the project was complicated,” said Elizabeth Ward, Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter Director. “This summer there have already been multiple frac-outs, potentially contaminating nearby and downstream water and wetlands. Devastating impacts of the Line 3 construction in Minnesota are still surfacing years later — we can’t let this happen to Wisconsin as well.” “...Sierra Club also published a new summary this week uplifting the work local monitors have done to document Enbridge’s construction impacts. The summary, Destruction and intimidation: Enbridge’s Line 5 construction impacts so far documents the mid-construction impacts, including intimidation of water monitors, frac-outs, and permit violations. These impacts continue to change, as demonstrated by the latest frac-out.”

Bridge Michigan: Where things stand in Michigan’s Line 5 saga
Kelly House, 8/20/26

“...Two key decisions in the past month have further muddied the waters: While the Trump administration granted a key permit for the tunnel last week, construction is blocked because the Michigan Supreme Court vacated a state permit Enbridge needs to start digging,” Bridge Michigan reports. “The MPSC must now conduct a more thorough review and decide anew whether to issue the permit. That decision would also be open to possible legal challenges. Line 5 opponents have also vowed to appeal a set of tunnel permits issued in July by the state departments of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and Natural Resources. Enbridge has yet to receive a state wastewater discharge permit that is crucial to the tunnel project… “Given the governor and attorney general’s role in setting Michigan’s legal strategy, the November general election could prove pivotal to Line 5’s future… “Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson’s campaign did not answer questions from Bridge Michigan about her stance on Line 5 or the tunnel project, instead providing a statement in which Benson vowed to “explore every option to ensure we are protecting our Great Lakes and diversifying our energy sources.” “...The US Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers could also affect Line 5… “In a statement to Bridge Michigan, El-Sayed called for “a responsible shutdown of Line 5 in its current form.” He stopped short of endorsing or condemning the tunnel proposal, but called for a more robust environmental review than the one the Trump administration “rammed through.”

KCLU: For an Indigenous leader, protecting the Santa Barbara Channel is about more than oil
Caroline Feraday, 8/20/26

“Mati Waiya, the Chairman of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation and founder and director of the Wishtoyo Foundation, told KCLU that he’s concerned about the impact of efforts to increase oil production in the Santa Barbara Channel. This isn’t simply an environmental fight for the Chumash, it’s about a stewardship of the coastline which goes back thousands of years. It’s one of the most controversial issues along our coastline: the future of offshore oil production in the Santa Barbara Channel… “The California Coastal Commission recently rejected a proposal for fracking at 16 offshore wells at Gilda. However, because the platform sits in federal waters, it may be a hurdle to the Trump administration’s efforts to increase oil production rather than the end of the fight for environmentalists. Waiya is concerned that the federal efforts to control California’s coastline could ultimately cause irreversible harm to the local environment. “It’s just a disaster waiting to happen….You have this government eliminating wind power, eliminating solar vehicles, so we can be forced to use oil and gas,” he told KCLU. “The oil companies are making more money than they ever had. All these things that they have a cause and effect, and we have to think about that.” He added that he’s concerned that it’s a matter of when, not if, there’s another oil spill off this coastline… “Opponents of the oil companies have routinely been reduced to characterizations of environmentalist extremists or NIMBYS. But Waiya told KCLU that misses something fundamental. Environmental concerns are valid, but protecting the California coast has cultural significance for Indigenous people, like him, whose voices — he says — are often overlooked.”

Edmonton Journal: Indigenous groups “kept in dark” while plans for “deeply concerning” west coast oil pipeline move ahead
Itoro Umanah, 8/22/26

“...The proposed 1,250-kilometre west coast oil pipeline is a pre-cursor to a separate Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) pipeline project – The Pathways Project, which the trilateral agreement outlines as “a set of emissions reductions projects that decrease emissions intensity of Canadian heavy oil production,” the the Edmonton Journal reports. “The 650-kilometre CO₂ pipeline network is estimated to transport millions of tonnes of compressed CO₂ from oilsands production sites to a storage facility in the Cold Lake region – a proposal that appears to be deeply under-examined, according to Indigenous groups and communities across the province. No to CO₂ Pipelines Alberta is a grassroots coalition formed by concerned landowners, farmers, and Indigenous communities who are actively advocating for the Canadian government to stop the proposed Oil Sands Alliance CO₂ pipeline network… “The CO₂ pipeline is what Keji Banjoko, government relations and consultation coordinator at the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations (ACFN), refers to as a “greenwashing project.” Banjoko, who was present at the Fort McMurray No to CO₂ Pipelines Alberta town hall on Monday, told the Journal the CCUS proposals are another way for the oilsands industry to keep producing more oil, citing the government’s and involved parties’ neglect in consulting with Indigenous groups who are most affected. “There is no real information on the environmental impact of this pipeline, we were not given ability to say no,” Banjoko told the Journal. “No consultations have come through with ACFN, yet we are being asked to trust an industry that has harmed the community for generations.”

MBC Radio: ACFN chief joins B.C. First Nations to oppose new pipeline
Jeremy Appel, 8/23/26

“The chief of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is backing the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs’ call for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to “immediately halt” plans for a new oil pipeline to the West Coast,” MBC Radio reports. “If the B.C. chiefs say no, I respect what the B.C. chiefs want,” Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam told Alberta Native News… “This proposal threatens both the inherent rights of First Nations and accelerates the expansion of the fossil fuel industry at a time when communities across the country are already experiencing devastating climate disasters,” reads an Aug. 9 open letter from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) to Carney and Smith. The letter is signed by UBCIC Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Gitxaala Nation Chief Councillor Linda Innes and Heiltsuk Tribal Council Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett… “The UBCIC argues that this is a violation of the duty to free, prior and informed consent enshrined in multiple sections of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Canada adopted as law in 2021… “Consultation cannot be meaningful if First Nations are invited only to discuss how a predetermined project will proceed.” wrote the chiefs… “Where do they plan to expand or to get all that oil from once they go ahead and do it? Because if they’re coming from our area here in Fort McMurray where the oil sands are, that ain’t going to happen,” Chief Adam of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) told MBC. “We will start launching court cases, and we will tie them all up in court for the next 20 years.”

Flamborough Today: Meeting slated for Aug. 25 in Millgrove to discuss pipeline project
Julie Slack, 8/21/26

“Local residents can learn more about and comment on the planned upgrades to the Enbridge Gas pipeline system in Flamborough at a meeting in Millgrove next Tuesday,” Flamborough Today reports. “According to a public notice issued this week, an environmental study is set to commence for the construction of a new 48-inch diameter natural gas pipeline between Enbridge’s existing Kirkwall Valve Site (located northeast of the intersection at Safari Road and Valens Road) and the existing Hamilton Valve Site (located east of Highway 6 and Carlisle Road)... “As part of the Environmental Study process, Enridge is planning consultation and engagement with Indigenous communities, landowners, government agencies and the local municipality, as well as other interested parties… “The deadline for input and comments about the project is Sept. 15, 2026… “If approved, construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2028,” states the notice.”

Press release: Tallgrass Announces Open Season for the Pony Express Pipeline
8/22/26

“Today, Tallgrass Pony Express Pipeline, LLC, operated by Tallgrass, together with Bridger Pipeline LLC (”Bridger”), announced a new binding joint tariff open season for incentive tariff rates, utilizing existing capacity, for shipper commitments for crude oil transportation from Bridger’s Guernsey Hub. This open season will run for 30 days, commencing August 21, 2026.”

Press release: Tallgrass Announces Open Season for the Seahorse Pipeline
8/21/26

“Today, Seahorse Pipeline, LLC, operated by Tallgrass, together with Bridger Pipeline LLC (”Bridger”), announced a new binding joint tariff open season for incentive tariff rates, utilizing existing capacity, for shipper commitments for crude oil transportation from Bridger’s Guernsey Hub. This open season will run for 30 days, commencing August 21, 2026.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

High Country News: The BLM may stop notifying landowners about drilling under private land. Ranchers are alarmed
Teal Davis, 8/21/26

“...Historically, the public has been given a total of 90 days to weigh in on any leasing of BLM-managed minerals,” High Country News reports. “Oil and gas companies were also required to identify surface owners whose land may be impacted by proposed underground development, and the BLM was required to notify them. But soon, Rankin and other Western landowners may lose that right: In a June leasing proposal, the BLM proposed reducing the general public comment periods to 10 days and eliminating the landowner notification requirement for split estate land. Separately, the agency also wants to reduce the minimum bonds companies are required to pay in case drilling is abandoned without environmental cleanup… “Jim Magagna, a rancher from Rock Springs and  the executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, called the proposed public comment reduction unreasonable. “Our people are out busy,” Magagna told HCN, occupied with “haying, or they’re feeding cows, or they’re calving, or they’re shipping. And a 10-day comment period?” By ending landowner notification requirements and slashing the comment window, the BLM is essentially removing landowners’ right to comment, Magagna told HCN.”

Bloomberg: US Allows Early Sales of Winter Gasoline to Help Curb Prices
Elizabeth Elkin, Jennifer A Dlouhy, and Nathan Risser, 8/20/26

“The Trump administration is authorizing an early shift to the sale of wintertime gasoline blends, its latest move to blunt fuel costs and supply concerns stoked by the war in Iran,” Bloomberg reports. “The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it was relaxing normal summertime gasoline requirements. The switch, which enables the use of a dirtier-burning wintertime fuel blend, typically happens in mid September. Starting Sept. 1, the waiver allows the sale of gasoline blended with 10% ethanol that evaporates faster than fuel typically sold during summer. The administration said the move would boost the domestic gasoline supply by hundreds of thousands of barrels per day by effectively ending the summer-blend gasoline requirement early and said it should provide Americans more price relief at the pump… “US average gasoline prices have been above $4 a gallon since mid-July, according to the American Automobile Association. That’s about $1 more per gallon than when the Iran war began and the highest price US drivers have ever paid this late in the year.”

Axios: GOP issues stark warning to AI companies
Alex Isenstadt, 8/19/26

“The Senate GOP campaign arm, in a private memo to top AI companies, warns that toxic views of U.S. data centers are killing the party’s chances of holding a vital seat in Ohio,” Axios reports. “In the memo, obtained by Axios, the National Republican Senatorial Committee says Democrats have made data centers a “centerpiece” of their campaign to defeat Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) — and that it’s working. “If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one,” the memo says. “This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.” “...The memo argues that a Husted loss would cause long-lasting damage to AI companies in their push to build data centers nationwide to power future generations of AI. “If voters’ perceptions of data centers are not fixed quickly, the campaign against them will expand far beyond Ohio,” the party warns.”

Bloomberg: Trump’s Environmental Rollbacks Are Being Struck Down by Courts
Zahra Hirji, 8/21/26

The Trump administration’s attempts to reshape and shrink federal environmental protection have been met with legal challenges, with the administration losing more than winning in court so far this summer,” Bloomberg reports. “Federal courts have delivered rulings in several cases centered on the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempts to terminate climate grants and roll back Biden-era air policies, with judges deciding against the agency in more than half of them… “But lawyers involved in the litigation challenging the EPA told Bloomberg recent court decisions represent a crucial backstop to the Trump administration’s aggressive pullback on environmental work. “The tide feels like it is shifting,” Jillian Blanchard, an attorney at Lawyers for Good Government who represents multiple organizations who lost environmental grants last year, told Bloomberg.” “...The plaintiffs are winning, Blanchard told Bloomberg, “whenever the cases get into a court to review on the merits — not on issues of jurisdiction technicalities of, does this belong in the Court of Federal Claims or district court.”

E&E News: Democrats escalate fight over LNG tanker tax break
Nico Portuondo, 8/2/26

“Senate Democrats are asking the IRS’ internal watchdog to investigate the agency’s apparent decision to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks for liquefied natural gas tankers by treating them as ‘motorboats,’” E&E News reports. “Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) raised the issue earlier this year when they asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for clarity on whether the IRS had begun granting credits under the Alternative Fuel Excise Tax to liquefied natural gas exporters… “The lawmakers’ inquiry follows a February announcement from Cheniere Energy, the nation’s largest natural gas exporter, that it recorded a $370 million reduction in cost of sales tied to the tax credit for using LNG to fuel its tankers… “The dispute hinges on how the statute defines eligible vehicles. Democrats argue that massive LNG tankers — often stretching roughly 1,000 feet — should not reasonably qualify as ‘motorboats’ under the law.”

Guardian: Trump plan to allow drilling near US world heritage site sparks alarm
Oliver Milman, 8/20/26

“The Trump administration’s push to expand oil and gas extraction across the US is set to bring drilling near cherished natural and cultural sites, raising alarm among conservationists and prompting questions from the UN’s heritage body,” the Guardian reports. “Unesco said it had received information on the administration’s plan to scrap a drilling-free buffer zone around the Chaco Culture national historical park in New Mexico, a world heritage site and one of the most important cultural areas in the US. A Unesco spokesperson told the Guardian it had procedures regarding “potential threats” to a world heritage property and was awaiting a response from the federal government as to its impact. “The world heritage committee has consistently considered extractive activities to be incompatible with world heritage status,” a Unesco spokesperson told the Guardian. As well as warning about the consequences of drilling within the boundaries of world heritage sites, the spokesperson told the Guardian the committee had also “emphasized that projects proposed outside world heritage properties should not adversely affect their outstanding universal value – which are the features of the site that justify its inscription, and should be subject to appropriate impact assessments before decisions are taken.”

Mother Jones: Native American Leaders Denounce Record Glyphosate Spraying on National Forests
Nate Halverson, 8/21/26

“...Earlier this year, our Mother Jones investigation found that record amounts of glyphosate—the key ingredient in the herbicide Roundup—have been sprayed in California’s forests in recent years. It also exposed how key scientific studies that the Forest Service and others relied upon to say glyphosate was safe were ghost written by manufacturer Monsanto,” Mother Jones reports. “The Forest Service uses glyphosate and other herbicides in the wake of forest fires or logging operations to kill native plants the agency says compete with replanted saplings for sunlight, water, and soil nutrients. By eliminating the native plants, freshly planted timber trees will grow back faster and in greater density for future logging. The Trump administration announced plans this month to roll back protections for 45 million acres of national forest, including old growth trees, following President Trump’s call last year to increase timber production by 25 percent… “But a growing number of Native American community leaders from across the state—Mt. Lassen in the north to Lake Tahoe and down to Southern California—say the government’s spraying of glyphosate infringes on their cultural and religious practices by poisoning their traditional gathering areas and changing the composition of the forest. They told me that the moment has come to take action, maybe even legal action.”

STATE UPDATESE&E News: Republican Mike Rogers backs Michigan data center moratorium
Timothy Cama, 8/20/26

“Republican Mike Rogers expressed support Thursday for a “pause” on data center construction as he runs against a progressive Democrat for Michigan’s open Senate seat,” E&E News reports. “...Asked during a news conference about his “policy on data centers,” Rogers said, “I think we need to take a pause, probably, and make sure that we’re answering all the questions that people have.” “...While I don’t support a federal ban, Michigan needs stronger guardrails to protect community control, prevent utility price hikes, protect our water and stop pay-to-play schemes,” Rogers told the Detroit News. “That is why I am calling for a one-year moratorium on new data centers until we establish a fair, transparent approval process that puts local communities first.” The position is a massive shift for the former congressman and separates him from most of the Republican Party and even many Democrats… “Rogers’ opponent, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, has called for strict new standards to prevent data center impacts on the electric grid, water and local communities, but has not called for a large-scale moratorium, as other progressives have.”EXTRACTION

New York Times: Spike in ‘Dark’ Oil Tankers in Gulf Raises Risk of Catastrophic Spills
Lisa Friedman, 8/21/26

“The risk of a catastrophic oil spill in ecologically sensitive waters around the Strait of Hormuz has hung over the region since the start of the war in Iran,” the New York Times reports. “Now the threats are increasing, maritime experts told the Times, as the conflict has widened and more tankers are navigating the region’s waterways with their tracking transponders turned off to dodge military strikes and drone attacks. The advent of transponders and more advanced navigation equipment has made modern shipping safer and cut down on collisions and spills. Turning them off, or going “dark,” is a perilous activity typically reserved for vessels under sanctions or carrying illicit loads. But since March 1, there have been an alarming 1,514 dark crossings in and out of the Persian Gulf, according to Kpler, a maritime data firm… “In a narrow and strategically congested waterway such as the Strait of Hormuz, reduced transparency adds another layer of environmental risk,” Kaveh Madani, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, told the Times. Those risks are compounding across the region: Three different oil slicks are spreading through the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, maritime security experts who are tracking the spills told the Times… “The slick now covers an estimated 400 to 500 square miles and is seeping into a nature reserve that is home to endangered hawksbill and green sea turtles, Arabian Sea humpback whales, and thriving coral reefs.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA): World Bank group funds 65% of petrochemicals projects studied by new IEEFA and IAP tracker
Swathi Seshadri, 8/18/26

“...The tracker is an interactive database that visualises petrochemical investments across different sectors within the industry from 16 multilateral development banks (MDBs). The database is built using details from the Early Warning System (EWS) hosted by the IAP. It tracks 92 projects covering a total investment amount of USD10,042 million. A key finding emerging from the database is that the World Bank group cumulatively funds 65% of the petrochemical projects tracked. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is a member institution of the World Bank group, has a 35% share of the total investment amount in such projects. This is followed by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency’s (MIGA) 24% share. The World Bank itself has a 7% share. Among other MDBs tracked, the European Investment Bank (EIB) share stands at 18%, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) at 6%, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at 2%. Expansion and greenfield projects have a combined share of 57%, and decarbonisation projects comprise 14% of the total investments.”

OPINION

Grand Forks Herald: Carbon-capture storage does not work to a significant degree
Dexter Perkins, Grand Forks, 8/22/26

“...The info you present is very rah-rah, but the reality is that carbon-capture and storage has not ever been shown to be practical or affordable,” Dexter Perkins writes for the Grand Forks Herald. “I am pretty sure that is why previous engineering firms pulled out of Project Tundra. So, I have to wonder why this new plan will be any different? Your article does not say, but isn’t that really the important story? Today, the U.S. has the most carbon-capture capacity in the world. Yet we only store 0.2-0.4% of the carbon we produce. Mostly it is done to promote oil recovery. It would probably not be done at all except for government subsidies and tax credits. If section 45Q of the IRS code ever disappears, there will not be any coal plants interested in the technology. There is no place in the world where carbon-capture has worked to any significant degree. Today much less than 1% of human-produced CO2 is actually captured and stored. And there is nobody who believes that the technology can be used to significantly address the problem of climate change.”

Northern Express: Don’t Create the Source of Disaster
Stephen Tuttle, 8/22/26

“Enbridge’s Line 5 was first built in 1953, running across the Upper Peninsula, under the Straits of Mackinac, and down the spine of the Lower Peninsula until it ends in Sarnia, Ontario. Most of us paid little attention to it—shame on us—until there was an anchor strike on that underwater pipeline that made us realize there was the possibility of something very, very bad happening,” Stephen Tuttle writes for Northern Express. “...In 2010, just outside Marshall, Michigan, Enbridge Line 6B ruptured and released at least a million gallons of crude product into Talmadge Creek, which then found its way into the Kalamazoo River. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 1,500 acres of wetlands and 38 miles of waterways were severely damaged, thousands of amphibious critters were killed, injured, or had to be rescued, and sections of the river had to be closed for two years while clean-up efforts were undertaken… “It’s not like petroleum products easily vanish into the environment. There are still environmental consequences—oil blobs showing up, diseased fish—from the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989. A spill under the Straits would be more than a generational issue; it would be a disaster expanding lifetimes… “It’s long past time for Enbridge to figure out how to get their product to their plants without crossing the Straits. The best way to avoid what could be an absolutely cataclysmic disaster is to never create the source of it.”

Port Huron Times Herald: Enbridge is playing legal rope-a-dope
Andrew Heller, 8/21/26

“Bridge Michigan has an excellent report about Line 5, the controversial oil pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac that has been argued over for 10 years: “All the while, Canadian oil giant Enbridge Energy has kept piping up to 540,000 barrels of petroleum per day from Wisconsin to Ontario through the open water of the Straits, while the maze of related lawsuits, permit deliberations and political debates grows increasingly complex,” Andrew Heller writes for the Port Huron Times Herald. “I could be wrong, but it sounds like Enbridge is rope-a-doping. Remember rope-a-doping? That was Muhammed Ali’s preferred tactic later in his boxing career. It was his term for stalling, hoping his opponent would tire. Companies, in particular, love taking advantage of our molasses-like legal system to get what they want for as long as they can get it… “We’ll wish we had when the next anchor strike causes an environmental disaster in the Straits. But we’re not into prevention these days.”

New York Post: If Kathy Hochul really cares about affordability, she’ll do this
Editorial Board, 8/21/26

“Gov. Kathy Hochul has centered her reelection campaign on talk about “affordability,” but if she means it, let her prove it — by OK’ing the Constitution Pipeline project pronto,” the New York Post Editorial Board writes. “A new independent study by Daymark Energy Advisors finds that the 125-mile natural-gas line, to run from Pennsylvania to Schoharie County, could save the Northeast as much as $5.8 billion in electric costs over the next 20 years, including $3 billion in New York alone… “That makes the pipeline a winner not only for consumers but also for climate warriors, since the carbon footprint of gas is far less than oil’s… “A governor aiming to score “affordability” points should race to kick off such a project — and then claim deserved credit for pushing it through. But Hochul’s too fearful of the green fanatics who see any carbon-fuel project as evil.”

Calgary Herald: Alberta suffered a $1.3 billion hit on KXL – should it factor into Trump’s call to bring back the pipeline?
Chris Varcoe, 8/22/26

“Alberta lost $1.3 billion earlier this decade investing in the Keystone XL project when one U.S. president, Joe Biden, cancelled a cross-border pipeline permit that was signed by the previous president, Donald Trump,” Chris Varcoe writes for the Calgary Herald. “...Here’s an idea: if he really wants the pipeline to be built, how about the current president find a way to compensate Alberta taxpayers for money lost the last time around, due to the actions of the previous U.S. president? Or, at the very least, take that loss into account…. “That should be part of the discussion. We shouldn’t just walk away from it, and be typical Canadians and suck up our losses. It was the United States government that really dealt a blow to its trading relationship with Canada by blocking that project,” Jason Kenney, who was Alberta’s premier when the province decided to invest in the Keystone XL project in 2020, told the Herald. “Are they going to cut us a $1.3-billion-dollar cheque? I very much doubt it. But if there is a commitment to make this (project) happen, Alberta’s previous investment should be a part of the discussion. Where that lands, I don’t know.” “...Richard Masson, who served as chief executive of the APMC last decade – he left three years before the province invested in KXL — doesn’t think it is likely the government will recover its investment.”

The Narwhal: Most Canadians want a pipeline. Nobody wants to pay for it
Sharon J. Riley, 8/21/26

“Pipelines, pipelines, pipelines. No matter how you feel about them, it’s hard to escape news of them lately,” Sharon J. Riley writes for The Narwhal. “...Recent polling shows the majority of Canadians — 63% according to the Angus Reid Institute in July — support that new pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia… “A majority told pollsters they were convinced by the argument that Canada needs to diversify its oil markets away from the U.S., while half said oil is just generally important to the economy. Forty-five percent said the project would create jobs. The economic forecast, though, isn’t quite that simple. There’s still the question of who’s going to pay for it. A poll commissioned by the Pembina Institute and conducted by Probe Research in April found a majority of Albertans — 61% — say they don’t want to spend taxpayer money on a new pipeline… “These are multibillion-dollar projects, often crossing multiple provinces. Even expanding an existing pipeline, or building along an existing pipeline route, is a huge endeavor involving tens of thousands of people working on the project… “The latest pipeline idea making headlines was proposed by the Alberta government, with an estimated cost pegged at between CA$35.2 billion and CA$43.7 billion… “So, in the end, it appears if the West Coast pipeline project moves ahead, it will be governments — and taxpayers — who foot much of the bill… “Currently, Alberta produces an average of more than 4 million barrels of oil per day. That suggests Alberta’s oil production stands to increase substantially if a new pipeline is going to be filled each and every day. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency has predicted global demand for oil from combustible fossil fuels may peak as early as 2027 — raising questions about the long-term outlook for expanded oil sands production.”

The Advocate: Big Oil’s grip on government the real emergency
Lindsay Reeves is a New Orleans-based attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity’s endangered species program, 8/21/26

“My experiences growing up on the Gulf Coast are inextricably linked with the Gulf itself — watching the sunset from my granddad’s boat, the smell of crab cooking in a pot, or driving home with sandy feet in my mom’s minivan. That connection became harder to ignore as disasters like Katrina and the BP oil spill upended our neighbors’ lives and livelihoods. We depend on the Gulf. Its well-being is intertwined with ours. That’s why it’s maddening to see the Gulf at the center of another one of President Donald Trump’s shameless lies,” Lindsay Reeves writes for The Advocate. “In one breath, the administration claims there’s a national security emergency. It’s supposedly so serious that federally authorized oil and gas activity in the Gulf should be exempt from some of the Endangered Species Act’s most important protections, even if it means entire species will go extinct. In the next, the administration brags about record U.S. oil production, while ruling out a ban on oil exports. How can we have an energy emergency and record oil and gas production at the same time? And if oil and gas production in the Gulf is so critical to our national security, why are we exporting millions of barrels every day to other countries? The answer is simple. American oil executives, already rich beyond imagination, want more money and power. If protecting the nation were truly the goal, keeping more energy at home and lowering costs for Americans would be the priority. Instead, the Trump administration is using national security rhetoric to preserve the industry’s preferred business model, which maximizes profits by selling American oil on the global market… “Lawmakers need to recognize that Trump’s pandering to Big Oil won’t make Americans safer, won’t make the country more secure and won’t bring down gas prices at the pump.”