California Environmental Laws Create Stalemate

An interesting situation has developed in California, where the state's environmental justice law has resulted in a judge suspending the state's cap-and-trade law because of the disproportionate effect it could have on low income people. As the New York Times reports:

Essentially, a major environmental initiative is under threat because the state failed to correctly carry out the appropriate environmental analysis.

Or, as Richard Frank, director of the California Environmental Law & Policy Center at University of California, Davis, put it, "one of California's two most important environmental laws has been stymied -- at least temporarily -- by the other."

The complete article from the Times can be found here.

West Virginia DEP Schedules Meeting On Water Quality Standards

The DEP has scheduled one of its regular quarterly meetings to discuss water quality standards.  It will be held


March 31, 2011 1 to 3 pm
WV DEP Headquarters - Coopers Rock Room
601 57th Street
Charleston, WV 25304 

 A copy of the agenda is here. It will include an overview of the changes made to the water quality standards during the 2011 Legislature and an overview of nutrient monitoring being conducted in the state

A Comparison of Nuclear Power and Solar Power In Germany

There aren't any nuclear reactors in West Virginia, and there aren't likely to be for the foreseeable future, given ample coal and natural gas reserves and  political opposition. As a practical matter, as presently configured and given current costs and regulatory restrictions, nukes can't compete economically here. Having said that, they would still be significantly more cost-effective than solar panels. 

The Breakthrough Institute has compared the  Fukushima reactors and the Germany's installed solar power generating capacity as to power produced and cost of installation to find out which is more cost-effective.  The BI post is a response to Christopher Mims' article in Grist that Germany's solar panels generate more power than Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex.  Mims' point is that nuclear power is an unnecessary risk, since solar power is already providing greater amounts of energy to the German grid.  Turns out it's not so. 

   In 2010, Germany's cumulative installed solar PV stood at 17.3 GW. In 2009, Germany's PV solar capacity factor--the ratio of actual energy output over the year and the energy the plant would have produced at full capacity--was 9.5%. This is quite low for solar PV, which typically has capacity factors around 15%, and is likely due to the fact that Germany doesn't actually get that much sun. If we assume the same 9.5% capacity factor for 2010, then Germany's 17.3 GW translates into about 14,397 GWh of actual annual electricity generation from solar cells.

By comparison, in 2010, Fukushima's six Daiichi reactors--which have a nameplate capacity of 4.5 GW--produced 29,221 GWh of power generation. That is, one nuclear power plant complex produces more than twice the power generation of Germany's entire installed solar industry.

All methods of creating energy have costs associated with them, which leads us to ask, along with Newsweek, is there any safe energy? Probably not, if you're looking to eliminate risk altogether, but then, completely eliminating risk in any endeavor is akin to trying to invent a perpetual motion machine. 

CO2 Not Harming the Earth's Biosphere

Studies come out all the time on both sides of the global warming debate.  The contradictory studies don't prove or disprove the global warming hypothesis, but they do, or should, put an end to the arrogant argument that "the science is settled" with regard to whether the world is facing dramatic, unimaginable warming in the coming decades.  Two new studies come down squarely on the skeptic side in suggesting the earth's biosphere is doing just fine, thanks.  

Skeptics acknowledge that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, that mankind has increased the level of CO2 in the atmosphere, and increases in CO2 may have some warming effect. That part is not really in dispute.  The real issues are whether the warming due to anthropogenic CO2 is significant and increasing out of control, and whether the degree of warming seen to date has a negative effect on earth's ecosystems.  Even if there is a negative effect, do the benefits derived  from stopping small amounts of warming exceed the significant cost, in lives and lifestyle changes, incurred by reducing fossil fuel use to bring down CO2 levels?

Thanks to Watts Up With That for highlighting these studies.

Marcellus Shale Economic Development Act Passes

The Marcellus Shale, and the economic benefits/environmental concerns it presents, was front and center this year at the Legislature.  While legislation to increase drilling permit fees and impose additional restrictions on operations did not pass, a bill to encourage economic development of the resources associated with the shale did pass.  This report is from the West Virginia Manufacturers Association: 

 

MARCELLUS SHALE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT:  For those of you who have been around the legislative process, it will not surprise you that this bill, SB 465, passed at seven minutes till midnight on the last day of session.  It seems that it is always like that with bills that are of interest to many diverse groups.  But this bill was a must for manufacturing, as it opens the door for the next generation of manufacturing in the state.  A quick synopsis of the bill follows:

·      The State Tax Commissioner is to annually compile a schedule of oil and natural gas drilling rig values and furnish this schedule to each assessor to be used as a guide to place assessed values on all oil and natural gas drilling rigs in their county.  

·      A credit for alternative fuel motor vehicles and qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure.  The credit is taken against the personal, business franchise and or corporate net income taxes.

·      A credit for the construction or purchase and installation of qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure.

·      The definition of “manufacturing” was amended to include the NAICS code of 211112, which is the code for a natural gas cracker.  A cracker is needed to obtain the derivatives from the Marcellus Shale that will provide the raw materials for new and expanded manufacturing opportunities.

·      The bill also changed the investment amounts for qualified capital investment made in the Chemical, Polymer or Steel Alliance Zones.  The amount of investment was reduced from $100 million in the ground and $50 million new investment to $20 million in the ground and $10 million in new investment when the facility uses product produced at a cracking facility.  The new investment will be valued at salvage value (5% of the qualified capital investment) for 10 years.  Land values do not qualify for salvage value treatment.

·      Amended the definition of “Qualified capital addition to a manufacturing facility to include: (1) facilities used to store, handle, process or produce raw materials for the manufacturing facility, (2) consists of a facility used to store, handle or process natural gas to produce fuel for the generation of steam or electricity for the manufacturing facility or (3) consists of a facility that generates steam or electricity for the manufacturing facility, including a facility that converts coal to a gas or liquid for the manufacturing facility’s use in hearing, manufacturing or generation of electricity.  

·      There are new reporting requirements to the Governor, and the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House regarding investments, jobs, etc., created as a result of this new program.

·      The Strategic Research and Development Tax Credit was expanded to include equipment or the design of manufacturing processes.

·      The definition of “manufacturing” in the Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit was amended to include a cracker and further provided that construction on the cracker must adhere to the WV Jobs Act.

·      There was also a provision on consumer sales and service tax for the Macy’s warehouse to be built in the eastern panhandle.

·      There is also an exemption on the purchase of services, machinery, supplies or materials, (except gasoline and special fuel) to be used or consumed in the construction, alteration, repair or improvement of a new or existing natural gas compressor station or gas transmission line of a certain size.

Fourth Circuit Declines To Find Insurance Coverage For Superfund Cleanup Expense

The Fourth Circuit recently ruled that Comprehensive General Liability (CGL) coverage was unavailable for the expenses incurred by the insured in remediating its own property.  In  Industrial Enterprises Inc. v. Penn America Insurance Company,  (Fourth Cir. No. 09-2346) the Court framed the issue in this way:

In this appeal, we decide whether a standard comprehensive general liability insurance policy ("CGL policy"), which indemnifies the insured for "all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of . . . property damage," covers the insured’s liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA") for costs to remediate the presence of hazardous substances on the insured’s land.

The Court concluded: 

In sum, we hold that Penn America’s standard CGL policy, which provides indemnity to Industrial Enterprises for sums that it becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of property damage, does not provide indemnity to Industrial Enterprises for regulatory liability (including remediation costs) under CERCLA. And because the standard CGL policy in this case does not provide coverage for CERCLA liability, Penn America had no duty to provide a defense or to pay the costs of a defense with respect to such liability.

Consol Energy Pays Fine, Will Install Treatment At Dunkard Creek

A couple years ago a release of mine water into Dunkard Creek, which meanders along the Pennsylvania/West Virginia state line, caused a huge die off of fish and aquatic life.  Consol Energy has agreed topay a large fine and will be installing expensive reverse osmosis treatment at the site, as EPA has announced in this press release:

            WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and State of West Virginia announced today that Consol Energy Inc., the largest producer of coal from underground mines in the United States, has agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty for Clean Water Act violations at six of its mines in West Virginia.  In addition to the penalty, Consol will spend an estimated $200 million in pollution controls that will reduce discharges of harmful mining wastewater into Appalachian streams and rivers. 

“In this settlement, Consol takes responsibility for its past failures to abide by the terms of its Clean Water Act permits,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.  “As a result of this enforcement action, Consol will install a state-of-the-art system to treat wastewater from multiple mines that will set the standard for the responsible management of discharges from underground mining operations in Appalachia.  This settlement will ensure protection of human health and the environment for the benefit of the people who live in Appalachia.”

            “We are committed to cleaning up the waters of Dunkard Creek and the Monongahela watershed and holding those who pollute it accountable,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “The centerpiece of this settlement – a new advanced wastewater treatment plant – will substantially reduce pollution by keeping nearly 100 million pounds of total dissolved solids, including chloride, from reaching these waterways each year.”

             “This agreement between the state, the federal government and industry will create a complex waste water treatment facility that will  significantly improve the water quality in the Monongahela watershed, and implement measures that will have positive effects on streams along the Ohio River, while allowing the mineral extraction industry to continue to have a positive economic impact in the region,” said Scott Mandirola, director of the Division of Water and Waste Management for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

             “Addressing the serious issues that affect our environment, by measures such as this one, will not only promote a healthier society and enhance our safety, but as recent studies are reporting, the expected investments in technology and alternative production methods may actually result in the creation of  jobs,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II.  “It is my sincere hope that this settlement will send a strong message that the federal government is serious about protecting the health of its citizens and in ensuring that its laws are followed during the process of energy extraction.”

            Consol has agreed to build and operate an advanced wastewater treatment plant using reverse osmosis technology near Mannington, W.V., to remove high levels of chloride from mining wastewater.  When completed, the plant will be the largest such treatment plant in Appalachia and capable of treating 3,500 gallons of mine water per minute, substantially reducing chloride and other salts in mining waters discharged to streams.  This treatment will eliminate over 96 million pounds of total dissolved solids, including over 11 million pounds of chloride.  High levels of chloride and dissolved solids can harm aquatic life, clog irrigation devices and carry toxic chemicals that impact drinking water.  

            The U.S. complaint filed concurrently with the settlement agreement, alleges that six Consol mines violated pollution discharge limits in their Clean Water Act permits hundreds of times over the last four years.  The complaint alleges chronic exceedances of chloride discharge limits at the Blacksville No. 2, Loveridge, Robinson Run and Four States mines in the Monongahela watershed and the Shoemaker and Windsor mines discharging into tributaries of the Ohio River. 

            The complaint also alleges that discharges of high amounts of chloride and total dissolved solids from Consol’s facilities at Blacksville No. 2 and Loveridge, contributed to severe impairment of aquatic life and conditions favorable for golden algae to thrive in Dunkard Creek.  In September of 2009, a species of golden algae bloomed in Dunkard Creek killing thousands of fish, mussels and amphibians.  

            The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.  A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice and State of West Virginia Web site at: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html and http://www.dep.wv.gov/pio/Pages/Settlements,Ordersouttopublicnotice.aspx.